A handful of young dancers — from Vernon to Vancouver Island — slipped on their jazz and ballet shoes last week for five days of intense training in Coquitlam.
Next June, they will join about 120 other dancers from across Canada to put their routines together in Toronto before they fly to Braga, Portugal for Dance World Cup, in July.
The B.C. contingent was picked after auditioning for World Performers Canada, of which the company representative is Coquitlam native Lexy Cox, a graduate of Pinetree secondary school.
Last Wednesday — on their last day of training — the dancers learned new ballet steps from choreographer Joshua Beamish.
And over the next 10 months, they will also have worked with Danielle Gardner, McIntosh Sutherland and Lisa Metz, from western Canada, and Kim O’Neill, Kim Falconi, Joe Perez, Julia Cratchley, Tara Pillon and Caroline Torti, from Ontario, to name a few.
“This is a chance for them to work with professionals,” Cox said during a morning session in the rehearsal hall at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, adding, “It’s huge commitment but they’ll have the opportunity to meet new people and travel to experience other cultures, which is key to us.”
Mara Morris, who accompanied fellow Duncan resident Brittany Behan Millard to Coquitlam, said she’s excited for Portugal and is ready to put in the hours to help Team Canada rise to the top.
And despite sweating it out in the heat wave, “there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing for my summer. To be honest, it would be boring without dance,” she said.
• To sponsor an individual dancer or Team Canada for Dance World Cup (Europe), email [email protected].
