Strictly Talented... Ballroom dancing star shows all the right moves scooping national and international championships

Fifteen-year-old Auguste Kalenkevicius from Navan swept the boards at the recent All-Ireland Ballroom Dancing Championships winning no less than six All-Ireland titles.

Auguste won first place in the youth, under-21 and adult competitions in both ballroom and Latin with dance partner Mykyta Arsentiev in the All-Ireland Championships held recently in Kildare.

Auguste, who is a fifth year student at St Joseph's Mercy Secondary School, Navan, first took up dancing when she was seven and fell in love with it.

"I used to watch ‘Dance Moms’ where they did all forms of dance but not ballroom. The only classes we could find locally were ballroom and Latin and I tried it and fell in love with it," explained Auguste.

She started dancing with Lia Mullins in Navan, but the class then moved to Dublin and Auguste now dances with the Viva School of Dance, which is based near Fairview in Dublin.

Training five to six times a week in Dublin, it is a big commitment but one Auguste is willing to make for her passion.

She first started entering competitions when she was eight and won her first All-Ireland title at the age of nine. She has travelled abroad also for competitions and first danced in Blackpool when she was 14, winning the Under-16 Open World Ballroom Championship.

She has danced in Slovenia, Italy and also Lithuania where her proud parents Vilma and Giedrius are from.

Auguste was delighted to win the six titles and hopes to be a professional dancer when she finishes school. Her dream is to be a dancer on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ or ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

"We are very proud and delighted for her. She works really hard training and has a passion for it," said proud mum Vilma.