Four teenage competitive dancers from Windsor-Essex are flying overseas to represent Canada at the Dance World Cup next month. The community helped raise $5,000 to send the young local performers to the international competition.
Dancers Selected for Team Canada
Mattia Klinger, Finley Stedman, Gabriella Hesse and Lauren Murphy grew up dancing at PURE Dance Academy in Lakeshore and Chatham. The four girls rose through the ranks to the competitive company dance team, where young athletes spend between seven to 12 hours a week in the studio training intensively.
Following a series of competitions, the girls were invited to audition in Toronto for World Performers Canada, a dance company set to compete on the international stage at the Dance World Cup. They each had the chance to perform a variety of choreographed dances before a panel of judges.
Audition Experiences
Klinger said at the time she left the room worried she wouldn't be hearing back. "It wasn't my best time dancing and showing off what I can do," she said, donning a red and white tracksuit with Ireland 2026 stitched over her chest. "But hearing that I made both teams was really good because I didn't feel great about the audition."
Around a month and a half after auditioning, Hesse was eating breakfast with her great grandmother when she received an email saying she would be joining Team Canada in Dublin. "I started planning the Ireland trip as soon as I heard that I was going," she said, her current itinerary involving hiking, sightseeing and a Viking boat tour.
Excitement for International Competition
Stedman and Murphy were also overjoyed to receive their acceptance letters and look forward to visiting Ireland for the first time. "I've never been to a different country or a different continent, I'm just excited to look around and compete on a global stage," said Murphy, who received the news from her dance teacher mid-way through class. "All my friends were there and they all congratulated me, and my mom was at the studio when it happened, so she was super happy."
"It's going to be really cool to see at the competition all these different countries coming together," Stedman added.
Competition Details and Fundraising
The Dance World Cup is the largest international all-genre dance competition for children and young adults, featuring performances from across 74 countries. This year's championship will take place in Dublin, Ireland from July 8 to 18.
While in rehearsals, the dancers are selected for certain teams and categories based on their skills, preference and collaboration with others. Klinger and Hesse will perform hip-hop and contemporary routines and join Stedman for a large contemporary dance while Murphy teams up with a ballet ensemble.
The dancers hosted a send-off event on June 23 to raise money for travel and competition expenses. Around 90 community members showed up and donated $5,000 to help send the girls to Dublin. "(The money) is going towards a really good cause," said Stedman, grateful for the support of their family and friends.
The competition will be livestreamed at dwcstream.com. Residents wishing to cheer on the girls from home can tune in on July 11, 14, 15 and 17 to watch them perform.
