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35 | Friday, August 5, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Leah Terry, 17, a student of Oakville School of Classical Ballet and recent St. Thomas Aquinas High School graduate, has received the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Solo Seal Award. The accolade comes with a $1,000 scholarship from RAD sponsors The Grand Hotel and Suites in Toronto. Leah used the funds towards a ballet summer intensive program in Vancouver she took part in last month. | photos by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver Oakville's Leah Terry earns international Solo Seal Award Royal Academy of Dance accolade given to select few students by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff A 17-year-old Oakville ballet dancer has received an international award -- one of the highest calibre in the field. Leah Terry, a student of the Oakville School of Classical Ballet, was awarded the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Solo Seal Award. It's an honour given to a select few students. "I was absolutely thrilled when I received the award and it was such an honour to have had the opportunity to be a candidate and to dance for the esteemed judges. I made sure to do my very best, while enjoying the experience," said the recent St. Thomas Aquinas High School graduate. "I wasn't expecting it, but I hoped for it because of all the hard work and training I put I was absolutely thrilled when I received the (Solo Seal) award and it was such an honour to have had the opportunity to be a candidate and to dance for the esteemed judges. I made sure to do my very best, while enjoying the experience.... I wasn't expecting it, but I hoped for it because of all the hard work and training I put into it (the performance). Oakville ballet dancer Leah Terry into it (the performance)." The Solo Seal is the highest vocational graded examination at RAD, focusing on solo performance. As a pre-requisite, dancers are required to achieve a "distinction" in the RAD Advanced 2 examination. This was not only the first time Leah has won an award of this nature, but the first time she had trained so extensively in application of one, she said, noting it made the accolade all the more thrilling and inspiring for her. "To have received this award, it means the world to me," she said. "It's so flattering and it makes me feel so proud to be able to say that I have this achievement under my belt." Amanda Paterson, artistic director for Oakville Ballet, said she and the Oakville School of Classical Ballet couldn't be happier for Leah. "We are all very proud of Leah for achieving the Solo Seal. She is such a dedicated and passionate young dancer, (she) deserved being awarded such an accolade," Paterson said. Leah, who has been dancing at the Oakville School of Classical Ballet since she was three years old, was also awarded a $1,000 scholarship from RAD sponsors The Grand Hotel and Suites in Toronto, in addition to the Solo Seal. The funds were immediately used, according to Leah, as the teen ventured to Vancouver last month to take part in a ballet summer intensive program. Leah admitted she felt nervous before heading out, but hoped the program would make her a more well-rounded dancer. "I want to be able to say I have increased We are all very proud of Leah for achieving the Solo Seal. She is such a dedicated and passionate young dancer, (she) deserved being awarded such an accolade. Oakville Ballet artistic director Amanda Paterson my knowledge and understanding of ballet techniques and grown as a performer," she said. While the program focuses on ballet, it also offers classes in musical theatre, contemporary dance and fitness. The Oakville resident explained what she enjoys the most about dancing ballet is how it can become a form of expression unlike anything else. "... Being able to express myself in a form that is not through words, but through movement," Leah noted. "I love how you have to alter the way that you express and speak to the audience depending on the style, time period, and story of the ballet." For more arts news, visit insidehalton.com/oakville-on. `Like' the Oakville Beaver on Facebook.