With Energetiks and Dance Informa’s exciting annual hunt for our Model Search Winner now underway, we thought it was the perfect time to introduce you to our incredibly talented Model Search Runner Up for 2019, Sydney-born dancer Elle Dimos. Get to know the beautiful Elle below, and don’t forget to enter our Model Search now if you’d like to be the new face of Energetiks, Dance Informa Magazine and VDF 2020! Read on…

‘Born to dance’ is the phrase that springs to mind when Elle Dimos takes to the stage. There’s a reason the rather well-worn saying was thought up in the first place; the need to describe a dancer whose seemingly inherent talent invites the conclusion that the abilities of a lucky few must be predestined. And at just fifteen years old, Elle has the kind of presence on stage that makes her hard to look away from and impossible to forget. Her performances are consistently, exceptionally intense and filled with an electrically potent energy and emotion that tends to leave the audience more breathless than the dancer transfixing them. In Elle’s case though, it’s more a matter of ‘born dancing, and never stopped’. Elle considers her first proper dance class to be at the mind-boggling age of one and a half years old. Whilst some toddlers were still mastering the art of walking, Elle began joining in on her mother Diana’s classes. Dancing does indeed run in the family with Diana, a former dancer and dance teacher, and younger sister Paris already blazing her own trail in the dance scene. If anything was passed along at birth though, it would appear to be an acutely humble outlook, that for Elle, combines with an unassuming, soft-spoken demeanour that is a direct contrast to the fierce persona she inhabits so naturally on stage.

As the years progressed, so too did the accolades and recognition, culminating most recently in the opportunity to perform alongside the likes of Michael Dameski and some of Australia’s most talented artists and rising stars in the Dream Dance Company’s ‘DÉJÀ VU’ at the Australian Dance Festival this September (part of Elle being selected for the Dream Creative 2019). The same stage that, one year prior, Elle had stood on to accept her ‘Rising Star’ award from the ADF Dancing Around the World Solo Competitions, only a few months after being crowned KAR USA National Teen Champion. She’s also earned the honour over the past few years of being hand-picked to assist some incredible choreographers and industry icons including Matt Lee, Matthew Gode, Marko Panzic, Alex Miedzinski, Lauren Elton, Blake John wood, and Gaynor Hicks at various workshops and events.

Whilst a string of awards and prizes are not always a reliable predictor of success in a notoriously tough industry, the fact that Elle continues to excel time and again is a promising indicator of the most crucial ingredient required: hard work, every day. We’re confident that Elle’s future in the industry is just as strong as the force she brings to every performance, so keep an eye out for this talented young dancer. If you haven’t seen her on stage already, you will soon.

We caught up with Elle for a chat earlier this year at the beautiful blue mountains and Sydney’s Cronulla Beach. See below to hear more about this rising star and see her photoshoot with Energetiks.

E: What’s your earliest memory of dance?

Elle Dimos: My earliest memory is probably going to my mum’s student’s dance school and doing a dance class, I was probably two or three! I started dancing when I was one and a half though, and I pretty much just joined into one of mum’s classes, I think ballet was the first class I did.

E: When did you know that dance was something you wanted to pursue professionally?

ED: I think when I was around ten or so was when I really started to enjoy myself with dance, and from then on I knew that I wanted to do it as a career.

E: What styles are you most drawn to?

ED: Definitely jazz and contemporary, because of its athleticism.

E: What for you is the most challenging and most rewarding aspect of dance?

ED: The most challenging part would probably be turnout: working on my turnout and all the muscles it involves! And the most rewarding would definitely be getting to perform on stage, I love it.

E: What part of class do you enjoy the most?

ED: My favourite part of class is getting to do the combos in smaller groups at the end of class, I love performing it. And the other part would be getting to work on my technique in my KTL (kicks, turns and leaps) classes!

What have been some standout moments/achievements you’ve had with dance so far?

ED: That would probably be winning Get the Beat National Champion title in 2017 and 2019, Showcase Dancer of the Year 2015, and Australian Dance Festival’s ‘Rising Star’ 2018, Dance life Unite National Grand Champion 2017, and National Champion Highest Scoring Teen Act KAR USA Anaheim Nationals 2018. Also being in the Dream Creative 2019… such amazing experiences!

Who inspires you?

ED: Choreographers like Brian Friedman and Travis Wall are big inspirations, another inspiration is Michael Dameski, and all of my teachers and choreographers. My friends around me also inspire me every day.

E: Describe your perfect way to spend a day off:

ED: Probably swimming in the pool, being with friends and family, and maybe going shopping!

E: People may not know…

ED: I don’t like anchovies …or raw onion!

E: What do you love most about the dance industry?

ED: What I love most about the dance industry is getting inspired by the generation of dancers before me, and getting the opportunity to see them perform in professional stage shows and musicals.

E: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

ED: Work hard, and always give 100% in every style. It’s so important to be versatile.

E: What’s something you would like to improve this year:

ED: I want to do more hip hop classes.

E: What always makes you laugh?

ED: My sister!

E: Do you have any pre-performance rituals?

ED: Yes, I make sure that I am stretched, run through my solo and am I my quiet space‘

E: You have a very meticulous and thorough stretching routine too, how did you get that so fine tuned?

ED: I’ve definitely developed that along the way, I’ve taken bits and pieces from different classes throughout the year. Last year I had a different warm-up routine though!

E: Dance can be an extremely challenging, as well as mentally and physically demanding profession. What makes the tough moments worthwhile for you?

ED: I just love how you can express yourself through movement. There’s nothing like it. That’s what made me really fall in love with dance.

E: Any final words of advice for other aspiring dancers?

ED: Just work hard, and never give up.

Elle will be heading to Las Vegas USA in July with Get The Beat, and performing in The Dream Dance Company’s Asia show in Singapore this June.

Follow Elle on instagram to watch her dance journey unfold: @elle.dimos

Article and photography by Elly Ford

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