Youth
Alyssa dances her way to glory
Alyssa Smullen, a grade 11 learner at Crawford College Sandton, competed in the SA Body of Dance’s Gauteng National Performing Arts Championships 2017 at the Linder Auditorium recently. She danced in three sections and won medals in all three.
OWN CORRESPONDENT
In the 16-and-over Jazz Solo Section, Alyssa was the outright winner and gold-medallist. In the 16-and-over Modern Duo Section, Alyssa herself choreographed the dance that she and a friend performed and they won silver medals. In the final section of the event – the 16-and-over Championship Modern Formations – Alyssa was a member of the outstanding gold medal-winning team.
During the holidays, Alyssa also completed her AIDT (Association of International Dance Teachers) Intermediate Modern Dance exam. This is one level away from the Teachers’ Exam. Alyssa achieved 88 per cent for this examination.
Alyssa began ballet lessons at the age of three and then started modern/contemporary/jazz dancing from the age of six, but her favourite style of dance is contemporary.
“I love to dance because it challenges me and while I’m dancing I am able to forget temporarily about all the stresses of high school!”