Elite Dance Centre brings home the gold
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Tillsonburg’s Emma Searles and Madison Hughes, and Jillian Utter of Norwich, dancing with Woodstock’s Elite Dance Centre, reached the peak in solo dance competing at the Showstopper Regionals in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Their solos were recognized in the opening number of Showstopper’s Top 10 Webcast.
“At the start of the webcast, there is an opening number which is made up of all the highest scoring soloists from the regional competitions from across North America,” said Tonya Leduc, artistic director of Elite Dance Centre in Woodstock.
Elite’s full-competitive company, Team Elite, returned from the July 1-6 Showstopper North American East Coast Finals in Myrtle Beach as North American champions with four dances in the Overall Top 10.
This was the Woodstock studio’s fourth trip to the Finals and their most successful trip to date. Elite’s full-competitive dance team, comprised of 31 members, boys and girls ages 8-19, competed against 82 studios.
“It is a massive achievement,” said Rob Leduc, operations director at Elite. “There were so many amazing studios there, performing really high-level work, and it was nice to see that our students were right up there with them.”
“It’s been a fantastic year,” said Tonya. “We couldn’t be more proud!”
SUCCESSFUL SEASON
EDC’s competitive season begins in early March, competing in five competitions a year with both its pre-competitive and full-competitive teams. They attend three local competitions, ranging from London to Toronto, and two ‘away’ competitions in a region outside Ontario.
Showstopper, one of the largest and longest-running dance competitions in North America, served as their final destination.
“Showstopper celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, and was quite the event. It’s the gold standard of dance competitions, so it was such a terrific achievement for our students to succeed there.”
In order to progress to the North American East Coast Finals, the team had to win at a Showstopper regional. EDC competed at Battle Creek, Michigan in March.
“The students did extremely well,” said Rob. “They won nearly all of their dance divisions at the regionals which allowed the entire team to progress to the Finals. It was quite an accomplishment.”
“It really was an extraordinary weekend,” Tonya agreed. “The students had truly outstanding performances. They showed as a strong team, which is great, as these students are very close with one another. They really are a connected team both on stage and off of it.”
Team Elite took home the highest scoring awards for both the small and large groups in the mini, junior and teen age divisions, along with winning the highest scoring solos in all four divisions, mini, junior, teen and senior.
“We only attempt to progress to the North American Finals every three years as it takes a lot of planning, but it was worth it,” said Tonya.
“The Showstopper Finals are a spectacle. They have three dance stages running at once, all week long to accommodate the thousands of entries. The (Myrtle Beach) Convention Center is abuzz with dancers rehearsing, stretching and preparing to dance. It’s fantastic.”
Team Elite continued with strong showings all week in solos, duets, trios and group categories.
“All the students had superb performances, all scoring very well from our youngest to our most advanced students. But the highlight of the week was the webcast. The webcast was where all the hard work paid off.”
TOP 10 WEBCAST
The crowning event at the Showstopper Final is the webcast, which showcases the Top 10 scoring groups of the competition on ‘Super Saturday.’ Showstopper produces the webcast complete with celebrity hosts and interviews with the students, all in front of a cheering sea of supporters.
“It’s like a concert, where the teams are the main act,” said Rob. “All of the routines in the final webcast were spectacular. It was just one amazing dance after another. We were so happy to make it in to the Top 10 webcast so often.
“The last two times we went to the finals, we would make the Top 10 once or twice. This time, we made it in four times. It was a magical week for everyone.”
EDC jazz routines Runaway Baby and My Boyfriend’s Back, lyrical number The Dream, and Fly Girls, a tap dance, were all in the Top 10 webcast.
The excitement built even higher for EDC with three of their teammates – Utter, Searles and Hughes – performing in the Showstopper Opening Number.
“It was so exciting,” said Tonya. “Such great dancers from all over, including from our studio, performing one number together. We were so proud of our students.”
“And they learned the number while they were down in Myrtle Beach,” said Rob. “They learned the routine, staged it, costumed it, rehearsed and performed it all in three days. That takes a lot of skill, practice and confidence, especially when you know that it’s going to be broadcast worldwide.”
“The team was so proud of their dance mates,” Tonya added. “They are a very close knit, congratulatory, positive team. They represent exactly what competitive dance is: positively working toward a group goal, helping each other when things are difficult, celebrating each other’s victories and recovering together after the losses.
“It’s those life lessons and team building skills that draw people to competitive dance,” Tonya summed up. “I think about it this way: dance, all by yourself, is great. Dance with your friend is truly something special.”
ELITE DANCE CENTRE
Elite Dance Centre’s competitive dance program draws students from Oxford County and area. They are currently selecting the dance repertoire for their upcoming dance season.
“This was a big year, but we always want to challenge the team members from one year to the next, to build and master new skills each year,” Rob explained.
“We encourage all EDC students to work toward new skills each year, regardless of what program they are in. That’s the point,” said Tonya, excited about starting a new year. “Once a student learns something new and feels the confidence boost which comes along with perfecting a new skill, they want to learn more. We give them the opportunity to learn as much as possible. Each year, it’s like a brand new start, where you get to come up with new ways to educate and engage students, while creating something original in each class.”
“We really do have an awesome job,” said Rob.
Woodstock’s Elite Dance Centre is currently registering for its 2013-14 Fall Recreational & Competitive Programs. Visit www.elitedance.ca for class schedules and upcoming events.