Prague, Czech Republic is the host city this summer of Dance the World Cup, and 17-year-old Keira McGregor of Burk's Falls will be part of the competition representing the Ontario contingent of Team Canada.
The event, which runs from June 26 to July 7 is considered the Olympics of dancing and is among the world's largest dance competitions with participants from 66 countries.
"This is the greatest all-genre dance competition in the world for children and young adults around the world," says its website.
McGregor's dance specialties include ballet, tap, jazz, and acrobat which involve several movements like handsprings, gymnastics, and aerial bridges.
At Dance the World Cup she and several other Ontario teens will perform in the ballet competition.
McGregor knew at the age of two that she wanted to be a dancer and throughout the years that desire never waned. Shortly after turning two her parents enrolled her at the Muskoka Dance Academy in nearby Huntsville where she took different classes like Tumble Tot. It was here that she was also taught ballet which McGregor says “is the foundation upon which you build up skills for other things”
After several years of building those skills, McGregor began competitive dance and she was winning medals and trophies when the Huntsville Academy competed against dancers from other studios. She continued competitive dancing moving up the age categories and taking on other dancers in Toronto, Niagara Falls, Burlington, and Hamilton.
McGregor practices four days a week. On three of those days, she goes through six hours of routines and on the fourth day, it's one hour.
And when she's not practicing, she's in her Grade 12 classes at Huntsville High School where she maintains grades in the 70s to the 90s.
McGregor still receives coaching at the Academy and has become a teaching assistant where she instructs younger children on various dance skills. However, once she graduates high school this June, her competition portion as a member of the Academy also ends although she can continue as a teaching assistant and get private lessons.
McGregor has been thinking about attending the Dance the World Cup event since 2022 when a friend auditioned for the competition and made it to Team Canada.
McGregor auditioned for a spot during the summer of 2023 when World Performers of Canada held auditions in Oshawa and then the waiting began.
“We were at a restaurant in Sundridge when my mom got an email from World Performers,” McGregor said. “Our meals had just arrived and mom said she got the email. I asked if it was good news or bad. Mom said I made it. I was really excited and we started phoning family members.”
To prepare for the international event, McGregor continues to mostly practice at the Huntsville Academy but she also heads to Toronto where she receives instructions on routines and choreography from the national coaches.
The annual World Cup of Dance is held in different European cities each year. Team Canada will head to Prague just ahead of the competition so that each dance group can rehearse before their event. McGregor and her group will rehearse one day before her ballet competition. Her group only performs for one day.
“Afterwards we stay and watch the rest of the competition and we can also do some sightseeing”, she said.
Accompanying her will be her mom and grandmother. Even though the dancers represent Canada, there is no federal funding to get them to Prague.
McGregor needs to raise $7,500 to cover her flight, hotel, and competition fees while in Prague and also needs money for food. To that end between now and the time she departs, she will look for sponsors and donations in the Burk's Falls area to help offset the costs. She started with Armour town council which awarded her a $250 cheque. Her fundraising only covers her expenses.
Her mom and grandmother must pay for their portion of the trip themselves.
Regardless of how she finishes in Prague, McGregor may put off post-secondary education for a while.
That's because she's considering performing on a cruise ship like one of her instructors at the Huntsville Academy did.
But that's for the future. For now, all thoughts are on Prague. If you want to sponsor or donate to McGregor's fundraising, you can reach her at [email protected].
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
