Friday, September 23, 2016 3 Brooklin Town Crier Local Kids Going to Dance Olympics By Sam Yacob While the Rio Olympics have just wrapped up, two Brooklin youngsters are about to participate in their own international competitions. Brayden Tokarski and Taylor Roth, who have trained together since the age of 5, are about to represent Team Canada Dance in Europe at what's known as the Olympics of Dance. The competitions will be run by the International Dance Organization (IDO), which began in 1981 and now has 250,000 members in 90 nations. Brayden is heading to the International Hip Hop Dance Champion- ships in Graz, Austria, on October 17. In November, Taylor will compete at the Championship for Tap Dance in Riesa, Germany. Brayden and Taylor are grade 6 students attending Winchester and Blair Ridge schools, respectively. While still in kindergarten, they chose to pursue dance as a way to follow in the footsteps of their older siblings and cousins. Up until recently, the duo trained together. Brayden and Taylor have developed a fun relationship over the years that has led to both families frequently vacationing together. They've competed in many award-winning group and duet routines. But now, with Brayden focusing on hip hop and Taylor on tap dance, they've staked out their own paths. Representing Team Canada is no easy feat and the road to the international competition is paved with a lot of hard work. The dancers train five days a week for 3-5 hours each day in addition to competing with their studios at competitions. For Taylor, tap seems to come naturally. Her dad, Steve, talks about how she cannot keep her feet still. "In school," he says, "she taps her feet under her desk and many times her teachers have told her to stop." Inspired by tap dancers Gaby Diaz and Emma Hellenkamp from the TV show So You Think You Can Dance, she has won dance awards across Ontario in jazz, hip-hop, contemporary and, of course, tap. Brayden, the hip-hop dancer, has competed at the American Dance Awards and at competitions throughout the province. He trains at the Elite Dance Works in Markham with his choreographers, Jerome Bobb and Andrew Insanally. As he prepares to head to Austria, his dad Kevin describes what the boy should get out of the experience. "To be confident in himself," he says. "To be able to stand in front of people and not to be shy." Brayden, whose inspiration has been hip hop dancers Fik-Shun and Twitch, is excited to be heading to Austria and representing Team Canada. While this is their first time on the international stage, expect to hear about the young and talented duo for years to come. Note: You can help fund Brayden's trip at www.gofundme.com/2pdfz4k You can help fund Taylor's trip at www.gofundme.com/2phythzh Ethan Placek Captures Gold at Swim Nationals Ethan Placek of Brooklin captured gold in three events at the Canadian Age Group Swimming championships in Calgary. He won the 50m and 200m Freestyle and 100m butterfly with record-breaking, swims. (50m Freestyle-24.50, 200m Freestyle-1:58.70,100m Butterfly 1:00.07). He also took silver in the 100m freestyle and 200m medley events, breaking two more club records (100m Freestyle-53.83,200m Medley-2:16.20). Placek rounded out the week with a 5th place finish in the 400m freestyle, 10th in the 400m medley and 12th in 100m breaststroke. The Whitby Dolphins swim club sent three other swimmers to the nationals: Judson Nickerson, Ben- oit Potvin and Harrison Potvin. Benoit, in his Nationals debut, and Harrison Potvin are from Brooklin. All told, the club's swimmers won three gold and two silver medals, 15 top-twelve finishes, 11 club records and 13 personal best times. The four Dolphin swimmers also competed in the 4 × 100m freestyle and 4 × 200m freestyle relays, breaking a club record in the 4x200 finishing 15th in 16-18 age category with two under-age swimmers.