Calgary acro dancers bound for world championships in Milan

Two Calgary acro dancers are getting ready to head to Milan, Italy, to step onto one of the biggest stages in the world of dance.

Two Calgary athletes are headed to the International Dance Organization’s world championships for acro dance in Milan, Italy, with competition scheduled for Nov. 17 to 22.

Alex Lang, 21, a communications student in Calgary and a two-time world champion in this event, returns with Team Canada aiming for another podium.

Sixteen-year-old Calgarian Cearaphena Killoran will make her worlds debut, and her dream is to one day perform acro with Cirque du Soleil.

Acro dance blends power tumbling with artistry.

“Acro dance is a mixture of strength, flexibility, tumbling, variations and dancing all put together,” Lang said.

“All that kind of comes up together in acro dance.”

This year’s Team Canada acro contingent has 40 competitors.

Lang and Killoran are the only Albertans.

Lang has won back-to-back world titles and is pushing to peak again despite the sport’s wear and tear.

“It is super, super hard. You just need to be super cautious and safe and warm up extra and just take a little bit more care of your body,” he said, noting he dislocated a shoulder ahead of last year’s worlds.

He leaves Nov. 13 before performing later in the week.

Killoran says the last two years of training convinced her she belonged on this stage.

“I’ve worked really hard. Once I started working harder and started putting (up) goals, every month, I said, ‘I want to get this trick,’ and I would do everything that I could to get that trick,” she said.

“I perform (in Milan) on Tuesday, Nov. 18. The afternoon is qualifications, and then if I move on to semi-finals or hopefully finals, then those are later in the evenings.”

Her signature skills are becoming her calling cards.

“I would say my signature moves are definitely a front aerial or back layout,” Killoran said.

She competed through back issues last season.

“I had two herniated discs in my back, and I didn’t let that stop me. I might just have to modify some tricks or something like that,” she said.

Lang credits choreographer Lexy Cox of Vancouver with shaping each athlete’s routine from the ground up.

“She does everything from dancing, transitions, variations—she teaches us everything. She’s quite amazing,” Lang said.

“She’s been a great mentor for a lot of us. She’s really helped me become a better dancer (and) also a better choreographer and teacher.”

Killoran’s mother, Shawna Hawthorne, will travel to Milan for the competition.

Hawthorne says the family has watched Killoran’s dedication from the start.

“I’m so proud,” she said.

For fans wanting to follow along, the International Dance Organization will stream the competitions on its website.