, an 11-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, attended DanceBermuda for the first time. She heard about the programme through family friend Wendy Davis-Johnson, National Dance Foundation of Bermuda (NDFB) advisor, but did not know where Bermuda was until she looked it up on a map.

Although she began studying ballet at age three, and had passed her Grade 2 Cecchetti ballet examination, Maggie said she had ?learned a lot? from teachers Stacey Forsyth Mahan and Richard Toda ? improving her ballet technique, and ?learning a whole new dance subject: character?.

Along the way, Maggie ?met a lot of people, and made a lot of friends?, whom she said she will miss ?very, very dearly?.

?I have had a lot of great experiences, and a lot of new memories from this trip,? she said. ?I would definitely like to return again. I loved the beaches and this little, tiny island of Bermuda itself.?

At the moment Maggie is not sure what she wants to do or become, but knows that whatever the future holds she will always dance because she ?just loves? it.

is an eight-year-old Bermudian who attends Saltus Junior School. She told her story so well that we are presenting it in its entirety. She wrote it while the programme was in progress.

?When I was a baby, my babysitter Trina use to play music all day long and dance me on her knee, so my mother always says I started dance lessons when I was six months old, and that I have rhythm in my soul.

?I started real ballet lessons when I was two-and-a-half years old. I take classes in ballet, character, jazz and tap. I just passed the Royal Academy of Dance Grade 2 examination (London, UK) with distinction.

?Last year, I took seven hours of dance lessons a week. I love to dance.

?This is my first time attending a summer dance intensive. I am the youngest in the Young Dancers programme. I was really excited to be accepted in this programme as I am only eight years old, but my ballet teachers thought that I should try out and I made it! I was so excited when I found out I thought I was going to burst!

?I love the National Dance/ABT Young Dancer?s programme. We do ballet, character, jazz, prep pointe and Pilates.

?I was so nervous the first day when my Mom told me that I might have a male teacher, I wasn?t sure that I would like it, but Mr. Richard (Toda) is a really good teacher, and he has taught me a lot of ballet steps that I didn?t know. He is also wild and crazy! He makes dancing so much fun. Miss Stacey is really great. She has taught us more than just how to dance. She has taught us how to wear our hair and do our makeup for performances. She has taught us about posture, about proper eating, and about muscle memory, and bones.

?They even taught us about healthy eating and provided lunch. Building our own sandwiches, having chocolate milk and fresh strawberries was sure a lot better than bringing a lunch box.

?The summer intensive has made me a better dancer. I have tried very hard to learn all the steps. We were also allowed to watch the older dancers to see what they were learning. They are so good, and I hope that someday I will be as good as they are, but I must practise and stay focused.

?I learned something new every day. We all tried our very best. The teachers were very happy that we focused everyday.

?I was so happy that the dance rooms were air-conditioned. It would have been hot and sweaty to have to dance all day without air conditioning. I did not find the days long because I could dance all day! It was three fabulous weeks, and I was so sorry when it was over.

?I made a lot of friends. We had activities everyday outside of class. We went to Mr. Butterfield?s house to watched the glow-worms, we went to Hawkin?s Island, we went on a boat and had pool parties.

?I made friends from Canada, Montana, Alaska and met many new friends from Bermuda. We all have one thing in common: we love to dance.

?I will be so sad when we have finished our final performances on Friday. We have all become such good friends, and I will miss all of my new friends, the teachers, Miss Shari-Lynn (Pringle), and our wonderful chaperones. These three weeks have been the most fun.

?I was able to dance all day long, and I was with others who wanted to dance and learn about dance. They have become my dance family. I hope I won?t cry on Friday when it?s all over, because it is so sad that these three weeks are over so soon. I waited all summer for the programme to start, and I can?t believe that the three weeks are over already.

?I will practice my dance this year every day in order to be good enough to take part in the National Dance/ABT programme next year.

I thank all of the people and companies who sponsored the programme and Mrs. Davis-Johnson, Mrs. Mary Faulkenberry and especially Ms Sherri-Lynn Pringle, for working so hard to have this programme in Bermuda. I sure hope that the ABT comes back to Bermuda next year.

?I will be back in my regular dance classes in September and maybe even a salsa class, but I do have to save some time for my homework. My mother says that I have to limit the time that I spend dancing because I would dance all day.

?Dancing is good exercise and so much fun. I know that I have to work really hard and concentrate in class if I am to be a great dancer. I am not sure yet if I will be a professional dancer as I am also really good at math so maybe I?ll be a dancing math teacher!? a 12-year-old Bermudian, attended last year?s DanceBermuda, but this year participated in the new Young Dancers programme (YD). She found the experience very different ?because it broke down the steps and helped dancers to get their exercises right?.

?In the other programme you had to know the work, know your strengths and weaknesses, and know where your were in your dance career, but the Young Dancers programme helped you find all of those things,? she said.

While her future is ?still a mystery?, Safiya plans to continue dancing, ?either to be a dancer or a hip hop choreographer?.

Perhaps winning a Catherine Zeta-Jones Scholarship to next year?s summer intensive will help to shape her decision, because the ABT instructors described the pre-teen as ?a remarkable student and role model to her peers, with a natural movement quality and musicality?.