Passionate dancer, Gabriella Watkins from Sandhurst Pre- and Preparatory College is dancing up the ranks.
Ballet is one of Gabriella’s favourite types of dance. “I’ve been doing ballet since I was two years old. I did it as an extra curricular in school and I basically never stopped,” she said.
The Grade 6 learner completed her Association of International Dance Teachers (AIDT) modern and tap dancing exams earlier this month. The exams took place virtually – a first for her.
She explained that she had a couple of months to prepare for the exams, adding that once the teacher is satisfied and thinks you are ready, you will be entered into it.
“I think it was not so nerve-wracking because my dance teacher had to be in the room with me and her being there definitely helped to calm me down a bit. I think I definitely prefer the virtual way because it’s not so stressful,” she said.
Watkins is passionate about dance, “I definitely would like to be a professional dancer in the future, that is one of my main goals. I’m not sure yet what I would do if I don’t get into that but there’s still time to think about it,” she joked.
Academically savvy too, Watkins said that she loves the individual care and attention she gets from the teachers at the school.
“I prefer being in a smaller environment because there is more individual help available and if you are like struggling with something there is help readily available. Teachers can focus on just you compared to a bigger school when they have to focus on a lot more kids.”
Watkins also dabbles in netball, swimming and a little bit of hip-hop. “Out of all of them, modern dance is probably my favourite,” she said.
