Monday's Justin Bieber concert and So You Think You Can Dance feature Calgary girl, 12
Tricia Lo | CBC News | Posted: June 14, 2016 12:19 AM | Last Updated: June 14, 2016
Tate McRae has also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and a Walk Off The Earth music video
Calgary's 12-year-old Tate McRae is off to a fantastic start to the week.
Not only will she share the stage with Justin Bieber as he performs at the Saddledome, but she'll also appear on national TV in Monday's episode of So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.
McRae was cast in Bieber's Purpose Tour after learning the choreography online and submitting her audition video.
"I'm a big fan. He's one of my favourite artists," McRae told CBC's The Homestretch.
Her live audition in front of Paula Abdul and Nigel Lythgoe for the hit Fox reality TV show was a little more stressful, she admitted.
McRae, a long-time fan of the show who grew up dancing in front of her TV along with each episode, hopped on a plane to audition in New York at the end of February.
"As soon as The Next Generation came out, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, Mom. I have to do this!'" she recalled.
"The fact that it was on national television made it a lot more nerve-racking, but as soon as I got on stage and started dancing, I just felt like I was living in the moment and doing what I love."
Accomplished dancer
McRae isn't even a teen yet, but you couldn't tell it by her resume.
Over the past six years she's been dancing, she's appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, danced in Canadian band Walk Off The Earth's music video Rule the World, and has claimed multiple prestigious dance titles.
In 2013, McRae won her first National Title as Mini Best Dancer at the Dance Awards in NYC, an elite dance competition featuring regional winners from across North America from the NUVO, 24/7 and Jump dance conventions.
In addition to attending school, McRae dances an average of 30 hours a week and spends her weekends travelling to compete, work and learn from master dance teachers.
Between 2013 and 2015, she also voiced multiple characters on the Nickelodeon series Lalaloopsy.
"It's hard to fit it in, but we do it. My mom helps me and supports me, and my family does. It's hard, but it's what I love to do."
With files from The Homestretch