Kenzie Galea loves dancing. After a week of juggling school and dance classes, every weekend the 13-year-old happily packs her bags to attend her Saturday dance lesson - 2,000 km away.

“It can be quite hectic. But I don’t mind. I love dance. I love interacting with the audience and showing them my love for dance. Being on stage with all the lights and people who love dancing with you is amazing,” she smiles.

Kenzie stands gracefully in a pale pink leotard. As she glides across the studio, her eyes transform – like a girl in love. What is she thinking about? 

“I don’t think about the steps when I dance. I think that this is the only time I have to dance, so I enjoy it while I can and make memories,” she says.

Her mother Tracy Wisdom Galea, recalls how, when she first met Kenzie at the Ethiopian orphanage, she knew she would be a dancer. At just nine months old, Kenzie was already moving to music.

“When we went to Ethiopia to pick up the children, Kenzie was sick, so my husband and I spent some time there till she recovered. Even when she was lying on the bed her leg was moving all the time. And I said to my husband: She’s going to be a dancer this little girl,” her mother recalls.

“So, when Kenzie came along, I knew she loved dancing. When she was in the highchair her foot was always moving to music. She used to be in the playpen and just dance. I can see her now.”

The couple adopted two children – Kenzie and Reece who was then three years old and is now 13. Some years later they adopted Teyarnie, who is now 10.

“We’ve always been very open about adoption. Once, we were telling Kenzie the story. She was about three-and-a-half, and she said: Mummy, I love to dance and one day I want to go back to Ethiopia to show the sisters my dancing. Then she said something strange: And I’d like to see Mamma Mia.”

Kenzie with her mother Tracy Wisdom Galea

A dancing queen is born

So some time later Tracy and her mother, who lives in the UK, surprised Kenzie and took her to see Mamma Mia in London. “As the show started there was a big blue scene. Then suddenly Dancing Queen came. She jumped up: ‘This is Mamma Mia’,” Tracy recalls.

Kenzie remembers that day as a turning point – the moment when she knew she wanted to be on stage.

“Then, when she was about three or four years old, we took her to dance school. When we took her to ballet she just took off,” her mother says.

As she grew older Kenzie, who just completed her second year of secondary school at the national school of Visual and Performing Arts, expanded her dance repertoire to include jazz, flamenco and escual bolera which is a combination of ballet and flamenco, with Deborah McNamara School of Dance’s Estudio de Danza where she trains for about 3.5 hours a day.

Ms McNamara says: “Kenzie is a pleasure to teach. She’s so receptive, she’s like a sponge. She has beautiful dance quality which is inherent. When she’s on stage your eyes are just drawn to her, she has such good projection. It comes from the heart, very special indeed.”

Kenzie was recently awarded her third scholarship for Spanish dance and headed to Jerez, the heart of flamenco in Spain, this month.

Just a few months ago she was also selected from among hundreds and was one of eight girls to take part in The Nut Cracker, with the Birmingham Royal Ballet at The Royal Albert Hall in London.

“The first time I went on stage at The Royal Albert Hall I thought: ‘Oh my God, this is big.’ And when the people applauded – it was loud,” Kenzie grins.

When dreams take flight

This is the second year she’s been accepted to attend the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham – where she currently attends classes every Saturday.

Every week, Kenzie and her mother travel 2,000km to Birmingham from Malta on Friday evening to attend the class and return on Sunday. This is costing the family some €390 in flights and accommodation every weekend, apart from tuition fees. They are now seeking to reach out for funding. 

Kenzie’s schedule is packed. But the teenager wouldn’t have it any other way.

When she’s not training at the dance studio, she’s at home… dancing.

“At home she dances all the time with her sister. They do make me laugh. I’ll be doing something and, all of a sudden, my chairs get moved out and the living room becomes a dance studio and they just put the music on and do shows for our dogs,” says her mother, who was reunited with her passion for dance through Kenzie.

“I used to dance ballet, jazz and modern when I was young. Kenzie brought dance back into my life. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have picked it up again,” she says adding that she is in awe of her daughter’s passion and commitment.

Kenzie adds: “The dance studio is my second home. There are times when I think: I can’t do this. But I always try to continue. I see the fierce competition as an opportunity to keep up and become better. Then I can say: I have tried my best. I really want to be a dancer,” she says.