Natalie Mossa noticed something different about Ellie Chang, a 4-year-old girl from Great Neck who had just walked into her dance studio, the moment they met.
Chang’s parents had just taken her out of a nearby studio and weren’t on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, simply an extracurricular activity for their daughter. Mossa, after watching Ellie practice, asked for her parents’ trust in training her by enrolling her in more classes.
That trust has paid dividends over seven years. At the recent International Dance Organization’s World Tap Dancing Championships in Riesa, Germany, Chang won bronze in the solos female children’s division out of 23 participants.
Chang, now an 11-year-old attending Great Neck South Middle School, was one of three children selected from hundreds that auditioned to be entered in the competition, Mossa said.
“Her mom brought her here just for fun,” Mossa, the owner of MOBA Dance Academy in New Hyde Park, said. “Until I realized she wasn’t here just for fun, she’s a very serious dancer.
“When she was 4, I could tell she was not just a baby that’d just take a one-hour class,” Mossa said. Chang was an energetic and passionate student even then, she said.
Now, Chang takes classes several times a week and is sometimes awake as early as 4 a.m. for competitions.
Tap dancing is not Chang’s only interest, however.
“She dances ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, acrobatics, contemporary,” Mossa said. “We just found when she was younger that tap was her strongest style.”
Chang’s energy paired with her multidisciplinary training culminated in her performance. Choreographed by Mossa, Chang spun, swung and tapped furiously to the Royal Crown Revue’s “Hey Pachuco,” an upbeat swing revival track used prominently in the 1994 film “The Mask,” starring Jim Carrey.
“You can really make it your own,” Chang said about performing tap. “You can really experiment with sounds and rhythm to create something your own.”
“She just doesn’t use her feet,” Mossa said. “She uses her whole body.
“She’s a performer as well as a tap dancer. She uses all her styles while she’s dancing; she knows how to get the crowd involved.”
Chang entered the competition last year as well, but failed to place in the top six. She vowed to herself she would break the top six this year and followed through, Mossa said. She has also been successful in many regional and national events, Ellie’s mother, Cheryl Chang, said.
When she isn’t training or competing, Ellie said she likes to “just rest.” She and her family also travel frequently, to places like the Netherlands, Dominican Republic and China. Ellie enjoys the travel, meeting new people and visiting new places. The travel often provides extra recess for Ellie, Mossa said.
“For an 11-year-old she has a lot on her plate,” Mossa said. “But she handles it.”
“And I have to get good grades in school,” Ellie said.
As one of the younger members of the 78 dancers selected from 18 states by the United States Dance Sport Competition Federation for the international competition, Ellie enjoys the experience and friendship that surrounds the events more than the awards and attention, Cheryl Chang said.
“From such a small age I knew that she was something special,” Mossa said. “Her parents liked what I saw in her so they agreed to let me take her to that level where we are now, and I’m very proud of her.”
