An Île-Perrot -Perrot teen is ready to take the leap into being crowned best dancer at a prestigious North American dance competition this summer, something he has been dreaming of competing in for years.
Alessandro Nicolosi, 14, has a passion for dancing and one day hopes to make a career of it. In July, he’ll be competing for title of best dancer at The Dance Awards in Orlando.
“I found out about this last year and I was like, ‘next year I’m going to go, I’m going to do this I can do this,’” said Alessandro Nicolosi.
Last April, Nicolosi was sidelined due to a partial torn hamstring that kept him out of competition season. Luckily, however, he was able to bounce back.
“It was just too slowly starting to get up to where you are before and to work harder to get to where you were before,” Nicolosi said.
With the injury behind him, Nicolosi’s main focus is on The Dance Awards. He won a competition at Nuvo in Toronto earning his bid to perform in July.
“I feel confident in myself that I can do well,” Nicolosi told Global News.
“Even if that doesn’t happen, then next year that will be my goal and hopefully one day I will achieve it.”
Christine Langston, co-owner of Studio de danse Imperium in Dorval., has known Nicolosi for four years. She says his attitude and determination have never wavered.
“In workshops he would be right in front of the class and go full out all the time,” she said.
“Focus, concentrated; I knew he was going to go somewhere with this.”
Rosie Cavanaugh was Nicolosi’s first dance teacher when he started dancing at Imperium, and was one of the pioneers who helped him find his love for contemporary dance.
“Often at the end of class he would always come to me ask me, ‘Rosie can I show you my contemporary improvising and can you give me tips on how to get better?” Cavanaugh told Global News.
Cavanaugh believes that the future is very bright for the young dancer.
“I see him going professional,” she said. “I definitely see him joining a company, or creating his own company, because he has his own style.”
In fact, in 2016, Nicolosi fulfilled one of his dreams by dancing on stage at the Bell Centre with Justin Bieber. He and three other dancers won by uploading a video for a YouTube competition.
“It happens so quickly and you’re like, ‘did I just dance for Justin Bieber?'” Nicolosi said. “And you did and it’s an incredible feeling.”
Although he has a new coach, Nicolosi still reaches out to his first teacher.
“There will be couple of times where he will send me videos of him, maybe a kick or a turn,” Cavanaugh said. “‘Rosie, is this okay? What can I do to improve this?’”
With the support of the dance studio and his coaches, Nicolosi says he’s ready to take the Orlando dance competition by storm.