Pictured in the front row, from left, are Raelynn Laney, Ivanna Gonzalez, Jenna Bucher, Aja Blasio, Scarlett Cook, Lyndan Tenney, Cobie Rodriguez, Lily Shoemaker, Elle Wood and Imilia Gonzalez. In the second row, from left, are Lexi Stutzman, Zariya Buchan, Ellianna Hyden, Chloe Kim, Mady Hostetler, Elora Chaney, Chanel Bradford, Kallie Meister, Hadlea Bragg and Aspen Geyer. In the third row, from left, are Payton Everingham, Gabby Faurote, Elizabeth Anderson, Charlee Nine, Hayden Stanley, London Hoffman, Hailey Panelli, Ella Hostetler, Brooke Aleman and Zoe Mishler. In the back row, from left, are Bria Mickley, Scarlett Walters, Alicea Miller, Kate Shoemaker, Kylie Bradley, Mae Steinwedel, Lily Chaney, Addie Powell, Jazmyn Taylor and Lilly Schutz. Photo provided.

News Release

SYRACUSE — The Fusion Dance Team from Lee Anne Stewart Dance School attended the In10sity competition in Fort Wayne 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. Two soloists, Mady Hostetler and Chloe Kim, placed in the top 10 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.

Many of the dances performed 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, owner, and operator of the dance schools.

Lee Anne Stewart Dance School will hold its performances at Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 8; 4 p.m. Sunday, June 9; 7 p.m. Friday, June 14; 7 p.m. Saturday, June 15; and 4 p.m. Sunday, June 16. 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 the fall of 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 hear 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, more than 50 students will receive awards for five, 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,” said Stewart.

Information regarding summer classes and programs, as well as information for enrolling in fall classes is available online at stewartdanceschool.com, or by calling (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 preschool 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 older.

The dance schools are located south of Syracuse on CR 300E, 15 minutes from Warsaw Walmart, and on the third floor of Main Street Suites in Nappanee.