TIDA dancers Scarlett Mahanidis, Luella Belo and Lani El-Helou found success at the recent awards. Photo: Keeli Royle.
Passionate young performers from the Illawarra have proved to be some of the best ballerinas in the state after students from local studios achieved incredible success at a prestigious competition run by the Royal Academy of Dance.
Nine-year-old Lani El-Helou and 10-year-olds Scarlett Mahanidis and Luella Belo beat more than 100 other dancers in their category to secure a spot in the finals of the Joan and Monica Halliday Awards.
The girls from The Illawarra Dance Academy (TIDA) progressed through the competition by excelling in masterclasses and performances, eventually taking to the stage as part of 12 selected from Grade 3 to perform at the Seymour Centre.
“It was a lot of hard work every day going over the exercises for the preliminary and semifinal and the classical study and contemporary,” Lani said.
“It was a lot,” Scarlett said. “It was dancing every single day of the week and I came home buggered but it was fun.”
“You have to do a lot of training before this to get to the level we’re at, and there’s a lot of things you need to accomplish before this,” Luella said.
Lani was declared runner-up of her entire grade.
“I was also excited because I didn’t know what was next for me and runner-up was a big deal,” Lani said.
“Having three children from the Illawarra Dance Academy in the finals and then Lani making runner-up is huge,” TIDA artistic director and teacher Sharna Lee Baylis said. “It just shows the integrity of our training within the Illawarra.
“I’m very proud; they’re very dedicated to their artform. They’ve put a lot of energy and effort into these awards over the past 10 weeks so for them to be awarded finalists and runner-up is a huge accomplishment.”
The region’s success in the competition didn’t stop with one studio.
Koa Fogarty from Shellharbour’s Dance Sensations also claimed the runner-up position in the Grade 5 category of the competition.
“I was very shocked because there was so many other amazing dancers,” Koa said.
13-year-old Koa Fogarty was shocked by her success in the competition. Photo: Keeli Royle.
The 13-year-old, who made the finals last year, worked hard to progress further.
“I do lots of training. I dance Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and it’s just really what I love,” she said.
“I felt a lot more comfortable going into it this year, but I was still shocked.”
While dancing is her passion, staying on top of her skills and her schooling is no easy feat.
“It’s hard keeping up with my schedule and school because I do dancing after school every day and then I also do a Sydney program on the weekends so I have to try and find time to do homework throughout the week,” she said.
Balancing school and dance is something that TJS Dance Academy student Charli O’Brien also has to manage carefully, spending up to eight hours a day in the studio.
“I have different classes where I’m learning routines and then classes for technique,” she said.
“Three, maybe four privates a week.”
Charli O’Brien will spend a week learning the ropes at Sydney Dance Company. Photo: Keeli Royle.
The 15-year-old won the Royal Academy of Dance Isobel Anderson Commissioned Choreography award alongside her TJS classmate Natahlia Bogovac who claimed the Intermediate Foundation award.
The award was about more than the accolades for Charli, with the prize including the chance to dip a toe into working in the industry.
“One of my dreams is to be in the Sydney Dance Company full-time as a professional dancer, and it’s a really good opportunity with this award because you get to train with [the pre-professional year company] for a whole week,” she said.
“That’s a great opportunity for me so I can see how it all goes and make connections and I think that will be really good for when I’m older to hopefully get into the company.
“I’m most excited to learn about the whole atmosphere and meet new people and meet some of the choreographers and different styles.”
While training and hard work led to this recognition for the Illawarra artists, it’s their love of the craft which is driving their success.
“When I dance I get this happy emotion and it just lights my heart up,” Lani said.
“I just love expressing the art of it,” Luella said. “All my worries just go away when I dance.”
