Dance Nationals!



 I am now going to attempt to write about our trip to Nashville for the Dance Masters of America National Competition. I say attempt because in the 10 days we were there, a lot happened. We stayed at the Gaylord resort which was HUGE (9 acres)! It had beautiful gardens (including a river with a boat... INSIDE), shops, restaraunts and more! There were dancers from all over the U.S. and we also saw people from Canada and San Juan.
We roomed (and drove) with Amber (Al's dance buddy) and her mom, Julia. The first night we were there they had a welcome party with the theme, "A little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll." While Al is not a fan of country music, "country" was an easier look than the rock-n-roll.
 Each day the girls (and boy) had classes for four hours, competitions in the afternoon and then in the evening the title holders from each state competed. We had 3 dancers from our studio represent our state and they all made the top ten (our Miss Dance dancer was the second runner up)! For those competitions, the girls dressed up nice and cheered on their teammates.
There wasn't a lot of down-time but they did get in a little bit of swimming fun though it rained most of the time we were there (which was a bummer).  There were also restaurants on site we went to and we walked around A LOT. My fitbit was well over 20,000 steps each day!
On the fourth of July it was rainy so we walked around in our festive clothes inside. It felt weird not being home for the fourth and even weirder not seeing a single firework (sob!).
The girls didn't seem to mind! That night we walked the grounds and I think the girls took a million selfies and of course I took some pictures too which I posted regularly on an album on facebook.
Our dancers were AWESOME! For the first time ever, EVERY dance earned a platinum (which was very impressive) and we had first places and special awards as well!

The girls were allowed to take one day off from classes. We decided to go into Nashville on that day. Al really wanted to go to a tap class that day though. She went back and forth on whether to go or not. She really wanted to go, but none of her friends were... It was driving me a little nuts. In the end, she went into the class ALL BY HERSELF which I was VERY proud of.  She said the class was easy and "kind of boring" but I'm sure glad she went. After the class, the four of us headed downtown. In Nashville, Al was tired and fell asleep AT THE TABLE! We ate at yummy Pucketts and then went to a candy store that a friend suggested.



Al's jazz group scored the highest in their group size which meant they got to be in a 'dance off' with all the other top group sizes (the best solo, duo, small group, large group... etc) for 12 and under to determine the overall winner. Just to be able to dance for this (at the final banquet) was a huge honor.

As I mentioned, the girls got dressed up each night for the title holders but on the last day they had a sit-down dinner and then not only watched the top dances, they performed (which is why they had hair and make-up on in this picture with three of their awesome teachers) for the dance off (new judges).
 The place was packed and there was so much talent! Al was a bit star-struck because she saw a boy from the show, "So You ThinkYou Can Dance" in class. The show is doing kids right now. The dances we saw that last night were amazing and our dancers nailed their number as well! I was very proud of them.
I honestly didn't think that they would WIN (seeing all that other talent) but when they announced the Grand National Champion for 12 and Under of the entire competition~ they played the "Dancin' Dan" song!!! THEY WON!! Our mouths were hanging open and we couldn't believe it! We were so excited and the girls were wired! Many of them were crying and they were all hugging and screaming! It was AWESOME!
 Being away from Jeff and the boys was so hard (although I talked with them each day, I've never been away from them for that long) but I also treasured the time with my girl. There were times she just wanted to hang with me which was sweet. It's been such a year of growth for Ali~ not just in her dance but in her outlook and confidence and discovering herself. When asked her favorites of the trip... #1: WINNING! (Obviously) #2: Going into that tap class all by myself.
I couldn't agree with her more. I'm just so proud of her!  Way to go, Al!


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