Annelise Velarde’s Tap Dance Team Win Big at the Showbiz National Dance Competition

On January 26th, Annelise Velarde’s tap dance team competed in the Showbiz National Dance Competition at the Higley Center. Their routine, Jelly’s Jam, won 5th place in their category, Junior – Ruby – Small Group.

Q: Could you explain your experience with tap dancing and about your team?

A: I’ve been tap dancing for six or seven years now and I love it! This year I started at a new dance studio, Chandler Dance Center, and it has a great tap program. My team was just formed for this competition season, so we have been practicing together since September.

Q: Could you describe how the whole day went down?

A: Since my dance competition was scheduled for that evening, I didn’t get there until 3 P.M. Our company didn’t have that many dances in the competition, so we spent a lot of the time hanging out and practicing the different dances. There was a really nice community ambiance that came with the whole competition. We always went backstage to watch every groups dance, and cheer each other on. This was only my second dance competition ever, and the first one preforming this specific tap dance. It was really fun to have something that all of us were working for.

Q: How long did your team practice for?

A: Our team practices about an hour a week, although it can be more or less depending on the week. I am part of three classes, while we also have normal tap classes, and all the people in my competition group are in one or more of my classes.

Q: What was your and your team’s reaction winning 5th place?

A: We didn’t even expect to be in the top ten, so we were really surprised when we had placed. I had worked really hard and practiced so much, so it was really nice to have my hard work pay off.

Congratulations to Chandler Dance and thank you Annelise for taking the time to answer my questions. This is a great accomplishment as this is one of the biggest competitions in the state!