Hartford dancers shine in world championship spotlight
Hartford Enerzigers dancers Ava Olson and Sydney Martin
HARTFORD, Wis. - Enter the Dream Center in Hartford, and you'll get a pretty good glimpse of what the Energizers Dance Team does: They win, and they win championships at all levels.
The dance team's latest achievement took the Trost family, the founders of the Energizers, and two special dancers across the world.
That journey caught fire in April, when 19-year-old Ava Olson and 18-year-old Sydney Martin took center stage at the International Cheer Union (ICU) World Championships in Orlando, Florida. They won gold in the Pom Doubles at the ICU World Championships in the first year that the U.S. competed in that division.
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"It was an honor to be on that stage," said Olson. "I couldn't keep calm. When we were done, we got to wave to the crowd, and it was like, ‘We just competed. We just did that.’"
"I think that we both bring out such great energy in each other," said Martin. "I think that we push each other to be the best version of ourselves."
Hartford Enerzigers dancers Ava Olson and Sydney Martin
Winning with their routine, aptly titled "Dance with Somebody", Ava earned her eighth World Championship. For Sydney, it was her seventh World Championship.
"This is an opportunity that I never thought was possible," said Martin. "It was just insane to think that two small girls from Hartford, Wisconsin have represented the United States and won."
From there, the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself.
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"After that competition concluded, we were approached by USA Cheer about the World Cup, which is the first time the International Cheer Union is hosting a World Cup and asked us if we would be willing to participate," said Alexis Trost, Energizers Dance Team coach.
The girls were selected and traveled to Seoul, South Korea to represent Team USA at the ICU World Cup.
"I'm very honored to be representing Energizers and the USA," said Olson. "My family is so excited for me to go overseas."
Dream Center in Hartford
"This is the first time that they're having a World Cup, so I would say that this is a pinnacle," said Trost. "This is something that we're being able to obviously represent the United States, but at a first-ever World Cup."
With the clock ticking, everyone was hard at work.
"We're practicing the routine every single day," Martin said. "We want to make sure we have the routine down and that it’s muscle memory by the time we get to Korea, and we are standing on that stage."
They're performing a routine that fits its name perfectly.
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"Within the routine, you're going to hear a lot of songs about dance, about enjoying the moment with each other, about the USA, and essentially, we just call it 'Dance with Somebody'", said Trost. "We hope that anyone watching also kind of sees, ‘You know what, that looks like fun, I want to dance, too.’"
After months of practicing, the girls and the Trost family headed to South Korea. In front of a global stage at the ICU World Cup, with 25 other countries represented, Sydney and Ava took home silver medals in Pom Doubles.
"You can't describe it," said Olson. "You just give all your feelings out there. Out there on stage is just like, you have this whole feeling, and it’s just so great to do what you love."
The work isn't done for Sydney and Ava. The duo is preparing for their first competition of the season this weekend. They're also brainstorming ideas for a video they can use to apply for the USA Doubles Team that would once again compete at the ICU World Championships. That selection process happens in February.