Harcourts Rotorua Dancing with the Stars 2018 preparation under way

Preparation for a night of dancing, glitz and glam is now fully under way, with Harcourts Rotorua Dancing with the Stars contestants partnered up.

This is the third year of the Rotorua Hospice fundraiser, with 10 dancing couples preparing to wow on the dance floor on July 28.

Hospice Rotorua fundraising and marketing manager Nicola Smallwood said an amazing group of dancers had jumped on board to "give up their time and put their fears aside to put on an incredible show for the community".

• Meet your 2018 Harcourts Rotorua Dancing with the Stars here.

She said each of the dancers was embarking on a huge journey.

They normally had no ballroom or Latin American dance experience, so it was a big leap of faith for them, Smallwood said.

"I'm so excited to see the transformation from day one to the actual event.

"I think everyone will be surprised with how far they come in 16 short weeks.

"I'm also excited that we gain 20 more ambassadors for Rotorua Hospice through this event and we can share the opportunity to learn more about what hospice does."

Image 1 of 16: Kate Da Silva and Warren Rehu. Photo/Andrew Warner

She was hoping for a sell-out event, to match the $150,000 raised from last year, and to put on a fun evening for the community to get behind.

Rotorua Hospice receives 52 per cent of its funding from the Lakes DHB, but in order to continue to provide its free palliative care service, it needed to fundraise to meet the shortfall.

"Harcourts Dancing with the Stars has a huge impact on that and we're so proud the community has gotten behind us every year. Let's do it again."

Dance instructor Shelley Martin said the first few practice sessions had been great.

"What I've noticed is that at both of the sessions, considering it's still new, there's been lots of laughter and connections between each other, and lots of fun already."

She said they had aimed to get the dancers partnered up as quickly as possible to use the time they had left, because it was shorter than last year.

Martin said she was excited about the partnerships. They had made a few tweaks but it felt quite obvious to them what was going to work.

She is looking forward to watching the dancers grow as a group and become like a family, as they had in previous years.

Martin is also looking forward to watching the dancers develop as a couple, and discovering the uniqueness of what each couple will bring.

She said there was already a sense of commitment and people seemed to be raring to go, which was addictive.

"It gives me a new lease of life to get stuck into this group."