But they didn’t just compete, they stepped up and won the whole thing.

The Majestic Dance Team won The Summit Dance Team Championship in the Junior Pom and Variety divisions; the Senior Variety division; and the Youth Variety division. The Youth Pom team, Mini Pom team, and Mini Jazz team each took third place. The international dance competition was April 28 to 30 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, just outside Orlando, Fla.

“I’m just so proud of these kids. They come from a small area, so for us to get even enough to fill these teams, it’s kudos to those girls for the work they put in,” Coach Marci Williams-Hadley said. “I’m so proud. We’re making a name for Fredonia.”

The Majestic Dance Team, a youth team run through the Collage Performing Arts Center in Fredonia, brought 32 members on the trip to Florida, along with a parent or guardian with each member. The athletes are from all over Chautauqua County, spanning multiple different school districts.

Majestic Senior Variety Champions, from left to right, row one: Hannah Finch, Maya Rosplock, Kearstin Witkowski, and Ella Duliba. Row two: Adriana Kubacki and Lilly Snyder. Row three: Mya Carmona, Mackenna Incitto, Alain Incitto, and Audrina Cappa.

The Dance Summit is regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious and largest All-Star dance competitions, especially among team competitions. Dancers compete at Varsity All-Star events all season to earn a bid to The Dance Summit at Walt Disney World.

“The kids get super excited because they get to go into these beautiful practice spots. The stage is just so lit up, they put our team name on the screen, there’s lights and huge crowds … They really go to town for these kids,” Williams-Hadley said. “It’s just so professionally run.”

Being on a big stage was nothing new to the Majestics, who also performed on stage at the NASCAR Cup Race at Watkins Glen International Speedway last August. However, The Summit competition has no comparison in the world of competitive team dancing, which Williams-Hadley referred to as the “biggest team competition” in the sport of youth dance. Williams-Hadley, a former Buffalo Jills Cheerleader, called winning the championship across multiple age groups among the top achievements of her career.

“It’s taken us a lot of years to get to this level … but I’ve known the winning is going to come,” Williams-Hadley said.

Despite home being more than 1,000 miles away, throughout the tournament, the Majestics managed to create their own “home field advantage” thanks to the parents, other family members and dancers in attendance. Williams-Hadley invited the supporters to practice to coach them on how and when to cheer to enhance the response her teams received.

“The crowd can really make a difference,” Williams-Hadley said. “They had their part in it, as well. The kids get so much more excited when it’s a big crowd.”

Of all seven teams the Majestics brought to the competition, the most competitive division was the Juniors division, comprised of 23 teams from across the world. The Junior Majestics battled for the title with a talented team from Japan, the Planets, atop the division throughout the tournament.

“The emotion of the competition was ‘Us against Japan’,” Williams-Hadley said.

The Planets held the lead going into the final day of competition, but the Majestics took what the judges said to heart and went to work. The underdog mentality of having to come from behind served the Majestics well, as they claimed the title on the final day of competition and walked away with championship rings.

“That was a really bright shining moment for us,” Williams-Hadley said. “Knowing we weren’t in first place added that extra competitiveness. It was just really rewarding to see the reactions when we won.”

The friendly rivalry the Majestics built with their Japanese competitors was a heartwarming subplot to the tournament. First, the Planets joined parents and other dancers in forming a tunnel to celebrate the teams after their competition. Then, after the Majestics won the Junior division championship, the Planets visited the Majestics to congratulate them, to take a picture together, and to present each of the dancers with a personal gift.

“Honestly, that made cry,” Williams-Hadley said. “I’m really impressed with the kindness they showed us. They had such grace and respect, it really was special.”

But sportsmanship and grace in defeat wasn’t all that was imprinted on the Majestics dancers at the event. They got to leave Florida and come home as champions, with the rings to prove it, along with memories that will last a lifetime.

Williams-Hadley said, “That moment of pride is short lived, but the experience of it all … the confidence they built will last forever.”