As much as you all might think that somehow I magically know about everything that is happening in Webster at all times, the truth of the matter is that rely heavily on my readers to tell me what’s going on and send me blog ideas.
Today’s post is a good example of that. A few weeks ago I received an email from Andy LaManna, a proud dance dad. He told me about a very special dance routine that his daughter’s dance school — DK Dance — performed at this year’s Nationals.
DK Dance Studio, owned and operated by Dena Kay Botticelli, opened in Webster in 2004, so they’re just about to enter their 22nd season. The school offers classes for babies through adults, in genres from tap to jazz, hip hop to contemporary, and currently has about 315 students.
Sixty of those dancers compete three or four times a year as part of the studio’s “Company.” They take more classes and train more intensively. This year’s competition season was especially successful. Thirty of the Company dancers opted to attend the NJ Nationals in July, where they met some pretty tough competition.
Dena described the experience:
Nationals was filled with a lot of dancing, some fun on the Jersey Shore and having fun! We had about 15 group dances in the Turn it Up National competition. When they compete, they are awarded their adjudication, and then their “overall placement.” We are so proud to have received many overall placements, which gave us eligibility for the final Dance Battle.
The dancers presented several routines, but one of them, “Dueling for Love,” was extra special, and is what prompted Andy to write. Set to Meatloaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love,” the routine’s centerpieces were two pianos, which the dancers rolled around the stage, jumped on and danced on.
“The pianos themselves basically dance,” Dena said. “It was such a special piece for these dancers to perform, and an amazing thing for five of our recently graduated seniors to be a part of.”
The performance was choreographed by Bekka Bennett, who’d been waiting a long time to bring it to the stage. She wrote,
I’ve actually waited ten years to make this happen. This group of dancers was the reason I decided to take the leap. I’ve always loved this song and it’s been yelled on the top of my lungs in moments of joy and sadness. I knew these kids would translate this art with all the love and respect so it was time.
The dance is a reflection of the difference in the texture of the music while performing with the passion Meatloaf sings with. The dueling pianos were a nod to my love of playing with different layers of musicality and a way to show off the strength, athleticism and trust the dancers all have.
This was really a once-in-a-career piece and it was a joy to create. … It was truly a magical experience.
Bringing “Dueling for Love” to the stage was a joint effort.
We had to move to travel and move the pianos every time we went to competitions. Bless all the dance dads, my right hand man Adam and my partner who all helped make it happen. We actually got the pianos for free … gutted them, reinforced them and added casters so they could move. We also by happy accident made them look old when I when my mom and I were sanding the to paint them. Dena’s mom –our office manager — thought we were leaving them distressed. She was right, so we left them that way.
That weekend, the school won awards for Overall High Scoring Dance and the National Studio Artistry Award, among others.
You can click here or on the photo above to watch the whole dance routine for yourself.
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(posted 8/27/2025)
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