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Hollywood Vibe Archives - Sparkles Lund

Jul 13 2020
2
sparkles lund DOTY

ALEXANDRA LUND WINS NATIONAL DANCER OF THE YEAR FOR THE THIRD TIME

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COVID-19 impact forced competition online with more than 150 entrants in scores of States around the county          

July 13, 2020 – Arroyo Grande, CA – Last weekend, 17-year-old dancer, actress, and model Alexandra “Sparkles” Lund of Arroyo Grande, California, was selected by Hollywood Vibe as their 2020-2021 National Dancer of the Year. Alexandra, whose professional dance nickname is “Sparkles,” previously earned two national championships in 2012 at age 9, and again in 2015 at age 12.

After the impact of COVID-19 closed in-person classes, the California native from the Central Coast was able to train virtually via leveraging Zoom classes online.

“Virtual classes are definitely inferior to the experience of a live studio class where you can dance collectively and be inspired by other dancers,” says Lund. “But my time teaching and taking classes on Zoom during the pandemic with my experience working in front of the camera for television and Sparkles Lund on YouTube channel definitely came in handy! No one ever envisioned a National competition online, but so many dancers had worked so hard over the year, and Hollywood Vibe made it happen online – I’m so glad they did!”

In addition to her national dance competitions awards, Sparkles has a long history of dance.  She started her career as a dancer in the “Just Dance Kids” video game and has had guest appearances on Disney’s “Bazaardvark,”” NBC’s “The Voice,” ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and “Fresh Off the Boat,” earning her admission into the Screen Actors Guild. Lund’s work also includes work on commercials, theatre, and music videos, highlighted by dancing with Justin Bieber on his Purpose Tour.

“This has been a year of highs and lows,” says Alexandra Lund. “Along with other Seniors across America, I missed out on so many events that define the senior year of high school like prom and graduation. Being quarantined at home is hard for everyone, but I focused my time and energy into my dance by training in my garage that my dad converted into a dance studio.  And it all paid off.”

In addition to practicing her dance, Lund also stayed busy by managing social media channels for the Choreographers Alliance and The Camp Intensive. At the same time, she continued to work as a brand ambassador for the international dance wear company Capezio.

Training in Pismo Beach at Dellos Performing Arts Center under the direction of Johnna Clark, Lund graduated this spring from Arroyo Grande High School as an Honors Student. She plans to attend Syracuse University’s SI Newhouse School of Public Communications. The Syracuse University Lady Orange Dancers Division 1 dance team selected Lund as one of only two first-year students who will dance for the University this fall.

Video Announcing her selection – 

 

DOTY Solo – 

 

Jun 17 2017
2

Summer Has Started With a Roar

By | Dance, Stuff I Like, Travel | No Comments

The last day of school was Friday, June 9th. We celebrated the graduation of seniors from A.G. High School that I have danced with my whole life. It is astonishing to see them move on to the next chapter of their lives. As for me, it was a 6 a.m. departure to Los Angeles for a……long…..one day music video shoot for Dylan Diamond. We were on location for most of the day on location of “Pimp My Ride,” at West Coast Customs – will share when the video comes out. It was great to work with so many immaBEAST dancers. Our small group was Jordyn Jones, Natalie Bebko , Phoenix, and Jason Hancock. It was fun to meet celebrity YouTuber Logan Paul.

After driving home on Sunday, I returned to LA again on Monday for immaBEAST company class with Cat Cogliandro. It was transformative. I cried a lot. THANK YOU! After a busy school year, I needed that therapeutic release. I was so stoked by her combination of movement and message that I took her class again at Millennium on Wednesday – ahhhhhh – so good.

I am falling in love with Ventura Boulevard – the amazing restaurants and my favorite shops. Last night after immaBEAST class I was able to reconnect with my good friend Kennadi Boese and her mom for dinner at Granville. The angel hair pasta with chicken is soooooo good. It really hit the spot. Of course, YogurtLand near Laurel Canyon is the best way to finish a long day. I absolutely love where I live and all of my friends in AG, but it is especially wonderful to have more friends and my special places in Los Angeles.

For the first time, I will be presenting my original choreography at Hollywood Vibe Nationals competing for Teen Dancer of the Year. It’s the next step on my journey as a dancer to gain skills and confidence creating choreography and collaborating with so many amazing people who influence me. Through the process of finding your own style, you realize that you are a product of the great dancers and teachers that you work with. Dance is truly a craft that is passed from generation to generation. Thank you to all of my mentors, especially Brooke Lipton, Heidi Asefvaziri, and Janelle Ginestra. You are all goddesses and you shine a light on my path.

Sorry School of Rock. I would have been great to work with you today. Wish it would have worked out. Many thanks to MSA for the effort. But when one door closes, another opens –

Hat By Burton on MelroseThis month is Pride month in Los Angeles. Instagram worked with luxury designer Paul Smith to convert their famous pink wall into a rainbow to celebrate Pride. It made a perfect backdrop for my monthly Capezio photo shoot, and I found the most fantastic hat at the Burton store.

I will be on location at DancerPalooza this summer as a spokesperson for Capezio. I will be webcasting live interviews with the world’s greatest dancers – can’t wait! Be sure to follow Capezio’s channels on Instagram and Facebook if you want to see what that is all about. I will be around their booth whenever possible.

Nov 13 2015
1

How to Assist at a Dance Convention

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I am in an airport heading to the first Hollywood Vibe in St. Louis. I am so excited to see everyone again and begin the tour as Dancer of the Year. My dad and I had a conversation in the United Club lounge in San Francisco about the differences between this year and the last time I won dancer of the year. It inspired me to write this post because there is no manual for assisting or the other things that you do as a company member or DOTY for a convention. In some small way, you may want to use this as a guide.

Icon of the yearFirst of all, when I won Icon of the Year for Hollywood Connection, I was not really going for it. It was my second year on the competition team and my first year doing solos. My solo, Whatcha Want placed first place in San Jose that year and I won regional Icon of the Year runner up. I really had no expectation to win Dancer of the Year. I just went to Nationals and worked my but off and did the best job I could. I nearly peed my pants at the awards banquet when they called my name. It was a total shock. I was 9 years old at the time, and I toured with Hollywood Connection the next year and assisted in the junior room on stage in about 5 or 6 cities

That same year, I won regional Dancer of the Year for Hollywood Vibe and was invited to join Team Hollywood Vibe. Team Hollywood vibe members assist teachers. It also qualified me for Dancer of the Year. Last year at Nationals, after touring 4 or 5 cities with team Hollywood Vibe, I was fortunate enough to be selected as Dancer of the Year. This was totally different than Hollywood Connection. I wanted it. I knew that I would need to work really hard at home and at convention to elevate my skills to be a contender. It was my goal. Competition was fierce and I fought my emotions and doubt with courage and dedication. In truth, becoming a finalist would have been good enough. I don’t really know how they pick a winner when it is down to a few dancers. I can tell you that the other girls definitely were as good if not better than me in so many ways. It was a toss-up and I am grateful that I got it.

Convention as Dancer of the Year is a totally different experience. I do not compete, but I run my solo in each city. I will also be in the team Hollywood Vibe company dances. All of the company members are sent a video of the dance a week in advance and we learn it on our own. This is a really important skill to pick up. As a professional dancer, I am often sent video footage of a dance to learn in advance of rehearsal. We need to have the skills to learn a dance so that rehearsal is more about cleaning than teaching.

My dad asked me about the pressure I feel as DOTY. He wanted to know if it is harder to dance on stage in front of everyone versus being on the floor learning. The answer is “it depends on the choreographer,” and “it depends on what you are doing.” When you are learning the 8 counts, it is important that you focus on the movement and the timing so the dancers on the floor have a clear understanding of the choreography, especially if the choreographer doesn’t dance it. You need to rely on your body for technique. I try to go more full out when the dance is being taught, and less full out when running groups. Here is the idea. When the dance is being taught, they should be looking at the teacher and assistant on stage going full out. That is how you learn. But when running groups, the class should be going full out and we are there to give them the queues when they need it. I go at about 70 or 80 percent during groups and focus on accenting the details of the dance.

If you are assisting for the first time, feel free to DM me on Instagram with questions. I wish I would had a guide my first time. I was scared and uncertain and it would have helped to learn from someone that has been there before.

Sep 30 2015
1

Summer 4 – Dancer Palooza and BuildaBEAST Experience

By | Convention, Dance, Friends | 2 Comments

If you missed the first posts in this series, go back to the beginning.

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

Summer 2-  Hollywood Vibe DOTY and Team Larkles

Summer 3 – Leaving Las Vegas

Dancer PaloozaThe next week, we moved from Burbank down to Long Beach for Dancer Palooza. That is a weeklong intensive that, in my opinion, has the best collection of contemporary teachers you can find anywhere. I took classes from Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Sonya Tayeh, Teddy Forance, Stacey Tookey, Travis Wall, Dee Caspary, Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Andrew Winghart, and others. http://www.dancerpalooza.com/thecollective

Girls – dance aside – if you have not been to the expo at Dancer Palooza, you have not lived. It is the most number of booths that I have ever seen – its huge!

I did a haul vide with my loot! Check it out

Our #immaBEAST team also was invited to dance in the Showcase. We were rehearsing during Mini Muse and during Dancer Palooza, so after taking classes every day for two weeks, I also had rehearsals at night. I have never been in better shape in my life – 12 pack abs!

Liz_ImperioLiz Imperio and her new Fiancé came to the showcase. I love her and the support she gives me as a dancer, a friend and a coach. If you do not know Liz, try your best to meet her. She has a program called Breaking Barriers (http://breakingbarriers.dance/) that has been super helpful at helping me set my goals in life and as a professional dancer. Her coaching, advice, and heartfelt support she gives to dancers makes her a very special person. I can’t wait to get on tour with Hollywood Vibe where she is the creative director. #secondMom

Just to keep the flow going, the next week was the #BuildaBEAST Experience. What a switch from a week of contemporary to a week of hip hop. As an #immaBEAST and #lilBEAST, we were able to help work the event and dance. The entire week was filled with the best hip hop training I have ever had. I was surrounded by the best dancers from all over the world (like 22 countries or something insane like that) and across America. #immaBEAST is so much more than a crew. It’s a dance family like no other. The BuildaBEAST experience finished up with the auditions for #immaBEAST. The competition was so fierce and everyone worked so hard. I have no idea how Willdabeast narrowed down the hundreds of auditions to the team we have now (about 70 strong). The good news is that I was able to dance hard enough keep my spot on the team. I learned that there are no free rides in life. Just because I danced on the team last year was no indicator that I would be on the team this year.

Here is my Solo from the event – it was epic

PS – AirBoard was a sponsor at BuildaBEAST and I got one! Hurray. Super fun #christmaslist for you.

If you are keeping track of the weeks, by this point I have not been home at all since school let out in June, amounting to six straight weeks of being on the road! I should pause here and thank my parents for making this all possible for me. With two weeks left before school started, I stopped dancing 12 hours a day and was limited to #sparkkids rehearsals, auditons, #LASparks games, and rehearsals for the #immaBeAST season three video. We still were driving back and forth to LA multiple times each week and staying a few nights in LA each week, but I did actually get to sleep a few nights in my own bed and see my friends at home.

BuildaBEAST Season 3 Video

If you missed the first posts in this series, go back to the beginning.

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Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

Summer 2-  Hollywood Vibe DOTY and Team Larkles

Summer 3 – Leaving Las Vegas

Next up is the Summer Series Finale – Summer Ends, School Begins, and Big Announcement

Sep 25 2015
1

Summer 2- Hollywood Vibe DOTY and Team Larkles

By | Competition, Convention, Dance | One Comment

If you missed the first posts in this series, go back to the beginning.

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

If you read my blog regularly, I won Regional Dancer of the Year for Hollywood Vibe. It is a huge honor to be selected by the Hollywood Vibe faculty as the top dancer of the weekend, but moreover it qualified me to compete for the National Dancer of the Year during Hollywood Vibe’s Nationals Competition.

Hollywood Vibe held their week-long Nationals in LA and the talent and competition was fierce. It was not really a drama, but emotions ran high. I loved dancing with so many friends from around the Nation, like one of my besties, Leah Roga from Phoenix.  Just for fun, our parents had #teamlarkles#TeamLarkles shirts made for us since we plan to spend many weeks together, and #TeamLarkles was born!  I tried to work as hard as I could so that I could dance well and show the teachers at the convention that I was deserving of the title National Dancer of the Year. I woke up my mom at 5:30 each morning to help me get ready so I could be there way before our call time 7:00 am. Liz Imperio, creative director of Hollywood Vibe taught me a lesson that I try to live by. She said that if your call time is 7:00 then 6:45 is “on time”.  If you want to be early you need to be there at 6:30 am.  I do my best to follow this rule whenever I am headed to a rehearsal or audition.

At the end of the week, they called up the top 5 dancers to the stage.  Then they announced the top 2 dancers in my Intermediate category to do a dance off. I made the top 2 list and it was very nerve racking, but exciting at the same time.  The next morning the two of us got to dance for all of the judges at the event and a large audience.  They didn’t tell us who won the award until the awards show that evening.

At the end of the night, I was the last dancer standing and was awarded the Hollywood Vibe National Dancer of the Year! There were so many dancers deserving of the title that it was a shock to win!

This year I am planning to go to as many Hollywood Vibe conventions as possible. It is a great honor to represent them. #TeamLarkles almost doubled up. Leah Roga was a finalist in Teens and won top solo overall. Her competition was REALLY competitive.  The Teen Dancer of the Year went to one of my immaBEAST teammates – Trinity Inay. She is a super sweet girl and a great dancer.  We got to know each other earlier this year when we  worked together on Dancing With The Stars (see video https://youtu.be/xQkAPpxDQB0?list=PLYVO53t5xTKUnxykgAK8wq_Qz88ujzrH6

).

Hollywood Vibe is my second National Championship as a dancer. The first came three years ago at Hollywood Connection; they call their national prize ICON of the Year. Here’s a little known fact for you.  Hailee Paine, one of the top 4 finalists on So You Think You Can Dance also won the Senior title of Icon of the Year at the same competition.  I absolutely love her!  She’s an amazing dancer and one of the nicest people in the world!  I was sad that she did not win SYTYCD, but getting to the final two for Team Stage is a huge accomplishment. She really shined as a versatile dancer, often outperforming many of the Team Street dancers in Hip Hop pieces. Amazing, right?  I’m so excited to see where her career is going to go from here!

Pulse Las VegasAfter Hollywood Vibe the #TeamLarkles tour continued at The Pulse on Tour in Las Vegas. We literally left the awards at HV Nationals and drove ALL through the night to get to Vegas. The Stutts family followed with us (shout out to Hannah and Pate). We did not get to perform in the showcase because we missed Friday, but the rest of the weekend was amazing – lots of friends and great training. A bunch of my friends including Leah became Pulse Protégé, which is a huge honor, but not me. Maybe I will win next time. You just never know. I really appreciate winning scholarships that have allowed us to continue going to Pulse in the future. The faculty, staff, and dancers go full out. It is a great place to learn and train. I am always exhausted when I leave. FYI, Bally’s Las Vegas is a dumpy hotel ☹

Be sure to check out the first post in this series

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

Subscribe to see the next post –  Summer 3 – Leaving Las Vegas

Sep 23 2015
4

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

By | Dance, Friends, Travel | 6 Comments

I am really sorry for not blogging in so long. My website was pretty messed up and I had a crazy summer. Now things are back to normal (well sort of) and I am back in school like most 12-year-old kids. The rest of my schedule is anything but normal, but it’s good to be home. Here is a recap of the summer. This will be series of posts that I’ll publish every couple of days as time permits, so hang in there and subscribe to get notified when Summer 2 is released – titled Hollywood Vibe Nationals, Drama and Team Larkles.

In the middle of June, I went with my school drama group to NYC. This was the beginning of a travel schedule that took me away all summer. We had an amazing experience. I have been to New York City once a year with my parents, so I know my way around Midtown and Times Square and have done all of the tourist-y stuff. I can tell you that it is way more fun to travel with your friends. (Sorry Mom and Dad!) We had a blast. I am releasing a video in the next few weeks that shows what we did. I lost the footage but just found it. Be sure and subscribe, or watch my YouTube channel. My favorite part of the trip was attending Broadway shows. At sometime in my life I hope to dance on Broadway (Hint Hint Chelsea Blake from MSA and Nelson Diaz from BTB Management). I also loved visiting the set of Saturday Night Live. I love comedy television and it would be amazing to be on that show! #goals. I guess the point of the trip was to dream big, and I am on it.

All summer long I have been dancing for the LA Sparks women’s professional basketball team as part of the LA Sparkids. The team just made the playoffs, so the season continues. The ability to work with choreographers like Brandee Evans and Jenna Frechette has been exceptional. And, who would not want to be on the court at the Staples Center! It is a legendary place for sports (aka home of the Lakers) and entertainment (Taylor Swift set a record for sold out shows this year). They are picky about posting video of our routines, so I do not have much beyond a few short clips on Instagram that shows the work. I made so many new friends on the #sparkids team and was able to work with a lot of the #sparkids that just made it to the #immaBEAST team too. I’m so excited that Im going to get to spend more time with them!

Be sure to subscribe if you want to hear the rest of the summer story. Next up is the Hollywood Vibe Nationals Drama and the introduction of the ongoing dream team – Team Larkles!

Click Here to read post 2 in the series now 

Feb 01 2015
1

Dancing In Super Bowl Halftime Show

By | Auditions, Dance, Friends, Work | No Comments
lilBEAST and Tricia Miranda

Gabe, Will, Tricia Miranda, Kaycee, and Charlize

Don’t get me wrong – dancing in Super Bowl XLIX with Katy Perry would be absolutely amazing. The halftime show set list was perfect and included a surprise performance by wrapper Missy Elliott with choreography by Tricia Miranda. Katy is among my favorite artists and the ability to work with her on the biggest stage in the world would be beyond my dreams. The good news is that I had a shot at an audition video. Better news is that four kids I dance with on team #lilBEAST with Willdabeast Adams booked the job!

Today’s Super Bowl half time show featured Kaycee Rice, Gabe de Guzman, Will Simmons, and Charlize Glass! I feel so blessed to be able to work and dance with so many talented kids! My friend and fellow #lilBEAST, Soni Bringas was on TV last night staring in the the primer of Lifetime’s new show, Beautiful and Twisted opposite Rob Lowe, Pez Vega (Spanglish), and Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown, Sex in the City). #lilBEAST Nation taking over!

I was not able to go to the audition for Katy Perry. At the time, the audition call did not mention Missy (Surprise Guest!) I had already committed to travel to Pittsburgh to work with Liz Imperio and the Hollywood Vibe team. It was my first time representing Hollywood Vibe and it would not have made a very good first impression if I bailed on them. But turning lemons into lemonade, I was able record and send in a video audition. My agent, Shayna Brouillard of Clear Talent Group told me it would be a long shot, and she was right. I did not book the job or get a call back. But I still had fun shooting the video!

I was so excited to see my friends during the Super Bowl halftime show. They killed it. (Trivia – XLIX is the number 49. Next year, in MMXV or 2015 the letter for the Superbowl will be L).

In other news – my YouTube channel went over 200,000 views this week and my subscribers hit 700. Still a long way to go to hit my goals, but hey – a girl has to celebrate milestones. Right? Here is the audition video I sent in.

 

 

 

 

Dec 21 2014
0

Holiday Dance Video

By | Vlogs | No Comments

I just want to start out by saying, Happy Holidays! No matter what religion you are,, this time of year is full of celebration and happiness. That’s why I love it. Similarly, another thing I love is dance, for the same reasons. This is precisely why this year, my family has decided to send out a holiday dance video, instead of a plain old Christmas card.

The song we found expresses wishes for Peace and Happiness which we would like to express to all of our friends and family.  It is a really pretty song and it inspired me. We heard the song on Thanksgiving Day and I’ve been thinking about it ever since!

_SparklesLund____This_Is_My_Wish____Kevin_Ross___Liz_Imperio_Choreography_-_YouTubeMy holiday dance video was filmed by my dad and directed by Helton “Brazil” Siqueira. He has been directing, filming, and editing all of my recent YouTube videos. He is also currently the video director for P!NK, Trey Songz, Tyga, Austin Mahone, and the immaBEAST Hip Hop Dance Company which was how we met. The choreography was created by the one and only Liz Imperio. She has choreographed for Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, and has done countless award shows. I know Liz from the popular dance convention, Hollywood Vibe. This year, I am on the Hollywood Vibe company, so I will get to spend lots of time with her. She choreographed this number while she was at my studio doing a workshop that Liz created earlier this year. This workshop is called Breaking Barriers. It involves a few different things. One, how to become successful as a dancer. Two, how to achieve the right mindset to have as a professional dancer. Three, an hour and a half master class where we get to learn choreography from her. If this sounds interesting, check out the website, breakingbarriers.com. Lastly, I bet you want to see the video right? Well, click the link below to check it out! I wish you, and all your friends and family a Happy Holidays!

 

Jul 23 2014
1

Dance Craziness Pt. 1

By | Auditions, Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | One Comment
Hollywood Vibe

Hollywood Vibe

I’m so sorry I haven’t written in a while, I’ve just been really busy with all of the events that I have been participating in for the past few weeks. There’s so many of things going on that I’ve decided to break this into two or maybe even three posts! I am just going with the flow depending on how much of this I get done today. The things I’ll be talking about in these two or three posts are Hollywood Vibe Nationals, The Pulse Las Vegas, #lilBEASTS video, and Macy’s Glamorama. That’s a lot right? I guess I’ll start with Hollywood Vibe Nationals, so that I go in time order.

This crazy week all started on Thursday, June 26, with my first scholarship dance rehearsal. We learned this dance over a video sent to us in an email. Unfortunately, my video wouldn’t play, so it was very stressful for me once I got to rehearsal. I had to learn every single piece of the choreography on the spot that day.

The next day was our first day of classes, taught by Hollywood Vibe’s superstar faculty. We learned all styles in these classes for four days. Also, during those three days I had competition. After the first day of classes, I performed my trio entitled Whipped Into Shape and my solo, Bees Knees, which was competing for Dancer of the Year. After the second day of classes, I had all of my small groups with the rest of the juniors. We were lucky enough to win 1st Place in the lyrical category and Best Costume with our gorgeous lyrical dance, Tears of an Angel. After the third day of classes, I had both of my large groups, Feels Good and MJ Tribute. Both got Platinum but didn’t place. After the fourth day of classes, it was finally time to for the Final Night Gala. This was where the National Dancer of the Year for each age group was announced and I got to perform the scholarship dance and the Dancer of the Year finalist piece that we had been working on for the past week choreographed by Liz Imperio. Both of the dances felt great and then it was time to announce Dancer of the Year, and Vibe Company, which means you get to assist the teachers and perform with the faculty. They started with Vibe Company, and I got it! So did my good friends Juju, Trevor, Tyler W., and Jordan. We were all super excited but we were eager to find out who won Dancer of the Year. They started announcing the juniors, it was no one I knew. Then they moved on to intermediate. Unfortunately, I did not win but that’s okay I’ll just keep trying and maybe I’ll get it next year! They moved onto the teens I did not know the female winner, but Trevor won for male! Everyone was so excited that they didn’t even pay attention to anything that happened after that.

I had a bunch of fun at Hollywood Vibe and can’t wait for next year!

In the middle of Hollywood Vibe, I had to drive to Los Angeles for #lilBEASTS rehearsal. Which leads to the next post…….The Pulse Las Vegas and #lilBEASTS Showcase Performance.

Here is Part 2 of the series http://sparkleslund.com/2014/07/28/dance-craziness-pt-2/

Apr 21 2014
1

Hollywood Vibe Feels Good

By | Competition, Convention, Dance | No Comments

In The Pocket

In any sport or activity, you hear people talk about being in the zone. When music and rhythm is involved: dancers, singers, or musicians are in the pocket rather than in the zone. Being in the pocket means staying on your rhythm and…. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t make sense if you have not had that feeling for yourself. Last weekend, at Hollywood Vibe Dance Convention I stayed in that pocket for the whole weekend.

During the Fall, you audition for your group dances. In a month’s time, normally, you will get a packet in the mail that says what dances you were placed in and if a solo is recommended or not. About a week after that, you learn your group dances. I think that is the funnest part of the process because the choreography is fresh in our minds and exciting because it’s new. Here is a list of the groups I am in.

In the beginning of Winter, we have our first regional competition. That is the studio’s chance to test our dances and see how they are judged. From these results and judges’ notes, we can make changes to our dances. This year, our first competition was LA Dance Magic (LADM for short). All of our dances got Platinum, the highest award you can get, but there was still room for improvement, because you can always become better. On a personal level, I won the Magic Performer award which means I was the top Junior dancer of that regional competition. All of our dances qualified for their national finals and I qualified to compete for Magic Performer of the Year.

After LADM, we came back to the studio to work on improving our dances. This was in preparation for Hollywood Vibe regionals. After months of hard work, we showed up at Hollywood Vibe with all of our dances in great shape. It was a special weekend for all of us. It was especially fun because we had our mini and junior rookie teams at the competition and they did fabulous! All of our dances were solid, highlighted by my junior lyrical piece, Tears of an Angel, choreographed by Keara Blake. It won 1st place Platinum as well as overall high score and it was awarded the Outstanding Choreography award. Go Ms. Keara! It was exciting to see the entire studio do so well, it felt like we won everything! I was honored with the Regional Dancer of the Year Award and I was very thankful because I worked very hard to achieve it. If you do not know dance, here is a reference – The current Junior Hollywood Vibe Dancer of the Year is Brooke Kosinski – principle dancer at Abby Lee Dance Company and one of the stars of the show Dance Moms.

Much in the same way that a dancer has to stay in the pocket to perform well, the team has to stay in the pocket for the entire year. That means lots of hard work in the studio, but it also means showing up at competition ready to dance. So far, our season has been great. We have a few more months of work to do in the studio to prepare for nationals. If we practice real hard, it will be more likely that we succeed.

I would just like to say thank you to all of my teachers, choreographers, my parents, the rest of my family, and of course, my wittle puppy dog, Austin.