Seven Heaven
Dance group wins big at Dance Olympus
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| Carrington Herman works the judges with her expressive face during the Summer Dance Championship at Dance Olympus. Herman was one of seven girls who combined to win the Senior Overall High Score for their group performance “Jump.” (Herald Photo by Heidi Terry Litchfield) |
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Dancers covered the dance floor from end to end at a hotel ballroom in Rosemont, Ill.
Students from Donna Mueller’s School of Dance took up an entire corner, waiting to find out how their performances scored with the judges.
Each solo, duet or group were called, one by one, with all of them taking home a Gold, the highest score at Summer Dance Championship at Dance Olympus.
For one group of seven girls, the excitement didn’t end there. Their performance “Jump” won Senior Overall High Score, and the girls got to accept the trophy.
Karys Olsen, Carrington Herman, Kylie Severson, Ashley Gibson, Kennedy Kunz, Molly Snyder and Peighton Shannon were shocked as they heard the name of their dance called.
“I was shocked. I was like ‘Oh my gosh! That’s me! That’s the whole group,” Severson said. “I lost all thought. I’m so glad all seven got to share it together.”
The group formed when two of the girls, Herman and Snyder, joined an already-formed small group who had been dancing together.
The addition of two new members meant more hard work as they learned each other’s style of dance and perfected their timing.
“We added two girls to the original small group and had to get used to it,” Gibson said. “You have to know how everyone else dances so you can match each other.”
For Herman, the hardest part of the dance was catching up to where the other girls were.
For some, it was their first time performing in the senior division.
“I was surprised to win in the senior division,” Shannon said. “We just wanted the big trophy, and we had three pep talks to keep our energy up.”
The girls took to the dance floor confidently, holding their heads high with smiles on all their faces. When the music started, the smiles remained as they performed.
The win came with a lot of work. The girls had been practicing the dance since last fall, when Stephanie Mueller choreographed the routine.
“I like to keep the music upbeat and fitting for the group of girls performing it,” Mueller said. “Some of the challenges are knowing that not everyone has the same level and making it work.”
Kunz credits their success to the dance relationships formed, dancing together for so long.
“We’ve been dancing together since I was about 10,” she said. “We know how we react to one another. We know our standards and we know how to work hard to meet them.”
On the sides of the dance floor sat faces smiling as wide as those on the dance floor. Parents and families watched every move.
“It’s extraordinary to see them dance,” Tricia Shannon, Peighton’s mom said. “I got the biggest satisfaction seeing the smile on Peighton and the other girls as they went to get the trophy. It just breaks my heart they can’t all win the big trophy all the time.”
But winning the trophy isn’t the end for these girls, it’s just the beginning. The beginning of an extra drive to do it again.
“It’s an adrenaline rush, it’s awesome, to work so hard and then achieve that goal,” Olsen said. “It definitely makes me want to work that much harder to do it again.”
