Dance team prepares for competition

Published 9:52 am Thursday, March 12, 2015

Members of the Debra Franco Preparatory School of Dance competition team perform Tuesday during a rehearsal for a regional competition in Baton Rouge this weekend. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Members of the Debra Franco Preparatory School of Dance competition team perform Tuesday during a rehearsal for a regional competition in Baton Rouge this weekend. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Spring break allows students a week of rest and relaxation from daily studies and homework. Many students and their families take advantage of the reprieve as an opportunity to travel to the beach, ski or snowboard down mountains, visit Mickey or just hang out at home enjoying their time off.

For the 26 students on the Debra Franco Preparatory School of Dance competition team, the week has been dedicated to hours of rehearsal in preparation for their first regional competition held in Baton Rouge this weekend.

“We compete in three regionals and one national competition each year,” said Debra Franco, the owner and principle teacher of the studio.

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This year, along with competing in Baton Rouge Friday through Sunday, the team will travel to Birmingham and West Memphis, Ark. for the remaining regional competitions. Nationals will be held in Orlando.

Tryouts for Franco’s competition team are held at the beginning of each school year.

“We have an audition for the kids, and we bring in outside judges, and the kids go through an audition process,” Franco said.

Once the team is chosen, the dancers are divided into groups according to age and ability.

“Then we bring in outside choreographers to set pieces for the different age groups and the different genres,” she said.

Genres include ballet, jazz, tap, acrobatics, contemporary and hip-hop.

This year, Franco brought in two choreographers from New Orleans, one from the Twin City Ballet Company in Monroe, one from Shreveport and she used three of her former students.

Franco also choreographed dances for her competition team, she said.

Competition rehearsals usually begin after the first of the New Year, said Franco.

“If the girls and boys have solos or specials, they can start earlier if they want to, but most of them wait until second semester. We spend the first semester working on technique and our Christmas programs,” she said.

This year’s dance competition team members range in ages from five to 17, and they are required to take weekly ballet and tap classes, said Franco, and depending on their age, students are also required to take jazz.

“Students are also strongly encouraged to take acrobatics, turns classes, contemporary, partnering, hip-hop and anything else that is offered,” Franco added.

Competition practice is held on the weekends outside of regular weekly classes, and the number of dances each student competes in will determine the number of hours required for practice.

“For each dance, a student practices between an hour and an hour and a half each weekend, and some of the kids are in as many as seven dances, so it could mean a competition member will practice as much as 10 hours of a weekend,” said Franco.

Students that participate on the competition team not only have to be dedicated, but their families also have to be committed.

Aside from making sure their child is at dance all throughout the week and weekend, the cost to compete can be as much as $2,000, and this does not include hotel costs, travel expenses or food.

The DFD competition team does hold several fundraisers throughout the year to help defray expenses, which include entry fees for the competitions, costumes and choreography fees.

Franco said participating on a competition team is beneficial for students.

“I think it greatly enhances their confidence. It teaches them to work, and hopefully they learn it is about the work they put in before the competition and not just about the actual trophy itself,” she said.

“My child gives up her birthday every year to participate on the team,” said Tiffany Robinson.

Robinson’s daughter, Makayla Walker, has a March birthday, which typically coincides with spring break and competition rehearsals and competition performances.

The dancers may have had to sacrifice their week out of school with hours of practice, but some of the parents said they plan to make the most of the final weekend of spring break with their kids in between their performances.

“We are going to the zoo, the movies and the mall,” they said.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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