After years of training, a local dancer is travelling to Europe to join Team Canada Dance at the International Dance Organization (IDO)’s World Jazz, Modern/Contemporary Championships.
Sophie Horne, 16, of Stratford dances with three organizations in Toronto, Kitchener, and Baden, and has taught dance at the West Perth Dance Club in Mitchell.
“Sophie fell in love with dance,” Sharra Horne, Sophie’s mom told StratfordToday. “The first time she was on stage … you’re just like ‘she’s meant to be here.”
Her teacher, Miranda Durbin of Flex Dance Company in Baden, recently encouraged Sophie to audition for Team Canada, the organization which gives elite dancers of Canada an opportunity to represent their country as a team on the world stage.
As Sophie said, auditioning for Team Canada has been a goal for a long time.
“I had friends who had (competed for) Team Canada before,” Sophie explained. “So it kinda was always in the back of my head … And then I found out about the audition. I was like, ‘okay, yeah, I gotta go do it.’”
Sharra said her daughter has had many tremendous teachers over the years, it’s been under Durbin’s tutelage that she has seen Sophie grow the most as a performer.
She attributes that to the confidence that Sophie has found in her dancing abilities. While Sophie doesn’t disagree with that, she said that her growth was due to being so similar to Durbin. Because of that closeness, she has embodied Durbin’s style.
After getting onto the team and preparing to represent Canada at the championships in DePanne, Belgium in November, Sophie is focused on her upcoming auditions to determine whether she will have a solo or duet performance for the competition.
The championships bring together the top three teams of each nation to compete for their place on the podium. Dancers compete in elimination rounds until the top six compete one last time for the gold, silver, and bronze awards.
Sophie and her mom are also focused on logistics. Sharra estimates the competition will cost $10,000 to $15,000. She will need $4,500 to cover airfare, hotel, rehearsals, and entry fees, but there will also be other expenses and a chaperone required.
Unable to front that cost outright, the family has been relying upon the community for help. Numerous places in Stratford and area have stepped up as sponsor, something which the Horne family is incredibly grateful for.
The Corner Store Candy Company is also hosting a fundraiser Oct. 20-22, donating a portion of their sales on an upcoming weekend to area dancers joining Team Dance Canada in Belgium, Sophie included.
While not recognized as a sport, both mother and daughter spoke about just how strenuous it is.
“It's like any sport, your body's gonna take a tumble,” Sharra said.
Sharra has watched Sophie get injured numerous times, back, hamstring, ankle, to name a few, and has wrapped up her injuries and got back on the mat, dancing for nine hours at a time.
“It's like a dream,” Sophie said. “And you just want to keep pushing towards it and you don't want to stop.”
Over 90 countries and dancers of all ages participate in the various competitions the IDO hosts, with Sharra calling it the Olympics of dance. This year's IDO World Jazz, Modern/Contemporary Championships run from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3.
