I Hope You Dance....

I began dancing in my Mother's living room...yes...carpet and all, to my older sisters' music which we played on the little 45 record player. We had such good times! Then, Dee Winterton...yes...THE DEE WINTERTON, began coming home from the U of U and Ririe-Woodbury, on occasion and hand-picked a little group of kids from Woodland and taught us the "jitterbug." Our parents lovingly called us, "The Little Jitterbuggers." We performed at any and all places that would have us and we loved it! As that group dissolved, my permanent partner became Seth Winterton. He and I became partners when I was in the 2nd grade and we danced together until Seth was ready to leave high school.
I LOVE TO DANCE! I LOVE TO WATCH DANCE! I love every genre` of dance! One of my biggest regrets in life is that I did not continue to pursue dance as I went on to college. So, in a nutshell, in my mind I am a great dancer, but not so much in real life! Therefore.....one of my greatest dreams was..."I Hope You Dance!" for my children. I am one of the luckiest people ever, because my children all love to dance...and are very good at it. Two of my daughters have chosen dance as their profession and they are SUCCESSFUL at it!
Last Saturday was the crowning competition for Body Motion Dance Company. I spent the day at Lagoon watching Billie Jo and Giselle's teams compete. What a perfect day! No...I did not even step a foot away from the performance area and wander to the roller coaster...or any other ride. I WATCHED DANCE FROM 2:30 PM UNTIL 10:30 PM AND THOROUGHLY ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!
Here are some great pictures I got while watching...


Junior Comp Jazz, which Ellie Jo filled in as a sub. She is the first one on the L on the back row. Excellent group!
Elementary Ballroom Group - Little Miss Tiny 5-year-old Mia is on this team (only her tiny arms are visable in the back L), Tess (7) first girl on the L with arms raised, and Luke (8) blonde boy in the front with his back to us. These students are unbelieveably good! This is their Paso routine.
Middle School Ballroom Team 1 - Wonderful group who thoroughly loves dancing. Ellie Jo (11) is the girl in the front on the left.
Junior Comp Hip Hop Team - Again, Ellie Jo is on back right. This group can rock it!
Pre-Teen Comp Team - Awesome dancers--every one! Ellie Jo is center and second deep.
Senior Comp Hip-Hop - This team takes top honors every time they compete!
Pre-Teen Comp Lyrical - A very moving routine from these young dancers. Ellie Jo is 3rd from the right on the back row.
Senior Comp Jazz - This group is just unreal! They are so "in" to what they are doing and it really shows. I'm sure even in the picture you can see their strength and character.


Intermediate Comp Jazz - this routine was exciting enough to live up to it's name...Bullet Proof!
Combo Pre-Teen and Intermediate Comp Hip-Hop - Can you say "major attitude!" I think this group has taken "gold" at every single competition this year. Ellie Jo is the center one on the front.
See what I mean? Every position they take is just sheer entertainment!
Intermediate Comp Lyrical - How about that for a beautiful heel stretch?
Intermediate Comp Lyrical - This little group of dancers is able to convey a real message as they perform. So many different personalities make up the group and it is expressed beautifully as they perform.
Middle School Ballroom Team 2 - and wow! Are they ever!!!
This routine was actually a medley with samba, cha-cha and jive. You can see the boys are having as much fun as the girls! Impressive team!
Paige and Casey both give it their all...and they look great!
It is awards time and Body Motion is pulling in the awards right and left!
Warning: I AM GOING TO BRAG, SO IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT....STOP READING NOW!

Miss Billie Jo danced in high school, she danced for four years at Southern Utah University and graduated with a major in PE and a minor in Dance. She opened up Body Motion Dance Company the year after completing her BS. She taught PE at South Summit for ten years and coached the Drill Team for a dozen years. The Drill Team was not even a competitive team when we took over, but it soon became one. It was a long, hard pull...without a feeder program, but by about year ten and Body Motion dancers feeding in to the program -- Billie Jo was named the 2A Coach of the Year! She quit teaching and coaching at the high school after Mia was born and focused on Body Motion. The studio has expanded and become a program where dancers can learn true technical skills and fine tune their performance abilities.
Miss Giselle danced from the day she was born. She was trained by Billie Jo, danced on the high school team, danced on UVU's dance team, and then switched her training to focus on ballroom. She was on UVU's Ballroom Tour Team and competed at the British Open Championships in Blackpool, England, the most decorated competition in the world. She danced for the Wasatch Fever and also for the Vibe under Rick Robinson, where she performed professionally. She was UVU's first Ballroom graduate. She taught at Body Motion while she was in college and returned last summer to join Billie Jo. She has added the ballroom program to Body Motion's class offerings.
Together, these two girls run a very professional, intensive dance program and I am very proud of them!
Saturday night, Billie Jo received one of the two "Director of the Year" awards in the Dance America competition line. I am so proud of her...and Giselle! Dance America hosts teams from the Wasatch Front and all over Utah as well as from Idaho. The competition is tough and teams are really good. The students from Body Motion are well-trained, disciplined athletes/artists. Their teachers are some of the very best!
So, for me, I can live out my dream through my daughters and the students of Body Motion Dance. And....for everyone else... I Hope you Dance...and find beauty and happiness there!