Will Dyson and Ella Cox reflect on World Championship of Performing Arts win

Ella, 10, and Will, 12, were named Junior Dance Group World Champions at the World Championship of Performing Arts in Los Angeles earlier this month.

A few weeks after arriving home with their swag of medals from the competition, the pair – whose families live down the street from each other in East Maitland – said they felt “overwhelmed” when they found out they had become world champions.

“We were really nervous and when we won, it was like a breath of fresh air, we were really happy,” Will said.

“Going into the dance we were confident that we would do well – we had practised a lot and we were doing really well in the rehearsals, I was pretty confident.”

Ella agreed that she was also nervous but confident about their performance on the world stage.

“We just wanted to be really good,” she said.

“[Dancing] has always been a part of me – I just love it.”

The young duo is now busy in the studio preparing for their next venture – possibly The Dance Awards in Orlando, Florida. And they are welcoming the challenge.

“That’s a very hard competition,” Will said.

“I’d rather come second or highly commended in a section that was very good than come first in a section that wasn’t great.”

When it came to desire for a challenge, Ella was on the same page as her partner.

“I’d rather have more competition than win all the time,” she said.

“If you win all the time, there’s nothing challenging you – and you need a challenge because then you work harder.”

The pair trains at least four times a week at Premiere Studios, Tuggerah.

Choreographer Tyson Almond worked closely with them in the lead-up to the competition.

The Central Coast studio was represented in the grand final of all four categories at the world championships, with The Premiere Dream Team in the senior dance group division, Jessica Maher in the senior dance solo category and Zali Gunther in the junior dance section.

The event attracted entrants from more than 40 countries.