Mikayla Parsons, Danni-Leigh Slater, and Nina van den Heever are ready to show off their cool dance moves at a competition in Ireland. The three acrobatic dancers from Natasha Dance Academy were chosen for the world championship by a dance organisation named, The World Lyrical Dance Federation after they put in the work to qualify and compete overseas.
When we caught up with them to chat about their preparations for the competitions, the girls were still full of excitement because this is also their first trip to Europe.
Nina who is only nine years old, said even though she is a bit nervous, she is ready to put her heart into dancing on the European stage, “I feel good, and I like the fact that my family will be there to support me through it.”
The rehearsals are quite hectic but for her, she is having the best time of her life because she loves dancing. “There are a lot of things into it like new dance moves and I like that.”
Mikayla (14) picked the story and told us that there is no day when they do not rehearse because winning the competition would mean a lot to them as learners of Natasha Dance Academy.
“Be it weekends, or public holidays, we were meeting up in the studio to practice. We eat healthily as well because there are certain proteins that we need to give us the energy for our dance moves and techniques.”
That is why Danni-Leigh is so passionate about acrobatic dancing. She said ever since she learned that she is flexible, she wanted to incorporate it into her dancing.
“I love to bend my body in different ways. The reason I chose acrobatic dance is because I am able to express myself through the dance moves while interacting with different tricks.”
The 15-year-old said discovered her love for acrobatic dance when she was still a young girl. “I always did acrobatic tricks wherever I was and then when I joined Natasha Studio, she decided to give me a solo. Afterwards, she entered me into competitions for those acrobatic solos. That was a little bit scary, but she gave me confidence.”
The girls will be jetting off to Ireland on Tuesday, August 1. Nina said she will only be in Ireland for nine nights while Mikayla and Danni will spend ten nights.
“With the amazing support from our academy and family, we are very confident that we will bring it home. It will mean a lot for us if we win because we have been rehearsing for a couple of months but if we do not win- the fact that we have been chosen to go and compete overseas still means a lot to us. We are also keen to learn from the other girls during the competitions,” said Mikayla.
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