Makayla Krenzel has made Team Canada Dance.
The talented, young dancer has made a name for herself in the Okanagan, after becoming a Canadian Alopecia Areata Ambassador and will now be taking her talents to the international stage.
She was diagnosed at two with Alopecia Areata, an auto-immune disease which caused her to lose her hair.
Now, she’ll be making her name known in the world of dance when she competes in Denmark as part of Team Canada’s Western division, on the children’s team.
The 10-year-old and her mother Becky missed the children’s tryouts, held from Feb. 6 to 8, due to poor weather on the Coquihalla, so she had to try out with the Junior section.
But, Makayla wasn’t afraid to try out with the older kids.
“It felt more like a workshop than an audition,” she said. “It didn’t really feel different.”
Makayla loves dancing because she gets to hang out with her friends and even though she was nervous to join Team Canada, she didn’t think about it once she was on the stage.
Mom Becky said it was “empowering” for Makayla to make the team and do so well with her passion.
“I feel very blessed for her having the opportunity,” she said.
Training for Team Canada will be held in Vancouver and Becky will do the drive from Lake Country every weekend leading up to the event.
She doesn’t mind because it’s what Makayla is passionate about. Makayla hopes to visit Paris during her trip.
She recently danced in Velocity in Vancouver, with the Lake County School of Dance and received second overall.
Becky wanted to thank the dance studio for their support and how they have pushed Makayla to succeed.
She also received a scholarship, which will allow her to go to any Velocity competition in 20 cities.
As Velocity is also a convention for dancers, Makayla has the opportunity to attend workshops and improve her skills.
The mother-daughter duo has a mission to spread awareness for her disease.
The Aberdeen Hall Preparatory School student will be repping her bald head in Denmark this fall.
Meanwhile Becky will be holding her first Canadian Alopecia Areata Foundation support group on April 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Rutland library.
Follow Makayla’s journey on Instagram at www.instagram.com/alomissmak/.
