In the studio is where you'll likely encounter 12-year-old Melissa Goldsmith and her professional dance partner and instructor, Dale Tozak.
Melissa recently competed at the World Championships of Country Dance in Nashville, Tennessee.-
She placed 2nd overall in the youth newcomer division and won the overall points title
"It was fun! It was the first time anybody was competing against me,” says Melissa.
And what did Melissa learn from her time at the World Championships?
“People are really good at dancing.”
Her dance instructor was impressed with Goldsmith’s performance on the world stage.
“Well she has a world championship title so I was extremely proud of her,” says Dale Tozak. “She has a world title and she also came in second in the division she was dancing in, so she did extremely well.”
“She's been practicing really, really hard and on that day she danced to her potential so that was very good.”
Melissa says despite her success on the world stage, her instructor keeps her humble.
“He always tells me where my feet are supposed to be and where they actually are.”
Melissa is a Grade 7 student at Calgary Academy and has been doing Country DanceSport for just over a year. She trains three hours a week and dances a total of eight routines, her favourite being the polka.
“I like how like when you're getting into the middle of a dance that you know your head can wander and your feet just do their thing!”
For her DanceSport success, Melissa Goldsmith is the CTV Athlete of the Week sponsored by Big Chief Beef Jerky.
