Nine studios compete in dance cup results

Dancers from nine area studios performed 127 different routines Sunday in the fifth-annual Spotlight Dance Cup.

Although described by organizer Spotlight Events, Inc. as a Reno event , the all-day show was at the Carson Community Center.

Two of the dancers were 10-year-olds Riana Cerceo and Olivia Mason of Dance Visions Performing Arts Centre in Round Hill at Lake Tahoe.

In the front lobby expending nervous energy between routines, the girls described their solo, duet, group routines and "spotlight" competitions.

"I'm excited about competing and just dancing," said Olivia, a fifth-grader at the Lake Tahoe St. Teresa school, who lives in Zephyr Cove.

"I'm excited to do the awards and to meet new friends," said Riana, a Zephyr Cove Elementary School fourth-grader.

The annual competition is part of a national tour of events that will hit 26 cities, said show director Misty Blessing.

"They send us their entries, and we basically facilitate the competition," she said. Dancers compete in petite, novice, junior, senior and adult divisions.

Top finishers go on to one of two national competitions. The West coast national will be in Las Vegas July 7-12.

Dancers won diamond awards for first place, ruby for second and emerald for third.

Competitors did more than just dance Sunday. The Miss Spotlight event a chance to show stage presence.

"It's more of a pageant-type competition, without all the extra nonsense," said Blessing, a jazz, tap and ballet dancer with a degree in dance theater. She said competitors in the the Miss Spotlight contest must answer a question onstage before performing a dance move.

On stage in the performance hall, group No. 75 from Western Nevada Performing Arts Center did a routine called "Pin Stripe Suit," Carson High School junior Erica Eng was both nervous and excited about her upcoming performance.

She said that in her "Reflections" routine, she was especially concerned about a difficult "pencil" turn.

Also competing were dancers from danceSpirit, the Conservatory of Movement, Nevada Dance Academy, Pinkerton Dance Academy, Danscape, Rhythmic Artistic Company and the Snowcreek Athletic Club.

On The Net

Look for "Reno results" at this site: http://spotlightevents.com/