PURE joy creased Emi Campbell's face when she described her delight in making the cut for this year’s NSW Schools Spectacular.
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“My mum told me, ‘You’re in the School Spec, on the stage’, and I am so excited, and happy, I loved to dance so, so much in the Schools Spec on the stage,” 14-year-old Emi Campbell said with a irrepressible smile.
“I’m going to Sydney with my sister,” and Emi took a big breath and grinned again.
“I am so excited.”
The Campbell family received the news of her success last week from Inverell High School teacher Cath Jeffery, and the year 9 student was thrilled.
Emi’s mother Jenny Campbell said the notion of taking the state stage for the iconic event over November 25 and 26 took root in her daughter’s mind when they were in the audience for the 2015 all-school extravaganza.
“When Ashleigh was in School Spectacular in the core choir, and Emi saw the disability group come out on stage and she said to me, ‘I want to do that’,” Jenny said.
I am so excited, and happy.
- Emi Campbell
A busy family life got in the way, but at the last moment, the family regrouped and created a video audition for Emi.
With years of experience and confidence dancing, Emi improvised the two-minute performance and they sent the audition to Sydney.
Dance seized Emi at age four, and now Emi is sharing her passion for the art by nurturing young jazz dance students at Craze Dance Studio where she studies with principal Laura King. Emi said the job makes her very happy, and feels tickled when the little girls bowed to her when their lesson was complete.
“They (say to me) me, Thank you Miss Emi!” she said.
“I am working at the dance studio and I work at (Country) Fair, teaching and working, and I love to dance on the stage, and in performance.”
She expressed some regret her sister would be moving on next year after graduation because the two have a strong bond in dance.
“She likes doing her duos with her sister,” Jenny said.
Emi said he was a little nervous about School Spectacular, but explained her jangles were more down to excitement than fear.
“I saw the group, and down syndrome dancers were on the stage, and I am dancing with them, because I’m come from down syndrome,” she said.
