Dancers entertain seniors

Over the past two Fridays, performers from Elite Dance were entertaining residents at the Mission at Castle Rock Rehabilitation Center.

Jill Boylen, owners and teacher of Elite Dance, said it is really good for her students to get in front of a large crowd instead of just performing in front of their moms and dads.

"I think it's really good for the kids, but the people there absolutely love it," Boylen said. "One lady was screaming. It's probably enjoyable for them."

With more than 115 students, Boylen had no choice but to break up the dancers into two groups. About 60 dancers, ranging in age from four to 15 years old, were at Friday evening's performance. Boylen said this dance group is not a competitive dance group so the children are not used to performing in front of such a big crowd.

She said when children are so young and so little it's nice for them to be good at something. Even if they are not good, the whole point is for them to have fun. Not everything has to be a competition.

The best part for Boylen is seeing the kids feel good about themselves. She loved seeing them successfully perform in front of the large crowd in a small-spaced environment.

"They're very nervous. They are terrified because it's something so different for them," she said. "The people at the center are so nice, but people they don't know."

During this performance, these girls are not getting judged, they are just having a good time performing two or three routines they learned since November.

These routines are performed to various songs.

"I like to have a variety," Boylen said.

Before performing at the CRRC, the students were told it would be in a tight space and they shouldn't fret if they run into each other or bump each other. She told them to just keep dancing.

"If your shoes falls off, keep dancing. If your ribbon falls off, keep dancing," Boylen said.

The girls did just that and the evening was a success.