Sarah changed to a new dance studio this past year and she absolutely LOVES her new studio! She was absolutely a leader on her team and was featured frequently in her team dances. She grew and learned SO much as a dancer this year!
I've got LOTS of photos because there were professional photographers at each of the competitions and all the photos and videos were free due to the limitations on spectators due to COVID precautions.
Her dances this year on the Preteen Performer team were:
- Lyrical - "Come On Dreamer"
- Tap - "Red Alert"
- Jazz - "Vogue"
Getting all dolled up for dress rehearsal
The "Good Luck" wall where they can all write messages of encouragement for each other.
Sarah with her friend, school classmate, and dance teammate Adalyn, who has been on her team since she was 6 years old and made the switch to the new studio with us.
Sarah with Lauryn and Mikayla, who were on another team at her old studio before too.
We're all so happy at our new studio!
A fun send-off gift from the studio for the start of competition season!
And a team cupcake party on the front sidewalk!
The KAR competition was up first!
Team huddle!
Getting ready for "Vogue".
It is not hard to spot Sarah on this team! She is SO tall!
(2nd from the right, if you couldn't tell)
Ending pose. Great job girls!
My favorite of their dances - "Come On Dreamer"
I LOVE this gorgeous photo of Sarah's arabesque that the photographer caught!
"Red Alert"
Sarah and Adalyn were the last 2 on the stage for the end of their tap dance and had fun doing the ending part together!
The girls took home 2 Judges Choice Awards and all 3 dances earned the highest score category, "Elite Top First".
The Masquerade regional competition was up next...
We got to have 2 spectators for this one, so Daddy got to come too!
The Spotlight Dance Cup was our last regional competition.
Recital time! Appropriately, the theme this year for the recital was "Unstoppable".
Spirit stick time!
Backstage treats with her teammates
Watching the show from backstage, waiting for their turn
What a great group of kids!
After recital, we did a local nationals competition. The studio usually travels every other year for nationals, but decided to do nationals locally this year due to the uncertainties surrounding COVID and travel when decisions were having to be made. We did the Masquerade Nationals in Burnsville and had a blast! This was the first competition they got to dance with their masks off, and it was beautiful to see those smiles on stage again!
Sarah is on the floor on the bottom right of the photo doing a beautiful floor battement
(pronounced "bot-muh"-French is weird)
It was a really fun and successful season at Premiere Dance Academy this year and we were SO pleased with the amazingly supportive environment there! All of Sarah's teachers were so encouraging and praised her frequently for her hard work, dedication, attitude, and skills. She was not a known entity to them this year and she ended up getting to be a leader on her team and one of the dancers consistently showcased! She really wanted to make a higher level team, so we asked for feedback on what she could work on. They thoughtfully consulted all her teachers and came back to us with information about what she is doing really well and what she could improve upon. She took it to heart and worked her butt off to reach her goals! She did countless hours of online video tutorials on strengthening and stretching, did extra classes and a couple of private lessons at the studio, and we also hired Anna, a college dance major home for the summer, to come work with her at home to prepare for her auditions for next year. Sarah and Anna had a blast together and Sarah worked really hard. She rocked her audition and made the Elite team for next year! She is really excited!
She then proceeded to dance the rest of the summer, with a 3 week intensive at Ballet Royale and summer classes at Premiere. We're looking forward to a great year!
Getting ready for part of the end of intensive performance - the Maypole Dance.
We also got to see the American Ballet Theater performance outdoors at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum!
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