CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — By now, these girls are practicing their dance in their sleep.
"Yeah, we've got it down. I'm very confident in us," said dancer Nora Anders.
It's a big week for the Abington Heights Civic League Dance Academy. The group is heading to a national competition.
"We competed against a lot of different teams, a lot of different schools. And I'm really proud that we have this opportunity," said instructor Rebekah Ciannella.
"We have a really good group, a really good team. They really support each other, and they also support the other dancers that are also performing. It's a lot of fun for these girls. It's like a dance family for them," said instructor Crystal Medina.
Most of the dancers started when they were 3 or 4 years old.
This is only the second year this group has competed together, but they quickly found a groove.
The academy is bringing several performances to the competition at Kalahari Resorts in the Poconos.
We asked the girls what they like most about competitions.
"Probably going on stage and being seen by the judges and getting awards," Mila Fenick said.
"Winning and supporting my team," said Loriella Smith.
"Everyone sees what I've been working on all year," said Liliana Smith.
"I hope we win, but I also hope we have a good time," Ava Nitch said.
We might be able to guess the parents' least favorite part—the girls who perform "Beauty School Dropout" from Grease have to get rollers in their hair, sometimes with fewer than 5 minutes to spare.
"It's intense. It's a lot of yelling and fighting with our mothers. We love them, though!" said Sadie Bell.
Getting these dances performance-ready takes a lot of time and hard work, so they're already thinking about next year and are always looking for new dancers.
"Right now, we are offering camps. They do start today," Ciannella said. "And even if you're not in the studio, you can still come try out the camp, see if you like it. And also, if you wanted to join our competition team, we are holding auditions on July 23, and we're really excited, and we hope to get some newbies."
The group heads to nationals on Tuesday and will perform all week long.
Check out WNEP's YouTube channel.