What a Season It Was!

Season four at Artistry was one for the books! Our dancers stayed focused and committed during a time of constant change and uncertainty. It was a year of pushing past our comfort zones and taking chances. Learning and growing as a team. Taking challenges and using them as an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and others. We are so proud of everything Artistry accomplished on and off the stage.

Our first competition of the season was Celebration talent in Lake Geneva. Our dancers were prepared and ready to hit the stage. Our Junior Jazz Line "Fun", choreographed by our favorite Mallauri Esquibel Hansen, was named Junior Grand Champions. Large Group "Hotel California", Keana Cornelissen's solo "Eyes of a Child" , Junior Contemporary Group "Below My Feet", Teen Large Groups "Vanishing", Sophia Lortie's solo "Survivor", Arabella's Suarez's solo choreographed by Mallauri "Dimples", and "Fun" were all Judge's Choices winner. Our soloists did a great job as well and proudly took the stage! Congratulations to our soloists on their overall placement: 1st Overall Petite Solo winner Grayson Ashton, 2nd Overall Junior Solo winner Aidan Glaz, 3rd Overall Junior Elite Solo Annabelle Pesch, 4th Overall Junior Elite Solo Addison Johnson, 6th Overall Junior Elite Solo Holly Recker, 7th Overall Junior Elite Solo Addison Jansen, 2nd Overall Teen Elite Solo Aubrey Glaz, 3rd Overall Teen Elite Solo Keana Cornelissen, 5th Overall Teen Elite Solo Lola Espinosa, 10th Overall Teen Elite Solo Sarina Simonelli and 6th Overall Senior Elite Solo Teagan Anderson. Our groups sure shined as well. 1st Overall Junior Elite Small Group "Below My Feet", 4th Overall Junior Elite Small Group "Lazy River" , 5th Overall Junior Elite Small Group "He's My Son", 2nd Overall Teen Elite Small Group "The Chain", 6th Overall Teen Elite Small Group "Whatever Lola Wants", 7th Overall Teen Elite Small Group "Smile" choreographed by Morgan Clune, 9th Overall Teen Elite Small Group "Satellite", 5th Overall Teen Elite Large Group "Vanishing", and 6th Overall Teen Elite Large Group Bailar.

In March, we were honored to attend VIP Dance Competition and share the stage with many talented studios. Our dancers performed with a ton of heart and brought home many awards including: VIP Judges Choice Winners "Whatever Lola Wants", "Bailar", "Smile", "I'm Cute", "Mary Poppins", "The Chain", Vanishing", "Fine Line" choreographed by the talented Tiffany Krause, "Hasta La Vista" choreographed by our very own Isabel Colado, and "No Matter What". Overall Solo Winners: 1st Overall Grayson Ashton, 4th Overall Raiden Miranda, 2nd Overall "Arabella Suarez, 4th Overall Lia Crumpley, 1st Overall Aidan Glaz, 4th Overall Raniel Miranda, 3rd Overall Annabelle Pesch, 4th Overall Holly Recker, 5th Overall Addison Johnson, 8th Overall Addison Jansen, 3rd Overall Aubrey Glaz, 6th Overall Sarina Simonelli, 8th Overall Lola Espinosa, 9th Overall Sophia Lortie, 9th Overall Olivia Goldberg and 10th Overall Keana Cornelissen. Our Duet/Trios and Group Overalls included: 2nd Overall "7 Minutes", 1st Overall "Mario Bros", 2nd Overall "Hasta La Vista", 2nd Overall "Mary Poppins", 1st Overall "No Matter What", 3rd Overall "Man! I Feel Like a Woman", 2nd Overall "He's My Son", 4th Overall "Below My Feet", 5th Overall "Lazy River", 9th Overall "Get a Wiggle On", 8th Overall "The Chain", 5th Overall "Fun", 8th Overall "Hotel California", 3rd Overall "Vanishing", 9th Overall "Bailar", 10th Overall "Fine Line". "He's My Son" and "Fun" both were named VIP List Winners.

It was an incredible weekend when we were able to attend our first all company Convention and Competition in April. Revive Dance provided a fun weekend filled with many exciting classes and faculty members. We were proud of our all of our dancers! 2nd Overall Sparks Solo Grayson Ashton, 3rd Overall Junior Solo Addison Jansen, 4th Overall Junior Solo Addison Johnson, 7th Overall Junior Solo Annabelle Pesch. 2nd Overall Sparks Duet "Mary Poppins", 6th Overall Mini Duet "Mario Bros", 8th Overall Mini Trio "Hasta La Vista", 2nd Overall Junior Duet "Fabulous", 6th Overall Mini Small Group "No Matter What", 4th Overall Junior Small Group "Below My Feet", 6th Overall Junior Small Group "He's My Son", 3rd Overall Junior Large Group "Fun", 7th Overall Teen Small Group "The Chain", 9th Overall Teen Large Group "Vanishing". A big congratulations to our scholarship winners of the weekend: Elif Kapucu, Lia Crumpley, Arabella Suarez, Raniel Miranda, Raiden Miranda, Aidan Glaz, Reagan Green, Kaylie Kilgore, Aubrey Glaz, Sophia Lortie, Payton Anderson and Sarina Simonelli.

In May we attended our last regional Convention and Competition of the season and it is always one of our favorite weekends. We cannot say enough about NRG Dance Project and the incredibly inspiring weekends they provide. All weekend long our dancers took classes from some of the best dance educators in the industry. Our dancers did a beautiful job on and off the stage. A special shout out to our Overall winners: 1st Overall Lil Spark Grayson Ashton, 2nd Overall Mini Arabella Suarez, 3rd Overall Mini Lia Crumpley, 1st Overall Junior Annabelle Pesch, 2nd Overall Junior Addison Jansen, 3rd Overall Junior Holly Recker, 2nd Overall Teen Keana Cornelissen, 5th Overall Teen Sarina Simonelli, 2nd Overall Senior Duet/Trio "7 Minutes", 1st Overall Mini Group: "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" 2nd Overall Mini Group "No Matter What", 1st Overall Junior Group "Below My Feet", 2nd Overall Junior Group "He's My Son", 1st Overall Junior Line "Fun", 3rd Overall Junior Production "From Now On" and 1st Overall Teen Line "Hotel California". Two of our pieces, "Hotel California" and "Fun" were nominated for the NRG Award which was a great honor. A shout out to our scholarship winners Grayson Ashton, Arabella Suarez, Holly Recker, Annabelle Pesch, Aidan Glaz, Raniel Miranda, Sarina Simonelli and Sophia Lortie.

In what felt like a dream, our company traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona for NRG Dance Project's 2021 Nationals. It was a week we will never forget. We were so proud of each and every one of our dancers. They left their hearts on the stage. Congratulations to all of our dancers and a special shout out to our Category Winners 1st Place Lil Spark "Mary Poppins", 1st Place Holly Recker, 1st Place "Below My Feet", 1st Place "Vanishing", 2nd Place "Missed", 3rd Place "Man I Feel Like a Woman", 3rd Place Aidan Glaz, 3rd Place "Lazy River" and 3rd Place "Fun". Congratulations to our National Scholarship winners Addison Jansen, Lia Crumpley, Raiden Miranda and Elif Kapucu. On our last night of the week at the NRG Dance Gala our Junior Small Group "Below My Feet" earned the incredible honor of being named the NRG Dance Project National Junior Best in Contemporary and we could not be more proud.

Our dancers, like so many others, faced challenges this season that we never imagined. From dancing on Zoom, to 6X6 boxes, to getting back up on stage they never lost hope. The stuck together and accomplished so much. We are so very proud of you and cannot wait to see what Season 5 has in store for all of us!