The Dance Awards NYC was honestly from the bottom of my heart, the most amazing experience I have ever had as a dancer so far. I am so grateful that I was a VIP winner, and was able to compete for Best Dancer. The amount of classes, rehearsals, and auditions that we had throughout the week was intense, but it was all so worth it. Jessie and I had a blast learning the Teen Best Dancer closing show themed "Footloose"! I was also a part of the Senior Best Dancer opening show (also themed Footloose). I auditioned for the tap part, and made it! The staff and choreographers at The Dance Awards were the most amazing people, and really made the experience even more extraordinary!

Going to The Dance Awards really taught me a lot of great things. Do what you want to for yourself, and to live your life doing it because a dancers body doesn't last forever. To always keep going because you never know what opportunities will be thrown at you, and last but not least, to believe that you CAN do anything that you put your mind to, no matter who you are in this world. I would without a doubt love to go back to The Dance Awards again and again, because it really changed my outlook on dance, in the most positive ways.

-Lauren Hummel

The start of the dance year is a very exciting one for me. These are some of the things I love about a fresh new year:

1. Finding new music and come up with new concepts for routines- This is so fun because I love coming up with new, creative ideas for routines. Although the music search can take hours and be frustrating because you are trying to find that perfect song for an idea you have, it is so much fun. When you find the perfect song for a group of dancers it is exciting imagining the what the routine will look like when it is all put together.

2. New costume books- Towards the end of summer the costume catalogs start rolling in and I love looking through them imagining what ones would go with the different ideas for dances that we are planning. They will sometimes even inspire the ideas for routines.

3. New dancewear/ shoes- Starting a new dance year is just like starting the new school year — everyone comes in with new “school supplies”. We need new tap shoes, jazz shoe, ballet shoes, leotards- it is fun to your new dance wear every year!

4. New choreography- It is really fun to plan out the choreography for all of the new routines we are starting. I imagine what the routine will look like come February when we first get on stage and it is exciting to imagine the process and journey the students are about to go on.

5. New inspiration and challenges- It is really exciting to see what the dancers are inspired by and hoping to challenge themselves to achieve this coming year. The growth over the course of the year is truly amazing.

Happy New Dance Year!!!!
~Miss Kristyn