The young women were told to bring their "highest heels" and biggest attitudes to the rehearsals in the quiet Greenacre community hall.
Waiting for them was the flamboyant dance teacher Modi from one of the most famous dance groups in the Middle East, who proceeded to put them through routines they had never attempted before - let alone in towering stilettos.
All of the 12 women are competing for this year's title of Miss Lebanon Australia and the pageant's beauty and art director, Monie Gabriel, told them if they could dance and smile while wearing those shoes, they could do anything.
Ms Gabriel and Modi, from the internationally renowned Caracalla Dance Group, based in Beirut, have been coaching the women for months for the catwalk finale which will be hosted on Sunday night at a black tie dinner at Doltone House in Pyrmont. The pageant will also showcase Lebanese fashion design with evening dresses supplied by a Sydney-based Lebanese designer Zouka.
The parade was established 15 years ago by Joseph Khoury, director and founder of the Arabic Future Newspaper group, and has become a popular annual event in Sydney attracting hundreds of people from the Middle Eastern community and many different religious backgrounds.
This year's parade has attracted so many guests the venue had to be moved at the last minute to fit them in. The winner of the pageant will travel to Beirut to compete against women from more than 20 countries in the Miss Lebanon World pageant.
