As competition season quickly approaches, the students and staff of Miss Cindy’s School of Dance eagerly await the day the whole studio has been working towards all year: Sunday, May 23rd. That is, of course, the date that almost everyone at the studio will make the anxiety inducing drive down to the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey to compete at Dancesational Dance Talent Competition. Miss Cindy’s will be competing with many dances, with genres such as ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, lyrical, musical theatre, and tap. All of these roughly two and a half minute dances were choreographed by one of Miss Cindy’s seven incredibly talented teachers: Miss Renee, Miss Sadie, Miss Kelly, Miss Tara, Miss Khrystee, and Tommy. Various other dance studios flock to compete on the Claridge Hotel’s ballroom floor, but only one dance per genre will come out on top. This fact is what gets the dancers’ hearts beating furiously as they meticulously part their hair on the right side, slick it back into a perfect low bun, and spray the absolute most amount of hairspray on as they can without causing serious lung damage. 

The energy inside of a dance competition dressing room is something that no matter who you ask, the description will always be the same. A fine layer of glitter coats the floor, open dance bags line the walls, half-empty water bottles are scattered about after the small plastic trash cans filled up only an hour into the competition. Groans of teenage girls experiencing their most stressful day of the year are heard after they accidentally rip their pristine pink tights, and of course, forgot to bring an extra pair. And finally, there’s always, for some reason, someone’s mother going around handing out Pixie Stix to try to calm everyone’s nerves. To no one’s surprise, they actually do quite the opposite. All in all, the incredibly intense atmosphere at dance competitions are ones that are ingrained in dancer’s heads for the rest of their lives, and provide a potent mix of nostalgia and anxiety whenever the scent of hairspray is smelled.

While the vast majority of students at Miss Cindy’s are anxious, many of the teachers have complete faith that the studio will come out on top. When Kelly Barber, the ballet and pointe teacher was asked if she was feeling confident about her choreography this year, she cheerfully replied, “Yes, absolutely!” This comes as no surprise when you consider her resume. Not only does she teach at Miss Cindy’s, but she is also the artistic director and a principal teacher at Berks Ballet Theater in Reading. Needless to say, she knows the ropes. Though she doesn’t quite think the girls are ready this very minute, as some of the dances are not quite completed, she says, “In the next couple of weeks I know you guys will pull it together.” This positive attitude which is shared by all of the wonderful teachers at Miss Cindy’s is what keeps the students’ nerves at bay. Though, as previously mentioned, not all of Kelly’s dances are finished yet, and when asked about how stressful choreographing can be, she said, “The choreographing is not difficult, it’s getting it done in the amount of classes we have that’s difficult. Getting everything done quick enough without overwhelming the girls with new choreo can get pretty hard.” To put it simply, Kelly Barber is an incredibly talented choreographer who has no worries about how her students will perform at competition, which boosts the dancers’ confidence tremendously.

To say the least, Miss Cindy’s is ready to take the Dancesational Dance Talent Competition by storm despite how stressful it may be. With dancers of all ages and strong suits of all different styles, nothing can stop the devoted students and staff from trying their absolute hardest to come out on top.