For four years, dance instructor Lindsay Feil, owner of Euphoria Dance Center in Great Bend, has seen continuous growth, both in the size and ability, of the EDC competition dance team.  Last weekend, March 29 and 30, the team entered a record number of events at the V.I.P. Dance competition at Maize High School.  Categories included solos, duos and trios, small group, large group, and line in contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop and musical theater styles.  
“Our dancers are becoming more flexible and acrobatic,” Feil said.  “Next year, I’d like to begin including more instruction in ballet.”
The two-day event not only gave the dancers a chance to perform and receive feedback from judges, it also gave them a chance to see what competing dance studios had to offer.  
“Competitive dance is really growing and the competition is getting tighter,” she said.  She estimates the number of competitors has doubled over the past decade from when she was competing as a student.  “Today, our dancers have to work ten times harder to get the trophies I once received.”
Blake Stanley was awarded a Potential Award by Judge Shane Carpenter for his performances in two solos, “The Face” and “Hide and Seek”.  He was also ranked 10 in the Top 10 for “The Face” by judges.  
Maddi Braymer was awarded Gold for her Senior Musical Theatre Solo,“Daddy”, and was also ranked number two in the Top 10 for her category and division by judges.   
Jewelia Depperschmidt and Blake Stanley received High Gold for their teen duo, “Every Heart,”, and also were ranked third in the Top 10 by judges.  
Emma Ayres won Gold for her Teen Solo, “Sail,” and was ranked 10 in the Top 10 by judges.  Jewelia Depperschmidt received High Gold for her  Lyrical Teen Solo, “Hiding Underwater”,  and was ranked number by six in the Top 10 by judges.
Caitlyn Hammack was awarded Gold for her Lyrical Teen Solo, “Your Guardian Angel,” and was ranked nine in the Top 10.  
Cathleen Cowell received Gold for her Musical Theatre Teen Solo, “Popular,” and was ranked 10 in the Top 10.  
Aryiah Smith won High Gold for her Contemporary Teen Solo, “Werewolf,” and was ranked number three in the Top 10.  
The competition season has only just begun for EDC.  The team will be heading to other regional contests in April and May, and Feil has plans to take a select number of soloists to the Talent On Parade National Finals in Tulsa, Okla. in June.  
In the mean time, Feil is moving forward on her plans to break ground on her new studio sometime in June.  In December, she had to relocate to the Elks Lodge temporarily when the building she was located in at the south west corner of Forest and Williams streets was flagged by the city as unsafe.  While initially the move was traumatic for both Feil and her students, she is looking forward to growing her school and her team for years to come.