A local 17-year-old is dancing circles around notions of typical small town culture with hip-hop moves that rival any inner-city talent. Shaylee Grant is a member of the Canadian National Hip-Hop Team and will face off against countries such as Poland, Ghana and the U.S. this summer during the 2008 Dance World Cup."I think it's great that we have someone from Squamish. Normally all the big dancers are from Vancouver," said dance coach Paul Otterbein. Grant was one of a select 20 chosen from a group of about 400 dancers to join the national team. The accomplished choreographer scouted her out while delivering workshops at the Howe Sound Dance Academy last summer. He said both he and his assistant quickly noticed her heart, attitude and skill."She had no fear," he recalled. "I was doing break-dancing with them and some were a bit hesitant. She just dove right in."Grant's fearlessness comes from 13 years of dance training, most of which was in ballet. Taking up hip-hop gave her the chance to put a more creative spin on dance."There's a lot of freedom to express yourself," she said. "Ballet is very proper. In hip-hop, you just do it and if it looks good, you keep on doing it."Not knowing the workshop doubled as an audition, Grant was stunned when she received Otterbein's offer to join the team."My mom let me listen to the message on the phone, then I proceeded to scream and run around the house," she laughed.At the time, the West Coast team still had to compete against other teams in Canada to represent the country. During a national showdown against five qualifying teams in Maple Ridge last March, Grant's dance crewmembers dressed up as zombies, covered themselves in dirt and annihilated the competition. "I didn't sleep for a week," said Grant, admitting she still gets nervous before a performance.Otterbein said the dark theme was risky, but evidently, a pack of zombies rising from the ground had the desired effect on judges.The team will perform a slightly shorter version of the show at the upcoming Dance World Cup. The competition will take place at the River Rock Casino in Richmond from June 29 to July 3.Grant said a number of friends and family members will be there rooting for her, including cousins from Kelowna. Those expecting to see the sort of sultry hip-hop dancing common in music videos will be in for a surprise.Self-proclaimed "old school" choreographer Otterbein says there are no half-tops or booty shorts on his stage."It's like boy dancing," Grant said.Despite her skill, she said she doesn't plan to pursue a career in dance. Grant was recently accepted to the University of British Columbia Okanogan where she hopes to begin a degree in English.
