By ALANA MITCHELSON
A PAKENHAM woman is among 40 calisthenics performers selected to showcase the artform in Disneyland.
Allanah Juricic advanced through a competitive selection process for the elite team that is currently performing in the United States.
Amidst the 4 July Independence Day celebrations, the Australian calisthenics team hopes to bring the predominantly Australian sport to America.
“We’re hoping we’ll get some interest for calisthenics in the States,“ Ms Juricic told the Gazette prior to embarking for the trip.
“There are aspects of gymnastics in calisthenics and cheerleading is really big over there.
“But this will be something different that they’ve never seen before.“
The 25-year-old began calisthenics at age three and performed in the state team as a child back in 2000.
She described the sport as involving numerous aspects of dance, incorporating figure marching, the swinging of clubs and rods, and song and dance components.
Typically calisthenics is performed in age groups, but the elite team presented Ms Juricic with the opportunity to perform alongside girls ranging in age between 11 and 25.
Elite training has involved five-hour classes each Sunday since February in addition to her weekly standard classes up to four hours in length and fitness training.
The elite calisthenics team performed in Disneyland on 4 July and was expecting a crowd of about 60,000.
The group will also perform at Universal Studios and undertake a masterclass workshop at Abby Lee Dance Studio.
“I’ve always enjoyed how fun it is on stage performing with a group of girls and bringing something to life,“ Ms Juricic said.
“I’ve grown up with a lot of the girls and we’ve spent the last 20 or so years performing together.
“It will be a very exciting experience.“
