Three Lake Country tap dancers are among a very talented group of dancers that have been chosen by the Canadian National Dance Team to represent Canada at the IDO World Tap Dance Championships this December in Riesa, Germany.
Nicole Chapman, Caleb Agno and Georgia MacLean of Lake Country were named to the Canadian team along with Maya Lutz of Kelowna and Blair Dietz of West Kelowna after auditions for the Canadian National Dance Team were held in Langley and brought some of the best dancers from across Western Canada together, vying for a position on the team to represent CANADA at the World level.
The five local dancers all compete out of the Lake Country School of Dance.
Team Canada Dance National Director Bonnie Dyer has selected Lisa Dew of Lisa’s School of Dance in Langley to choreograph the Canadian National Tap Team in Western Canada.
The International Dance Organization (IDO) is a world federation with a membership of over 90 nations that represents more than 250,000 dancers, from six continents. The best dancers from around the world will be competing for the World Championship title. Last year Canada’s children’s and adult teams placed in the top 10, while the junior team finished in the top five.
The honour for the local dancers comes with a lot of hard work and dedication. Not only do they train and practice at their home studio for many hours each week, but they are required to travel to Langley for the Team Canada practices. According to the Lake Country School of Dance, each dancer is also required to raise their own funds to cover all costs to attend the World Championships.
"Chances are you will likely see or have seen these dancers around town fundraising and looking for sponsorship to help make this dream a reality," the school stated in a press release. "They will be at the Kelowna Rockets’ Remembrance Day game November 11 at 2 p.m. selling hockey pucks for a puck toss. Come out and meet this talented bunch of kids and support them by purchasing a puck."
More information on Team Canada can be found at www.teamcanadadance.com and the International Dance Organization at www.ido-dance.com