Greenstone dancer ready for world champs
"It feels incredible knowing my dream has turned into reality.”
Fifteen-year-old Greenstone resident Caitlyn Barnes has her sights set on competing in the United Kingdom after she qualified for this year’s World Freestyle Championships.
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Set to be held in June, Caitlyn is excited to have the opportunity to represent South Africa.
“I feel proud that I could work hard and reach one of my dance goals,” said Caitlyn.
“It feels incredible knowing my dream has turned into reality.”
Caitlyn said she is looking forward to the opportunity to meet and connect with other dancers from across the world.
Although Caitlyn qualified for the event in 2020, because of the pandemic, the competition has not been hosted for the past two years.
Similarly, Caitlyn also qualified for the IDO Disco World Championships, which will be held in Sweden in September.
From a young age, Caitlyn has enjoyed dancing, first showing an interest when she was three years old.
Her mother, Nicole, explained after Cailyn took up dancing, she did ballet for two years while the family lived in Emalahleni (Witbank).
“When we moved back to Edenvale, Caitlyn’s nursery school offered freestyle dancing as an extramural, which she took up from the age of five,” said Nicole.
Caitlyn described dancing as her passion.
“While it is a lot of hard work to grow and improve, I find it fun. It makes me happy to dance and perform.”
Caitlyn said when she dances, everything else disappears and she can be her true self.
She said practising or performing allows her to forget about everything she worries about.
Another aspect Caitlyn enjoys about dancing is spending time at the studio with her ‘dance family’ and others who share her passion for dance.
“Going to the studio every day to be with fellow dancers and trainer Danielle Pereira is the best. Dancing helps keep my mind and body healthy.”
To achieve her goal, Caitlyn has worked towards qualifying for the freestyle championships since 2016 after she moved dance studios.
After competing in her first competition, Caitlyn realised she wanted to be a champion dancer and wanted to qualify to attend the world championships in Blackpool.
By 2018, she had moved through the ranks of beginner, novice and intermediate and became a champion freestyle dancer.
By 2019, Caitlyn had moved up to premier champion, which made her dream of qualifying for the championships a reality.
Nicole said when dancing started again in 2021, Caitlyn did online lessons for almost a year before she qualified for the championships again.
Since qualifying again, Caitlyn has been hard at work, dancing and training six days a week.
To raise funds for Caitlyn’s trip to the UK, her family has started several fund-raising initiatives.
Nicole said a Barnyard Theatre function is scheduled for April 3 and the family also plans to host a raffle.
The family has started a Back-a-Buddy campaign. Visit www.backabuddy.co.za/caitlyn-barnes for more information.
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