Dance team triumphs
Squad wins 10 national championships
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ELKINS -- A local dance and tumbling team recently won 10 national championship titles and two grand champion titles at the the Star Talent National Championship at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Nina Hebb currently owns and operates Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in the Beverly/Dailey area. Hebb took her competitive students to the event on June 13-18. The local students competed against several dozen teams across the United States, offering a total of 510 total routines during the week.
"Quite frankly I am still in shock," Hebb said. "I have always let my students know that they can do anything if they practice and pour their heart into their performance.
"Coming from such a small area in West Virginia, I internally take my students to Nationals for the experience. I know we will be faced with insane competition but I also know that my students will give everything they have."
Hebb said when the winners were announced the team, family, instructors and students shed tears of joy.
"This is the fourth time they have competed on a national level and the highest we have ever placed was third," Hebb said. "Our goal was to try to place higher this year and they completely blew me away."
Hebb said dance can be very subjective and the competition at the event was stiff.
"There were a lot of outstanding teams there, but my kids were outstanding too," she said. "It was a nail-biting experience for everyone involved."
Hebb said four solo dancers placed in the top 10 with one national title and two duo/trio teams, one of which placed third and the other brought home another national title. She said she had four improv contestants, three of which won national improv titles.
"Three of the four groups I took came away with national division championship titles with three Extravaganza callbacks," she said. "Two of those teams sealed the deal, winning the overall National Grand Championship in their entire age group."
Hebb explained competitive dance offers several different companies that host national/world competitions. She said she chose to have the team compete in the Star Talent Productions national competition this year because it seems to have the most competition regionally.
"My students wish to compete. The more the better," she said. "We have been to several regional competitions in West Virginia and surrounding states that just don't offer a lot of competition.
"If we win, we don't want it to be by default because no one shows up to compete. It just makes the win so much more rewarding. We knew that if the regional offered a lot of competition, that their national event would be outstanding, and it was."
Hebb said the competition also made the experience fun for the students with theme days, workshops with professional choreographers, improv contests and a finale dance featuring eligible students from all studios.
"My student Adalynn Brown won the Mini Improv Championship, Avery Fox won the Petite Improv Championship, Callie Casto won the Junior Improv Championship and Gwynnie Walters placed fifth in the Teen Improv Championship," Hebb said.
The following students were winners:
Addy Brown -- Mini Soloist National Champion;
Karigan Carr, Callie Casto and Avery Fox – Junior Duo/Trio Division National Champion;
Junior Competition Team, Gwynnie Walters, Alayna Shrader, Karigan Carr, Aleigha Harris, Peyton Howell, Ellie Bodkins, Kyliegh Lewis, Callie Casto and Avery Fox -- Junior National Grand Champions;
Teen Competition Team, Brynna Phillips, Melody Calkins, Jill Bennett, Lydia Wamsley, Maddie Noel, Chloe Pudder, Chloe Helzer, Lilly Betler, Raegan Booth, Gracie Harper, Jillian Butcher and Gwynnie Walters -- Teen National Grand Champions. Students in this group also came away with two National Division Championship Titles;
The youngest group, the Mini Competition Team, also did extremely well, placing fifth overall for their hip hop routine and sixth overall for their jazz routine. Those members include Darrah Walters, Abbie Markley, Camry Pudder, Emma Kennedy, Lexcie Roy, Madison Davis, Arena Shreve and Everly Casto.