The festival provides a platform for Australian dancers and choreographers 21 years and under to show what they are made of to a panel of industry professionals. This year the festival is being held online.

Miss Howard submitted Try Not To Break It, a contemporary dance film she had already choreographed and starred in, along with fellow Stompin dancer Toby McKnight.

The film explores the poignancy of fragility and questions what can and cannot be broken. It looks at moments in time and connections.

The 17-year-old from Deloraine said the film explores the fragility associated with beauty and the different moments that could be fragile, such as relationships or physical objects. These things inspired the movements.

"At the start I was quite stressed as I didn't have a clear vision. I had a concept but I didn't know what the end would look like," Miss Howard said.

Miss Howard said she had great support from Stompin to help boost her confidence and come up with ideas during the choreography process.

"Having something going from an idea in your head to a finished product that you can show people was really rewarding and exciting," she said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Miss Howard joined Stompin in 2018 when she was inspired watching her sister dance.

Since she joined she has performed in three major shows with the company and taken part in the youth choreographic project.

"This year was my first time being a solo choreographer on a piece," Miss Howard said.

Though Miss Howard found it daunting, she enjoyed it.

"Whatever happens I'll be really proud of what I have done and I'm really excited to share my dance with such a large audience," she said.

"Everything I have performed so far is local and that's exciting but having something in a national competition is really exciting."

The dancer and choreographer is not sure if she wants to make dance a career but it's something she enjoys for fun, and she has never been in competitive dance until now.

"I don't dance for competition but more so the expression and the art of dancing," Miss Howard said.

Sharp Short Dance artistic producer Maya Gavish said they were moved to see that despite COVID-19 and the restrictions "the urge to create and self-express is still so prevalent".

"This year, the event is taking a new form, providing a great opportunity for young artists to learn new skills and dive into a new medium and an exciting chance for people across the country to get a glimpse into the wonderful world of Sharp Short Dance," Maya Gavish said.

Miss Howard's heat will run from November 9-12 and can be viewed online during that time at https://www.form.org.au/. The final will be live streamed online on the Saturday November 21 at 7pm.

Participants are eligible for multiple awards.