Elev8 dancers want those in Sampson County to know you can do something big even living in a small town. Sixteen dancers from the local studio got to represent Sampson County in Times Square and on the New Amsterdam Theatre stage on Broadway through Dance the World Events last week.
The dancers ranged from ages eight to 17 and represented the towns of Clinton, Salemburg, Roseboro, Garland, and Newton Grove for the four-day event, learning and performing original choreography in New York City.
The Elev8 dancers were Anna Parker Andrews, Caroline Andrews, Finley Bell, Macy Bell, Libbie Best, Alanah Bradshaw, Caroline Butler, Grayson Butler, Kaydence Copeland, Kinsley Faircloth, Olivia Hobbs, Chloe Hoskins, Madison Newman, JoAnna Parker, Anna Simmons, and Caroline Stafford. The event ran from Thursday July 23 through Sunday July 26 and gave the dancers not only opportunities to dance in one of the biggest cities in the world, but also to learn from professionals who dance every day for their careers.
Madelyn James, Elev8 Dance Studio owner and artistic director, learned of the company Dance the World Events and felt her studio aligned well with their company. Dance the World provides dancers ages eight and up with opportunities to dance in places like Disneyland, Nashville, and New York City. James sent an audition tape of the dancers to the company and they were selected to attend the New York City event.
That event includes workshops that allow the dancers to learn from cast members of “Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway,” tickets to see “Aladdin” or “The Lion King” and the opportunity to dance at New Amsterdam Theatre, home of “Aladdin on Broadway.” The dancers got to perform their own choreography, learned at Elev8, on the Broadway stage. The dancers also got to perform in Times Square, and finish the experience with a Sunset Cruise on the Hudson River to see the Statue of Liberty.
When asked what their favorite part of the trip was Alanah Bradshaw, Madison Newman and Kaydence Copeland all said performing, while JoAnna Parker shared that seeing “The Lion King” as well as performing were her favorites. Kinsley Faircloth enjoyed the Sunset Cruise and Libbie Best shared that the Broadway shows were her favorite part of the experience.
James said she was grateful to see everyone grow and to get to have this experience as a Sampson County studio.
When asked what she thought the most important thing people in the community should know about this experience was, rising senior Libbie Best emphasized “coming from a small town, you can still do big things.”
James echoed the importance of her dancers knowing that there are plenty of big opportunities available even in a small town. She shared how she loved that “they got to take from working professionals who do it all day,” and how grateful she was for them to see things they have learned in the studio emphasized and expanded through this opportunity.
James also stressed how unreal it was to get to see her dancers on such a historical and huge stage.
“They got to experience things that most people never get to and they were so grateful even at their young ages,” James noted about her dancers and this opportunity.
Elev8 Dance Studio was founded by James in 2024 and the six dancers who were interviewed all echoed that they loved “everything” about Elev8. The girls each expressed their love for dance, their gratitude for the opportunities dance provides them to learn and grow, and the friendships they get to forge through the time they spend together at the studio and out in the world.