Ft. Lauderdale for dance nationals- the dancing!
Yes, for 20 minutes of the six days that we were in Florida, Abby danced! Of course there was a lot of prep work (doing hair, make up, stretching, running the routine) prior to her dancing; one does not go from relaxing at the condo to being on the stage in a matter of minutes. So, a decent bit of our time was devoted to all things dance competition related- getting to the venue early, the girls getting ready, waiting for them to dance, watching them dance, waiting for awards and sitting through awards. For instance, one of the days that we were there, Wednesday, we were at the convention center for 8+ hours. That was the day that Abby did all of her group routines.
On Tuesday, Abby performed her two solos and her duo with Hanna. Abby was the third solo performer of her age group/ division. She performed her contemporary solo first. I thought she did a great job. She had about 30 minutes until her next solo- her musical theater one. I like this one better than her contemporary one- I feel like her strength is in her acting and her musical theater one really showcases that. Abby performed it great. She scored higher in her musical theater solo than her contemporary. She came in 8th in the overalls (she placed 9th at the awards but the girl who won the overall was disqualified so Abby moved up a notch to 8th place after the girl was disqualified :)). In the regional competitions that we went to, Abby had placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the overalls so 8th was a step down. But, Abby took in stride and was happy that she placed in the top 10. She has a great attitude about the awards- she loves to do well and win but she knows that judging is subjective and she's not likely to come in first or second every time.
Abby and Hanna performed their duo really well! The girls hadn't had a practice for their duo since the last competition. They had run the duo at dance class during the week but they hadn't had an actual practice. Actually, Abby hadn't had a solo practice either since the last competition. She was supposed to have a solo and duo practice two weeks ago but her back was in pain so we had to cancel the practices. Anyway, it was amazing how together the girls were- with a solo, you can wing it if you have to, but with a duo, that's not exactly an option. The girls came in 3th place in the overalls (after the disqualification of the same girl who was disqualified with her solo). They also won a judges special award called the "Dynamic Duo!" That was fun for the girls to win.
The next day, Wednesday, the girls did their group routines. These all went well. They were definitely emotional dances (especially the two contemporary ones whose song lyrics allude to things ending). Abby dances with four girls who will be going to college in the next couple of months. She has danced with these girls for four years and has known them for ten years. She looks up to all of them. She keeps saying she cannot imagine dance without them. So anyway, Wednesday was the girls' last time dancing together (as it turns out it wasn't... but they didn't know that at the time). The tears were a flowin' after their last group routine.
At the group awards, one of their contemporary routines scored 1st place in the overalls (they were not competing against a huge number of routines- still they had competition and they WON). Because of how high they scored, they made it to a "dance off" of sorts to be competed the following day. It was called the "Battle at the Beach." They would compete their routine in front of a new set of judges. They would be competing against other high scorers (not sure exactly how they determined who was competing against whom).
At the Battle at the Beach, they competed against three other groups. Our girls came in 2nd place! We strongly believe they were better than than the group that came in first place (a group of boys- BIAS!!). But, our opinions counted for nothing with regard to the outcome so we had to be content with second place. It was an honor to make it to the Battle.
Tuesday at the venue before the dances began- Ally, Skylar, Arianna and Abby
At the awards for solos- Abby was chose to come up and hand out the special awards
The top ten soloists
After the solo awards- Abby, Arianna and Amy
Awards for duos and trios- Abby and Hanna received a special award- the Dynamic Duo
After the awards- Abby and Hanna with their awards
Mama Michelle (Hanna's mom) greets the girls
The girls pose with Arianna and Amy
Wednesday- after the awards for group routines
The girls whose routine would be moving on to the Battle at the Beach- Amy, Hanna, Skylar, Abby and Arianna
On Tuesday, Abby performed her two solos and her duo with Hanna. Abby was the third solo performer of her age group/ division. She performed her contemporary solo first. I thought she did a great job. She had about 30 minutes until her next solo- her musical theater one. I like this one better than her contemporary one- I feel like her strength is in her acting and her musical theater one really showcases that. Abby performed it great. She scored higher in her musical theater solo than her contemporary. She came in 8th in the overalls (she placed 9th at the awards but the girl who won the overall was disqualified so Abby moved up a notch to 8th place after the girl was disqualified :)). In the regional competitions that we went to, Abby had placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the overalls so 8th was a step down. But, Abby took in stride and was happy that she placed in the top 10. She has a great attitude about the awards- she loves to do well and win but she knows that judging is subjective and she's not likely to come in first or second every time.
Abby and Hanna performed their duo really well! The girls hadn't had a practice for their duo since the last competition. They had run the duo at dance class during the week but they hadn't had an actual practice. Actually, Abby hadn't had a solo practice either since the last competition. She was supposed to have a solo and duo practice two weeks ago but her back was in pain so we had to cancel the practices. Anyway, it was amazing how together the girls were- with a solo, you can wing it if you have to, but with a duo, that's not exactly an option. The girls came in 3th place in the overalls (after the disqualification of the same girl who was disqualified with her solo). They also won a judges special award called the "Dynamic Duo!" That was fun for the girls to win.
The next day, Wednesday, the girls did their group routines. These all went well. They were definitely emotional dances (especially the two contemporary ones whose song lyrics allude to things ending). Abby dances with four girls who will be going to college in the next couple of months. She has danced with these girls for four years and has known them for ten years. She looks up to all of them. She keeps saying she cannot imagine dance without them. So anyway, Wednesday was the girls' last time dancing together (as it turns out it wasn't... but they didn't know that at the time). The tears were a flowin' after their last group routine.
At the group awards, one of their contemporary routines scored 1st place in the overalls (they were not competing against a huge number of routines- still they had competition and they WON). Because of how high they scored, they made it to a "dance off" of sorts to be competed the following day. It was called the "Battle at the Beach." They would compete their routine in front of a new set of judges. They would be competing against other high scorers (not sure exactly how they determined who was competing against whom).
At the Battle at the Beach, they competed against three other groups. Our girls came in 2nd place! We strongly believe they were better than than the group that came in first place (a group of boys- BIAS!!). But, our opinions counted for nothing with regard to the outcome so we had to be content with second place. It was an honor to make it to the Battle.
Tuesday at the venue before the dances began- Ally, Skylar, Arianna and Abby
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After the solo awards- Abby, Arianna and Amy
Mama Michelle (Hanna's mom) greets the girls
Wednesday- after the awards for group routines
The girls whose routine would be moving on to the Battle at the Beach- Amy, Hanna, Skylar, Abby and Arianna
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