Dancers win big in competition
From growing as dancers to navigating the challenges of a global pandemic, the last few years have been a period of growth for the students at Omni Dance Academy. This was evident last weekend when the dancers at the Vacaville studio took home multiple awards at the Rainbow National Dance Competition in Sacramento.
Held at the Memorial Auditorium at Sacramento Convention Center Complex from May 6 to 8, Omni Dance Academy won five Double Platinum awards, six Platinum awards, a special judge's award for “Sassy and Sensational,” six routines that placed in the top 10 overall high scores and two routines that were awarded a judge's choice for a scholarship to a dance convention.
Cassie Daley, owner and artistic director of Omni Dance Academy, was very proud of her dancers.
“The dancers worked so hard, so they deserve it and they were very excited about it,” she said. “From a competition that is as prestigious as these, it's an honor.”
The Rainbow National Dance Competitions are held in cities throughout the country and are open to any local dance studios, although Daley said they must have a certain amount of competitive material.
“They have to have a number that meets certain qualifications that has a certain amount of technique,” she said. “They're looking for particular styles — jazz, tap, ballet, etc. — and it has to be a certain time length, so there's a lot that goes into creating these routines, but these routines were created specifically to be competitive numbers and then entered in the appropriate competition.”
Daley said the rehearsals were long, with dancers taking technique classes multiple times throughout the week and taking part in a company rehearsal specifically for choreography and learning routines every week from August to May.
“They love every minute of it,” she said. “It's a lot of hard work, but it's also fun for them. It's really neat to see them understand hard work but doing something you love is fun and rewarding.”
Omni's mini-company, consisting of dancers aged 7 to 9, performed group jazz and group lyrical routines to Hoku's “Perfect Day” and Demi Lovato's “Skyscraper,” respectively, as did the junior dancers ages 11 and up to Ofenbach's “Wasted Love” and Avril Lavigne's “Head Above Water.” Numerous duets and solos also won awards.
Daley said competing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge.
“This year was exciting, not only to compete because they have grown, but because we have some form of normalcy back, so the competitions were what they're supposed to be,” she said. “We got to go on stage and not wear masks, and be in big groups with other dancers and see a competition the way it was meant to be experienced.”
“The word `exciting' doesn't quite capture how we all felt going into this season,” she added.
Earlier this season, Daley said Omni took part in a dance convention in San Francisco and three competitions, including a regional one in Anaheim which allowed the team to go to Disneyland together. The studio will do all of these next year and “add things that really enrich the experience as a part of our company,” she said.
Daley hopes her dancers will take several things away from the experience: improved confidence; new friendships; believing in themselves and doing their best.
“While our winnings and our awards were amazing and we're so proud of them, the idea behind our studio is always passion and growth with our dancers,” she said. “Fortunately, those two things — winning with passion and growth in technique — go hand in hand.”
An audition meeting for the 2022-23 season will be at 5 p.m. May 27 at the studio, 501 E. Monte Vista Ave., Suites B and C. For more information, visit Omnidanceacademy.com.