'Surreal': Wellington youth dance company wins national title, will compete in World Cup

The road to Argentina, and to honors a dance company could only dream about, has begun on State Road 7, on a black practice floor tucked inside a strip mall in Wellington.

A group of girls ages 5 and 17 stretch their legs on the barre. They hug each other and then begin rehearsing the choreography that won Wellington Vantage Pointe Dance Studio a national championship and earned its team a spot in this year’s Dance World Cup.

Two girls launch the performance by driving pink mini-motorcycles across the room. A 10-year-old flips into the middle of the stage with a no-handed (aerial) cartwheel and a team of girls surrounds her.

At first, they lock-and-pop their knees and elbows in perfect unison to “Rollin,” a rock song by Limp Bizkit. Then, each girl takes a turn leading the group through sharp hip-hop poses to the beat of “Bring 'Em Out” by T.I. and Jay Z, creating a rhythmic wave effect across the floor.

They finish by swinging their hips to the roar of Daddy Yankee’s “La Gasolina.” Two girls flip in the air for the last bang.

With that two-and-a-half-minute routine, the team landed the highest group score in the country at the Artistic Dance Exchange competition in Orlando in July.

The win sends the girls to Argentina in December to represent the U.S. in the Dance World Cup.

“We've been doing this piece for the whole year. We had very long rehearsals for it,” said Alexandria Smith, 17, who has danced in the studio since she was 3. “It felt like it was just a dream.”

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Victory brings honors to studio, scholarships to dancers

At nationals, Wellington Vantage Pointe Dance Studio also brought home the “Studio of the Year” award for excellence in dance instruction, faculty, staff and performance etiquette.

Jennifer Butler, who owns the studio, said it was the first time the academy had won such a prestigious award.

But Butler says the highlight of the night came when 18 girls received scholarships of $5,000 to $7,000 each to travel and perform around the country next year.

“It was surreal,” said Butler, who opened the studio 20 years ago. “I’ve seen all of them grow up. I lost my voice screaming for them.”

The Vantage Pointe team says the academy has been their safe space to specialize in different dance styles, learn about other cultures and discover themselves.

14-year-old Aria Chesser said dance has given her a powerful way to connect with others.

“When you're just talking to people in real life, you can't express some things,” said Chesser. “Dance is like …  it's a universal language. You can say anything you want with your body instead of trying to put it into words.”

Each dancer brings her own story to her work and the team’s routine. Here are some of them.

Alexandria Smith: 'Just dance all my emotions out'

Alexandria Smith was 3 years old when she slipped into her first ballet shoes. Now, at 17, she is fluent in several dance styles, including jazz, hip hop and lyrical. She works as a teaching assistant and has spent the past three years competing around the country with the help of scholarships.

Smith still prefers ballet because she loves learning its history and enjoys perfecting her footwork, while adding her own groove to the routine. She says her favorite part is dancing on pointe, using a special slipper with a hard, round box that allows her to stand and turn on the tips of her toes.

“I get the choreography and the moves, but I can express myself through my facial expressions and my emotions,” Smith said. “When I perform to the audience, I showcase who I really am.”

As graceful and synchronized as performers may look on stage, Smith said, there are countless hours of practice put into perfecting each step. She trains four hours every weekday and spends almost every weekend in competitions.

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Smith says dancing is a gift.

“Not a lot of people have this opportunity to do it as much as I do,” Smith said. “I feel very honored to do it.”

“Whenever I'm feeling sad or happy or angry, I can always just resort to dancing and just dance all my emotions out.”

Naima Joseph: 'It's OK. I'm going to come back stronger'

Naima Joseph, 16, also began dancing at Wellington Vantage Pointe Dance Studio when she was 3. She dreams of performing on Broadway.

Her favorite style is musical theater because she gets to step into different characters and bring them to life with her vocals, moves and theatrical facial expressions.

Joseph, who secures her curls in a tight bun, says dancing has taught her never to give up.

A month before the national competition, she was practicing jumps but landed on the wrong side of her right foot.  The doctor told her she had torn three ligaments in her ankle and would have to wear a cast until it healed.

“I was crying,” said Joseph, brushing tears away from her eyes. “But I was like, ‘It's OK. I'm going to come back stronger, like always.’”

Even though she couldn’t dance, Joseph traveled with the team to Orlando for the national contest. She stood in the crowd and executed the choreography from the waist up along with her teammates.

“I wanted to show that you can still do whatever you put your mind to, even if you're injured,” Joseph said.

Aria Chesser: Falling in love with Latin jazz

Aria Chesser, an only child, she says that at Wellington Vantage Pointe, she has found her dance sisters.

“It builds a really big family,” said Chesser, who joined the academy when she was 5. “It's like you genuinely feel like sisters. It's great.”

Chesser began dancing traditional styles like ballet, jazz and musical theater but has fallen in love with Latin jazz.

“I found it and I was blown away,” said Chesser. “It's like fun jazz, but it's also so much more than that. It can be sad. It can be happy. It's everything.”

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Chesser says learning how to dance to the fast, upbeat notes of Latin jazz has also allowed her to connect to classmates, friends and relatives who are Hispanic.

“It's nice to be able to feel a part of that culture,” Chesser said.

Last year, she received an “all-star” scholarship to compete around the country and is training to be promoted to teaching assistant next year.

Sophia and Alyvia Cincotta: 'It's like I'm in a whole other world'

Sophia, 11, and Alyvia Cincotta, 10, are sisters who are part of the academy's Prodigy team.

They head to the studio and train for long hours every day after school.

“It's awesome because if I ever need help, I can ask her, ‘Do you know this move?’” said Sophia, wrapping her arms around her sister. “It's just great to share that bond because I feel it made us closer.”

Their favorite dance styles are jazz and lyrical. They say dancing takes their mind away from school and makes them feel confident.

“If I don't do too good on a test, I can be really disappointed,” Sophia said. “And then, I come to dance and it's like I never even took the test.”

“It's like I'm in a whole other world,” she added.

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Alyvia said she will never forget the moment all the girls from the academy were sitting together on the stage waiting to hear the results.

“When we heard it was us, we were all so excited we just hugged each other,” Sophia said. “I am very proud of us because it was very special that we got to experience that together.”

The teacher: 'It will be your time if you keep on that path'

Butler, a Texas native, worked as a professional dancer and choreographer on cruise ships for seven years before she became pregnant and decided to settle down in South Florida. She opened the studio when she moved to the village 20 years ago.

In 2017, Butler moved the academy into its current location on State Road 7 near Wellington Regional Medical Center. It now enrolls 250 to 300 students every year. Fifty girls compete with the Prodigy team in state and national dance conferences.

“This is our biggest space we’ve had, and it's taken a 20-year journey to get to this point,” Butler said. “But well worth it. Very well worth it.”

Their win at the nationals was a testament to the girl’s resilience, Butler said.

They invested a year rehearsing the choreography. And though several dancers were injured before the show and they didn't always win in the early conferences, they now will perform for an international audience.

“It showed them, ‘Look, you can still succeed past disappointment',” said Butler. “It's about teaching the bigger lesson about life: Don't give up. It will be your time if you keep on that path, and you keep persevering and you keep trying. It will come.”

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Wellington youth dance team wins national title, to compete for World Cup