Thomas the budding ballerino from Kommetjie is on the cusp of the opportunity of a lifetime after having shot the lights out at an audition that earned him a bursary to a New York ballet school!
Kommetjie, South Africa (30 November 2023) — From the age of 9 years old, little local ballerino Thomas La Grange from Kommetjie has committed to his dancing dreams.
In a few short years, the now 12-year-old’s hard work has afforded him the chance to share the spotlight on career-making stages, including Cape Town’s Artscape, where he won the role of Michael in Peter Pan & Tinkerbell. The young ballerino also graced stages alongside talents of the world like Vadim Muntagirov and Fumi Kaneko—all before his 12th birthday. Impressed? So was the Junior City of Cape Town Ballet, which Thomas now dances for.
But, Thomas’s story is unique for reasons beyond achievements, but a determined willingness to adapt and dazzle. For the blossoming ballerino who started his dancing path during lockdown, he opted to follow his dreams from a screen, learning and honing his talents via Zoom calls.
All of these attributes have led to a massive moment for Thomas—a 45% bursary to join New York’s AAB Summer School for Ballet after a shining audition earlier this month.
It’s the cusp of a come-up story that could set Thomas on the path to the greatest stages, and the chance to wholly immerse himself in a world of dancers from every corner of it.
Especially after having had to deal with bullies who could’ve deterred a dream like this, this golden ticket is premised as an opportunity of any lifetime for the boy wonder who has made his family, school and fellow dancers beam with pride.
His mom, Collette has since started a crowdfunding campaign for her tiny dancer’s excess fees which can be found here.
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