JCDGA Takes Top Honors in South Carolina

ERMA — When a group of 37 youngsters from Cape May County heads off to compete against 73 other teams from Canada to Texas at a national competition they hope to do well; they hope to place high; they dream of qualifying to battle for top honors.
They dream but they don’t expect to bring home national titles, but that is exactly what the dancers at the Jersey Cape Dance and Gymnastics Academy did when they recently competed at the Showstoppers East Coast National Championship and came home with not one, but three East Coast Titles.
The honors began when seven-year-old Taylor Magill became the East Coast National Mini Soloist Champion after beating 81 other dancers, aged eight and under, with her “I’m a Brass Band” acrobatic routine. Teen dancer and contortionist Victoria Jacoby, age 13, placed 2nd overall in her division when she scored higher than 300 other competitors aged 12 to 14. In the junior soloist division, Maxine Marshall placed 10th overall, and Katya Simonsen came in 9th.
On Friday afternoon, the top group spots were announced. While Jersey Cape had all but five of its group numbers in the top ten in their divisions, they could not overlap dancers in any routines, so they competed in seven of the eight divisions for top group honors. “Dancin’ Fools,” with Ava Landis, Katya Simonsen, Kaylee Clayburn, Madison Roberts, Maxine Mar-shall and Regan Frame, came in 3rd overall in the Small Group Junior Division. In the Small Group Teen Division, “Egyptian Fantasy” took 3rd place honors. These dancers included An-drea Reder, Desirea Cerasi, Jamie Marshall, Katya Simonsen, Kaylee Clayburn, Maxine Mar-shall, Regan Frame, Tiffany DePaul, and Victoria Jacoby.
Then came the large groups. JCDGA became the Mini Large Group East Coast National Champions with “Topsy Turvy,” a fast-paced acrobatic routine, with Abby Nagel, Augostina Mallous, Ava Bellanger, Ava Landis, Delaney Tice, Georgia Papamarkos, Hannah Kelleher, Isabella Sabato, Katya Simonsen, Kaylee Clayburn, Madison Roberts, Maxine Marshall, Regan Frame, Sophia Bosacco and Taylor Magill.
Eight-year-old Sophia Bosacco said, “I felt excited and nervous because there was only one dance that could win and I didn’t know if it would be ‘Topsy Turvy’…I didn’t really see it com-ing, but then I was jumping all over.” Seven-year-old Abby Nagel chimed in, “I wanted to cry but didn’t want to mess up my make-up before our next dance.”
JCDGA also took top honors in the Junior Large Group competition. “Dance to the Music,” which competed in the open division, exploded on stage with Ashley Lamey, Ava Landis, De-laney Tice, Desirea Cerasi, Hannah Kelleher, Hannah Lamey, Jamie Marshall, Jenny Weidman, Katya Simonsen, Kaylee Clayburn, Madison Roberts, Maxine Marshall, Michael Holmes, Paige Adams, Regan Frame, Tiffany DePaul, Veronica Holmes and Victoria Jacoby. “It felt so awe-some to know that we beat the Canadians because we worked so hard all week to overcome this challenge,” said dancer Hannah Lamey.
Excellence in Dance Awards were presented to “Jai Ho,” “Latin Xplosion,” “Ghosts,” “Dream in Color,” “Twilight Dreams,” “Too Darn Hot,” “Brave,” “Dance to the Music,” “This House is a Rockin’,” “”Topsy Turvy,” “Children Will Listen,” “Egyptian Fantasy,” “In Con-trol,” “Say,” “Dancin’ Fools,” “Let it Be,” “Ease on Down the Road,” “Love Bug,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Together Wherever We Go,” “I’m A Brass Band,” “Orange Colored Sky,” and “Amazing Mazie.”
Jersey Cape Dance is an underdog when they compete due to their small size. One very competitive team has 171 dancers with 36 males. Director of JCDGA, Stina Smith, said, “We were up against some amazing schools with huge teams. Beating the Canadians was a big deal, to say the least, as was beating so many of the other teams. It was hard work and dedication that did that for our dancers. Annika (Nash), Kendra (Heminway) and I could not be more proud.”
Other team members include Sara Nichols, Brittney Blomkvest, Shayla Marks, Gracie Moore, Taylor Mortensen, Samantha Gregg, Loren Godman, Erin Roman, Abbie Green, Emily Clark and Jess Nagel.
Sometimes dreams do come true.