Menlo Park dance studio, Captivating Dance by Nona, takes part in national dance competition

This year’s Kids Artistic Revue (KAR), held earlier this month in Anaheim, featured dancers from Menlo Park-based studio Captivating Dance By Nona.

The studio walked away with a number of awards, including placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Top Novice Small Group, first in Top Primary Solo 12-14, 1st in the Top Primary Large Group 12-14, 1st in the Top Secondary Solo 15-19 with Leo Vargas performing, and 1st in Top Secondary Small Group 12-14, among others.

Especially rewarding to studio owner Nona Ybarra was a special award in the final showcase, “Best Studio Spirit.”

“It was an amazing time to see everyone do their absolute best,” said Nona. “We won several awards, with several dances that placed in the top 10 but I believe the highest award we received was the spirit award. The recognition our students received for bringing a great spirit, energy and enthusiasm to everyone at the competition and not to just our own team really warms my heart.

“I witnessed our dancers high fiving dancers that came off the stage saying ‘good job’ and as our dancers exited the stage they were saying good luck to the next team up. I love seeing that spirit! That is a special quality of our team. That bond is what makes our CDBN family so special. It is dance that brought us all together, but it’s our team bond that will last a lifetime.”

Photo is of “Post Modern Jukebox” which competed in the Super Line dance category