DE’s Company Dancers Wow in Williamsburg

Dance Expressions company members participated in the MADM Chapter 17 workshop in Williamsburg, Virginia, from November 22nd to November 24th, 2024. This annual November workshop is a fantastic opportunity for dancers and educators. It is a time to embrace new challenges and put oneself out there in order to grow as a dancer. The organizers of the workshop, MADM Chapter 17 of Dance Masters of America, work to bring in exciting guest artists for the dancers and to offer continuing education classes for the teachers.

On Friday evening, several of our dancers participated in auditions, where they were adjudicated on their dance technique in several genres. For young dancers, this is an excellent opportunity to simulate “real world” auditions and to prepare them for the pre-professional or even professional space. The scores from the Friday auditions are used to award the Tom Waters and Alzine Cuppett Scholarships.

On Saturday and Sunday, they had dance classes in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, and Musical Theatre. Our dancers made us all proud with their professionalism, friendliness, and can-do spirit. All of the effort they put into their technique classes at DE is evident everywhere they go, including a few hours away in Virginia!

Additionally, on Sunday, the workshop conducts a banquet to commemorate and give scholarships to members of the Chapter 17 community. Our dancers demonstrated excellent sportsmanship and support for their classmates and others beyond the studio. The following are the awards from the November 2024 workshop:

Senior Scholarship Winners:

Ballet High Score: Mary Grace Bailey

Overall Senior Winners:

Second Runner-Up: Ava Wheeler

First Runner-Up: Taliah Lewis

Junior Scholarship Winners:

Tap High Score: Saniah Warner

Ballet High Score: Isabel Sadaka

Overall Junior Winners:

Second Runner-Up: Bailey Rae Burtis

Overall High Score in Junior Division: Grace Elizabeth Douglas

Mini Scholarship Winners: