By LAUREN OWENS Sixteen-year-old Kaitlin Spedding is dancing among the stars today after winning one of five celebrity dresses from the popular television series. The Tauranga Girls' College student was tickled purple to receive Greer Robson's dress yesterday after winning the Dancing with the Stars Cadbury Win A Dress Competition. "I was soexcited, they were such cool dresses. They were so pretty," the Year 12 student said, adding that she tried it on as soon as she received it by courier yesterday morning. At the end of the television series, which Suzanne Paul won, viewers were invited to win one of five purple dresses worn by the female stars for the Swing Waltz in week five of the show. Entrants had to explain in 200 words or less why they deserved the dress and with more than 500 entries received, the competition was tough. Kaitlin, a dancer for 12 years, has learnt tap, jazz, slow tap, hip hop and ballet, with her mother, Nikola Spedding, making most of her competition costumes. She is also set to perform as one of the leads in Fiddler on the Roof next month at Baycourt and her mother is creating many of the show's costumes. With two sisters and a brother also taking an interest in dance, Kaitlin's mother often found herself short of time to make new costumes. "I said that I needed a new dress for my dancing and my mum is really busy, she makes all our costumes which can be really time-consuming and expensive," she said. When Kaitlin received an email a fortnight ago to tell her she had won Greer Robson's dress, her mother was just as excited to hear the news as she was. Kaitlin was nervous that the dress would not fit but trying it on she found it was the perfect size. "I was so scared it wouldn't fit because she's [Greer Robson] so short." The dazzling creation has an intricate pattern of diamantes and sequins on the front as well as a faux fur piece sewn over one strap, leaving the graceful dancer shimmering in the sun. Kaitlin will be putting the dress to good use later this month when she appears at a Baycourt dance competition. "I like being on stage and performing in front of an audience. It's just fun."
