For students from Savage Dance Company in Sykesville, the experience was the stuff of dreams: Taking the stage in front of hundreds of fans and dancing as the opening act for the Kidz Bop National Tour.
"It felt cool to be in front of all of those people," said Delaney Sageman, a rising seventh-grader from New Windsor.
The troupe's performance on Friday at the Fillmore Silver Spring was the first of two the dance company has scheduled with Kidz Bop, the New York-based brand with an ever-changing roster of young performers who record and release kid-friendly versions of pop music. The "Kidz Bop 28" album is the group's latest collection of songs rewritten to exclude swearing or adult content.
On June 20, members of Savage Dance will be on stage again for the Kidz Bop touring group's Rams Head Live performance in Baltimore.
Nichole Savage, artistic director at Savage Dance, said tour organizers contacted her out of the blue asking if her students would be interested in performing as an opening act for the shows; she then recorded and submitted a video audition, which was accepted. She said Kidz Bop reaches out to local dance troupes for each performance.
During the June 5 event, 23 students from Savage Dance performed in front of a full house at Fillmore, a performing arts center in Silver Spring with a capacity for 2,000 people.
The experience was "really neat," Savage said. "We showed up for call time, hung out backstage and had the performance," she said. "We got some really nice beats out of it and then were able to watch the show. It was really exciting for [the students]."
Sageman said it was a thrill to be a part of such a large concert.
"We've performed in front of lots of people at competitions and once at the halftime of a [Washington] Wizards game," she said, "but this felt special."
During the show, the students performed "iPod Mini," a number in which dancers depict the experience of shuffling through a person's iPod. During the piece, six dancers recreate performances by musicians spanning 40 years.
"We wanted to catch both the younger audience and adult attention," Savage said.
"I knew that if you mention anything Apple, iPods or iPads, you have the kids," she said. "Then, we decided to include Britney Spears, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Lady Gaga and James Brown to capture the older crowd."
Dominic Roberts, a rising eighth-grader from Westminster, portrays Vanilla Ice in the show. He said that although he had previously heard the recording artist's signature song "Ice, Ice Baby," he had never paid close attention to Vanilla Ice's style.
"I watched a few videos to see what he wore and how he danced," Roberts said. "It was a really fun time, and it was a rush to perform in front of all of those cheering crowds."
Savage said that for the Baltimore performance, she's looking to switch background dancers in order to give as many students as possible the opportunity to perform in front of such a large audience.
In addition to the performance at Rams Head, Savage said she hopes to talk with organizers about participating in additional programs. The Kidz Bop tour continues into September, with several shows scheduled along the East Coast.
"After they saw our audition video, they asked us about performing at more shows," said Savage, who founded Savage Dance Company in 2002. "We could travel a couple of hours north or south if that helps them.
"It's such a great experience for the kids, she said.
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If You Go
What: Kidz Bop Make Some Noise Tour
When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 20
Where: Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, Baltimore
Cost: $20 general admission
For more information, visit http://www.kidzbop.com.
