Massive Dance Competition Kicks Off this Week

ROCHESTER (WJON News) -- Thousands of kids will invade Rochester starting tomorrow for a huge dance competition. Just For Kix is hosting its National "Together We Dance" competition from Wednesday through Sunday. The event will feature kick, jazz, hip hop, pom, and more from kids of all ages.

The Nationals is Just For Kix's biggest event of the year.

Just For Kix Executive Director Cindy Clough says that with about 8,000 kids participating, it is challenging to manage all the schedules:

"If you have kids that are in hip hop and they're also in pom, and they're also doing a solo, and they're also doing a kick, the dances can't overlap, and when they're on different floors, they're gonna be like running from one floor to the other. It's strategic planning, let me tell ya."

She says Just For Kix and the National competition continue to grow with 11 states participating this year, and they have about 40 applications for new directors.

The competition is also a place for the kids to make lifelong friends.

Clough says the event is more than just a way for kids to highlight their dancing skills; it is a great place to make new friends:

"It's kind of neat because they go to camp together sometimes in the summer, and they see each other at these events, and it's just a great network and I love that we call it "Together We Dance" because all our programs actually compete against one another and their directors know each other so it's kind of this atmosphere that's both competitive but their friends."

Clough says one of the new trends is for kids to make pins for their towns and then run around trading them with kids from other cities to see how many they can get.

Just For Kix "Together We Dance" will see close to 40,000 people head to Rochester between the dancers, parents, and friends. The show is held at the Mayo Civic Center and is free for anyone to attend.

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