Local dancers walked away with a stack of medals from competitions in Vernon, Kelowna and Castlegar in the last two months.
“Jamie (Long), Sophia Plotnikoff and Anna (McGill) did a trio and they won the first runner-up overall high score award,” said Dazzle Dance Studio owner Ashlie Jmayoff.
She added that a number of her students ended up with gold, silver and bronze medals in all different kinds of categories from jazz, musical theatre, tap and lyrical.
Jmayoff estimates that there were 17 dance studios and 400 to 500 dancers at the competitions.
Competition aside, some of the dancers of Dazzle Dance told the Gazette what it is that they love about dancing.
Long, 17, said that she has been dancing since she was three years old.
“It’s just what I have learned to love. It’s a good stress relief and I’m never really stressed out when I’m dancing, which is nice,” she said; however, she is “terrified” of dancing in front of judges.
Plotnikoff told the Gazette that her favourite type of dance is jazz and musical theatre.
She loves dancing because it’s a way for her to move to the music without being criticized.
“If you are dancing on your own you don’t really worry about what anybody else is thinking about,” she said.
Twelve-year-old dancer Briana Burch said she loves dancing in front of the judges.
“It’s awesome, it’s so much fun; it’s my favourite thing to do,” she said.
Paige Allin, 11, started dancing when she was five years old.
“It’s just a lot of fun and I love dancing to the music,” she said, adding that her favourite discipline is jazz.
The girls that do compete in April and June rehearse their pieces for the better part of the winter to prepare themselves.
“I do choreography for their competition numbers at the end of summer so they have all the time to practice until April and May for competitions,” said Jmayoff.