The girls of Studio 22 Dance Academy’s competition team are headed to the Big Apple.
The Studio 22 Dance Academy in Franklin serves as the home studio to young and promising talent that is showcased by their competition team, Fusion.
Six girls – Baylee Cutchall, Maddi Phillips, Skylar Shields, Rosalynne Ferraro, Justus Lind and Hannah Young – make up the Fusion team. Their ages range from 13 to 18, and they perform at several competitions a season.
Their performance of “Condition” at the On Point dance competition in Boardman, Ohio, in April is what won them a trip to New York City scheduled for the end of July.
In New York, the girls will attend three Broadway shows, go through mock auditions and participate in a flash mob in Times Square.
“We’ve never won anything like this in my 17 years here.” Kristen Criado, the owner of Studio 22, said.
The prize comes with a price, however, as the girls are now involved in a flurry of fund-raisers consisting of anything from car washes to sub sales and beyond.
The team will also be selling food in front of the old North Side Eatery on Seneca Street during the Oil Heritage Festival in Oil City.
Young, Cutchall and Lind hope their experiences on the trip will help them in future careers they plan to pursue.
Young is attending the University of Pittsburgh in the fall and will be performing with the Panthers’ dance team, and she says the New York trip is a giant step in the right direction.
“I want to hopefully learn some stuff that I can use there.” Young said.
