Not many 15-year-olds get the chance to go to Spain and turn 16 in Europe, let alone win a gold medal for dance while there, and be the flag bearer for your country.
For Mount Nasura teen Lily Campbell, that was her reality.
After nailing her routine in Adelaide for the nationals, becoming the highest scoring dancer in Australia at the early 2025 competition, Lily was selected to represent the country in Spain for the Dance World Cup where she secured gold in acrobatics (acro).
Lily also placed sixth and 12th in lyrical and contemporary respectively.
Having to use one suitcase for the 80cm handstand bars Lily used in her acro routine after being quoted nearly $2000 to take them as add on luggage, Lily and her mum, Mia Campbell, shared one suitcase for their clothing while in Spain.
Mrs Campbell said they weren’t expecting Lily to achieve such high results, despite her talent.
“Going over there, we were kind of thinking top 10 would be amazing and to be able to get into the top 10 in the world,” she said.
“I think because Lily did gymnastics and did it at a high level, her technique is very clean.
“She’s completed a preprofessional Cert three qualification, but she can’t actually use it until she’s 18, but she finished it when she was 15.
“It’s like a master’s which allows her to go anywhere in the world and teach acrobatic arts.”
Lily has been dancing since she was 10 at Miss Megan French’s Dance Fit Dance Academy where she learnt proper technique and dance practices but also studies full time at Dynamic Performing Arts where she can work towards completing further dance qualifications.
Lily was able to compete in Spain with some familiar faces from her dance school, with the scores being broken down by a partial point.
“Her friend from the same studio competed and she’s a junior and took home two silver medals which was massive,” Mrs Campbell said.
“Then Lily’s turn finally came on day five or six after all the other acro performers.
“I can’t even express how amazing the girls from England and Bulgaria are. They have the most intense training programs over there and their technique was just flawless.
“Then came on this one Australian all by herself and she was so nervous, I could see her shaking at the start, but she just got out there and performed her life out.”
Mia said it was a nerve-wracking process waiting for the scores, who were marked by a panel of 50 judges made up of industry professionals including Abby Lee Miller from the 2000’s show Dance Moms, and Lily’s favourite judge, a backup dancer for pop icon Taylor Swift.
“We had to sit and wait because it was such a big section and then they called the top six out,” Mrs Campbell said.
“We were waiting, and six got called, and then fifth got called, and fourth got called. My friend said ‘oh, maybe she’s got a medal’.
“Then Lily got called out and she took home the gold medal, and they played the national anthem.
“’It was incredible. I could see her trying so hard not to cry because she had to go and dance again.
“It was an unbelievable experience.”
Mia said Lily had to compete in her lyrical section straight after her acro section, leading to a mad rush for the both of them through the streets of Spain.
“Then we had to put Lily’s shoes on and run 10 minutes straight across to another stage and her lyrical section had already started by the time the judging had finished for acro,” she said.
“She had to go straight on stage and perform, and she chose to do an Australian INXS song, and she managed to place sixth in the world.
“Fifteen minutes later she’s tearing up because I don’t think there’s a better moment than hearing the national anthem being played for your child, knowing everything it took from her and all the work and all the sacrifices we all had to make to be able to get her to that moment.
“Watching her achieve her dream was pretty amazing.”
After nearly one week of dance competitions in Spain, Lily had to compete in her final category.
Mia said she was so proud of her daughter’s dance achievements as the Dance World Cup was the second biggest competition, following the Olympics and had more than 50,000 competitors from 75 countries.
“The next day Lily competed in contemporary, and it was really different in Australia,” Mrs Campbell said.
“We do a lot of modern contemporary, which is dark and different, and a lot of the European countries they do ballet, which is more traditional contemporary, so it was a really cool section to watch, and Lily managed to come 12th in that.
“You don’t expect an Olympian to place or get a medal in three different sports.”
Photograph – Richard Polden.
Despite being up against countries who pay their dancers for receiving medals and who
have larger troops – such as the UK who had 3000 athletes competing – Mia said Australian dancers, especially local WA dancers were recognised at the championships which was a
“celebration of dance”.
“We had 12 dancers who went, and Australia finished 21st in the world. We took home seven medals, two golds,” she said.
“I took a loan out that I’ve been paying off for seven years for Lily to get to Spain because I knew I wanted her to have that opportunity.
“Lily went over there with the mindset of wanting to put Australia on the map.”
Lily hopes to compete at next year’s Dance World Cup in Dublin but then wants to focus on a dance career with Cirque du Soleil or on cruise ships.
“When we got back, she also managed to audition for a school she was really keen on in Queensland and she’s been accepted for after year 12 already,” Mrs Campbell said.
“I think things are looking amazing for her as far her dance career.”
