The event was scheduled to go ahead on Saturday 29 at the Horsham Town Hall but was one of many weekend events abruptly cancelled.

Rockers Danceworld teacher Lani Finn said the decision was a "kick in the guts" but looked to reschedule the dance for June 25.

"Last year we thought it was okay to cancel it, we would just do it next year, but this year we thought there was no way we would postpone it. It has been two years in the making," she said.

Ms Finn teaches rock and roll dancing with her father at Haven Hall.

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She said she was first introduced to rock and roll dancing by her parents, who met years ago at a rock and roll dancing event in Stawell.

"I was out with them bored one night so I asked my dad to teach me how to dance. Apparently I was doing intermediate moves straight off and since then I haven't stopped dancing," she said.

"I started going to dances when I was 15 and now I teach rock and roll dancing with my dad at Wimmera Rockers Danceworld."

The club runs classes at Haven Hall every Monday night, and has maintained strong membership since they were forced to shut down for nine months in 2020.

Ms Finn said rock and roll dancing was a fun hobby, through which she has made many friends.

"I feel like rock and roll music is in my blood," she said.

"It is fun, it is great exercise and you get to meet great people. I just really enjoyed growing up in that scene."

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Ms Finn also competes in rock and roll competitions with her seven-year-old daughter and won a competition in Ararat two years ago.

"It is a healthy environment and it is a lot of fun," she said.

The Wimmera Rockers Danceworld annual dance brings together musicians and dancers from across Australia's rock dancing scene.

Bands come to Horsham from Melbourne, Adelaide, and Queensland to participate at the event.

Each year the dance has a different costume theme, with 2019's event having a punk theme and 2021's being the wild west.

Ms Finn said the events were a great way to make friends.

"It is a pretty big event, and with the rock and roll scene everyone follows the dance and the bands around," she said.

"You see the same people at the dances you go to so you develop friendships with those people."

The group will look toward June in hopes of taking to the dance floor. Ms Finn said spirits were still high among members, in light of a year with no dancing.

"Where there is a will there's a way. We might be a little bit deflated, but we are not defeated. Onwards and upwards," she said.

"We are okay, the morale is good. A lot of people have been reaching out and saying they are so sad for us, but at the end of the day a lot of people are going through a lot worse, so we are all fine. We are good."

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