Export dance studio headed to World Dance Championship later this month

This month, DeStella Dance Centre’s Alexis DeSabatine will mark a decade of owning the Export studio, and the 10th year is shaping up to be the best yet.

“We went to Virginia Beach to compete at the Dream Makers National Dance Competition, and we had four of our dances make to the grand finals,” DeSabatine said.

DeStella’s group dance number “Disco Fever” won the Dream Makers grand championship, and another group number, “Labels of Love,” placed third overall.

Dance team member Gianna Duckworth, 11, of Penn Township, said the team typically does a quick group huddle backstage before competing.

“We talk with each other about doing well and just encourage each other,” Duckworth said.

Those pre-competition huddles are some of the best moments for Addison Mann, 11, of Penn Township, who has been part of the DeStella dance team for the past seven years.

“I like the pep talk we have backstage,” Mann said. “At DeStella I always have a lot of fun with my friends.”

DeSabatine said DeStella dancers have been racking up competition wins one after another this season.

“It has been such a crazy time,” she said. “We’ve traveled to Star Dance Alliance competitions in Lancaster, Wheeling, Burgettstown, New Castle, and we’ve also won four ‘Golden Tickets,’ which is how you get invited to the World Dance Championship.”

DeStella’s team will be headed there at the end of July, as the Star Dance Alliance hosts the ninth annual World Dance Championship at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, N.J.

Mann’s mother, Heather, said the team has a bit of a new perspective this season.

“We approached this year with a new appreciation for getting back to normal,” Heather Mann said. “Last year they were trying to get back to normal, but we were still doing competition groupings, and studios couldn’t really watch one another compete. Covid really put a lot into perspective and made us appreciate this year a lot more.”

The team’s high-level competition performance also earned DeSabatine an exclusive invitation to the World Dance Championship’s Circle of Excellence,” where instructors are recognized for their choreography work.

“We’ve just been traveling and winning and really taking over,” DeSabatine said. “It’s kind of out of control.”

The World Dance Championship will be July 26-31. For more, see StarDanceAlliance.com or WorldDanceChampionship.com.