Five pupils from the Muskoka Dance Academy are heading to Prague to compete in the Dance World Cup from June 27 to July 6.
The Dance World Cup is the biggest all-genre dance competition in the world, often referred to as the Olympics of dance. Muskoka Dance Academy has had students in the competition before, but this is the biggest group the school has sent overseas to compete. World Performers Canada manages the Canadian dance team, selecting competitors and running rehearsals to prepare them for the World Cup. Longtime dance instructor Sue Kirwin-Campbell from Muskoka Dance Academy is thrilled that five of her dancers get to show off their skills in Europe.
“Day after day after day, you’re always striving for perfection, even though perfection never really is attainable, so it’s great for them to be recognized outside of the studio,” Kirwin-Campbell said. “Everybody thinks the world of their coach, but it’s nice for them to have validation in what they’re doing and what they’re learning on a world scale.”
Seeing dancers and their talent grow
Kirwin-Campbell said as their instructor, she sees a range of successes and failures, so watching them mark this milestone is a testament to how hard they train. Mackenzie Wilson, one of the five dancers, competed in the World Cup last year as well. After being asked to perform again this year, she encouraged other dancers from the academy to audition.
Another dancer, 19-year-old Gabrielle Pennacchioli, has already graduated high school and started attending university. She didn’t dance at the studio this past year due to her studies, but she comes back all the time to help out with the younger students and spend time with her fellow dancers.
Watching her students graduate is when the emotions start to really hit Kirwin-Campbell, she said. When they do their last Christmas show or final competition, she thinks back to the days when they were distractible little girls just starting their journey with dance.
“As I’m teaching through the years when they have little successes, I think, ‘Remember when?’” she said. “Remember when she used to pick fluff up off the floor? Look at her now.”
Kirwin-Campbell has had the pleasure of seeing many of her students go on to do great things. When she was just 16, one of her first students was choreographer and producer Amy Wright, best known for her involvement in the teen drama series The Next Step.
She didn’t nurture Wright’s skills in the same way as her current students, but she thinks fondly about the time spent teaching her tap. Wright still has family in the area, and she’s been actively involved with the studio as a choreographer.
Other students of Kirwin-Campbell have gone on to tour with artists like The Weeknd, choreograph Disney movies, launch their own dance companies and more. She also gets the opportunity to see families grow and change.
“The studio has been around for 40 years here in Huntsville, so I’m teaching second-generation, which is fun,” she said. “In fact, my graduating student, Keira McGregor, I taught her mother and both her aunts. One of her aunts was a competitive dancer just like her.”
Another one of the five dancers, Cambria Wahl, is the niece of Meredith Thompson, a professional dancer who worked with dancer and choreographer Danny Grossman for many years. Though it may seem small and private from the public’s point of view, the community within the dance is vast and robust, Kirwin-Campbell said.
She will be cheering on her students from afar during the World Cup, but she’s immensely proud of the five girls going this year and happy to say that two dancers from Muskoka Dance Academy have been chosen for 2025.
Returning to the Dance World Cup
Wilson, 17, competed in the Dance World Cup in Portugal last year on the junior ballet team and the junior acro team. This year, her commitment has grown considerably since she’s now part of eight different teams. She’s competing with the jazz, acro and contemporary teams for both junior and senior divisions as well as ballet and show dance for the junior division.
All of the dancers have faced a major undertaking with the rehearsals for the World Cup. They started rehearsals in Toronto last summer, meeting every long weekend throughout the school year as well.
“It’s three-hour rehearsals just to get the choreography done and then for the following rehearsals after that, they have new teachers come in for every rehearsal to get a new point of view on the choreography and routine and then they clean it from there,” Wilson said. “Then we have a stage rehearsal a few days before we leave for Prague to get our spacing and last-minute things dealt with before we head to compete.”
Wilson said the process is difficult but completely worth it. One of her best memories from the trip is huddling up with the rest of Team Canada to get pumped up for the competition. Though it’s nerve-wracking, it’s equally exciting.
Another highlight was the opening ceremony at the Dance World Cup. Dancers from all over the world come together to kick off the event. This year’s competition will have over 95,000 dancers from 54 countries.
“When we were in Braga, Portugal, they pretty much opened the town up to us and we walked through the town and everybody cheered and congratulated us,” she said. “We also, amongst the dancers, passed around pins and little souvenirs, and at the end, they play everyone’s anthems and we all pretty much just get to cheer for each other and celebrate dance.”
The workload has been a lot to balance in addition to their dance exams, schoolwork and other responsibilities, but the girls regularly get together to rehearse and work through the stress, she said. She’s been with Muskoka Dance Academy since 2016, and it’s become important to her in a few key ways.
“I love the people, but it’s also an outlet,” Wilson said. “If you have a hard day at school, you can come to dance and you can dance through it, and we work hard.”
Being part of something big
Fellow dancers Keira McGregor, 18, and Sadie Perera, 16, have been with Muskoka Dance Academy since they were just toddlers, so they know exactly what Wilson means. McGregor said dancing at the studio is a chance to “walk through the door like a whole new person” and unplug from the rest of life’s problems.
McGregor is performing on the ballet team for the World Cup. She’s looking forward to making more friendships through dance while also being part of something that she loves.
“It’s been a long journey, but it’s been really nice to grow up with all the same people and just to make all the friendships that I have over the years,” McGregor said. “It’s basically my second family, second home, everything.”
Perera will be performing jazz, ballet, acro and show dance at the competition. While it’s been a challenging process to get there, she can’t wait to go to Europe and be part of such a grand competition.
“It’s been fun, I like rehearsing in Toronto,” Perera said. “It’s separate from what we normally do. You feel like you’re part of something bigger.”
Cambria Wahl, 16, has also been with Muskoka Dance Academy since the age of two. She’ll be performing in the large group senior and junior jazz teams, the junior acro division and the junior show dance division.
After hearing stories from Wilson, she can’t wait to experience the Dance World Cup for herself. It’s exciting to meet so many people from different countries who share a passion for dance, so she can’t wait to see what others have to show on stage.
One of the things she’s most looking forward to is the chance to learn from the judges in a variety of masterclasses. Fans of reality television may recognize one of the judges from the hit show Dance Moms.
“Abby Lee Miller is one of our judges this year, so there’s a lot of big masterclasses we get to take from her as well, which will be really exciting,” Wahl said. “It’s a really good opportunity that we get to learn from the judges as well as hear their input.”
Another perk of the trip is travelling with a great group, she said. Since she’s been at Muskoka Dance Academy for nearly her whole life, she’s had the chance to grow up and learn alongside her fellow performers.
Many of them go to school together as well, so dance has become a way for them to share something meaningful outside of their studies. She can’t wait to continue growing that bond at the Dance World Cup and beyond.
“The reason I have such dedication is because it’s been such a great group,” Wahl said. “It’s such a good studio with great teachers and students to grow up with and we all share such a passionate love for dance that it’s been really great and easy to dedicate my time to something I love so much.”
Visit the website for the Dance World Cup to learn more.