Thursday, March 26, 2009




Ali McGuigan is the Principle for Captivated Dance. Born in Victoria, QLD in 1994, she commenced ballet training at the age of 7. Ali has 13 years of dance experience including dance teaching, putting on dance performances and 7 years experience in Christian ministry. At the tender age of 11 Ali put together a dance group of about 17 girls that danced and performed at Hillcrest Christian school and Churches around the Gold Coast. Ali has also had her own dance team that performed at events for Grace Church, the community and Christian functions on the Gold Coast. She received positive feedback for choreography of performances and the quality and entertainment value of the dancers.
Ali has completed Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) attaining the level of Intermediate and has also achieved Highly Commended for her ‘Gold Bar’ jazz exam with the Australian Teachers of Dance (ATOD). Then to further her study in dance she auditioned for Australian Dance Performance Institute (ADPI) and was accepted. She completed a two year Advanced Diploma of Art (Dance), compromising of Hip Hop, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, music, Singing and art.
For the 2002 Australian Gospel Music Festival in Toowoomba, Ali taught and choreographed three dancers. Ali and her team did two jazz performances and one slow modern with seven dancers performing. This three day Festival attracts over 150 local and international artists and over 20,000 visitors. This is the largest Festival of its type in Australia.
During Ali’s study at ADPI the students won first place in Contemporary and second place in the tap at the Brisbane Eisteddfod. At the National Eisteddfod they received first place for the Contemporary and Ballet pieces that were performed. As a result of this success the students got to perform in the Sydney Opera House. Ali also got to perform at the National Dance Theatre in Melbourne for the National Choreography Competition. She then went on and completed the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Advanced One.
At the completion of Ali’s training at ADPI she auditioned for Ballet Magnificat, the only full time Christian Ballet Company in the world and was accepted. The company was located in Jackson Mississippi and she got to travel all over America. Since Ali’s return from America she has performed at the Surf City Church, Hope Church, with the Youth Alive dance team at Expo day and other events. She has taken dance classes at Dani and Anna’s Studio of Dance and Dynamic Dance. Ali now dances with the Messiah dance team at Generation Church, which regularly performs for Church events. In January 2008 Ali was accepted into a Christian Contemporary Company called Excelsia Dance Company, which is located in Brisbane. She is currently still dancing with Excelsia and will be heading to New York in September to present a piece on child trafficking from an Australian perspective. Ali is currently taking ballet and contemporary classes at Ransley Ballet and will be sitting her RAD teachers in the future.

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