While students in School District 43 are checking in on Tuesday, Sept. 3, to start their new academic year, a Port Moody teen will be travelling to England.
Keenan Mentzos, 15, will be flying to London to settle in for three years as he begins his training with The Royal Ballet, one of the world’s leading companies.
Mentzos won a scholarship to study with the elite teachers and dancers in London after clinching the gold medal in the Junior Men age division at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) 25th anniversary finals in New York in April.
At the international contest, which Mentzos has entered for the past five years, he represented Ballet Bloch (Canada) to perform "Variation" from Le Corsaire. He took first place over Eric Poor of North Carolina and Evita Akita of Japan.
Speaking with the Tri-City News this week following an intensive in North Vancouver, Mentzos said he’s looking forward to the move to the capital city.
Still, being away from home, his parents and three brothers, is nothing new: At 13, Mentzos trained at Elite Classical Coaching in Dallas, Texas, for a year before returning to Port Moody and studying with Ballet Bloch in North Van.
He and his brothers are home-schooled by their mom, a math/science teacher.
“This week, I’m packing and saying goodbye to my friends,” he said. “It’s not so bad. When I was in Dallas, I missed everyone but I made new friends, too.”
Mentzos’ father, Jonathan, who will accompany his second son to England for the trip, said The Royal Ballet training will not only result in exceptional dance learning for his boy, but it will also provide him with a Canadian-equivalent high school diploma, as well as a university bachelor’s degree in fine arts.
And after he graduates, Mentzos hopes to join stay in the United Kingdom by working with The Royal Ballet’s professional company, based at the famed Covent Garden; the English National Ballet; or the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Rise to the Top
Mentzos said he’s been dancing since the age of six when he started recreational hip hop and jazz at the Pulse Dance Centre in Port Coquitlam. At eight, he branched out artistically and competed in a company group at Pulse.
Ballet, however, has been his passion for the past couple of years.
“I think it’s something that makes me feel like myself,” he said. “I know it’s right for me.”
Mentzos, who also studied musical theatre at Xtreme Theatre in Maple Ridge with his siblings, said he especially loves the classical music when he moves.
“Ballet,” he said, “is a way to express myself. It makes me feel who I can be.”
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