Just because you've been knocking on the door for years doesn't mean it doesn't surprise you when it suddenly opens.
Abigael McCormick has been considered among northern B.C.'s best dancers for several years. The 18-year-old has grown up on the stage, the daughter of Dance Your Hart Out Studio founder and head instructor Nicole McCormick. She has a clutter of trophies and ribbons already, but during this past Prince George Dance Festival she was the big winner of the event, taking home the coveted Overall Dance Excellence category.
"I wasn't expecting it," McCormick said.
"I knew I had the right number of solos, and I was the right age, and that meant I had a chance at it, in theory, but I also knew a lot of other dancers were going for it, I knew they were excellent dancers, and only two of us were in the running from our small studio, so it wasn't something I seriously considered for myself. So much depends on a lot of details in each number, and what the adjudicator thinks, and how the other dancers do what they do, so it's hard to think about anything but doing your best for yourself. The rest is out of your control."
The five solos she did were in the categories of Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern and Variety. She was also involved in some of the studio's group numbers, and the required Musical Interpretation process. That's when you get to hear a song one time, think up some choreography, and then dance it when the song is played again.
The announcement of her name on that perpetual trophy was kept a secret from all but those who needed to know. Her mom needed to know.
"She wasn't supposed to find out she got the award until the gala performance," said Nicole.
"But they had to tell me, because she had to dance two solos right after the announcement, so I had to bring the costumes and keep it a secret."
The win came with a $1,500 cash prize ($500 higher than usual because it was the festival's 40th anniversary).
McCormick is now involved in personal planning. She has to decided what to do now that she is graduating from high school, but still a part of the youth leadership movement at the studio.
"I love being 'the dancer' but I also love doing choreography for other people and working behind the scenes, but you can't really do that as well without having dance experience, so for now I'm starting there, being the dancer," she said.
She is keen on attending an intensive training program at Harbour Dance Centre in Vancouver doing some pre-professional work, and she is also enrolled in a Prince George hairdressing program to help her acquire marketable skills that also dovetail into the performing arts industry.
McCormick could have taken her award winning skills to the Performing Arts BC provincial festival on now in Fort St. John, an event she has attended four times in as many years, but was unable to go because of her graduation ceremonies on at the same time.
