Oshawa youth reaching for the stars at CNE

 

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

A young dancer from Oshawa will be one of the ‘rising stars’ hitting the stage at this year’s Canadian National Exhibition.
Abigail Bryson, 10, will be performing as a dancer at the CNE’s 2019 Rising Star Talent Competition.
The competition features young artists who showcase talents such as dance, music and singing.
There will be 48 other acts in Bryson’s age group according to her mother, Sylvia Bryson.
Bryson will be performing an ‘acro’ routine, which she describes as a mix of acrobatics and dance.
“There’s jazz in it, and acro is the tumbling part,” explains Sylvia.
She will be dancing to a slowed down version of “You Are My Sunshine,” which her mother describes as a “lullaby.”
This isn’t Bryson’s first competition, as she has performed in about 15 already.
Despite already having so much experience under her belt, Bryson admits she is feeling both excited and nervous.
She says she hasn’t scoped out the competition at all, and is going to go in and do her best.
It was at the age of six Bryson first began performing ballet, but she quickly moved into acro.
“The tumbling excites them,” her mother explains.
Bryson says she practices her routine once a week at Theatre Dance Academy in Oshawa with instructor Jane Santen. Santen also choreographed Bryson’s routine for the CNE competition.
As she is only 10-years-old, Bryson says she isn’t sure if she’ll be making a career out of dancing, and right now it is something she is doing for fun.
When she’s not on stage, the local youth enjoys hanging out with friends, swimming, and being “maniacs.”
Bryson will hit the stage on Sunday, Aug. 18.
For more information about the Rising Star Talent Competition, visit https://theex.com/main/entertainment/stage,-talent-and-stunt-shows/rising-star-talent-competition