Herzlia prodigy wins world ballet title at 15

At just 15 years old, Herzlia student Leah Grace Roytowski this week achieved a dream many dancers only fantasise about, becoming world champion at the International Dance Open Ballet Championships in Belgium. 

Dancing since the age of three, Roytowski has dedicated her entire life to ballet. This year, she performed at the South African Body of Dance (SABOD) Regional competitions in June, where she got her Western Province Colours and then at the SABOD Nationals competition where she got her Protea Colours for Dance in August. She and her duet partner, Zara Yazbek, were invited to the International Dance Organisation Jazz and Ballet competition in De Panne, Belgium, from 28 to 29 November. 

“It was surreal. I’ve never been to a different country to compete against other countries before, which was an amazing experience overall. It was great to get Western Province Colours and then get South African Protea Colours. I feel so proud of myself,” Roytowski said. 

Roytowski performed two dances at the competition in De Panne, a repertoire which is a solo piece, and a duet with Yazbek. Her repertoire placed fourth in the junior division, while her duet won in her division, and the two girls were named world champions. 

“One of the stages was in a massive theatre with a huge audience and about 10 judges, so it was nerve-wracking,” said Roytowski, “but on the big stage, I performed with my ballet duet partner, so we kind of just calmed each other’s nerves and said, you know, we’re just gonna enjoy it, and it was amazing seeing everybody in the audience clapping and my mom shouting in the audience with the flag.” 

After completing their duet, the two girls were waiting in anticipation of their scores, and the numbers just kept going up. When it came to announcing the top three, the girls were filled with excitement. 

“My duet partner and I were holding each other’s hands so tightly. We couldn’t believe we even made it to the top three,” said Roytowski, “And when they announced the second-place winner, which wasn’t us, we just got up, screamed, and hugged each other. We couldn’t believe that it was all worth it. We worked so hard, and we’ve been dancing together since we were about six years old, and to get this far, it was unbelievable.” 

Roytowski described her first international competition as the experience of a lifetime. 

“The vibe was incredible. We had a huge country ceremony and South Africa was front and centre,” she said. “Everyone was kind and supportive, people even came up to Zara and me to say, ‘Wow, you’re amazing!’ Even though it’s a competition, no-one tried to bring you down; everyone made you feel included and uplifted.” 

Roytowski said maintaining a balance between ballet and school was often difficult, leaving little time for herself as she spends her days in school and her evenings at ballet, often until 20:00. 

But, no matter how difficult it is, Roytowski’s passion for ballet keeps her going as it’s a way for her to express herself, and she loves being on stage. 

“My favourite part is getting on stage and performing, showing all the hard work you’ve put in and making people feel something in their chest and stomach. Ballet has been an art for decades, and being able to carry on that gift is truly amazing,” she said. 

“Ballet is my way of expressing myself, and being a character in a ballet is almost like turning into somebody else. It’s just a way of expressing your feelings. Not only in ballet, in contemporary and modern dance, you can express so much feeling. To me, it’s about showing emotion, and showing the audience how passionate you are about it.”