The Fusion Dance Team from Lee Anne Stewart Dance School attended the In10sity competition in Fort Wayne on May 9-12. They competed in 22 dances, which included solos, duos, their team dances and a few larger productions.  
Most of the dances received platinum, and a few received high gold, according to a provided news release. Two of the soloists, Mady Hostetler and Chloe Kim, placed in the top ten of their age categories. Lily Chaney received the “Exceptional Entertainment” award for her tap solo, and Jazmyn Taylor was awarded an adjudication award from one of the judges for her solo. “House of the Rising Sun” and “Dog Days are Over” both received a “Best in Category” award. The judges awarded “Wildflowers” the “Perfect Precision” award.
Included in these awards were the overall highest scores of each category. The large production number, “Birds of a Feather,” in which the entire Fusion Dance Team performs, received the Intense Premier Teen Highest Score overall. The entire studio was awarded the “Studio of Xcellence,” which is one of the highest honors of the competition, the release states.
Many of the dances that competed at In10sity will be performed in the studio’s annual dance production. This is the 51st annual production of Lee Anne Stewart Dance School. The theme this year is “Into the Wild.” All the songs in the show have nods to nature and wilderness or anything wild.
“All of the dancers have been spending so much time polishing their performances, and I am very excited to see their hard work shine on stage,” said Lee Anne Stewart, exclusive owner and operator of the dance schools.
Lee Anne Stewart Dance School will hold its performances at Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center on Saturday, June 8 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, June 9 at 4 p.m.; Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, June 16 at 4 p.m. Tickets range from $15-$17 each and are available online.
June will mark the close of Stewart’s 51st year of teaching dance in the greater Wawasee area. A second studio was opened in Nappanee in fall 1996. Both studios host students from many surrounding communities including Goshen, Leesburg, Warsaw, Bremen, Winona Lake, Claypool and Plymouth among many others.
Some of the songs the audience will enjoy at this year’s show include “Only the Wild Ones,” “Into the Unknown,” “Last of the Honeybees” and “I Wan’na Be Like You.” Also, during the productions, over 50 students will receive awards for 5, 10 and 15 years of taking classes at Stewart Dance schools.
“I’m so proud of each of the students performing, but I love recognizing the young dancers who reach these milestones in their dance education,” Stewart said.
Information regarding summer classes and programs, as well as information for enrolling in fall classes is available online at www.stewartdanceschool.com, or by calling 1-877-658-9875.
Classes are offered to students ranging from age 2 through adult in pre-ballet, ballet, contemporary, jazz, jazz-funk, tap, pointe, and hip hop. Themed pre-school classes for students 2½ to 4½ years of age are available in monthly sessions, and specialty classes in ballet, tap and jazz technique, contemporary, leaps and turns and more are offered periodically throughout the year for students 12 years and up.
The dance schools are located south of Syracuse on County Road 300 East and on the third floor of Main Street Suites in Nappanee.