Dancing is Olivia Moore's ‘thing'. Her life is dedicated to it.
The 14-year-old trains as many as 20 hours a week, as well as going to school. Her daily routine includes waking up to train, go to school, before straight to the dance studio for classes and more training. 'Eating and sleeping gets squeezed in too,” says Olivia.
'My ‘thing' is dance. Classical ballet, contemporary and jazz, I've taken dance classes since I was three years old and have been competing in competitions throughout New Zealand since I was eight.”
Olivia is the 2015 regional recipient of the Rothbury Tauranga Regional Scholarship, receiving $5,000 to help her journey to achieving her dream of dancing professionally in the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
'To me, dancing is a way to express myself and every part of me wants to do this,” says Olivia. 'To achieve my goal, I have to be the best I can be and this is what I do.”
Olivia was selected by members of the public who thought her ‘thing' was great. A panel of judges identified her as being a clear favourite.
The Tauranga teen was one of 178 applicants and collected an impressive 177 votes from the general public for her ‘thing'.
Rothbury Life general manager Jon O'Connor says Olivia may only be 14-years-old, but she's already demonstrated how hard work and passion can really pay off when it comes to achieving a dream.
'We wish her all the best for a successful future and career and look forward to one day watching her perform professionally with the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
'We're delighted to be able to support the talented people that live in our community. 'There's no doubt, there's some incredible stories out there and we're always impressed by Kiwis who are doing their thing.”
Olivia consistently places in national competitions, often winning special awards as well.
Her next step is to gain exposure through international competitions, the first one of which she's attending in October after being invited by Paris Opera Ballet master Jacques Marsa.
Olivia and her sisters Arabella, 12 and Lucia, 7, featured on the front cover of The Weekend Sun newspaper in September after the talented trio were invited by the ballet master to dance in the Petipa International Ballet competition and partake in master classes from October 29-November 2.
'My family have fundraised hard all year to make this happen for me,” says Olivia. 'I'm so thrilled to be awarded a Rothbury Tauranga Regional Scholarship.”
The money received will help Olivia continue ballet classes for the next few years and contribute towards attending the Youth American Grand Prix in New York in 2016.
'I need to continue high intensity training to be as competitive as other dancers training full time internationally.
'I would like to thank Rothbury Tauranga and AMP for providing me with this amazing opportunity.”
Rothbury is a majority NZ-owned company started by enterprising Kiwis in 1950. This year, the company was a finalist in the IBM Kenexa Best Workplaces.
For more information, visit doyourthing.co.nz or www.rothbury.co.nz/auckland.