The Anita McCoy Dance Studio has been a staple in Canon City since 1975 but, even after nearly 50 years, the studio still has time to accomplish a "first" in regards to competitions.
Every other year, the studio competes at the Revolution Regional Dance Competition in Pueblo but this year proved to be a first for McCoy and the 40 students that accompanied her.
From March 8-10, her students competed in both solo and group dances in many genres including tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, acrobatic, and musical theater. There was a little something for everyone and the students finally had the opportunity to implement years and months of practice. Dance studios from all over Colorado competed against McCoy's comparatively smaller studio but earned all High Gold Honors and qualified every dancer for the national competition in July.
Many of the older dancers have spent a decade with McCoy as their teacher and, thanks to her dedicated tutelage and their hard work, brought home a record-breaking number of awards -- over 50.
"For us to get that good and work so hard [was impressive]," McCoy commented. "This is one of the best outcomes we've ever had."
A first for the studio, however, came in the Camaraderie Award which was awarded to the students in the 13+ division.
"Our students were very friendly to other kids and after each team competed on stage, our students would clap a lot for each studio," McCoy said.
After successfully qualifying each dancer for the national competition, McCoy is now focused on prepping for that time. The National Revolution Dance Competition will take place on June 15-20 in Galveston, Tex. the studio is already busy raising funds for the trip.
They have hosted car washes and bake sales in the past but a cornerstone fundraiser for them has been the dance pledge.
Businesses and individuals will pledge a certain amount of funds per hour and the students will then work together to dance for a consecutive eight hours.
McCoy considers dance, "the background of everything" and looks forward to taking her students to Texas where the possibility of bringing home another record-breaking amount of awards lies.
"Keep up the good work and keep smiling and show off when on stage," she said with a smile.
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