Three days of dance, two days of theme parks DanceMakers Daytona kicked off our competitive dance season and our family vacation.

The Wrap It show is the convention’s finale where placements and scholarships are announced, top performances perform again and selected dancers perform a routine choreographed by Dejan Tubic. All the dancers from our studio in the Senior room were selected and had three rehearsals to learn the choreography and be performance ready. An honor which is equal parts exciting and exhausting and gives the dancers great exposure to the professional dance world. The first time competing his solo he was full of nerves and I was full of anticipation. The courage to simply take and command the stage is an incredible life lesson. To perform as an artist and athlete and deliver what you know you are capable of takes persistence and repetition. His solo scored a High First with just the right amount of room to get even better as he settles the nerves and fills in the grooves.

Last year in DanceMakers Richmond Dejan Tubic called out Lucas specifically, it was a special moment I was able to witness. This year at the start of his class Dejan asked Lucas to join him on stage to assist teaching. He was also able to perform Justin Giles choreography as a duet with his mentor and perform Channing Cooke’s choreography on stage. Being recognized confirms his dedication to training in the off season and inspires his continued commitment.

DanceMakers Daytona was the first convention of Lucas’ season along with a few other dancers who decided to use their scholarships and take advantage of additional training and opportunity. We are so grateful to have shared this experience with friends, to witness the collective growth and to support and cheer together. The entire studio will attend DanceMakers Richmond in January and we can’t wait!

With dancing done it was time for our family vacation to truly begin.