Our next Rising Star, 12-year-old Gabriella, has been dancing since she was just three years old. Now a dance scholar at Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, Gabriella’s passion for performing is nothing but inspiring, and she most certainly has the talent to match, having been selected to perform at a variety of shows and events in Abu Dhabi.
Gabriella dances under the tuition of Natassja Williams, Cranleigh School’s Head of Dance and particular enjoys choreographing her own pieces that have included Sia’s Chandelier and Bishop Briggs’ River. Looking to the future, Gabriella’s sights are firmly set on London’s famous West End.
Gabriella performed as a soloist in The Attitude Recital at New York University in 2017, and later earned the accolade of performing the opening solo dance at the GCC’s first ever Dance BSME (British Schools Middle East) competition- impressive accomplishments for someone who is just 12 years old, but something that Gabriella seems to take in her stride, telling us how much she loved having the opportunity to perform on both of those occasions.
When we ask Gabriella what it is that she loves about dancing, a huge smile lights up across her face, as much to say ‘everything’! But eventually she explains, “I love dancing because it makes me feel free and alive, and is how I express myself”.
And her passion is something that she’d like to share with other children in order to encourage them to get into dancing. For any children that want to start get into dancing, Gabriella’s advice is to just enjoy it, explaining that dancing is not all about technique but it is about feeling the music.
"For any children that want to start dancing, my advice is to feel the music and just enjoy it. Dancing is not just all about technique."
One of Gabriella’s idols is Maddie Ziegler, an American dancer, actress, and model who became famous when she first appeared in a reality show called Dance Moms. Gabriella admires how much hard work and dedication Maddie has put into her dancing career.
With Maddie as her idol it’s no wonder then that Gabriella’s favourite styles of dance are modern and contemporary, though she has already studied so many other forms too, including ballet and tap. Her long-standing background in gymnastics has also allowed her to explore her own expressive styles, blending ballet with acro to emotional music pieces.
Looking towards the future, Gabriella wants to be able to dance everyday- whether that’s on stage in London’s famous West End or on TV – as long as she is dancing she said it would be a dream come true.
Watch Gabriella's performance of “State of Expression” at the Red Box Theatre at NYU
In December 2017 Gabriella performed as a soloist in The Attitude Recital at the Red Theatre, NYUAD. The recital was titled, State Of Expression a pure piece of dance material exploring expression and limitless ends. Gabriella choreographed the piece herself and it was her first experience of performing in front of a large, external audience.
