Competition Season

So it is that time of year...MARCH MADNESS.

Not the exact March Madness you may be thinking of but the March Madness that takes place in every dance studio across the state. It is crunch time. Two more months till recitial and competitions among the company kids are flaring up!

This year I had the pleasure of getting to choreograph four numbers to go off to competition.

3 solos 1 duet.

I have really enjoyed getting the chance to teach these kids numbers and watch them perform on stage. They are very dedicated and work very hard to do their best at performing their routines. I very much loooooved picking out their costumes. Though my fashion friend Canaday will tell you, I may not be up on all the trends when it comes to daily wear...I do know how to pick out a sassy costume and bedazzle it up!

My first soloist, Emily, is a sassy middle schooler who knows how to work it when it comes to being on stage. I could not let her down with her routine when she choose the Pussycat Song, "Wait A Minute." The girl plum tickles me when I watch her perform.

She could entertain any type of crowd and that is why the child TOTALLY deserved the overall 1st place she got at the very first competition we went to. I was so proud. If this is what it feels like to be a proud Mom, I am well on the way.

My next soloist is Miss Morgan. Like Emily she is a sassy middle schooler who LOVES jazz dance like her dear teacher Miss Amy. She is dancing to Ally & AJ's "Potiential Break-Up Song." Her debut performance was this past weekend where she killed it on stage.

Morgan is so dedicated to dance she will always try and perfect any move thrown at her.

I was so proud of her first performance and she looked KILLER in her Lady GaGa inspired outfit with her rhinestone fishnets and that slicked back bun she had going on. 4th overall at her first try. Heck no one can complain with that!

As for my last soloist, Chandler, she is a very special high school junior who has been dancing most her life. She is a very unique girl who always goes against the trend and loves to stand out in her special way. I wish I could be half the individualist she is. Unfortunately Chandler went through what all dancers HATE...the dreaded injury. She had a bad knee injury that led to some inflamation and prevented her from performing her "Cosmic Love" solo. Chandler's song is such a mix of lyrical and jazz flare it works PERFECT for her considering she loves to break the trend. I cannot wait for her to perform it this next weekend in Raleigh!

Finally, my two high schoolers Paige and Chandler or as I like to call them Paigey & Chan Chan (haha). They took on the task of learning one of my highly emotional lyrical pieces. Christina Agularia's "You Lost Me," started out as a combo this past summer for a lyrical class I was subbing for. The owner of the studio loved is so much it became Paige and Chandler's lyrical duet to compete with. I found this very interesting considering I know I would have spent SO much more time coming up with a concept and material HAD I KNOWN this little combo would develop into a routine! Instead I just went with heart and feeling to make movement to this amazing song. Chandler and Paige do me MORE than proud when they perform. Standing off in the wing last competition in tears I have never been so proud to have any of my work performed they way they did with such emotion and dedication. Seeing both of them tear up the first competition while performing really showed me that I was doing more as teacher than just teaching them dance, I was showing them what dance emotionally was all about and I didn't have the chance to experience till college. I love working with these girls because they are almost old enough to understand the meaning behind things and the dedication it takes to be a good dancer. If you are in Raleigh next weekend YOU MUST come see them perform. They are something else.

So far this year I loved teaching the team and watching them perform on stage. I hope I get many more opportunities to choreograph for them! If anyone is interested in coming the first weekend in April to watch the girls perform PLEASE let me know. They will be in Raleigh at the Memorial Auditorium!!