Studio 9 Dancers Bring Home Multiple Wins from WVU Best of the Best Dance Competition
By Julie Perine on January 18, 2026
Studio 9 Dance Academy is well known for various dance classes offered and local showcases of those students’ skills. But the Bridgeport dance studio also features a troupe of competitive dancers who travel regionally.
“I started dance competition at Studio 9 in 2021 as another avenue to explore dance,” said Heather Mudrick Campbell, owner of Studio 9. “It’s so different than studio dance and even dance teams at middle and high school levels."
Just this past weekend, the dance company brought home several impressive wins from the WVU Best of the Best Dance Competition.
“The WVU Best of the Best competition is a fundraiser for the WVU Dance Team and also acts as a recruitment opportunity for them to see potential dancers for the dance team,” Mudrick Campbell said. “Our dancers competed two days in various levels – Minis, Juniors, Teens and Seniors with various solos, duets, trios and small groups. Each level had opportunity to take classes from WVU dance team members as well as participate in an improv challenge.”
Several Studio 9 dancers were selected in the final round of improv, Mudrick Campbell said.
Awarded Best of the Best High Platinum, 1st Category, 1st Overall Senior Level 3 and Best of the Best Overall Senior Small Group was the “My All” group of Emma Hansberry, Grace Hansberry, Collins Randolph, Lily Gum, and Emma Hazey.
Studio 9’s “Call Me Rose” group consisting of Emma Hansberry, Ava Myers, Emma Hazey, Payton Tones, Collins Randolph, Grace Hansberry, Lilly Gum and Emery Sykes won third place in overall small group.
The “Heaven I Know” group of Charlee Tomes, Emery Sykes, Addy Wright, Kinley Holcomb, Harlow Gwinn, Laiklyn Henning and Makenna Robey won first place in Category and second place overall for Teen Small Group.
Emma Hansberry also received a full intensive scholarship for the WVU Dance Team Dance Intensive.
A full list of Studio 9 groups and their placement is available HERE.
The Best of the Best competition was optional for Studio 9 company dancers and for many, it was their first competition. Participating enabled the dancers to perform on stage and work out anything that needs changed for the main full company competitions coming up in March and April, Mudrick Campbell said.
She said competitive dance has evolved over the past five to 10 years.
“We’ve seen a higher level of tricks, techniques, skills, choreography, creativity and artistry that can be seen on the collegiate level,” she said. “With UDA - the Super Bowl of dance - coming up this weekend, I feel like more people are aware of dance teams ike the University of Minnesota, Ohio State, LSU and UNLV bringing powerhouse routines and innovative choreography which has carried down to the middle and high school and even elementary age levels.”
Mudrick Campbell said there’s much more to dance than skill and entertainment.
“My dancers are high achievers, both physically and academically, and do multiple aspects of dance at the studio, school and now with competitions,” she said. “It is demanding, but like I said, it’s always more than dance because it fosters physical fitness, emotional maturity, strong work ethic, confidence, and social skills, shaping well-rounded individuals through the challenges of performance and positive critical feedback.”
Learning lifelong skills and how to work as a team and how to work through challenges, setbacks, and critiques provide self-improvement and pushes them to be the best version of themselves.
Providing choreography for Studio 9 company dancers are Heather Mudrick Campbell and Kaylee Smith.
