Naperville Park District Dance Team Shines in Competition

Naperville Park District’s new competition dance team brought home awards from its first regional competition last month and is heading to a second event the weekend of March 13-15.

The five-member dance team won second place in their age group at the Des Plaines Dance Idol Contest on Feb. 7-8. More than 400 dancers from studios across the state participated in the event.

“This was our first competition,” said Chesney Murphy, Dance Academy coordinator. “We honestly had no idea what to expect, but they placed second in their age group (9-11) in the small group division, and won a stage presence award.”

The girls performed a jazz routine called “Shake It Up” under the direction of instructor Stacey Cohen. The five dancers on the Naperville Park District team are Mia Gordon, Lily Mueller, Milana Nelson, Victoria O’Neil and Averi Velker.

The next competition on the dance team’s schedule is the VIP Dance Competition March 13-15 at the Hemmens Cultural Center, located at 45 Symphony Way in Elgin. They will be competing in the Off-Broadway category.

The competition dance class is new to the Naperville Park District’s Dance Academy recital dance track for the 2014-2015 academic year.

“The competition dance team provides a way for students to excel individually as well as in a team atmosphere,” explained Murphy.