Natalie Te Kanawa, who says she is Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's niece, is expressing the family's artistic genes in a whole new direction - poledancing.
The younger Te Kanawa is bringing together poledancers from both sides of the Tasman for a national championship in Melbourne.
She has set up a company, Australian Pole Dance Pty Ltd, to promote pole dancing as a legitimate activity for both men and women, despite its reputation in venues such as strip clubs.
"This is a competition designed to showcase all the styles of pole from across Australia" she said in a statement. It starts on Thursday, with the finals on Saturday.
"The inclusion of men allows a demonstration of the circus and acrobatic pole that is often overlooked when people talk about pole dance," she said.
Te Kanawa said that in 2005 there were only six companies teaching pole dancing in Australia, but today there are over 120.