Fredericksburg Siblings Named Finalists In National K12 Talent Showdown

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — For the Lupo family, dance is more than an extracurricular activity. It is a shared passion, a weekly commitment and, now, a national spotlight.

Three Lupo siblings from Fredericksburg — Faith, Landon and Jade — have been named finalists in the K12 Talent Showdown, a national student competition for students in the K12 Public School at Home program. The finals will be held virtually on June 9, when viewers will be able to watch the performances online and vote in real time.

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The competition drew 625 student entries from across the country, with students submitting performances and creative work in categories including music, visual art, dance and other talents.

Watch a livestream of the K12 Talent Showdown on June 8. Public voting opens at 12 p.m. (ET) and will close 15 minutes after the final performance has concluded.

For Tiffany Lupo, the family’s connection to dance began long before her children entered competitions. She first fell in love with dance while growing up in Africa, where she danced and later taught classes as a teenager.

“When I was 16, when I was really young, I moved here from Africa, and there wasn’t much dancing options for me,” Tiffany Lupo said.

Years later, after she had children, her mother-in-law gifted the family dance lessons. The children began training at Reagan Mason Haley Dance Company and have been dancing there for about 10 years.

“All four of the kids dance competitively at the studio, and it’s really fun,” Tiffany Lupo said.

Faith, Landon and Jade advanced to the national finals in three different age groups. Another Lupo sibling, Emma, also competed and reached the semifinals before Faith advanced to the final round in their division.

The children’s routines differ in style. Landon said he likes dancing because of the music and enjoys hip-hop. Faith described her routine as lyrical and slower, with Tiffany Lupo describing the performance as having a “white flowy dress kind of idea.”

Faith said dancing without music, as she prepared to do for part of the competition process, can be challenging.

“It’s a little hard sometimes,” Faith said. “I go with the music most of the time.”

The Lupo children spend much of their week training. Faith and Emma train about 13 hours a week, while the younger two children train about nine hours a week, according to the family.

Dance also takes the family on the road. This year, the children competed in Baltimore, North Carolina and Woodbridge, Tiffany Lupo said.

The family said virtual schooling has helped the children balance their academic work with the demands of competitive dance. The children attend Virginia Virtual Academy, an online public school program. Tiffany Lupo said the format allows them to learn from home while still receiving instruction from teachers and support services when needed.

One reason the family chose the program, she said, was that she did not want to manage a traditional homeschool curriculum by herself.

“It’s a lot easier to have teachers that are looking at your children, being educated with a high-quality program,” Tiffany Lupo said.

The school format also allowed Landon to receive speech therapy through K12, she said. Tiffany Lupo said she had been unsure how online therapy would work but was impressed by the program.

“It was an amazing program,” she said. “It was amazing to watch, because I was skeptical about how therapy would go online.”

Tiffany's husband Shane Lupo said the school setup gives the children more room to devote time to dance without being exhausted after a full day in a school building.

“I think it’s great to see that what they pour most of their time into, that they’re being rewarded with it,” Shane Lupo said. “It’s because they’re able to do the school at home that they’re able to put that many hours into dance afterwards.”

For the Lupos, the national competition is also a family moment. The children rehearse together, train together and have even performed together at family events. Tiffany Lupo said she hopes the four siblings may eventually compete together in one choreographed routine.

For now, the family is focused on the K12 Talent Showdown finals and the chance for three siblings to represent Fredericksburg on a national virtual stage.

“I think it’s just a very cool thing,” Tiffany Lupo said. “I’m a very proud mama."