Summer to remember for local dance studio
Atlantic City beaches are a great place to visit in the summer. Combine that with winning awards at a national level dance competition and one can understand why the competition team of On the Edge Dance Studio had a great summer.

Add in the move from Jamesburg to a new location in Spotswood, and one can see why the studio's director, Melanie Jones, is happy, maybe a little tired.

The team, which has only been competing for two years, qualified this year for the Starbound National Talent Competition Finals, held in Atlantic City from July 9-13. While the competition was tough, the team won many trophies - 18 golds, two high golds and three high silvers.

Jessica Sabanos and Abby Hohmeier were recognized for the quality of their individual performances. Jessica received a high gold award in the 13-14-year-old age group for her performance of "Please Forgive Me." Abby's performance of "I'm Just a Girl" earned a high gold and fourth place overall in the Mini Division.

"Nationals was a lot of fun. Competing on stage with everyone was too," said dancer Georgia Sabran.

"Not only was it a lot of fun to be able to compete in a national competition, it was also a great bonding experience," said dancer Michelle LiSanti.

In addition to Jessica, Georgia, Michelle and Abby, members of the competition team who went to the national finals were Jennifer Camporeale, Sara Crane, Alexis Espirella, Megan Fitzgerald, Lexie Hohmeier, Samantha Horsch, Dana Linker, Nicole LiSanti, Jamae Lucas, Hannah Martin, Jessica Massoni, Brittani Miller, Dana Morganlander, Sydney Morganlander, Lexi Reynolds, Morgan Sanguedolce and Ashley Zimmerman.

While the students had fun at the competition, the work did not end for the students and their director. Jones held dance camp for up to 20 students during the day, ran rehearsals at night and prepared a move to the new location.

"We have grown much faster than we ever imagined, we needed more space to grow even bigger," Jones said. "We were lucky to find a location at Pelican Plaza in Spotswood where another studio had moved from. Luckily we only had to do cosmetic changes such as cleaning and painting, although it was still a lot of work."

A grand opening will be held Saturday at the new location, located at 491 Manalapan Road.

On the Edge offers classes for all ages. Beginning with Mommy and Me for toddlers, classes range from children's classes of all ages to a range of adult classes including yoga and senior stretch. Open registrations are scheduled for Sept. 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. There will be an open house on Sept. 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Classes begin on Sept. 10. Information on classes and fees can be found on the Web site www.ontheedgedancestudio. com. The studio's new phone number is (732) 251-5455.