Mikaela Patterson said she found competing in the Gold Coast’s Evolution Dance Competition fun and enjoyed the supportive environment.
Out of the five events she took part in, she was the international champion in the hip-hop and open categories, second in jazz and musical theatre and third in the contemporary category.
Adding to the achievement was for four out of five events, she did the choreography herself.
As well as winning in the categories she entered, she also won expression expert, ultimate show-off and artistry awards.
In the leadup to the competition, she was practising every night with Prodigy Dance Academy teacher Jorja McCaughan.
‘‘I couldn’t have done it without her.’’
‘‘I did the odd dance when I was little as every 5-year-old does, but I started taking it seriously probably in like year 9 or 10.’’
The thing about dancing that kept her coming back was the performance aspect, she said the best part was being on stage.
Another thing she liked about dance, that she recently discovered, was teaching younger children what she had learned over the years.
In her final year at Dunstan High School, she had the opportunity to choreograph 16 dances for the school’s production of Grease.
‘‘It was cool because it was my last musical at school, it was cool to get to actually choreograph.’’
Now she is studying online for a bachelor of speech and language qualification and is continuing to dance. Short term, she plans to continue to compete and hopes to return to the Evolution Dance Competition one more time.
Long term, she said it would be ‘‘cool’’ to dance full-time and professionally on Broadway or for cruise ship passengers.
