Elizabeth Seibel, 14, of Damariscotta, won first place in the solo category at the Dance Makers Inc. New England Regionals on Aug. 1 in Nashua, N.H. in the 13-18 age division.
In solo, the style of dance does not matter. Seibel, a talented ballerina, danced on pointe to a French piano number. “She found the music and choreographed it two weeks before she went,” dance teacher Faye Cain of Midcoast Dance Studio in Newcastle said.
Of dancing, Seibel said, “it sometimes is really hard. When you do it right it feels better. It feels like your hard work pays off.”
An accomplished dancer, Seibel has auditioned successfully in Boston, Mass., three years running for the Rock School summer program in Philadelphia, Pa. “Three to four thousand kids audition every year in the big cities in the United States. Only 200 kids out of thousands who audition are chosen,” Cain commented.
Life at the camp is non-stop dance. Seibel rose at 5:30 a.m. and took ballet and pointe classes, ate lunch and had more ballet classes in the afternoon. At night, campers attended choreography workshops, and partnering. They learned original choreography that has been handed down from generation to generations, along with variations.
Seibel was recently selected to attend the highly acclaimed Rock School as a full-time high school student. She auditioned in Pennsylvania. “They watch you the whole time. There is no room for mistakes. I did not think I did very well at the audition. When I found I was accepted it was a very happy day,” Seibel said.
“My mom says she is excited. My brother lives in Philadelphia and she can visit both of us,” Seibel said.
Students dance eight hours a day, six days a week at the Rock School, on top of their academics. Regular school classes are conducted mostly online, with teachers alternating days in their particular discipline. Students have to be disciplined to do their schoolwork on their own in their free time away from dancing. Students that fall behind attend mandatory study hall. “You have to be very self motivated,” Seibel said.
“If anyone is up for the challenge, it’s her. She is self-motivated in capital letters. She is the prime example sitting in front of you,” Cain said pointing at Seibel. “She’s an all “A” student, hard working, ambitious and she has a great facility [body] for dance, with her long slender limbs. She has the perfect proportions for ballet. She has a tremendous work ethic and desire,” Cain added.
“Keith Clifton (a dance instructor from California) told me that in a couple of years you might see her [Seibel] on stage in New York City. She’s that good,” Cain said. Clifton works for “LA Dance Forum and has performed on Broadway and teaches at dance conventions around the county. He’s been in the industry for 30 years or more. He was one of the judges for the competition,” Cain added.
Seibel is the first Midcoast Dance Studio student to be accepted to the prestigious Rock School. “I feel happy, but feel pressured. It makes me feel more motivated,” Seibel said of Clifton’s comments.
“She’s very unassuming. She plays piano, oboe, and cooks. She’s multi-talented,” Cain said.
When asked how long she has dreamed about being a ballerina, Seibel said, “When I was born I got a little paper at the hospital that said I was going to be a dancer. So I guess always.”
Seibel started dancing at Midcoast Dance Studio when she was three years old. “She threw herself right into her performance. She knew what she was doing. She was serious since the first day she came. I knew when she was eight years old” [she was gifted]. “She understood the whole concept. I said, ‘This kid gets it. The lifting up, the turning out, the pointing toes, the alignment,'” Cain said.
At 11, Seibel auditioned for the Virginia School for the Arts and was accepted to their summer dance program. The last three years she has attended the Rock School summer program. She has attended camps and dance classes all over the northeast and in Arizona while vacationing with her family. “She doesn’t go anywhere without her ballet slippers,” Cain added.
She is the daughter of Valerie and Dr. Roy Seibel.