Day 7: Jordan Gets Top 10 for Teen Miss Dance of America

So I am way behind on the blog. It is Day 10 now but it has been a whirlwind of days and so I thought I would go back and fill in the days. Whew!  What a week it has been. 

The night of Teen Miss Dance of America was such an exciting evening/night!  It started with Miss Grace coming to our room to do Jordan’s hair. And she did a FABULOUS job of it. Winner! 💯 ⭐️

After her hair was finished, Jordan spent about an hour or so doing her make-up.  She’s got it down and always does such a beautiful job. 

At about 6:15pm we headed down to the backstage area where all the contestants were assigned dressing room space. For the opening number in the competition all the female contestants needed to wear a plain black leotard of their choice, tan tights and tan Jazz shoes.. Here’s some of the girls milling around by the dressing rooms prior to the start of the night and the opening number. 

And Jordan getting in the zone and rehearsing back stage. 

And her sister came back to give her a pep talk and wish her well. 

The opening number was really fabulous! 🔥  I can’t wait to get the video to see it again. After the opening number, each contestant was introduced in order of their contestant number. The title director read the contestant number, their name, along with their chapter number and it’s name as they went to the front of the stage to be recognized and then exited to get ready for competing their solos.  

Since Jordan was contestant number 24 and the last one out of the girls to compete, as most of the girls were changing into their costumes and starting to stretch, she just wanted to chill with me backstage. I get so nervous watching the other contestants so I was fine hanging backstage with her, pass required. 

 

Jordan was worried if she stretched too early her muscles would be cold & stiff by the time she went on stage for her solo.  So…….we waited and waited and waited some more. It felt like forever but it was really more like an hour. Finally the time came for her to stretch and review her solo with her AirPods in to hear her music. 

When there were about 10 numbers until her solo she finally got dressed in her costume.  She looked so amazing in it. All the hours of stoning it with Swarovski crystals paid off cuz it looked gorgeous on stage. 

When contestant 22 went on stage it was time for me to wish her luck and go into the audience to see her perform.  I was SO nervous, but she was doing good.  

Jordan went out there and owned the stage and just crushed it. One of the best times I have seen her dance.  Brad and Zoe came out to tell her congratulations when she was done. We were so proud of her. And the family text group was blowing up with comments and congratulations!  It was so wonderful that it was live streamed so the whole family could watch it. 

The time finally came for awards and Jordan placed in the Top 10!  She was so thrilled. The competition all week was so fierce in the Teen division, it was a huge accomplishment for her and acknowledgement of all her hard work preparing for this moment over the past year. 

Day 7: Teen Miss/Mr. Dance of America Competition Day!

Well it’s Day 7 for us, and July 7th, and Jordan’s big day/night has arrived. Due to their late night rehearsal last night (until 11:45pm), she gets to sleep in today.  

Morning rehearsal…….canceled! Woo hoo!  

Here’s some pictures of Jordan and some of the other contestants taken from the program. 

Jordan has the not-so-enviable position of being the last girl to compete tonight.  Therefore it should be close to 10pm by the time she competes her solo. This is what the line up looks like for tonight. Wishing her an amazing night and a wonderful performance after all her hard works these many months through some challenging times.  She has always been my little dynamo, and she is such a talented dancer and performer. We could not be more proud of her. ⭐️

Zoe is currently in rehearsal from 8:30am to 12:30pm. 

By the time she is done Brad should be here. Yay! We’ll grab some lunch with him prior to Jordan and Zoe going into their workshop classes this afternoon.  

Call time for Jordan tonight is 6:30pm.  Then after the Teen awards ceremony it will be Zoe’s turn for a late night rehearsal on the stage in preparation for her Title competition tomorrow.  

We are definitely gonna need a vacation after this “vacation”.  We just realized this morning that neither Zoe nor Jordan have even stepped foot outside since we arrived her last Thursday July 1st.  I went outside one time to check out the pool area and that’s it.  It was very hot and humid and the pool was packed so I figure we’re not missing much on that front.  

More later……..

Day 6: More Duet Success and a Marathon Day

Today Zoe and Jordan competed their second duet. They were competing at 8:30am so we were up at 5:30am CT. Yikes!  If you happen to have a teenager, you know how early that is for them. 

Nonetheless, stretching and rehearsing ensued with gusto. 😁

Once again the girls crushed it & got a Platinum!  The Platinum awards this year are few and far between. So proud of both of them. This contemporary duet, called Ghost, has been such an amazing duet for Zoe and Jordan.  Thank you to Grace for the fabulous choreography!  I love everything about this number. 

Immediately after competing both girls went to rehearsals for their opening number of their Title competition.  Jordan got out of rehearsal around 11am but Zoe was there until 12:30pm.  After Zoe got out of rehearsal we grabbed a quick lunch and then Jordan went to a few workshop classes, one was HipHop and the second was Musical Theater. Both classes had great choreographers with great combinations.  

Zoe unfortunately pulled a muscle in her leg during rehearsal so we got her some ibuprofen, she iced it, took a bath, iced it again, and rubbed some hemp cream on it, and then just chilled in the room for the remainder of the afternoon to rest it. 

This evening was the Junior Miss/Mister Dance of America competition where Sophia from our studio was competing. She did such a beautiful job in the opening number as well as with her solo! ♥️ We are so proud of her. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the girls with her.  But here they are in the ballroom prior to the competition starting.  All the contestants from the other Title competitions wear their sashes & crowns to watch the other divisions compete. 

After the Junior competition, all the Teen contestants (which Jordan is one) had a rehearsal on the stage since it’s the only time they can get on the stage since competing starts again at 7:30am. They rehearsed starting at 10:30pm for about an hour.  We got back to the room at 11:45pm.  Man, what a marathon, 18 hour day!  

Good news is, Jordan gets to sleep in tomorrow (or rather today since it’s 12:30am now).  But Zoe needs to be up by 7am for a rehearsal, so you know what that means?  That means this dance mom will be up at 7am as well.  🤪 Sleep definitely is not a priority at DMA. 😂

Good night all!  Tomorrow Brad arrives to see Jordan compete tomorrow night. Will be great to have him here and so excited to see Jordan compete tomorrow night!. ♥️

Day 5: Gianna and Junior Team Compete

After Zoe and Jordan competed, Gianna competed her second solo- Steam Heat. She was just a little Broadway star on that stage and she scored a High Gold!  So proud of this girl. Two solos, two High Golds. 

This afternoon the Junior Co competed Sugar Plum. Such a great group of girls giving it their all! 

Day 5: Black and Gold Jazz Duet

This morning Zoe and Jordan competed a jazz duet called Black and Gold.  They had just learned it 2 weeks ago, after their recital was over, and they had never performed in on stage before. They were definitely nervous about nailing it but, BOOM! they crushed it! They embodied the very stylistic elements of the routine, the music was great, they were mirror images of each other and connected as a duo, not to mention the fabulous choreography by Grace Pack!  It had all the makings of a great number and they delivered. ⭐️

Fortunate enough, about an hour before they competed I found out they were live streaming it.  We thought they were only live streaming the evening Solo Title Competition.  But I happened to click on the link and there was the PAC competition being live streamed as well. Not even Grace or Shely knew they were streaming the PAC competition. So I quickly emailed and text the family so they were able to watch it. Icing on the cake for sure to have them able to see it. 🥰

The day started with both of them needing to get hair amd make-up on, then they needed to go to rehearsal, starting at 8:30am CT, for the opening number of their Solo Title Competition.  About 10 numbers prior to their duet I went and got both of them out of rehearsal, they changed into their costumes, I put their headpieces on, and they quickly stretched and reviewed their routine.  

Here they are stretching prior to competing.  

And ready to go! 🎶

Happy girls afterwards. Always such a relief for me afterwards when they are happy with how they did. Whew! 😅 And the family LOVED it. 🥰 

They ended up scoring a Platinum for it! 🔥 Platinum is the highest score you can get and they only gave 13 Platinums out of the 81 numbers that competed in the morning session, with only one other duo/trio besides theirs getting a Platinum.  

They are now in the running to compete again during the Grand National Finals on Friday.  Friday afternoon they announce the Top 5 Duo/Trios to compete in Grand Nationals. There are 64 duo/trios in the 13 and Over category so Top 5 is tough, but we’ll see….

Competing done, back to rehearsal…..

Day 1: Heading to Dallas for DMA Nationals 2021

This Day 1 post will likely be my longest since we are on the plane and I have lots of time to write.  Lucky you. 😜

After many months of preparation, we are excited to be heading to Dallas. As I mentioned in my first post, it seems as if we packed half the house. I hope we didn’t forget anything. 🤪  We certainly did not forget shoes!  I think between the 3 of us we have close to 20 pairs of shoes. 🤦🏻‍♀️ As Brad always says, “the shoes make the outfit”. Our outfits will definitely be made!  ⭐️ 😂

Just a little background on what this is all about for those that want it. In order to compete in the Dance Masters of America Solo Title Competition, which Jordan and Zoe both are competing in, you need to first win the Title at a Dance Masters regional competition. Dance Masters of America has Chapters all over the US and Canada. 

Our chapter is Chapter 1: Dance Masters Pacific Coast. Each chapter has many dance studios from that region that participate in the chapter.  There are 4 age divisions & each one has a male and female category: Petite Miss/Mr. (ages 7 to 9); Junior Miss/Mr. (ages 10 to 12); Teen Miss/Mr. (ages 13 to 15); & Miss/Mr. (ages 16 & up).  In March, Jordan won Teen Miss Dance Pacific Coast and Zoe won Miss Dance Pacific Coast.

All the title winners from all the chapters around the US and Canada come together to compete for the National Title.  The contestants need to submit a head shot, a dance action photo, and a resume.  They will compete & be scored in audition classes in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and acrobatics.  They will be taught a dance combination in each type of dance and perform it back for the judges. They will also do a scored panel interview with the judges. No spectators are allowed for this part of the competition. 

There are 5 judges and the highest and lowest score from the 5 judges for each event will be thrown out. The 3 scores in the middle will be the ones that count for the contestant’s overall score for that event. 

The highest number of points comes from the final night of the Title competition. This is where each contestant performs a solo dance in whatever genre of dance that they choose.  Both Zoe and Jordan will be doing a contemporary dance.  All of the contestants also do a big opening number dance that they learn during the first few days of the competition and perform at the start of the solo competition. 

Jordan is contestant number 24 and competes her solo for Teen Miss Dance of America on the night of Wednesday July 7th. Zoe is contestant number 10 and competes her solo for Miss Dance of America on the night of Thursday July 8th. Spectators are allowed at the solo competition and it will also be live streamed for anyone remote to view. 

There is also a Performing Arts Competition (PAC) where anyone not competing in the Title competition can compete a solo. There also is group competing in PAC where Zoe and Jordan will be competing their 2 duets together- one a contemporary number & one is a jazz number.  

The Junior Competition Team from Shely Pack Dancers will be competing 4 group numbers in PAC  along with solos.  Sophia won Junior Miss Dance Pacific Coast and will be competing in the Junior Title Competition. Unfortunately none of the Shely Pack Dancers Senior Competition Team came to Nationals this year. 😢

In addition to the competing, there also are dance workshop classes in all styles of dance throughout the day, everyday.  When dancers are not competing or in rehearsals, they are in workshop classes. The days are long, starting earrly each morning and going until 11pm or later each evening. It’s an exhausting week and half, but so many great experiences and connections are made. 

And so the adventure begins. This will be Jordan’s 6th Nationals and after 11 years, with Zoe’s first Nationals being in 2011, this will be Zoe’s 8th Nationals and the final competition of her dance career. 😭  Both girls have had a great run with so many wonderful DMA memories over the years.  Here’s to many more for Jordan, and one last one for Zoe…….. Go Get’em Ladies!! 💃🎉💯

Spirits are high and the girls are ready to do this thing!💥

Day 5: Zoe and Jordan Compete a Duet

This morning Zoe and Jordan compete a jazz duet for the first (and last) time.  It is #176 and is called Black and Gold. The competition will be live streamed. They should compete around 9am PT (Monday).  

Here is the link for the live stream:

Vimeo.com/event/1109692

Day 4: DMA Convention Opening Party

Despite the fact that we’ve been here since Thursday and Zoe and Jordan started competing on Friday, tonight was the official Opening Party for the week. The theme was Heros.  

All the Title Contestants paraded in- first the Petite group; then Juniors; then Teen; and lastly Miss/Mister.  Here’s some quick pictures. Going to bed shortly because tomorrow will be another early morning.