A Maple Ridge dancer will be representing the country at a global competition taking place in Gibraltar in 2024.
Brooklyn Wiseman, 16, will be representing Canada at the IDO World Acrobatic Dance Championship – a style that combines classical dance elements with acrobatics.
Over the summer Brooklyn took home a silver medal in the Adult Solo Female category at the IDO world Acrobatic Championships in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She also competed in: formations, a group with 19 dancers; a small group, a group with nine dancers, in addition to her solo. Both of her groups earned a gold.
Brooklyn currently spends upwards of 18 hours a week practising, split between Pulse Dance Centre in Port Coquitlam and Circus Lab in Langley.
Nicole Wiseman, Brooklyn’s mother, started an online fundraiser to help her daughter with the costs of going to Gibraltar for competition.
“Dance is not recognized as a sport in Canada and there for receives no provincial or federal funding, and as a result the cost of training, choreography fees, costume fees, travel, and accommodations falls upon the artistic athlete and their families,” she explained online.
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Brooklyn took her first acro class at the age of six and quickly fell in love, said her mom, dedicating herself to this style of dance ever since.
Her dream is to compete on the world stage, which is considered the equivalent of competing at the Olympics.
For the upcoming competition she will be performing four different dances, including one to a cover of the song Can’t Get You Out of My Head.
Brooklyn just started working on the choreography for her new solo and has about 45 seconds of it completed, explained her mother.
The IDO World Acrobatic Dance Championship is being held from June 30 to July 7 in Gibraltar.
As of Friday afternoon, Dec. 29, the fundraising campaign had raised $319 of a $2,500 goal.
To donate to Brooklyn’s fundraising campaign go to: gofundme.com/f/help-brooklyn-represent-canada-in-gibraltar.