For some, New Year’s resolutions are a prominent tradition that they uphold from the start of the year all the way to the end. I don’t know about you guys, but I am not that person! One thing I do know for sure, though, is that the Atlanta DanceSport Cup was a wonderful way to kickstart the New Year for all the competitive dancers who attended. I think we can all agree that whether you are a New Year’s resolution person or not, it’s very important to start off the year with the same energy that you hope will fill the rest of the year! For our very goal-oriented dancers, this is a collective theme.
Professionals Katrina Volgina and Vladimir Karpov, the two organizers of this event, hosted the Atlanta DanceSport Cup at Volga Dance Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. The competition was held on Saturday, January 22, and a camp was conducted the next day, Sunday, January 23. Entries included Am/Am, Pro/Am, Teacher/Student and Solo Proficiency events, featuring dancers from pre-teen to Senior III (55+).
The events were a great success, and dancers from around the country enjoyed dancing on one day and taking lessons from their favorite coaches and adjudicators on the next. This way, the professionals could provide feedback to their students about their performances; the good, the bad, and the fancy! The camp featured group classes from many world-renowned coaches, with some even flying in from Europe and Russia to look at what our aspiring dancers had to offer in the USA Dance Federation!
One thing that stood out to me about this competition was the cooperativeness of all of the dancers and the willingness to help each other out. In the ladies dressing room, for example, girls from different studios did not hesitate to help each other with tan application, eyelashes, last-minute make-up touch ups, and most importantly, the millions of clasps found on the backs of our dresses!
All the adrenaline levels were better managed by helping each other out, because we had the same shared goal – to see one another succeed and witness our own successes in life as a result! What a great New Year’s resolution and not a bad way to start out the year!
