Competition #1:"Dance Moms" at Sheer Talent

Hello! Sorry I'm posting this so late in the week, but I needed to wait for what happened this weekend to happen, so here it is.

This week was our first dance competition. MY dance team wasn't competing, but my sister's was and so were my friends' solos. I went to support them and the rest of my teammates.

This competition was a little bit different though: it was against the cast of the show Dance Moms. That means Abby Lee Miller, Gianna Martello, Ava Cota, Jeanette Cota, Maddie Ziegler, Mackenzie Ziegler, Nia Frazier, Kendall Vertes, Jojo Siwa, the newest member of the team Brynn Rumfallow, and their mothers were there. Unfortunately, for all of you Kalani fans, including me, there was no sign of her or Kira. It could have something to do with the baby or the engagement, but it is unclear at the moment. Anyway, let me take you through the process of the competition.

My sister and I woke up at 7:50 or so. I didn't dance at this competition because so many people on my team couldn't attend (we found out about the competition at the last minute). So I got ready while my sister put on her stage makeup (basically, its regular makeup times five) and her costume. It is a dress (with black shorts underneath) with a black sparkly top and a pink frilly skirt. Since the song is "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray (60's style), her hair was styled in a Bouffant.

We arrived in Glendale around 9:45 after a 30 minute drive. This competition was called Sheer Talent, which we have attended in the past. It was held at the Alex Theater, a beautiful Greek theater with incredible architecture and design. As a Greek mythology and history lover, I was absolutely in awe of the décor.

It was brutally hot and standing in my team jacket and pants was awful. We had to get a release form signed (since there was a chance that we were going to be on TV), had to get our pictures taken holding the release form, and got a stamp to verify that a release form was signed. After about an hour of standing in a hot line, my friend and I (let's call her Veronica), who was on my team and also wasn't competing (both of our younger sisters were competing) told the people standing in front of the door that we were dancers and our team was inside. So yes, we snuck in (OOOOOH!).

We went upstairs to the changing area and helped my sister and the other girls finish getting ready. The competition began, but before the dancing could start, the announcer informed us that the Dance Moms were there. What he didn't tell us was that they were the moms from the Abby Lee Dance Company's (ALDC) new rival studio: JC's Broadway Dance Academy (JCBDA). Everyone ran outside and right past the moms. It was a funny moment. Then, the ALDC girls finally came. I was so close to them. It was very exciting.

Everyone returned inside. My sister's dance was first, so she went on. It was one of the best her group had ever done that dance. It was really energetic and amazing. Next, was my sister's friend's solo (we're going to call her Liz). She danced to "This is My Now" by Jordin Sparks. She danced beautifully. Just so you can look for it if you watch the episode, she was wearing a bright blue two-piece costume.

It was time for the Dance Moms solos. JCBDA came out first and I got a picture with Jeanette Cota. When the ALDC came out, I got a picture with Abby Lee Miller. I can't believe I actually got to meet her. I'm so happy. A boy from JCBDA (Gavin; for the Dance Moms fans out there, he used to dance with the Candy Apple's Dance Center ) performed first (after we waited for an hour for everyone to come out). He was absolutely AMAZING!!! His turns were flawless and his extensions were perfection. After the dance, Jojo came out in her costume and told Abby that her solo was not in the program. Abby told her that she wasn't dancing, and Jojo started to cry. I felt awful. Jojo's mom Jessalynn got mad at Abby and told her to let her dance. Abby agreed, but then got mad at the show producers for not having all the dances signed up. She declared that she was going to do the signing up now, and the show went on. The ALDC had two solos: Brynn and Jojo. Brynn is a very pretty dancer, but her choreography was just okay. Jojo had a jazz solo. She has improved a lot since last season, but her choreography was subpar. The ALDC and JCBDA went back to their dressing room, and the show went on.

One of my friends was next (she's going to be Emma). She danced to "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" as performed by Lorde (it’s in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire). She was amazing. She wore a forest green two piece. Another one of my friends (Ashley) did a solo to "Dead in the Water" by Ellie Goulding (it’s in Divergent), wearing a dark blue costume. Again, it was awesome. Ashley's sister (Isabelle) went on next for a solo to "Supermodel (You Better Work)" by RuPaul. I love her dance so much. She wore a bright pink one piece and her hair was in a crimped ponytail.

It was lunch break time. My mom got my sister and I Chipotle and we ate in the dressing area. My sister hung out with some of her friends while I took the time to relax. The rest of the girls came back from their meals, and it was time to get ready for the next dance. It was the specialty group dance with some of my sister's friends and some of my friends. They danced to a cover of "Imagine" (I'm not quite sure who sings it unfortunately) and wore a pretty silver one piece. They danced very well. The final dance of my team was a duet by two of my sister's friends. They danced to "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronsan ft. Bruno Mars. They are super cute and I love their dance. They wore a pink and black outfit with a short tutu-like skirt.

After another hour and a half or so, the Dance Moms group dance came on. The group dance was called "The Girl in the Plastic Bubble" and had Mackenzie, Brynn, Kendall, and Nia. Jojo was the girl in the bubble. Maddie wasn't in the dance (she probably had a filming or something in the week so she couldn't learn the dance), but she came in and picked up the deflated bubble off of the stage and received a standing ovation from Abby. JCBDA set up the props for their dance: "The Waiting Room”. Apparently, it took more than 2 minutes to set up the props and get the dancers on stage, which is against the rules. Jeanette, the owner of the studio, argued that the dancers start off stage and were waiting for the music to start (which ended up being true). Abby, taking every opportunity for the other studio not to perform said it was too late anyway. The director of the competition agreed with Abby. After a lot of yelling and arguing, it was decided that the group would dance. The dance ended up being absolutely SPECTACULAR. I got chills it was so amazing. Maybe my expectations were a little low, but I loved the dance. Watch out for another controversy. I'm not sure of the details, but it was something about each studio stealing choreography from each other.

It was awards time. Here are the results (the order from least to greatest is Gold, Platinum, Titanium, and Diamond; don’t read the results after “Uptown Funk” if you want to be surprised during the show):

• "You Can't Stop The Beat" (My Sister’s Dance) - Titanium - 1st Place in Junior Group Line Production
• "This is My Now" (“Liz”)  - Titanium - 1st Place in Junior Solo
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (“Emma”) - Titanium - 3rd Place in Teen Solo
• "Dead in the Water" (“Ashley”) - Platinum - 4th Place in Teen Solo
• "Supermodel" (“Isabelle”) – Platinum in Pre-Teen Solo
• "Imagine" (Special Group) - Platinum - 1st Place in Junior Group
• "Uptown Funk" (Duet) - Titanium - 1st Place in Junior Duet/Trio

     !!Spoiler Alert!!    

 Dance Moms: Episode One, Season Six

 

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• “The Comeback” (Gavin) - Diamond - 2nd Place (I'm pretty sure) in Pre-Teen Solo
• “The Coronation” (Brynn) - Diamond - 1st Place in Pre-Teen Solo
• “Own It” (Jojo) - Titanium in Pre-Teen Solo
• "The Girl in the Plastic Bubble" (ALDC Group) - Diamond - 1st Place in Teen Group
• "The Waiting Room" (JCBDA Group) - Diamond - 2nd Place in Teen Group (completely unfair)

After the awards, my sister ended up getting a picture with Jojo, while others got pictures with Maddie and Kendall.

That was about it. We got home around 7:00. My whole family was exhausted. It was a really long day. But, overall it was a good competition. It ran three hours late and everyone was ready to get home and go to sleep. There is another competition next week (which I am competing in; wish me luck), so I will keep you posted on that. Thanks for reading!

*If you’re interested in seeing the ALDC or JCBDA dances mentioned or possibly one of mine (no guarantees, but you never know…), watch (Dance Moms) episode one, season six (T.V. air date: TBD... I'll let you know).