A TALENTED 10-year old dancer from near Callington will be representing Team England at the prestigious Dance World Cup in Braga, Portugal this July, writes Kat Archer.
Nyana Engel will be one of the thousands of dancers from over 50 countries competing in the largest, all-genre international dance competition for children and young adults in the world.
Nyana’s father, Michael Engel spoke of Nyana’s work ethic which has been instrumental to this achievement. He spoke of her unwavering commitment to her craft, paired with countless hours of practice and determination training six times a week gearing up ready for her performance.
Michael said: “She has worked so hard. Her work ethic makes us so proud.
“We didn’t realise how massive an event it is, people will be competing and attending from all over the world and it will be streamed live on TV.
“It’s going to be amazing watching her perform.
“One minute I’m watching her playing with lego and the next when she’s performing she just goes into a completely different person and switches into a professional performer.
“Whenever I see her compete, I’m always on the edge of my seat as I know the routines.
“It’s really exciting.”
What sets Nyana apart is her exceptional accomplishment as one of the only children from Cornwall who have qualified for this year’s Dance World Cup.
The young talent was ‘born into dancing’ as her mother Natalie used to be an aerialist and Nyana discovered a love of dancing from as young as two years old and has since competed across the South West.
Nyana trains at the Moodance Studio in Callington that her mother (Natalie) opened in 2019.
The studio has played a pivotal role in shaping Nyana’s talent and supporting her journey towards this remarkable opportunity.
At one point Nyana was also training in the elite gymnastics group, the Plymouth Swallows. She had to choose between gymnastics and dancing, so she chose dancing.
Through her years of dancing, Nyana has developed a love for the performance art side and has played Cosette in a Plymouth run of theatre production, Les Miserables and has aspirations to pursue a career in the performing arts.
At the World Cup event she will be peforming a solo lyrical performance and will also be dancing with another acrobatic dance group.
As the competition approaches Nyana has received support from the community and her peers at Sir Robert Gefferys School and her father believes that ‘her story would be an inspiration for other young individuals with aspirations in the performing arts.’
The competition is running from June 30 until July 8. For more information visit dwcworld.com/home