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The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
December 30 - January 5, 2004 Edition
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DANCE Local dancers compete in Boston December 30, 2004 By Abby Stone Edgartown’s Danceworks Dance Company spent the weekend of Nov. 20 and 21 in Boston participating in the New York City Dance Alliance (NYCDA) dance competition and convention. The rigorous weekend of nearly non-stop dance began early Saturday morning. After a day of dance, the 17 girls competed against groups from other New England dance studios. During Saturday night’s competition, Danceworks received High Silver Awards for their dances “Let it Bump,” “Everlasting Love,” “He’s a Dream,” and “Don’t Speak.” They received Gold Awards for “All Right,” and “It Doesn’t Matter.” Special awards included Outstanding Hip Hop for “All Right” and “It Doesn’t Matter,” Outstanding Costume for “All Right,” and Highest Score Extended Line for “Let it Bump.” Although tired and sore, the Vineyard dancers returned home content and filled with a new love for dance. Dancers participating in the Boston competition included: Jaime Lynn Billings, Chelsea Brennan, Kate Cecilio, Dani Cleary, Brianna Davies, Abbey Entner, Julia Friedman, Melanie Lay, Megan Lowe, Anna Markwica, Katie Ann Mayhew, Whitney O’Brien, Tessa Permar, Hayley Pierce, Abbey Stone, Taylor Stone, and Kirsty Watt. The dancers range in age from 12 to 18 years old. They have all danced with Danceworks for the past seven years and are the studio’s most advanced students. Most spend 10 to 12 hours dancing each week. Mia Alicea is the director of Danceworks. As part of NYCDA, dancers took master classes from professionals at the top of the dance field. Faculty included Joe Lanteri, the convention’s founder, who has appeared in practically every type of media from stage to commercials and television, and currently teaches at STEPS on Broadway; A.C. Ciulla, who choreographed “Footloose” on Broadway and currently teaches at Broadway Dance Center (BDC) in New York City; Danny Wallace, who performed in “Tap Dogs” and also teaches at BDC; Jason Parsons, who has choreographed and performed with stars such as Celine Dion; Lisa Danias, who is the Artistic Director of Theatre Dance in New York City; and Nick Bass, who has performed in music videos with Britney Spears and Beyonce Knowles and is currently touring with Janet Jackson. Dancer Abbey Stone, a Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School student, writes for The High School View.

©The Martha's Vineyard Times 2004 - www.mvtimes.com