IT'S no surprise that Baz Luhrman's 1992 film Strictly Ballroom is 12-year-old Brooke Gribben's favourite.

Like the film's characters, the Shepparton junior dance champion is regularly dressed in sparkles and spends more than six hours a week on the dance floor.

"I've watched Strictly Ballroom a lot. Too many times to count," Brooke says.

"She never misses Dancing with the Stars and anything to do with dancing," says Brooke's mother, Heather.

Brooke and her dancing partner, Christian Morgan, 13, are a Shepparton success story, having won national titles for Latin dancing for the past two years.

They are hoping to repeat their success at the Australian Dancesport Championships in Melbourne next month.

Heather says she is more likely to get an attack of the nerves than her daughter, who takes the fierce competition in her stride.

"Oh, it can be nerve-wracking," Heather says.

"There's so much to do. The hair has to be done and the make-up and the clothes have to be right."

Brooke tried her first dance class with a friend at Shepparton dance studio Excell six years ago.

"The friend never went back and Brooke just loved it," Heather says.

"It's fun. It keeps you active and healthy and I meet so many nice people," Brooke says.

Unlike Brooke, Christian wasn't keen on dancing when his mother, Paula, and grandmother, Dianne, first encouraged him to try it when he was seven.

"He didn't like rough sports and he was trying to find something to do," Paula says.

"He said no at first but we said give it a go, and he came to love it."

Christian says dancing has become his sport of choice.

"It keeps you very, very fit, and it's really fun," he says.

While he has earned various nicknames, including Tango, from his mates at school, Christian shrugs off any teasing.

"They still call me Tango. I quite like it," he says.

The pair's teachers include former local Amanda Garner, who won Dancing with the Stars partnered with Sunrise presenter Grant Denyer.

Both parents agree dancing has been good for the pair.

"It gives kids a lot of confidence - and good posture," Heather says.

"And socially it's good because there's all different age groups. They all seem to get on well together."