Jasmyn Evered at age 11 brought home a silver medal after dancing for Team Canada at the International Dance Organization competition in Poland in December. The Children's Modern Group captured second place after competing against 16 other teams from other countries. Jasmyn was part of a winning Team Canada of 42 dancers, children and adults, who were declared the overall world champions at the end of the week of competition.
The children's group arrived in Poland Dec. 7, but there was no time for sightseeing, Jasmyn reports, particularly after their 32-hour flight. They plunged into rehearsals right away.
"It was fun," the young dancer said, and she plans to continue with her dance. Jasmyn has been dancing since the age of three, taking lessons at the Coast Academy of Dance (CAD) in Sechelt.
Although the winning group performed modern dance, Jasmyn also dances jazz, ballet and acro at home. She attends Halfmoon Bay Elementary School and performed in The Nutcracker, which played to sold-out shows last week in Sechelt.
Danielle Gardiner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada was the choreographer for both pieces of the children's team, plus she created other dances for Team Canada.
Before the competition, Jasmyn performed in a show in New Westminster in late November titled Gala for Gold, a fundraiser to help the team finance their trip.
Bridget Evered, Jas-myn's mother, explained that the dancers at the gala included three girls from the CAD. Becky Izad, formerly from CAD, was a guest from the Source Dance Company. Kristie Sita represented Team Canada Tap, and Jasmyn was there for Team Canada Jazz and Modern.
"It was a very proud evening for Sechelt fans and Sunshine Coast fans!" Evered said. She is even more thrilled that Jasmyn's competition team was a winner. "I'm a proud mom."
