And that’s a wrap, eleven cities on the tour of his life. As a Season XI Collective member he traveled the country, trained with some of the best in the industry, met hundreds of dancers and inspired many, learned how to work behind the scenes and on the stage, made mistakes and navigated the corrections, dealt with disappointment, experienced what good workplace culture can be, and in the words of Erica Sobol “Created space for others to shine.”
Tagged: CDC, convention, dance, Dancemakers, Lucas, New Orleans, Penny, travel
Hollywood Vibe is our fifth and last regional competition of the 2024-2025 season, and the last team competition for our four seniors. They have been dancing together for years, co-starring and partnering in dances, supporting each other on and off the stage. From the nerves of their early days to the confidence and presence of today, their leadership and example for all the dancers at the studio will be missed.
24Seven is our Convention team’s second convention of the season. In Pittsburgh, we compete against studios we don’t usually see in the DMV area. The talent was fierce and the environment new but our dancers still shined showcasing the musicality and storytelling that are strengths to our studio.
From Daytona Beach to Kansas City to Nashville to Seattle, with bag packed he navigates the airport, boards the plane, looks out the window at the city he’s leaving, anticipating the city to which he is traveling. He works a grueling weekend, squeezes in meals when he can, survives on minimal sleep, bandaids sore feet, spends as much time as he can with the other Collective members, builds relationships with the faculty and gives high fives, words of encouragement, and genuine smiles to every dancer he encounters. Every interaction fuels him, every dance step validates and reaffirms, every moment is a moment he wants to live in for as long as possible. 
They did it! But wait, this journey for Lucas actually started seven years ago. DanceMakers was the first dance convention he attended when he joined Creative Dance Center’s competition team in 5th grade. It immediately made an impression on him. We’ve attended many dance conventions and the format is largely the same; high caliber faculty, classes in many styles of dance, competition against some of the best dance studios in the nation. What has stood DanceMakers apart from the rest is their vision; to make every person who walks through their doors feel welcomed, loved and supported. Those first few years Lucas stood out for his hip hop while he learned ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, ballroom and musical theater. Then class by class, year by year, his confidence grew. His trust in the dance community grew. His belief in himself as more than a hip hop dancer grew. The community, the faculty and the Collective of DanceMakers played a big part in the safety of this growth. For the past seven years we’ve attended a DanceMakers regional event and for the past three years we’ve attended their Nationals. The mutual trust and respect between our studio and DanceMakers has grown tremendously in the past few years with our coaches and dancers all feeling a bit more at home, every year.
Last year at Hollywood Vibe Nationals, Lucas was selected for Vibe Company. For the 2023-2024 season he would have the opportunity to assist the faculty at three regional conventions, work with a mentor and participate in other projects to broaden his growth and skills as a dancer. We have attended two regionals and the third, and last, was Norfolk, our team event.
DanceMakers always kicks off our competition season, the first convention for the team. This year it was also Oliver’s first convention. Each of my children came into this weekend with different levels of nerves and expectations, Oliver simply wanting to survive it, Penny wanting growth and Lucas hoping he and the team could achieve beyond last year. 
Our Everyday 