A Night at The Dance Awards

On Friday night, the Dance Spirit editors got all gussied up to head to The Dance Awards! Always a fabulous event, this year’s evening didn’t disappoint. It included tons of dance celebs and fantastic guest performances. (My favorite? A funny/sexy/super-cute tango number by Nick Lazzarini and Melanie Moore.)

The best parts by far, though, were the student performances. Comp kids we’ve been watching for years stood out in number after number, and these dancers are doing a great job growing up. Jayci Kalb was stronger than ever. Kayla Mak was radiant (and still oh-so-cute). And former Cover Model Search finalist Alyssa Ness was beaming, front and center in the opening number.

The big stars of the night were the Best Dancer winners. Can’t wait to see what these talented dancers do next:

Mini Male Best Dancer, Joey Britt

Mini Female Best Dancer, Tate McCrae:

Junior Male Best Dancer, Julian Lombardi

Junior Female Best Dancer, Kallani Hilliker:

Teen Male Best Dancer, Jhaleil Swaby

Teen Female Best Dancer, Christina Ricucci

Senior Male Best Dancer, Zelig Williams

Senior Female Best Dancer, Miriam Gittens

And the 2013 Studio of the Year: JCSOD

Congratulations, dancers!