“One, two, three, plier.”
The chant of Jenne Mariani of the Alberta Ballet was heard across the semi-silent studio before a piano began its song, signalling the start of auditions.
The tightly crammed entryway to the Lecky School of Dance was where handfuls of hopeful ballet dancers aged 12-20 auditioned yesterday for a spot at the Calgary classical dance school.
“I love dancing and it’s really one of the things I like to do,” said Alison Caufield, a student from the Edmonton dance centre who would like to be a ballet dancer when she grows up.
Caufield, who has been dancing since she was three, was waiting anxiously with her father Tim to know if she got in by way of a phone call from Murray Kilgour, the school’s principal.
“It would be so awesome because I could go to Calgary and (experience) two weeks of dance,” she said.
Kilgour said seeing youngsters grow and develop and be so enthusiastic about what they do is very important.
Kilgour, who is in his ninth year with the company, is among other great instructors from the school including Karen Cain and Veronica Tennant.
For the third year, he was looking for northern talent in Edmonton yesterday.
“We are auditioning all over Western Canada. We want to give them the opportunity to train with us over the summer,” said Kilgour.
