Year 9 student Taylah Smith has been dancing for most of her life, which helps explain the remarkable success she has achieved as such a young dancer. “I have been dancing for 11 years,” says Taylah. “It all started when I was four years old. One night my Mum and Nanna took me up to a studio called Keith Wilshire Dance Studio. That’s where my Nanna and Mum danced. I liked all the different styles so much I asked if I could try it and they agreed. I went along the following Saturday and have been dancing ever since. Keith showed me all three types of dancing; Latin, New Vogue and Ballroom.”
Taylah danced at Keith’s for six years then went to another dance studio called FAME where at ten years of age she got to dance in Melbourne’s Crown Casino. “That was a huge high for me and I loved the big dance floor. After I left FAME I went to Madeline Zoanetti Dance Empirio. I have been there for the last four years. Two years ago I got my first dance partner. His name is Cameron Little and he is now fifteen years old. At Madeline’s we have four dance coaches. Our main coaches are Madeline Zoanetti for LATIN and Malcolm Batty for New Vogue and Ballroom.
“My other two coaches are Annalisa Zoanetti and Julz Tucker. They live in Hong Kong and London but they come back every few months and they teach Cameron and me Latin techniques and timing. Latin dancing is so much fun; you do the Jive, Samba and Cha Cha. All these dances require different movements, timing and steps. Latin requires energetic, upbeat tempos with a lot of energy and I do all these dances one after another.”
Taylah’s dance schedules vary according to events that she is training for. Generally she and her partner train three days a week, plus she has two private lessons a week. If there’s a competition coming up then Taylah and Cameron will train five days a week and she will have four private lessons on top of this.
“I found it hard last year to balance school work and dancing but this year I have found it easier as I have a tight schedule that my parents planned for me which I stick to. Sometimes I can’t get all my work done as most of our competitions are on a Sunday. Some start at midday and don’t finish until 10:30pm so by the time we get home it’s not until after midnight. When I have to go interstate I take my school work with me so I can still keep up but it is hard sometimes. My life is dancing; that’s what I want to do. I strive to be the best I can be; one day I want to be world number one. I don’t have much time to hang out during the week and my weekends are spent with my family or at competitions.”
Taylah has been successful in a range of dance competitions in her many years of dancing. This year Taylah and Cameron have been invited to the World Championships which is a wonderful achievement. This event will be held in Melbourne in December. “The World Championships is a five day event. Cameron and I will compete on the Wednesday and Thursday, and on Thursday night is our final. Heats for the adults are held on the Friday and Saturday, with the finals on Sunday. This is where the best dancers from all over the world come to compete. Some of the competitors have been on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ all over the world. I’m super excited! This is a big opportunity for my partner and me.”
We wish Taylah all the very best for her upcoming competitions and with her dancing career into the future. She works incredibly hard and deserves all the success she has achieved so far.
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