Orem dance company competes on NBC's 'World of Dance'


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OREM — Soaring to new heights is what dancers at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio do best. Many of them began training at an early age.

"I started gymnastics when I was like 2," said 11-year-old Brightyn Brems. She's part of the team in Orem that started prepping for the show last July. The team perfected its technique for the chance of a lifetime.

"Knowing that Jennifer Lopez and Derek Hough were all there ... but once the experience was done, I wished I could go back to it," Brems said.

Coaches choreographed six dances they cut down to 90 seconds for prime time.

"It was very nervous and nerve-wracking," said 16-year-old Ezra Sosa. "Going out there and running through that tunnel, all of our hearts were pumping."

Thousands of dancers from all over the world competed to be on the show and only a handful got to try for $1 million. It took six hours a day, six days a week of hard work to get there.

"It took a lot of practice and a lot of sweat and tears, and we woke up very early in the morning to be here," 14-year-old Abby Werner said.

Their coach, Chelsea Casper, detailed all the hard work the team put in.

"We came every morning at 6 o'clock in the morning. We were here, and they rehearsed until about 8:30 a.m., and then they left and went to school. Then after school, we'd have rehearsals for an hour and a half, and Saturdays we'd do four- to six-hour rehearsals."

Every lift, turn and step has to be just right — a bonding and learning experience for the team.

"Just like staging, and where to look at the camera, and how to space people to make it all look professional," Casper said.

And if all the world's a stage, these dancers are front and center.

To see how the team did, watch NBC's "World of Dance" at 9 p.m. on KSL.

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Heather Simonsen

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