by Sylene Argent
Hot off the heals of earning a gold in Ballet Formation and a silver in Jazz Formation with Team Canada Dance’s 11-and-under team, and a bronze in the men’s solo event at the World Dance Championships, which took place in Poland between November 29-December 4, Jamieson MacNeil is again ready to step onto the international competition stage.
The young performer, who dances with All That Jazz Dance Company in Chatham, was recently invited to again join the Team Canada Dance 11-and-under team to compete in the Commonwealth Cup Dance Championships that will take place in Sun City, South Africa in mid-July.
During the competition, MacNeil will compete as part of the team’s jazz and ballet routines and will have the opportunity to perform in his own solos, too.
“I’m excited to go,” MacNeil said, not only because he will again be able to represent the area on the international dance stage, the opportunity will also help him get closer to reaching his goal of dancing in most of the world’s continents.
MacNeil is hopeful he will be able to place in each of the events in which he will compete at the competition, but is also looking forward to watching other top dancers from other countries perform and learning from workshops that will take place throughout the competition.
“We thought this opportunity would not come around again,” MacNeil’s mom, Annajayne MacNeil said. “How often do you get requested to join a team?”
MacNeil is now fundraising so he can make the trip to compete in South Africa. Businesses and individuals who want to sponsor MacNeil can do so through his GoFundMe page or be emailing annajayne13@hotmail.com.
In the meantime, Jamieson will perform in the Music Express talent show at Art in the Park on Sunday, June 2 at 11 a.m. “We would welcome anyone coming out to share the experience and to cheer him on,” Annajayne said.