All my friends are like 'what you doing today?' I say 'ballet', and they say 'you are always doing ballet'.Abby Griffin, ballerina
Young Mount Maunganui dancer Abby Griffin is following in the graceful footsteps of top ballerinas Delia Mathews and Katherine Grange.
Both dancers' names are engraved on the prestigious Espinosa Cup,
which now also bears the name of 14-year-old Abby.
The win is a huge boost for the Dance Education Centre student and bodes well for her future. Grange is now dancing with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, while Mathews dances with the Royal Birmingham Ballet.
The cup was part of the British Ballet Organisation's annual dance awards for the North Island.
Abby beat more than 50 contestants to win the prize - the first time a classical dancer had won.
For the Mount Maunganui College student, it's another step towards her goal of winning a place at a prestigious international dance school.
Although she's only 14, the next two years are crucial. In the dance world, 17 or 18 is "too old", Abby said.
After three years at dance school, her dream is to be selected for an international dance company. The companies send "talent scouts" to the graduations of the top schools to look for talent.
Abby already knows where she wants to dance - the Royal Birmingham Ballet, where Mathews dances.
"The Royal New Zealand Ballet is going toward the modern side of things, they are not focusing on the classical," Abby said.
"My teacher says I'm more of a classical dancer."
And Abby is focused on her goal - she has 10 dance classes a week, with only two days without classes.
On those days, she's likely to be found practising in her garage, where she's had a dance floor installed using prize money from dance competitions.
Dancing has been Abby's passion since she took up ballet at the age of 5.
"All my friends are like 'what you doing today?' I say 'ballet', and they say 'you are always doing ballet'."
Abby loves the performance aspect of dance. Even when rehearsing in her garage, she was always thinking about how she would present to the audience.
In July, she will perform in the Dance Education Centre production of Don Quixote with her role model, Mathews.
"I can't wait to watch her dance," Abby said.
