My daughter, Shar, is a dancer for Dance Elite Performance Academy here in my hometown. If you’re not a parent of a competitive dancer then it’s lost on you how much time, effort, and money go into dance. It’s a full-time job and if I was 13, I would’ve quit a long time ago to pursue a different sport. Dance as a sport? Yes, it was hard for me to imagine myself calling this a sport 10 years ago. The hours, the dedication, the control and conditioning of the body. It’s a lot.

The studio is the brainchild of my family friend (more like family) Samara Tillman. It’s incredible to see her dream grow. When Shar joined Samara, there were about 12 girls. Samara started a competitive team because of a special bond she shared with one of the students at the school she was an administrator for. That young lady is now a college freshmen doing great things.

I just wanted to take a moment to brag on my kid and Samara for all the hard work. This weekend we were in Indianapolis, IN and our girls pretty much won every category that they competed in. The top award was an Elite Gold, I believe every dance except one received that distinction. Amazing weekend.

I was feeling creative and took a little video of the younger kids at the pool party in the hotel.