Photo by Bill Petzold • A member of the Sue’s Dance Royalty competitive dance team leaps into the air during a practice Monday at Sue’s School of Dance in Caro.
By Bill Petzold
Editor
CARO — They come from all over the Thumb, but they all have two things in common: They love to dance, and they’re pretty darn good at it.
Courtney Sturtevant and Elizabeth Swoish are the directors of Sue’s Dance Royalty, a new competitive dance team from Sue’s School of Dance, 131 E. Frank St. in downtown Caro.
“We started June 19. We got it all set up last year; we talked to (Sue’s School of Dance owner) Sue (Findlay) about it, and she said, ‘Go for it!’ ” Sturtevant said. “(Elizabeth) and I just enjoy doing competitive dance. I used to compete back in the 1990s and she just got done competing.”
Sturtevant has been a dancer and gymnast for 28 years and has taught those skills for 16 years. She began dancing at age 7 and earned awards and scholarships during her career. A 1997 Cass City High School graduate, Sturtevant began teaching at Sue’s in 2003.
While Sturtevant’s specialties include tumbling, kick line, lyrical, jazz, tap and hip hop, she finds the perfect compliment in Swoish who specializes in ballet, pointe, lyrical, modern, jazz, turns and leaps, technique and musical theatre.
A North Branch native, Swoish began dancing at age 6 and loved it immediately. Her dance career has taken her around the country, and she was won numerous awards and scholarships.
“It’s more traditional like ballet-based dance,” Sturtevant said of the team’s repertoire, “but we do offer hip hop at the dance studio. All the girls are required to take ballet, and then they can take all the other classes at a steep discount — that way we can have seasoned, well-rounded dancers. It helps the studio out too, and it helps out the other teachers.”
“We have 15 girls on the team,” Sturtevant said, noting the team has members aging in range from 8 to 18 from Caro, Cass City, Sebewaing, North Branch and Marlette.
“There are a whole bunch of dance competitions, and when you go there you’ll compete against all these people,” Swoish said. “It’s a point system, and they rate you first through 10th. Then there are special awards too, like best costume, best choreography, best stage present, stuff like that. It’s about technique, stage presence, costuming and choreography — those are the four areas (on which teams are judged).”
While people with daughters might think, “Oh, that looks like a lot of fun,” both teachers stressed that while yes, you’ll end up developing a skill that allows you to move beautifully, it’s not an easy road to get there. Sue’s Dance Royalty teams are full for right now, but tryouts will be held next year for the next team. The goal is to be competitive, not simply to perform at a recital.
Both Sturtevant and Swoish know what it takes to be competitive against the country’s best dancers, and they’re not afraid to push the girls to do their best so they too hopefully can win awards and scholarships.
“It’s brutal,” Swoish said. “It’s a lot of work, it’s really hard and it’s not for everybody. Those who can cut it, it’s a lot of fun.”
“It’s fun, but we don’t let them slack either, and some of the kids can’t handle that,” Sturtevant added. “But they’ve got to try it out and see if it’s for them.”
For information about the Sue’s Dance Royalty team, visit the team’s website at suesdanceroyalty.wix.com or Facebook page.
Information about Sue’s School of Dance can be found at suesschoolofdance.com. Classes are offered Monday through Thursday. The school’s phone number is (989) 673-2775.