Vibe dancers take top honors at regional competition

Sixty-three dancers from the Arlington Heights Park District's Vibe Dance Company took high honors at a recent regional dance competition.

On April 28, the dance company was awarded the Studio of Excellence Award at the Power of Dance competition at Trinity High School in River Forest by the Association of Dance Conventions & Competitions.

"The idea that dancers should dance for more than the applause, but for a cause, is something that our Vibe team really responded strongly to," said Kyle Donahue, Cultural Arts supervisor.

In addition to the competition dance pieces, a philanthropic element is added at Power of Dance competitions that is taken into account when awarding the Studio of Excellence Award.

Every studio that comes to the Power of Dance is asked to designate a charity or cause that they would like to support. For every group number and duo/trio entered, $10 is donated to their charity.

This year, the Vibe team chose Forward4Tobi Foundation, a local charity established in 2013 to honor the memory of Tobi Lauren Klonecki, a special wife, mother and friend who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at age 38.

Tobi battled breast cancer for four years, and when she passed away, friends and family created the Forward4Tobi foundation in her memory. Tobi always felt blessed to have health insurance and the financial means to take care of her family and her medical bills while many other patients did not have this same support in place. Forward4Tobi's Foundation president resides in Arlington Heights and attends St. James Parish.

Solo dancers also were recognized as "Miss Power of Dance" winners in various age groups.

"Miss Power of Dance is based on a solo performance, along with an essay or paragraph about their selected charity highlighting what the charity means to them and why it was chosen," added Donahue.

The essay is not scored or graded in any way, but goes into the overall consideration.

The following dancers received Miss Power of Dance recognition: Molly McCall (age 10), Isabella Variano (age 12), Kayla Sagendorph (age 13), Maeve Petzold (age 15), and Abby Andre (age 17).

The combination of the essays regarding the charitable donations to the Forward4Tobi Foundation with the performance dance pieces gave Vibe the distinction of the Studio of Excellence Award.

The Studio of Excellence Award is given by participating Association of Dance Conventions & Competitions member competitions to a studio of their choice that best exemplifies the values of the Association of Dance Conventions & Competitions, which include working together and striving for excellence.

"Our studio was chosen for demonstrating Association of Dance Conventions & Competitions values of teamwork and excellence in dance. Association of Dance Conventions & Competitions is a national nonprofit for the dance competition industry that promotes quality, integrity and opportunity in dance. Although this award is from a national organization, the competition was at a regional level," said Kristy McCann, superintendent of recreation programs.

"The Arlington Heights Park District is proud of its 63-member Vibe Dance Company and staff on their well-deserved awards. The staff team includes Jennifer Hicks, Alyssa Sugisawa, Ashley Valencia, Carla Ricchio, and administrators Amy Braheny and Kyle Donahue, Cultural Arts supervisor."

To date, Vibe Dance Company has won awards at the following competitions this year:

• Dance Idol Competition 2019, Feb. 1 and 2

• Bravo Competition 2019, March 15-17

• Hall of Fame Competition 2019, April 5-7

• Power of Dance Competition, April 26-28

Learn more about Vibe Dance Company at www.ahpd.org/vibe

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