Original subtitles

[SERENE MUSIC PLAYING]

DENISE WALL: Okay, this is it.

This is what we've been working for.

Some of you've been working for this day for years.

Some of you, this might be your first year. It doesn't matter.

Are you all excited over there, you little ones?

-ALL: Yes! -DENISE: Say yeah!

ALL: Yeah!

Parents, thank you for getting your kids here

for extra rehearsals,

so that we can have a show and not a recital.

I think we're gonna blow the roof off. What do you think?

-Yeah? -ALL: Yeah!

Go on. That's it! I feel it coming!

[ALL CHEERING]

[ALL EXCLAIMING]

DENISE: Lights and music, go.

[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

I live to dance.

I breathe dance. I eat dance.

Yeah. I fell in love with teaching right away.

Just, uh, changing kids' lives and helping them, you know.

'Cause a lot of times, that's all these kids have.

My mom is crazy. [CHUCKLES]

My mom is obsessive and she is passionate.

And it's all for the education of somebody else.

It's all for giving somebody the gift

that she was meant to give.

Denise Wall, who is, in my eyes, a dance legend.

Being with Denise as a teacher and a mentor

has really just changed my life,

because I feel like I'm at my best

because she allows me to,

because she believes enough inside of me to be my best.

She's one of the best dance teachers in the world.

We beat it, I beat it.

We'll start asking her questions about, like, the body. Like, da-da-da.

DENISE: No, he has actually got a foot.

He's got an arch. Look at this.

Look at that.

Like a living, breathing encyclopedia.

My confidence really built up because of Denise.

And so when I saw Travis audition for So You Think You Can Dance,

and we were really, really close,

it inspired me to audition for the show.

It was all the things that Denise taught me

about respect,

how to present myself,

and how to kind of stay grounded in those situations

that made me more successful on the show.

TRAVIS WALL: It's incredible what she's done.

It's incredible, the reputation

that she's built for herself. in the dance floor.

I mean, everyone knows her for the training

and what she's done with kids.

And, you know, people move here from across the country

to come train with her.

It wasn't like this growing up.

Because I always said, "Oh, I never wanna own my own studio.

"It's too much work, you know.

"Everybody else gets paid, you don't get paid."

So I'm always worried about that

because, you know, at a certain point I did become a single mom.

At the point that I opened up my studio,

I had three kids at this point.

Yeah, we didn't have a lot of money, you know.

Um, I worked all the time.

I made sure my kids ate.

Sometimes I didn't, you know.

But that's what you do. You do whatever you do for your kids.

TRAVIS: Nothing was ever given to her.

Whatever taught her these things,

she literally had to go and find them and put them all together

into this huge beautiful pot,

and mix it up and serve it to everybody.

There's so many people that look at me, and they go,

"You're just like your mother." I'm like, "Stop it." [CHUCKLES]

Mom, I love you so much. Everything is always for you.

I'm like, "I tried to sleep."

They're like, "Yeah, you're not sleeping. You're just like your mother."

"You're not eating. You're just like your mother."

"You're putting everybody else first."

"You're working so hard. You're just like your mother."

I'm like, "Shut up!"

She taught me how to work hard.

What's really important about, um, you know, the importance about life.

She was a mommy and a daddy.

You know, we would move from this house to this house,

and, you know, she would go from this marriage to this marriage,

and I would go from this job to this...

I mean, we were just kind of...

Everything was always a complete, utter chaos.

And the only thing that was always the same was this studio.

Well, she's... You know her.

She's working like... She doesn't sleep for the studio.

She... she... It's like one or two hours of sleep, so...

DENISE: If I didn't teach dance,

my kids wouldn't be able to dance.

I think that's why God gave me the gift.

I think, you know, he knows what our journey's supposed to be.

[BALLET MUSIC PLAYING]

The company that I have now, I can call today and for a while.

And they're one of my favorites.

I have more kids that really want to do this for a living.

If I say,"Jump to the roof," they're gonna do it.

They'll do whatever I say.

Because they know I love them,

I love them not only as their dance teacher

but, I mean, I truly love them.

They're in my soul.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

They work... They work hard. They work hard.

When I come up with new things, they'll try it.

It's first step to the Dance Awards!

[CHEERING AND CLAPPING]

All right. What'd I tell y'all last year when you got home from Nationals?

When do you start working on Nationals?

STUDENTS: Now.

No.

DENISE: The day you get home from Nationals from the year before.

[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]

Here at the Dance Awards, this is the combination of a year's worth of work.

JAIMIE GOODWIN: The kids go to Nationals having put all this hard work into it.

Knowing that they could really take away with them a career.

RAY LEEPER: We tend to attract some of the best talents in the country

because of the faculty we offer.

for instance, someone like Travis Wall, who is an Emmy winner.

And we have certain other faculty members who've also won Emmys

and are doing really great things in the industry

and really moving dance forward.

JAIMIE: Every moment that you're in front of these people,

putting your name and your face out there,

really showing that you want this.

Because there's thousands and thousands of kids

at the Nationals where they're going to.

And it's the biggest event of the summer.

RAY: Any studios who have qualified throughout the season,

they have the chance to compete against all the other dancers

who attended from around the country or around North America,

and it's some of the best competition

you'll ever see anywhere ever.

DENISE: Every ballet class, every ballet class, and every ballet class again.

Every contemporary class, every jazz class, every hip-hop class,

every class you walk into

it's your goal to get to Nationals.

DENISE: Okay.

Pull back your hair a little bit.

You look a little wretched!

[LAUGHS]

Did you work hard today?

DENISE: That kid, you know, she does it every class,

she's given 200 percent, every class.

I don't care if she's feeling sick,

you know, it maybe her body won't push it,

but her passion to get it done is still 200 percent.

Just don't let the drummin' hit you.

-Okay, alrighty. Thank you. -Thank yo, Denise.

DENISE: Just keep on going through those corrections.

I live in Texas, which is...

It takes 23 hours to drive here,

which is crazy.

My dad, he works for Homeland Security.

So he lives in Houston with my sister and my grandma and my great grandma.

And, uh...

He does a lot for me and my mom.

He pays all the bills, obviously.

And, um, he's our rock.

He loves me and my mom dearly.

I mean, I think she's so brave.

I don't know that at 12,

I would have been willing

to move across the country from my family.

This is a very emotional situation with her living here

and us there

because we have an older daughter, Hannah,

and that has been our anchor there

with all of her activities in school.

I can't leave her, so we've had to split.

We call ourselves a bi-coastal family.

So it's a struggle on our marriage

and it's a struggle with our kids and the relationships.

But, um, through it all we've continued to push forward in it.

Here's the deal.

I'm not gonna be at Hallie's house for Thanksgiving

when she's 40 years old.

And we're not gonna talk about what might have happened.

If we had made that sacrifice and I had gone there, would something have happened?

We're not gonna do that.

I'm enrolled in K12. It's a public school in Texas.

So everything's online.

I associate with kids and teachers.

It's just like a normal life, but except it's online.

I miss school in Texas, but...

it's like, sometimes I just think about, like,

like, why, like, be like a normal kid, you know.

I have this great life right now, so...

I train probably 36 hours a week.

Seven days a week.

Monday through Sunday. [CHUCKLES]

And then start all over again. [CHUCKLES]

DJ: I call her in her sophomore year at Denise Wall University.

You can mention her name and everyone knows who Denise Wall is.

Yeah. Engage it. Spread that.

Like, engage that, okay?

You have to think that's your face right now.

Dance means absolutely the world to me.

I mean, that's all I do every day.

That's all I think about.

-Oh, no. -[CHUCKLES]

TRINITY: I wouldn't say it's second nature.

It's like first nature. It's like breathing.

Denise is my second mom.

I mean, she's... she's there when you need her.

And even when you don't need her, she's there.

If something's not working, she'll make it happen.

God-like, I would say.

ERICA: We're gonna call it a dream, but this is a job.

[LAUGHS]

This is what she, you know, does.

Really, I don't see her.

She's home for an hour each day.

I mean, sometimes I have to remind her that she is 15.

Hey, do some kid's stuff, like, go to the movies,

maybe your homecoming.

Um, normal children do this.

ERICA: Mom, don't you remember when I went to prom?

Barely. That's been years ago.

[ALL LAUGHING]

-Really? -Yes.

[LAUGHING]

ERICA: I'm done for that now.

-Gotta go. [CHUCKLES] -TRINITY: So weird.

The worse part about doing a great number for your mom is...

"Okay. Well, then, what are you doing this year?"

[CHUCKLES]

It's been like that since I was 16.

And, you know, now that we have a good group again,

like, there were times when I was like,

"Good. Now we went Nationals, we went Nationals."

And she's like, "All right, what you're doing?"

I'm like, "Well, your group isn't as good as it was two years ago.

"It's not on my shoulders to hit Nationals."

But she always just wants that piece.

All right. We're gonna try to run this all the way through once.

I'll sit on my hands and not cut the music off.

But I wanna see where we're at,

and then I'll know which section to go to.

-Yes? -STUDENTS: Yes.

All right, let's go. Full up. All right, let's go.

I kinda wanted to move into a little bit more of like a twisted musical feeder.

I just wanted it to be so different than, like, the beautiful contemporary

and then really artistic thought out, um...

typography that was in the last piece.

The piece is called... It's a version of Bob Fosse's Bye Bye Life,

and again put in a different perspective ofBye Bye Life,

saying, "Hello Loneliness"

It's saying that, she's saying, "Bye-bye life,"

but he's saying, "Hello to the rest of my life alone,"

and whatever this piece is that we're going through afterwards, so...

-STUDENTS: Give it to me! -DENISE: Oh.

[LAUGHING]

All right.

[LAUGHING]

All right. Stop, stop, stop.

You know, it's a lot of emotion.

It's like, "Oh, you're sad, he dies.

"The angels come, you can tell they come."

And then, Who is he? Who are you?

FEMALE STUDENT: He's the gatekeeper.

-You are the gatekeeper. -Yeah, that's me.

DENISE: Anthony, the gatekeeper.

No, I mean, you're funny.

Yeah.

ANTHONY: My family is really involved in dance.

My aunt was actually a professional ballet dancer for Atlanta Ballet.

When I was about six,

my grandmother, after school one day was like, "We're going on a trip.

And we ended up here. I wasn't too happy about it on the way,

because sports is what I wanted to do.

And I came in, and I had a little interview class.

I was six.

And it went pretty well. I was really excited.

I saw a bunch of pretty little girls.

And I immediately fell in love with it.

Yeah, that's... I want you to really work...

When you work on that... When you work on that...

Yeah, make sure that resistance in the back stays engaged.

Anthony's been in Montessori since he was born

because we kept him in the office when he was an infant.

Montessori has, what I said before

that I think Denise and the studio have,

the ability to inspire, and the children there.

As long as you inspire them to do something they love,

they're going to be successful, and that's been his experience.

My favorite thing about Miss Denise is how personable she is.

Because a lot of other studios that I talk to,

people that I meet,

they aren't personable with their teachers all.

Their relationships are so distant from each other,

and I find that so weird,

because at our studio, we're so, like, connected

in a way that we're not aware that we're so connected,

to the point that we're all family.

She has the ability to see every kid

and believe in each child

for what they have and what's inside them.

And especially this group right now,

because they've been dancing together so long,

there's this interconnectedness that's really powerful.

ERICA: All these are usually nerve-racking.

Like, she said, they're...

it's their first time putting on

pretty much the majority of their pieces that they're gonna do

for the remaining part of the year.

And so parents get stressed because there's costumes,

and we're gonna make sure, you know, make sure they're right.

It's two.

-That we could cut. -That we could cut up, yeah.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

DENISE: Yeah. But they think there's something else too.

So they haven't pin that... point that down yet.

Or maybe not.

But, um... But I think it's because he's lost so much weight.

I bought him, oh, my God, at Doumar's, barbecue,

and he ate almost all of that.

But he didn't eat any of his breakfast, he didn't eat any of his lunch.

But that's why I bought him the Doumar.

So I'm hoping he ate this at dinner.

Anyway, but I'm struggling with this because...

-Oh. -You know, it's like i'm a bad mom.

No, you're not.

DENISE: I've done this before. It's like, it's a no-brainer.

Like, I'm trying to do both.

I know, you're trying to be a mommy to both.

Cami and Aimee are leaving tonight.

I will not be in their van.

Um...

So I bought a flight to leave tomorrow.

I have to meet, uh, with Shannon's doctors in the morning, okay?

So, um...

Hopefully I'm gonna make it there by Teen Solos.

Um, I got permission that if I do get on that flight,

that I can move them back just so you know this, okay?

If not, then I'm not gonna make it for solos.

And I'm sorry to disappoint you,

and I've been toying with this all day,

and I cried a bunch of times,

but I gotta be a mom.

I'm always your mom, but I gotta be a mom to Shannon first, okay?

So hopefully, though,

I'll arrive tomorrow night, okay?

-Yes? -STUDENTS: Yes.

-Yes? -STUDENTS: Yes!

DENISE: All right. We got this!

TRINITY: We didn't want Denise to know

that we're really scared for her not coming,

and scared for Shannon being sick.

So we kinda like kept it to ourselves, but we prayed a lot.

Just for Shannon to get better

and for her to be able to make it.

Oh, we're going!

[ALL CHEERING]

DENISE: What time is it now? It's 11:30 at night.

So they have to leave.

Some of them are leaving,

I guess at 4:00 in the morning,

5:00 in the morning, 6:00 in the morning,

to get up to DC area.

RAY: So the dancers arrive.

Um, the very first thing they do is have an audition.

This is gonna be count two.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

RAY: The very first thing within that audition is the ballet.

So they are scored on ballet technique.

They're taught a very short ballet combination

by one of our instructors.

They're adjudicated and scored.

And then after the ballet is finished, we're going to jazz.

INSTRUCTOR: One, two, three, and four, plus five, plus six, and a seven. Release. Good.

RAY: And we do a very, very classic jazz style

to be able to see the dancer's techniques.

TRINITY: The more you get noticed in Regionals,

I feel like the more they'll remember you at Nationals.

HALLIE: To qualify for Nationals,

I have to get a Runner-up or a Winner scholarship

to compete at Nationals.

ANESSA: Of course, I push myself for it,

like, personal goals and reasons,

but also my parents, they sacrificed a lot for me.

And since my brother lives in Florida, too,

um, just money...

EDWARD: We don't go on family vacations.

We... Our vacations are the dance

the company conventions.

Weekends? There's no weekends. It's all dance.

ANESSA: Dance means so much to me.

I've loved it since I was a little girl.

I've always loved performing.

I have a hard time

putting into words what I feel or what I have to say.

So dance is just a great way to express

how I feel through movement.

It's just something I need in my life,

and if I didn't have it, I don't know what I would do,

because it's what I'm best at.

RAY: The all-age divisions do their auditions.

They're adjudicated by a panel.

And then there's a percentage of it

that's added to the next thing they do,

which is their solo performance.

ANESSA: I always get nervous before I go on stage, I don't know why.

ANNOUNCER: Up next number is 166,

with the Teen Contemporary Solo,

this is Anessa with Infiltrate.

[AUDIENCE CHEERING]

I gotta go. I gotta go.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

ANESSA: On stage, when I start my beginning pose, I'm like,

"Oh, gosh, here we go."

And then during, it kinda just, like, fades away,

and I try not to think about anything.

I just try to live my moment on stage.

[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]

So I've always been competitive,

since I did cheer in gymnastics,

and danced my whole life, just...

And my parents are competitive too.

It's just something that's always in me.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

ANNOUNCER: And that was number 166, Infiltrate.

ANESSA: Thank you.

[DENISE LAUGHING]

DENISE: I thought you looked more matured.

[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

-You felt good? -Yeah.

How do you feel?

Um, Shannon is... They let him out of the hospital.

-Amazing. -Like a miracle happened.

I told you. Because I wasn't coming.

And when I walked in on Friday morning,

-from Thursday night, Friday morning, -Yeah.

it's like, "Wait a minute, you have come?"

Your face was, like, "What's going on?"

Amazing.

DENISE: Phew. Better.

And also, what are you looking? You're looking at your hand?

My name is Jordan, and I'm a senior at Westside High School.

Dance and music are freedom of expression

and just an escape into, like, an alternate world.

And I just... every time I go to that place,

it's just really calm and serene,

and that's where I love to be.

ANNOUNCER: Our next contestant, 256, with a Senior Contemporary Solo,

this is Jordan with Escape.

[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]

JORDAN: Miss Cami choreographed my solo which is calledEscape,

and it was originally for college.

At that time, I was really overwhelmed

by college stuff, auditions, getting my resumes,

and I told her I don't know what to do with myself.

So she told me we're just gonna create movement off of two sentences.

The first sentence is, "I feel overwhelmed."

And the second sentence is, "I create stillness."

There's no outside stress, there's no dance stress.

There's just calm.

At the end of the solo, when I throw my hand out,

the stress around me,

I put it down and finally just walk away from it,

and it's just me and the stillness.

ANNOUNCER: That was number 256, Escape.

Your leg got up so high.

DENISE: And pause.

And pause.

DENISE: Loved it. It's okay. Hey.

Say you didn't know it.

Ah!

Hey. No.

That's when you're an artist.

Yeah. I'm like, "Wait a minute. What is she doing? What?"

-The stage is so slippery. -No. But that's what you do.

You don't let is affect you.

I know. I'm like two turns and was suspended, and I was like...

-She felt slippery, and so she just... -Never, never knew.

No, she just went in, and that's what you do, though.

-You let it go, and you let it go. -Yeah.

Beautiful.

Yeah, that was so good.

Oh!

MAN: What's wrong?

The lights aren't working.

Which one is it?

I don't know.

-Are they... -All of these are working.

What about... What's happening up here?

Huh?

MAN: I don't know which set it is.

DENISE: Unplug real quick.

Because...

What am I gonna do?

Like, take two minutes and try to figure it out.

MAN: That's what I've been doing, Denise.

DENISE: Did he check this one too?

[CHUCKLES]

All right, so we just gotta do them without.

All right. God, come on, man.

Come on, God.

WOMAN: Nothing's working. They're not responding at all.

Try it one more time, and then I'll just tell them to gather.

WOMAN: Is it... All of them are off?

DENISE: Are they all off?

All off.

DENISE: That came on.

Oh, my God.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]

[HEART THUMPING]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEPING]

[BEEPING RAPIDLY]

[BYE BYE LIFEPLAYING]

♪ Bye-bye, life

♪ Bye-bye, happiness

♪ Hello, loneliness

♪ I think I'm gonna die

♪ Bye-bye your life goodbye

♪ Bye-bye my life goodbye

♪ Bye-bye your life goodbye

♪ Bye-bye my life goodbye

♪ Bye-bye your life goodbye

♪ Bye-bye my life goodbye

♪ Come on! Give it to me

♪ Come on! Give it to me

♪ Come on! Give it to me

♪ Bye-bye, life

♪ Bye-bye, happiness

♪ Hello! Hello!

♪ He's gonna die He's gonna die

♪ Bye-bye, life

♪ Bye-bye, happiness

♪ Hello, loneliness

♪ He thinks he's gonna die

♪ La-la-la-la-la-la

♪ He thinks he's gonna die

♪ La-la-la-la-la-la

♪ He thinks he's gonna die

♪ La-la-la-la-la-la

♪ La-la-la-la-la-la

♪ Bye-bye

♪ My life

♪ Oh, yeah

♪ Goodbye

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[DENISE LAUGHING]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I said I'm playing that thing, it started again.

I'm saying a prayer and God's the only one who's gonna help us right now.

And it came on.

MAN: That was awesome.

WOMAN: That was a lighting miracle.

What happened?

DENISE: Because I said a prayer.

I made her unplug it and I said, "Go take it..."

WOMAN: That was a last second...

DENISE: He kept unplugging them, it didn't work.

And I told her, I said, "Do that. Unplug..."

I start that computer, and I'm saying a prayer,

and then take it, and it started again.

-God did it. God did it. -By the grace of God.

No. I did know. Because I said I'm saying a prayer.

I said, "Unplug and start it. I'm saying a prayer right now."

And it started again, and it came on.

God was with us.

♪ I'm alive

♪ I'm me

♪ On the verge of living my dreams... ♪

Once again, before I announce our top 10

in the Teen Solo division,

give it up for all of our teen dancers.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

Doing beautiful work this afternoon.

In sixth place high point is Hallie dancing I Tired

from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

We have two dancers in third place high point,

and the award for third,

first goes to Trinity dancing to Mon Dieu,

from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

Second place high point, we also have two dancers.

And our first dancer in second...

So going to Anthony, dancing to At The Seas,

from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

And we have one dancer standing alone in first place,

put your hands together, everybody.

First place overall Teen Solo is...

is Anessa dancing to Infiltrate

from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

We'll wait for Anessa to come over here, so we can see her.

Ladies and gentlemen, those are your top 10 Teen Soloists.

So starting with our Senior Female Division.

The audition this morning was really, really tough.

Our second winner represents Denise Wall Dance Energy,

it's Jordan Gaskin number 885.

Yeah. Two winners for Senior Male.

And finally, there's Wyeth Walker, number 865.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

Take a bow, guys.

Wonderful work.

And the highest scoring Teen Extended Line in first place

goes to Hello Loneliness from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

I didn't think I was gonna win at all,

or do as good as I did, but it paid off. Yeah.

Ring spot. Oh, wait a minute,

I did take the top three spots. Oops!

I know. Cameras!

[LAUGHTER]

Thank you for all your grace and mercy and bestowing her talents...

JORDAN: I applied for Pace University almost in the summer.

I was really into it. Denise told me about it

Yay!

Yay!

Oh, my God.

Hello. This is Jordan.

Jordan, hi. This is Rhonda Miller calling

from Pace University, New York City.

I'm calling you on my cell phone.

Hi.

RHONDA: And I'm calling to congratulate you.

You've been accepted into my program at Pace University.

Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.

-Wow. -Oh, my God.

The director of the program is calling to congratulate you.

That's crazy.

To tell you how much she wants you there.

-Oh, man. -That's crazy.

You feel special, right?

-I really do. -I know.

Again, with this scholarship, I'm, like, halfway there.

But if, um, I'm not able to pay just a little bit more,

then I might not be able to go

and I will really be heart broken.

Financially, it's... it's a burden.

It's a lot. We try to manage...

Well, I try to manage. I'm a single parent.

So it's one income

to try to handle the tuition,

and also the company fees.

And, of course, I work here at Old Dominion University.

But I've had to pick up a second job on the weekends. I clean houses.

May, all the way through... really October,

I would work seven days a week.

If, you know, for not traveling for a competition or so.

NYCDA has college audition scholarships,

and if I go to NYCDA,

then that means I'm able to go for a $10,000 scholarship

that would really, really help right now.

Because I'm almost out of money.

But, um, that would really help.

That means I have to go to NYCDA, like, the first week of July,

and then come back here, back to the studio,

and then go to Dance Awards, which is a lot.

But if I have to do it for money reasons,

then I would, I would do it in a heart beat.

Up here, like, 'cause you're looking up here.

-Just open your chest a little bit more. -Okay.

DEBBIE: There's not enough words to really tell you

what Denise has meant to us.

Um, she took Morgan to where she is right now as a dancer.

But she's also taken Morgan where she is as a person.

I have a small stutter.

For me, dance has, like, helped me through that,

and it's like my way of speaking,

because it's my way

of expressing and showing who I am

without, like, uh...

physically saying it.

Most kids don't get that experience of having a team,

and they're all, like, your age.

So it's like having a bunch of sisters

or, like, twins.

Um, last summer, I competed for Teen Best Dancer,

and I won.

I'm still so surprised by it, but I somehow did it.

Um, so this year,

I haven't been competing my solo at regionals.

I've been performing it on Sunday,

during the closing show.

Denise, to me, is definitely like my second mother.

She's helped me through so much.

In June of 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer,

right before the first year that she was going to Nationals.

Um, so as you can imagine with that kind of diagnosis,

our whole word just sort of came apart and just really shattered.

MORGAN: I... I remember I was in a solo private

with Denise in, like, June,

before my first Nationals.

Um, and then...

I had, like, not talked about it much,

and then I did one step and I broke down.

And her and Cami were there to, like, comfort me,

and really, like, help me through that.

I'm a breast cancer survivor,

and I would say probably one of the greatest gifts

that Travis ever gave me, 'cause I, um... I've...

Just since then, I've had, you know, 10 surgeries to do with that.

I went through chemo, I went through radiation.

But in the middle of all of my surgeries,

Travis was doing So You Think.

I expressed... I created that from, um, personal issues.

It's a way for me to get through things in my life.

Um, I don't... not the best with words,

and not the best with confrontations sometimes,

but what I do is, if something's pent-up,

or if there's a way for me to release something,

um, I will create a piece for it.

And, this is what I was choreographing for the show every week,

and it was...

it was crazy to think that, um...

uh, I got to that place,

'cause it's all I ever wanted.

So I have my career over here that's quite amazing,

but my mom is like... It's just very hard.

Um, and so I...

Jeff called me, and he says,

"I have something for you." I said, "What is it?"

"I have Allison and Robert for you this week."

And I just like... I just fell on my knees.

I remember I was outside of my friend's house, and I fell on my knees.

And I just go, "This is the perfect couple."

And I get to do this piece for my her.

I get to give her something that's gonna be worth seeing, it's gonna be worth watching.

Allison, she's known Allison since she was 10 years old.

She's known Robert since he was 10 years old.

She knows both of these people.

They're not random people dancing on a television show.

We've been putting up my piece of art and work, and heart for her

And so I walked up onto that stage nervous.

Here with All-Star Allison, ladies and gentlemen, it's Robert.

I was so excited and so honored.

[FIX YOUPLAYING]

♪ When you try your best But you don't succeed

♪ Stuck in reverse...

ALLISON HOLKER: Dancing for someone

that I love and cherish so much.

I was being her, I was channeling her.

I was being who she is to me on that dance floor.

So I had to be bigger, and I had to be better

than I've ever been in my entire life

for myself, for her.

It was about, um, Travis wanting to help me and fix me,

you know, during my trying to survive.

You know, because I did become, um, septic at one point,

and almost bit the dust.

So this is how it started.

I saw her walking really slowly.

I came in right before she fell.

And then, uh, the whole point of the piece

was to, uh, have this path that we're going down

and say that we're gonna get from here,

and there's a light at the end of the tunnel,

we're gonna get there to...

And we started at the corner, we ended over there.

And at that point, I was,

"I'll do anything for me to get you there.

"I'll do anything for me to get you on your feet.

"I'll do anything for this cancer to go away.

"Please just let me help you take it away."

I just remember telling her I was doing it for her,

and said, "Just watch it. Just have a lot of tissues."

[CHUCKLES]

And, Travis, much love and luck with your crisis at the moment.

And much love and support for Denise,

and everything she's attempting to do.

[SOBS]

I guess this is, to me, a cry of the season.

Um, yeah, it brings me back to the last week

before my mom passed, and, um, and how much I wanted to fix her.

It was just awesome, and, Denise Wall, I'm praying for you.

ALLISON: The feeling I have on the stage,

it's seriously, to this day, one of the strongest and best ones I've ever had.

That piece earned me my first Emmy nomination.

And my mom was almost slightly better,

and I was like, "I don't care if you're not good enough.

"You're walking on the red carpet with me."

When I first went in the hospital,

the doctor told me, he said, you know,

"You're gonna be in here for, like, 10 days.

"At least 10 days."

And I said, "Okay."

I said, "Well, I have to go teach

"at the Dance Teacher Summit in New York City."

I said, "So I can only stay in here for maybe one to two days."

And he said, um,

"No, you're not getting out of the hospital," you know.

"You're in intensive care."

And he said, "You're very sick."

And I said, "Okay, all right.

"Well, maybe I'll stay for two days, maybe three days.

"And then I'll miss the first day of teaching.

"But I've gotta go to New York. I've gotta teach."

He looks at my mother, he goes, "What is wrong with her?"

My mom goes, "It's called dance."

[LAUGHS]

I love giving somebody a chance that actually has the passion.

And if they've got that gut and they wanna do it,

and I want for them to say that they want it.

It's not that they wanna do it, it's that they have to do it.

I told my parents when I was like five or six, "I wanna dance."

And my dad said, "No, put him in gymnastics."

So we did gymnastics for a couple of years,

and then that didn't work out so well.

This is what I have to do. I love...

Like, dance is in my brain all the time, like music.

I can't... I can't just sit there and listen to music.

There has to be... There's always something

that gets in my head, and it's just...

Dance is a way to expand physically and mentally,

like, it's great.

It's a personal research and personal, like, exploring.

"We drive, we pay, we clap" is our joke.

Wyeth is so happy dancing, and it just...

He doesn't walk, he dances everywhere.

And his mind is always singing and rhythmic,

and he's always moving.

And so that's his soul.

Today, my son, Travis Wall, flew in.

Um, we flew here for two days before he goes to LA.

He's gong to try to cram in as many solos as he can, for the Dance Awards.

He's stressed out, I'm stressed out.

It's a crazy situation 'cause he's...

It's a lot of pressure for him because he's got to pick...

He's got to come up with new music.

Something that's going to fit them, make them look really good,

but also something that's gonna make them grow, you know, for the next year,

because they'll present those and then they keep those for the year.

[TRAVIS BLOWING RASPBERRIES]

-Travis. -This is literally my life.

Did you see the song list she has up here?

I looked at it briefly.

[THUMPING]

Ah.

[ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYING]

DENISE: Like it?

[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]

Whoo!

HALLIE: Last night, we found, um... we picked out a song.

It's like 10:45.

We were all, like, really tired,

but, um, we kinda just like...

He played this song, and Miss Denise and I and him,

we all just like...

like our eyes lit up, and it was really awesome.

TRAVIS: You were a lot easier than Wyeth.

I still don't have a song for him.

[DENISE LAUGHS]

TRAVIS: And can you lower your body further? Uh-huh.

So it's like you almost like fold in half.

Go, go. Shoot.

Like that, and then...

Yes, just like... Yeah.

HALLIE: I just finished my solo with Travis,

and it's really hard.

But once I get it and, like, rehearsed a lot,

it's gonna... I think it's gonna be really good.

Working on the outside.

I can't walk, but it's all good,

'cause this is what I do.

And let's say you're walking in a circle at the section.

This is definitely my most challenging solo I've had so far.

The process was kind of long

because trying to figure out moves that match perfectly

to the intricate music was hard,

but we did it somehow.

I don't know how he did it, but he did. [CHUCKLES]

DENISE: She was all over the floor,

um, just trying to remember it quick,

and understand, uh, it's very mature for her

to add all this cha-cha,

which is exactly... like, he's so smart.

He's so smart.

It's exactly what she needs to really take her as a dancer to the next level.

I'm very sore.

I don't think I've ever been this sore.

I made a chiropractor appointment for tomorrow. [LAUGHS]

DENISE: Well, he's trying to get eight of them done.

Eight solos done in two days. And that's a lot of pressure.

You know, it took him, you know, a while to fill it up.

It was almost how much time he was taking to create

what the music was doing.

He probably could have done maybe two solos.

Maybe three. [LAUGHING]

TRINITY: So I just learned my solo for Dance Awards.

It was different.

It was like a good different,

like, it's gonna challenge me more,

it's gonna, like, push me a lot.

Like, I love his choreography, I love how he teaches.

He can be intimidating at times,

but, like, he's also family.

It's actually an honor, and amazing.

To me, it was stressful, but I'm excited.

I don't wanna give you, like, a character-driven thing.

I kinda want you to...

I don't know, manipulate your body.

My body is shutting down, like...

I haven't learned my solo yet, and there are six weeks left till Nationals.

I'm learning it this weekend, Sunday, Monday.

Jason Parsons is coming back to do it.

I'm really excited, but I'm really nervous,

'cause not that much time, but...

Jason's movement is very different from other people's,

but because now, I've worked with him last year by myself,

and with the group this year,

I'm more comfortable with it.

But, like any solo, it just takes repetition.

Privates with Denise are really hard to do.

There's a lot of this, a lot of solos.

And everybody kinda gets them, not last minute,

but really close to Nationals, so...

A lot of it has to do with just how I manage my time.

DENISE: He wants you to do it from there.

Oh, that boy's crazy.

All right. Well, that's something...

Well, let's fix everything else and we'll go back to that.

Well, I'm a little bit sad that this year is coming to an end,

but I'm excited to dance one last time

as the Teen Best Dancer.

[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]

I shouldn't have to say things 20 times, okay?

You, you're not like normal kids, okay?

And if you're gonna act like normal kids,

Nationals is gonna go down the drain.

-Everybody understand that? -Yes.

Okay, I told you this the other day.

When it comes to Nationals, I don't play.

How many of you wanna do, uh, good at Nationals?

All right, put your hands down.

I was hoping that you wouldn't raise your hand,

'cause being good is not good enough.

'Cause you're not just good.

And it's not that I'm all about winning, it's not that.

It's you want to... You wanna be exceptional.

And that's just not for dance, that's just in life.

You wanna be exceptional at anything that you do.

-TRAVIS: That's some nice splits there. -[LAUGHTER]

DENISE: All right. Get back up, do it again.

Do it again. Quick, quick, quick!

JORDAN: Let's see. Well, at least we have ballet first.

I can get that out of the way.

AMDI LYONS: And then you have a little more of a break.

JORDAN: Right.

And then contemporary with everybody.

-AMDI: Yeah. -JORDAN: And then, um...

JORDAN: I get to ask around some more questions.

Tomorrow, I really hope I can get a scholarship

that will help me to go here,

and it'll be better for my mom.

I'm super nervous, but I'm ready for it.

And I'm doing ballet, and then I have a break,

and then I do contemporary with the juniors

and the seniors who've committed.

And then we get to do a Q&A with all the faculty,

and college people that will be there.

JOE LANTERI: The class that we just observed,

those dancers have all found a college.

They all know where they're going to college, and they're hoping for it,

and they've already received the financial aid package

from the college of their choice.

They're hoping for extra money from the foundation,

which they can take to the college of their choice

to help offset some of their tuition.

JOE: Enjoy it and have fun, and I hope you learned a lot.

And I hope to see you again soon,

and see you on the stage soon.

DENISE: This is my second...

Actually, this is actually my third night

of doing my Midnight Madness, why I stay up all night.

And I do solos for my best dancers.

So we do privates on their solos.

So it's what, 12:38 at night.

I have so many kids that want scholarships

to go for Best Dancer.

So we have all these solos,

and so instead of saying, "Oh, only four people can have it."

I did this a couple of years ago.

I said, "Look, if I offered for everybody,

"then they can't get mad at me,

"'cause it's probably the middle of the night.

"No one's gonna wanna come in the middle of the night."

And I put up sign up sheets.

And what happened? 'Cause I went 11:30, 12:30.

I mean, I've got 4:30. Come in at 4:30.

They filled up every space.

So now, this has been the thing happening for the last three years.

ANESSA: I hope to make top three

in the Best Dance competition.

It's not that top 10,

but my goal is top three.

[DENISE GRUNTS]

So take them on that roller coaster ride,

because that... that just makes it like, you know... Yeah, yeah.

[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]

Take out those hands more.

Do it again.

[DENISE WHOOSHING]

I feel like you need... You're...

This supporting leg's too rigid.

I don't even know if I can get it...

I don't even know if I can go to sleep tonight.

I may not be able to go to sleep.

HALLIE: Well, obviously, my dream would be to win Best Dancer.

DENISE: Oh, that's even better.

HALLIE: Or get in the top three.

Those are like... That's, like, my main goal in life right now.

But I'm happy with just getting top 20 as a first year Teen,

'cause I'm at the lowest of the age categories.

[DENISE GRUNTS]

So good, so good.

Don't freak yourself out.

WYETH: This year is...

I really wanna at least make top 20.

I know it's a new thing, like, Senior Division,

but I've done pretty well this year,

at the competitions we've gone to in my division

against the other guys that we've seen.

So I hope to make top 20.

I don't know about top 10, it's just what happens,

'cause you can't predict how your solo will go on stage,

who's judging, what response you'll get.

Like, it's hard to predict those things.

You can just work your best and hope.

Try as soon as we leave to sleep

until we need to stop for breakfast,

and then fall back to sleep after that when I can.

Try and store up enough energy as we stay up with Denise next week.

Right now, we're in the RV and we're gonna drive down to Florida today,

and we're gonna, like, stop at somewhere,

but it's gonna be really fun.

I'm excited and nervous

because it's such like, a big, like, competition,

and it's, obviously, it's Nationals,

so, like, this is what I've been waiting for all year, you know.

But I'm, like, really excited.

I just wanna go out there and just kill it.

I got back from New York, at one o'clock.

We were supposed to get into Virginia at 9:00,

but we got delayed at LaGuardia Airport.

Um, I went to rehearsal, did a whole bunch of run-throughs,

and then now I'm here.

So it's probably less than 24 hours.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Denise is here. [CHUCKLES]

[JORDAN SPEAKING]

Yeah.

I was really disappointed that I didn't get a scholarship for NYCDA.

I really just wanted to help my mom out.

I did get some.

I got a regional scholarship to NYCDA.

So next time, if I wanna go, I don't have to pay anything.

I'm very tired, but it's gonna be okay.

I'm gonna push through this week,

and I think it's gonna be a really good Nationals.

ANESSA: I got here around, like twelve o'clock,

and we're about to have a rehearsal.

We're not here as individuals.

Even the best dancers, you're not here as individuals.

You're here as DWDE. That's what we're here for.

-We're here as a team, yes? -Yes.

Okay, why are you here?

That's what I want all of you to think about tonight.

Why are you here?

Okay?

Is someone making you be here? Hopefully not.

I'm hoping that you are the one that wants to be here.

-Does that make sense? -STUDENT: Yes.

DENISE: And I'm gonna say this.

If we come and we don't win the thing,

as long as our journey was good...

No. [STUTTERING] I'm being honest.

This is gonna be your hardest National ever.

ANESSA: Coming into Nationals, just from, like, auditions so far,

there's so many good teams. Like, so many good dancers.

It's like... It's crazy.

This morning, we had 8:00 a.m. auditions for Best Dancer.

Um, we had ballet first, and then jazz.

And, um, my last name starts with a Z,

so I went first for ballet.

And that went pretty good.

I felt a little shaky since it was in the morning.

ANTHONY: So far, it seems kinda like an equal playing field for me,

'cause the audition was, like, kinda shaky for everybody.

All right. Thank you guys so much. Exit to the right.

JAIMIE: You have to find a way to stand out in the room.

They're all internalizing, "How do I become an individual?"

"How do I take all the things that Denise has taught me

"and actually incorporate them into these seven days?" you know.

"Put my best foot forward in such a small amount of time."

'Cause it could really make or break the opportunities that they get in the future.

TRAVIS: I think that these kids, especially,

I think they downplay it.

I'm pretty sure they're freaking out inside,

but I think they wait for this moment all year

and they're so excited.

How's it going, buddy? Good to see you.

I didn't make top 20 last year,

so I place, like, behind everyone else...

which was, uh, a little bit of a confidence blow,

but it, uh, it was something that...

It caused a lot of thought and personal change

throughout this whole year, like, work ethic-wise,

and just like trying to keep myself focused

on why I really am doing this,

and what the results could actually be,

'cause I'm just gonna put my all into this and work

because this is what the entire year's been about.

I really just wanna develop a better me

throughout this process

because last year was a little rough, and I'm better than that.

RAY: Moving from the auditions seem to be a very nerve-wrecking experience

for the dancers in the first place.

Now, they have to go on stage by themselves and do their solos,

and they only get one shot to do the solo.

And most of the time, the solo is only two and a half minutes,

three minutes at most.

And it weighs the most heavily with their scoring.

It's 50 percent of their score.

TRINITY: It was like five hours before I went on stage.

We had to change my costume.

I hated her costume. It wasn't the costume I wanted.

I said I wanted a big skirt. I wanted a lot of movement.

And they found the right color, but the skirt,

like, they cut it up, and it had slits,

and there was no fullness to the skirt,

so I took my two-hour break that I had today,

and I went to the outlet mall, and I found a skirt.

Okay, don't throw it away.

But, honey, you better let them have it.

-It's gonna be so good. -Come on, church girl.

Go to church. We're going to church.

Ready.

[CHANTING]

MORGAN: We get in our head a lot, like...

I feel like we all, being Denise's students,

have something to show,

since she does teach us every single day.

ANNOUNCER: Up next, we have number 46.

It's Trinity Bonilla in Summertime.

[AUDIENCE CHEERING]

[SUMMERTIMEPLAYING]

TRAVIS: When she started out, I was, like, "Okay. She's hesitating a bit."

I was like, "What is she doing?"

And I was so glad she did,

because she started here, then she took it to a whole another place.

TRINITY: My head was spinning on stage.

But I was mostly thinking about the corrections that would help me,

like, stick around it,

and just having fun, like, not holding back.

♪ Try to take

♪ Take to the sky

♪ Lord, the sky

♪ Until that morning

♪ Honey, nothing's going to harm you now

♪ No, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no

♪ No, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no

♪ No, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, don't you cry

♪ Cry...

TRAVIS: Trinity was just, um...

Trinity was so full, and she became the music.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

-I'm so proud of you. -It was so good.

Thank you.

ANESSA: Last week, I hurt my hip, and I have bursitis.

DENISE: Anessa, for her, I was scared

'cause I didn't even know if she would be dancing.

She, um, strained her hip, and then she ended up with bursitis.

DENISE: When you're doing the transition,

you gotta keep that face.

TRAVIS: Before she went on, I just said, you know,

"Take the nerves out of this."

I said, "You need to make sure that you exude confidence."

I said, "Just trust yourself that you're gonna be there."

Technically, I think she starts to, sometimes, gets a little nervous on,

"Oh, God, this part's coming up, this part's coming up."

and she's never really present in the moment.

Okay, let's just... Okay.

See, you can do the eyebrows.

You gotta do that.

You need to look... get in their eyes.

[CHANTING]

Fashionista!

[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[MY AMAZING NEW PATCHPLAYING]

♪ Beautiful

ANESSA: That was my first time doing it.

I've never felt it on the stage before.

And it felt really good, like, surprisingly.

I thought I would feel more, like, really nervous on stage, and, like, shaking,

but I felt really grounded and confident.

I was kinda nervous about, like, my hair getting in my face,

but it worked out.

And just trying to keep my balance and control, so I wouldn't fall over.

I was a little worried about that.

TRAVIS: She was on her leg.

And the style, Just the look of it, it was just so different

than everything else that we are seeing tonight,

so I think she definitely was all right.

♪ You are

♪ My amazing new patch

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

-It's... You're amazing. -Thank you.

-Do you feel amazing? -Yeah, of course.

Oh, my God.

It looks like you were like a 20-year-old supermodel up there.

It's like, you know...

Your self-control and the physicality and the texture, the eyes.

Oh, my God.

Amazing.

I think you killed it with the model, yeah.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

HALLIE: So during the jazz audition,

we had a double turn on the left,

and my pinky toe, like, fell behind,

and now it's broken.

When I got backstage, I was like...

I was like, "Oh, my God, this is really happening."

[SMALLPLAYING]

Yeah, I danced with a broken toe.

I was a little, at the beginning of the dance,

I, like, slipped a little bit.

But the judges, they couldn't see it.

But I was like, "Oh, my God. Dang."

I felt free, like, the songs says, like, you know,

"I might be small, but, like, I can dance really big,

"and, you know, be this powerful little girl on stage."

That was so great.

Huh?

[HALLIE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

I know, 'cause you were slipping with your socks.

Yeah, it's okay. It was good.

TRAVIS: Hallie's routine has very sharp, aggressive dancers.

And for me, she was fluid when she needed to be fluid,

and she was hard-hitting when she needed to do so.

I felt like her dynamics finally spoke through it.

And I felt like she had a lot of shades today.

So super proud for her.

Felt like she came offstage. She's like,"I could've done better," you know.

And this is the first time in the Teen category.

She placed really well in the Junior category last year.

But when you step into that Teen category,

it's a whole another ball game.

For me, the Teen category is the hardest category in all of the competition.

And just the way it works out with, like,

the best of the juniors coming up from 13,

and then these people are just about to peak and go into the 16-year-old category.

It's incredible what... what talent brings into this age group.

[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYING]

DENISE: At least give me a clue now.

He loves the action from my brow.

ANTHONY: The most challenging thing, obviously, was the shoes not falling.

So I didn't really have that much time to work on it in between.

It kinda has a clumsy feel to it.

When I first started, it wasn't upbeat,

but the more I worked on it, the more it became upbeat.

[DENISE LAUGHING]

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

DENISE: He is a performer now.

It's harder because of your solo, man.

I mean, I thought...

No. I was gonna fall.

That was... that was... Everything's right on the beat.

-Yeah. -That was awesome.

That was amazing.

Fold again. More.

I just... I just love that.

I don't know why.

Be yourself, be unique.

But I need the ramp, I need the shift.

I need you stepping out of it, and just...

I know you'll make great choices.

Okay? Don't throw anything.

I want you to look like you're also on your leg.

Yes? All right, let's go.

[CHANTING]

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[SAVE ME FROM MYSELFPLAYING]

WYETH: Uh, this piece... the piece is called Save Me From Myself.

Um, so it's about, um...

having personal demons or, like, personal memories that haunt you

and, like, alter you in, like, your decisions,

so, in actions.

So I really tried to, like,

literally show those demons inside me,

but at the same time, like,

reveal to the audience what I've been going through,

and how, like, this has affected me, so...

I always, like, way in the back of my mind,

I was thinking about, like, technique and moves and stuff,

but I was really trying to process, like,

being a character and being a creature.

MAN: Oh.

I learned in, like, in engineering with Travis.

So it was... it was... like, from there,

it's the constantly shifting and evolving in different places.

Once I finally got to the studio,

it was great to have Denise to help me.

DENISE: Oh.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

DENISE: Alien. Alien.

So amusing.

DENISE: Just an alien. Just an alien.

That, that last part...

[SHRIEKS]

A whole another...

WYETH: Thank you so much.

I haven't felt that good about, uh, completing something like that in a while,

so it's a big confidence boost,

and, yeah.

And especially with Denise,

and having even Travis's approval,

that means a lot.

It is gonna be tough, okay?

'Cause I can already tell you...

Elite. Teen number from Sonya.

I'm gonna tell you something.

Every number affects the next piece.

Okay? I'm gonna say it again.

Every number affects the next piece.

The way psychology goes.

So I need everybody to be very focused all day,

'cause we got our work cut out for us.

If you wanna try to be in the finale,

then we got our work cut out for us.

We have to show the training.

That's gonna be a big difference.

Because there's a lot of tap schools that are... the ones that are here.

[SHAMISEN MUSIC PLAYING]

I love you, guys.

-Thank you for... -You too.

DENISE: Everything that we've been working on since last Nationals,

every class these kids have taken,

every rehearsal these kids have done,

every convention that these kids had to be,

a master teacher I brought in.

But all boiled down to today.

[ON THE NEWSPLAYING]

♪ A billion people died On the news tonight

♪ But not so many cried At the terrible sight

♪ Well, mama said It's just make-believe

♪ You can't believe everything you see

♪ So, baby, close your eyes to the lullabies

♪ On the news tonight

♪ Who's the one to decide that it would be all right?

♪ To put the music behind the news tonight

♪ Well, mama said

♪ Mmm, mmm

♪ Why don't the newscasters cry

♪ When they read about people who die?

♪ At least they could be decent enough

♪ To put just a tear in their eyes

♪ Mama said It's just make believe

♪ You can't believe everything you see

♪ So, baby, close your eyes to the lullabies

♪ On the news tonight

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

ANNOUNCER: That was number 46, On The News.

Um... 13-39. 13-40.

We're nine.

Right.

Not big, but like...

'Cause you give my...

It's about the gut.

[GRUNTS]

Like, oh, God! Man, you're killing me here.

Put your... Where your hands are is really important.

Yeah, like, I feel like you don't connect.

Like you leave the performance to go,

"Okay. I got to grab her hand.

"Oh, hell, there we are."

And we're losing that. We can't lose that. This is Nationals.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[SAY YOU DOPLAYING]

♪ Love me, love me

♪ Say you do

♪ Let me fly away

♪ With you

♪ We are creatures of the wind

♪ Wild as the wind

♪ You touch me

♪ I hear the sound of mandolins

♪ And you kiss me

♪ With your kiss My life begins

♪ Love me, love me

♪ Say you do

♪ Let me fly away With you ♪

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

DENISE: So it's very emotional, but it also is very emotional

because it's the last time we'll do the piece,

'cause then we rest it.

Let's go.

We've been going since eight o'clock this morning.

So... I don't even know how many pieces that is.

That's a lot of pieces.

They're only taking the top five.

[WHO WILL FIND MEPLAYING]

♪ Dance, dance in the morning light

♪ Open your darkened eyes

♪ Hey, hey it's a beautiful day

♪ It'll be okay It'll be okay, yeah

♪ Dance, dance in the morning light

♪ Open your darkened eyes

♪ Hey, hey it's a beautiful day

♪ It'll be okay It'll be okay, yeah

[EXCLAIMING]

♪ Where the roses bloom

♪ Leave your cares Leave your fears

♪ Leave them all behind you

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah

♪ It's a beautiful day...

When you can get on stage, and fill everybody up with energy, that...

that's what beautiful about a piece.

It's beautiful.

♪ It's a beautiful day This is where I find you ♪

I already talked about this.

On the beat.

And you'll need to make sure...

Open wide.

You cannot drop your face at a moment.

You're playing a character, you're not yourself.

-Everybody got that? -STUDENTS: Yes.

Not for a split-second.

All this stuff leads up to right now, okay?

Are you ready?

STUDENTS: Yes!

DENISE: Okay.

Don't throw it away.

Don't let anything bother you if something happens.

They can't see everything. Yes?

I want this to be the best time.

-DENISE: Yes? -STUDENTS: Yes.

-DENISE: You ready? -STUDENTS: Yes!

[CHANTING]

ANNOUNCER: 15-16 with a Teen Extended Line, this is Hello Loneliness.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

♪ A one, two, three, four

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

DENISE: The crowd was...

probably the most effective thing I've ever thought in my life.

You were so good.

-You had so much fun. -Yeah, I did.

I think you had more fun than ever.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

HALLIE: He said it was incredible.

He said that it was like an experience.

DENISE: So good!

HALLIE: The audience was, like, laughing and crying.

He's pretty happy with it, so... score.

'Cause it was more than incredible for me.

It was...

Sorry.

All the hard work, these kids just do their hearts out on the floor.

One thing I say all the time, "Why are you afraid to be good?"

Well, they weren't afraid to be good at all today.

[TAP DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]

ANNOUNCER: That was a number 28, Sing, Sing, Sing.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

-Yay! -DENISE: Oh, my God.

DENISE: It was so good.

What's wrong?

-[COUGHING] -What do you need? What do you need?

You need water?

What do you need? What's wrong?

-It hurts a lot. -Your Achilles?

All right. You need ice here.

Get in a bucket of ice water. Let's go.

DENISE: Trinity came off crying fromSing, Sing, Sing.

Her Achilles was bothering her earlier, but her calf cramped up.

RAY: They have to be in amazing shape.

They have to not just be ready for their own solo performance,

but they have to pull up, literally pull up the rest of their week

for their fellow teammates, for their fellow dancers,

for their... for their studios.

DENISE: Guess they're all just beat up from...

We've gone from show mode, to doing the show,

to doing National rehearsal,

you know, to come in here, and they're getting up.

They're staying late up night. They have to get up early in the morning.

RAY: You'll see a studio rehearsing in the corner,

and they have to rework their routine because, you know,

one of the dancer's have gone down,

or they've gotten hurt, or they've gotten sick.

Yeah. So it's really, really quite intense. [CHUCKLES]

I have 17 routines re-competing in our closing-in show.

In a couple of days, seven will rise.

First off is At A Loss from Columbia City Jazz.

Turning that, 24, from Canadian Dance Unit.

Hello Loneliness from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[ALL CHEERING]

DENISE: She's never done this before.

-Surprised, isn't it? -Yeah.

ANNOUNCER: We are about to see some of the most talented dancers

from around the world, as they compete here tonight

for the title of Best Dancer 2017.

RAY: Tonight, we find out who the top 20 is.

We announce the top 20 as a recognition,

because there are so many kids that are participating.

ANNOUNCER: Top 20, here we go.

Joziah German from Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre.

Anthony Kelly from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

DENISE: Oh, my God!

Anessa Zivic from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

Trinity Bonilla from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

Megan Caines from Vlad's Dance Company.

Jordan Gaskin from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

RAY: And from there, we're now for top 10.

ANNOUNCER: Murphy Lee from Performing Dance Arts.

Anthony Kelly from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

DENISE: Go!

Whoa! That says a lot.

That says a lot.

Quinn Starner from Stars Dance Studio.

Anessa Zivic from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

DENISE: Yay!

Louise from Stars Dance Studio.

Trinity Bonilla from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

WYETH: I was terrified seeing the audience

watching them go through all the seniors.

Like, okay, the top 20 is here, now the top 10.

ANNOUNCER: Wyeth Walker from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

DENISE: Yay!

TRAVIS: If we make it in the top 10, it's the improv.

And I've seen people choke.

And if someone I think who has a trouble with that

is Anessa.

DENISE: You just have to... just do it.

So you don't even know what part of the music

you're really gonna hit on either.

They pick somebody random, or whoever they pick,

and they go down that order and come back.

ERICA: I did have this feeling that she would be nervous 'cause it was her first time.

But the German came out and she killed it.

ANESSA: Improv is really stressful, like, on that big stage,

and everyone judging you.

ANNOUNCER: Judges, please rank these ladies 1 through 10

and pass your sheets out.

ANESSA: The competition is so good.

They're all, like, really flexible. I'm nervous.[CHUCKLES]

ANNOUNCER: All right. Thank you so much to our 10 ladies.

RAY: They get to the top 10.

You know, they know they're getting really, really close.

And now they have to do the improv,

it becomes more and more intense throughout the week,

so we'll see what they're made of.

WYETH: Senior guys are last, so we waited and hold the hand, relaxing backstage,

and answering fans, waiting to go on stage and...

I think there were 10 or 11 of us up on stage, improving.

So our round is really fun.

[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]

ANNOUNCER: That's a wrap. Thank you, seniors. You guys can exit to the right.

We'll have some results shortly.

And 2016 Teen Female Best Dancer winner,

from Denise Wall Dance Energy, this is Morgan Higgins.

MORGAN: I will be performing my solo,Ave Maria,

during the Best Dancer dance-off.

And I'm excited about it.

I'm a little bit nervous just 'cause, like...

I feel like there's a lot of pressure on me,

and it's more of me putting the pressure on myself,

'cause I want it to be, like, flawless and just, like, look so good,

and be like the perfect way to hand down my title.

[AVE MARIAPLAYING]

This solo means so much to me.

It's a tribute in a prayer to my granddad

who was probably one of the most influential people in my life.

We were so close. I miss him so much.

And it's a tribute to all loved ones we've lost.

DENISE: Yes!

MORGAN: Performing this on stage, it was pretty surreal for me.

Kind of a dream almost.

I was like in, like, this alternate world,

just, like, dancing,

and it was just incredible.

I really felt that he was there,

and that he was with me.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[DENISE CHEERING]

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, that was our 2016

Teen Female Best Dancer winner, Miss Morgan Higgins.

MORGAN: I handed down my title

as Teen Best Dancer.

It's really bittersweet, though,

because this year has been incredible,

and I'm really sad that it's over,

but I'm ready to work hard for next year.

RAY: Once they finish the improvisation,

that score is combined with their...

re-tallied, I should say,

with their solo score and their audition score.

Once that's tallied, that will take us to our top three.

Once the top three are announced,

all the scores previous are completely erased

and we start all over.

They re-compete in the same evening,

and they get a brand-new score

based on their solo performance,

and they're ranked by the judges one through three,

and that's how we come up with our winners.

ANNOUNCER: Three of you will be re-competing your solos.

First off is Joziah German, from Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre.

Joining him will be Findlay McConnell from Elite Danceworx.

Last but not least, Julian Lombardi from Canadian Dance Unit.

All right, ladies. It is time.

I'm going to announce four names.

I need you to step forward.

That means you will be re-competing your solo very shortly.

And in random order, Quinn Starner from Stars Dance Studio.

Kelis Robinson from Elite Danceworx.

Vivian Ruiz from Stars Dance Studio.

And Anessa Zivic from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

Let's give all these ladies on stage a big round of applause.

Congratulations, guys. You can all exit to the right.

And we'll see you shortly. Nice work.

All right, gentlemen. If I call your name, step forward.

It means you are re-competing your solo shortly.

First up is...

Benjamin Peralta from Britney Boyd Dance Company.

Michael Novitski from Vlad's Dance Company.

Last but not least, Wyeth Walker from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

DENISE: Oh, my God!

ANNOUNCER: Gentlemen, congratulations to all of you on stage.

Thank you so very much.

[ANNOUNCER CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

Nice work.

DENISE: I just peed my pants.

-WOMAN: Oh, great. -DENISE: I'm soaked wet.

WOMAN: You didn't pee?

DENISE: I gotta go. I gotta change.

I mean, just...

It just went, everything.

Everything in my bladder.

Everything in my bladder just went.

I'm sorry.

DENISE: So you already won.

I don't care where you place.

The accomplishment of you being put there, okay?

ANESSA: It was crazy around me.

Denise was trying to do my makeup,

and my mom and Miss Denise were trying to do my hair.

And everyone was like, telling me, "Good job," and coming up to me.

So it's a little hectic and chaotic.

[STAMMERING] So it... I'm not kidding, that confidence better be there.

Like, make them gag.

Okay?

Is somebody taking a picture of this?

[SOBBING]

I'm so proud of you. Okay?

Glad they're finally seeing what I see, okay?

Serve it.

Just... It should be fun.

That's all... Now it's just fun, okay?

Just give them Anessa realness.

Yes? Okay?

Yup? All right. Let's go, girl.

[CHANTING]

DENISE: Ready?

ANESSA: Definitely, I got super nervous

when the number before me, like, the music starts.

Like you can tell when it's about to end.

ANNOUNCER: Closing on our Teen Female Best Dancer top four,

it is Anessa Zivic.

[TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ Beautiful

ANNOUNCER: That was Anessa Zivic from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

Judges, please rank these ladies one through four.

DENISE: No. It's... No. I'm sorry.

I'm so... I mean, I'm...

I'm so excited.

Like...

You didn't even make top 20 last year.

Like, your goal...

Just go be yourself, okay?

Don't throw it. Just...

This should be fun for you.

That's what I want it to be. I want it just to be fun.

Suspend it.

Yeah. Not that one, but I like that one too.

Watch the other one.

[LAUGHS]

Yeah. Yeah.

But that was good too. I will take that.

It's a show now, okay?

'Cause we've already... Four segments and you're one.

You already accomplished way more than I thought you would.

-HEIDI: Do you wanna come back? -Yeah, really.

Yes? Yeah?

Okay. Ready?

[CHANTING]

WYETH: I've been so nervous about this since, like, this year started.

Like, how this year will play out

and, like, what's gonna happen.

I don't think any of us expected this to happen.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]

MAN IN CROWD: Whoo!

ANNOUNCER: That was Wyeth Walker from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

That solo was an experience.

It was amazing night.

-Looking like a pro out there. -DENISE: I know.

Nice work, man.

ANESSA: This time I did my solo, I wasn't as on my leg

as I was the first time.

But I felt like I performed it still...

Yeah, my feet were just, like, really sticky.

RAY: And then I find out, you know, on the gala night.

So they have a good two days,

to kinda sit and wonder, you know,

what their placement's gonna be.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

So excited to be here at the Dance Awards.

[DENISE SINGING]

I looked so much for you.

Just go out there and kill it. That's all I got to say. Just kill it.

Do something different. You...

You know what you... I talked to you about that.

Yeah? You got it.

-DENISE: Yes? -STUDENTS: Yeah!

DENISE: All right, let's go.

[ALL CHANTING]

ANNOUNCER: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

and welcome to the closing awards show

at the 2017 Dance Awards.

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUDING]

ANNOUNCER: That was your 2017 Senior Best Dancer finalists.

WYETH: At that final, like, performance,

especially for a couple of seniors,

like, most of us do,

it's our last chance to perform with this group.

It's like a big last hurrah. We got to cast one more time

and make Travis and Denise happy, so...

Just do our best and please everyone, and all chorus sing your name, amen.

-ALL: Amen. -Let's go, girls.

[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]

I'm gonna die of a heart attack again. [CHUCKLES]

-DENISE: Last round. -Yeah.

[BYE BYE LIFEPLAYING]

Here we go. Time for some results.

Our sixth runner-up for Best Performance Teen Division

is Get Me To the Church

from Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre.

Our fourth runner-up representing our Teen Division

is At A Lossfrom Columbia City Jazz.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

Second runner-up for the Teen Division is To Build A Home

from Vlad's Dance Company.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

Our first runner-up for Best Performance for the Teen Division

is Brother from Elite Danceworx,

which means our winner of the Dance Awards 2017

is Hello Loneliness from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

DENISE: Yay!

ANNOUNCER: You guys, congratulations one more time

to each and every one of these routines.

Thank you so very much.

[ALL CHEERING]

You killed that.

So thank you.

Thank you, because you're a big part of why that score is so high.

We went out with a bang.

You know what I loved? She was dancing behind us,

and you saw us, and you picked up the gear.

[JORDAN SOBBING]

You know it's never over. You know that?

I'll never leave you.

I'll always be there.

You tell me when your shows are,

I'll come to New York and see you.

You're never out of my life, you know that?

Ever. Okay?

Love you.

Love you too. Thank you.

Thank your mama for bringing her...

bringing you to me.

It's okay.

[CONTINUES SOBBING]

JORDAN: Thank you so much.

You're welcome, baby. Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: We are here tonight

to present the Professionalism Award.

And the Dance Award goes to...

Denise Wall.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

DENISE: What? Oh, my God!

We should all tip together.

[LAUGHTER]

DENISE: I can do that.

I just can't believe that.

-Congratulations. -Thank you.

[EXCLAIMING]

Here.

Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, it is time

for some of our Best Dancer results.

Please help me welcome to the stage

our Teen Female Best Dancer top 10.

First off, Emily Valencia from Dance Town.

I'm extremely proud of you. I know that they are too.

If I call your name, step forward.

You are the Teen Female Best Dancer top four.

First off is Quinn Starner from Stars Dance Studio.

Kelis Robinson from Elite Danceworx.

Vivian Ruiz from Stars Dance Studio.

And Anessa Zivic from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

Our Teen Female Best Dancer third runner-up

is Anessa Zivic from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

The Best Dancer first runner-up is...

Kelis Robinson from Elite Danceworx,

which means our new Teen Female Best Dancer winner

is Quinn Starner from Stars Dance Studio.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

-Congratulations. -Thank you.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

I know.

All right. It is time now to read our Senior Male Best Dancer.

Tyler Hutchings from Elite Danceworx.

Wyeth Walker from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

Will the Senior Male Best Dancer top three

please take a step forward?

First off, it's Benjamin Peralta

from Britney Boyd Dance Company.

Michael Novitski from Vlad's Dance Company.

And Wyeth Walker from Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

Without further ado, guys,

Senior Male Best Dancer, our second runner-up...

is Benjamin Peralta from Britney Boyd Dance Company.

DENISE: Wow. Okay.

ANNOUNCER: All right, guys. Here it is.

Your Senior Male Best Dancer first runner-up...

is Michael Novitski from Vlad's Dance Company,

which means our new Senior Male Best Dancer winner

is Mr. Wyeth Walker for Denise Wall Dance Energy.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]

DENISE: How did that happen? How did that happen?

DENISE: He didn't even make top 20 last year.

Whoo!

[HEIDI SOBBING]

My God!

Where is he? Oh, my God.

Where is he?

Where is he?

Oh, my God. I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

Oh, my God. I'm so proud of you.

I can't...

[HEIDI SOBBING]

Hey, Denise, congratulations. I'm crying.

DENISE: You know, he didn't make top 20 last year.

Yeah, yeah.

No. You remember the meaning?

Because he didn't make top 20.

See, when you work on it everyday...

HEIDI: Oh, my God. Thank you.

DENISE: You're welcome.

Thank him. He just won the world.

I kept on pushing him every day and he kept on working.

WYETH: It still don't feel like I just did that.

And it's... Yeah. It's really good.

I feel really... yeah.

I can't... Yeah. I can't describe it.

I'm just... Yeah. I'm really happy, and just...

I'm really excited for next year.

The adrenalin is falling, so I'm, like, delirious right now.

He won Best Senior Dancer.

So we're just so excited about that.

And he fell to his knees when the guy called,

'cause he didn't expect it either.

It was just a rush of emotions once you got off-stage.

It was a moment I'll never forget.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

TRINITY: So I think, it's all like...

It's all, like, joy and happiness.

It's been great. I'm feeling good.

Hello Loneliness got first place,

um, I got third runner-up for Teen Best Dancer,

and Wyeth won Senior Male Dancer.

So, yeah!

It's a crazy night and I'm so happy with everything.

Everyone was so emotional withHello Loneliness

because it was, like, our last time dancing together

with, like, Jordan and Alexis, and possibly Alena.

So we're so happy and all of our hard work paid off.

It was like a really special moment,

especially for the seniors.

You know, a lot of them are my friends,

like, best friends,

and, like, one of them is my Mom's.

My two Moms, Jordan and Alena, you know.

And they're gonna be leaving, which is so sad.

But I'm so excited for them.

See like what's gonna happen in the future.

I did a whole bunch of crying today.

I'm so proud of us,

and I'm really surprised that I got top 20.

I was not expecting that at all.

Um, I'm so proud of Wyeth

and I'm so proud of Anessa,

and I'm proud of everybody that...

Oh, I'm... I'm gonna miss them so much.

When I will feel down at the studio,

and, of course, like, dance is my outlet, but they...

It's just their energy bringing into me, I just...

Oh, I love them so much.

She was crying the night really bad enough

because I told her I'd... They'd never leave my life.

I'd stay in touch with them.

When they have shows I shall...

She'll be in shows New York, I'll go see her.

I'm always gonna be Mama D.

Then I'll turn into Grandma D

when they have their kids and bring them to me.

[CHUCKLES]

Only one.

Got it.

DENISE: And they think I'm professional, but that's okay.

[DENISE LAUGHS]

We're done!

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

We won. I'm sorry, I'm still, like, still in shock.

The whole process starts again.

We've got to start getting cracking for Zen

and training the kids to another level

and get new pieces.

It's so funny 'cause I said, after we won,

afterHello Loneliness won,

I sent Travis a text and said,

"Thank you so much for the piece."

I said, "Now what's next?

"What are you gonna do next year?"

And he sent me...

he sent me a face,

with the face like this,

with a knife coming through his head.

[LAUGHING]

So now there was, "Let him be" for tonight. [CHUCKLES]

'Cause I'd never stop. I'm always going,

"Okay, what's next? All right, let's go., let's go."

WYETH: Like, ah, the pressure.

The pressure.

[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

[MUSIC CONTINUES]