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Local dancers return from summer spent at prestigious schools r [‘wo local teenagers took their passion for ballet to a new level in July by moving out on their own and enrolling in monthâ€" long programs at prestigious Canaâ€" dian dance academies. Laiya Carayannopoulos and Stephanie Reid, friends who dance at Waterloo‘s Classical Dance Conâ€" servatory, decided to audition for coveted positions in various acadeâ€" mies summer programs, which, unlike recreational schools, are difâ€" ficult to gain admission to. Learning the steps "I auditioned for the sake of it, it sounded like such a great experiâ€" ence," said Laiya, 14, who thought it would be a dream come true to get away from home and dance every day. â€" She was accepted at UEcole Supérieure de Ballet Contempoâ€" rain de Montreal, while Stephanie got into the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto. Stephanie, 13, found out she had been accepted after her name was called across the speaker sysâ€" By Jennirer Ormston Chronicle Staff Stephanie Reid and Laiya Carayannopoulos tem at MacGregor public school during the last academic year. "I was in science class ... and I go down to the office not really knowâ€" ing what‘s going on,. or if I‘m in trouble. I see my mom there and she has a doughnut in her hand. "I didn‘t really get it but then she told me and l was like, ‘Oh my God, wow. " The girls packed up their bags, said goodbye to their families and moved into student housing for the month of July. Their days began around 6:30 a.m. After breakfast there was dance class, followed my lunch and then more classes. Dancing four hours a day five days a week was exhausting for Laiya, although she thinks it‘s helped build her stamina. Stephanie agrees. "What I really took away from it that was a good thing was the stamâ€" ina factor," she said. "You‘d be dead at the end of the week, you‘d feel like, oh my gosh, I can‘t move anyâ€" where." There was also some downtime too, which Laiya‘s group spent ARTS FOCUS From the left, Waterloo‘s Stephanie Reid, 13, and Laiya Carayannopoulos, 14, spent the month of July improving their ballet skills at renowned Canadian dance academies. iennirer ommston p10t0s shopping in boutiques and explorâ€" _ mindset that she was attending the . own . two feet," said _ Sofy ing the streets of Montreal. â€" academy for the experience. Carayannopoulos, Laiya‘s mother. Stephanie‘s days were more strucâ€" And she‘s taken away fond Nancy Reid, Stephanie‘s mom, tured, although she did make it to a _ memories, including the time her _ has also noticed her daughter is Blue Jays game â€" one of the highâ€" _ group was working on the ballet _ more independent now: lights of her trip. Giselle and she ran off the stage in "They really grow up when they , 3 Mss © T 1 . 1 4 $ess d At the end of the month, Laiya was asked to stay on and join the school‘s fullâ€"year program. But, she knew her parents weren‘t in favour of that because of her age. "I can understand that, I just don‘t necessarily agree with it," she said. "But 1 went in with the underâ€" standing 1 wouldn‘t be allowed. I still had a little hope, of course, but it didn‘t work." Stephanie, however, wasn‘t asked to enrol in the fullâ€"time proâ€" gram, which was just fine with her because she was always of the CHRON And she‘s taken away fond memories, including the time her group was working on the ballet Giselle and she ran off the stage in the wrong direction. For Laiya, it was nice to be in a setting where everyone shared her passion. â€" _ "You could talk about dance all day and no one would get tired of it," she said. Being out on her own and realizâ€" ing she can succeed is something else she‘s learned about herself. "She‘s always been an independâ€" ent child, so I think what this expeâ€" rience did for her was prove that her suspicion was right all the way along, that she can stand on her WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, September 12, 2007 + 21 "They really grow up when they leave," she said. One lesson they didn‘t need was how to manage their time. Both girls already dance 10 to 11 hours a week during the school year, which means they have little time to "It‘s pretty busy," said Stephanie. "But ] think I‘ve learned to manage it well. It‘s OK now, but when I first started doing all the heavy dancing it was hard." Neither Laiya nor Stephanie can Eowin OuTwaTE® + Music DirEctoR® Continued on page 22