Courage, creativity & shine!
Dance is a universal language. It transcends location, dialect, and status, freeing artists to share their emotions as an expression of self and uniting them with their audiences in a shared appreciation of movement. Angel Shine Dance Challenges help to bring our global network together, providing young dancers with a platform to display their talents. The reward? Visibility, accolade, admiration…and of course, scholarships for dance education and expenses!
So…What’s a Dance Challenge?
An Angel Shine Dance Challenge is a fun way for dancers to share their creativity with our social media audience and the world. We post several themed challenges throughout the year on our Instagram page, inviting artists to choreograph and submit a dance video that explores that particular challenge’s theme.
Our board selects the top 3 entries and honorable mentions. We then post three finalist videos on Instagram and let the public select a winner! Every dancer under 18 years old is encouraged to submit a themed video to share their love of dance with our community!
CHALLENGE THEMES
The themes for Angel Shine Challenges reflect the best aspects of dance: imagination, partnership, and expressive movement. The themes may vary but the one constant is our request that each submission shares your joy for dance.
Don’t miss our next Challenge announcement… Be sure to follow us on Instagram!
Qualifications
All dancers under the age of 18 are encouraged to participate. Participants should select music and dance genre based on personal style and preference. To inspire imagination, we encourage all choreography and dance to be original.
Share your gifts with a global dance community, and encourage others to join!
Rules
All entries must be submitted by the posted deadline. Video length must be one minute or less. Please include the names and schools (if applicable) of the participants. Previous challenge winners and Angel Scholars are eligible to apply.
Questions? Email us or message us on Instagram.
Let Your Character Shine
For this dance challenge, we encourage dancers to reflect on who they want to be. All submissions should be choreographed to the first 1 minute of AlléCat Ragtime Music, composed by the talented Michael Scales of NYCB.
Finalists
Congratulations and welcome to the Angel Shine family:
AlléCat Winners:
1st Prize: Nali Dobrin
2nd Prize: Rebeca Obando
3rd Prize: Baylie Smith
AlléKitten Winners:
1st Prize: Bohdana Stoikova
2nd Prize: Kiara Henry
3rd Prize: Lauren Li
Honorable Mentions:
Chloe Foster, Thea Martin, Eric Poor, Alecsia Lazarescu, Crystal Huang, Ariana Sitaru, Rebeca Maria Zamfir, Elodie Lamont, Camryn Cantwell, Shylee Sagle, Alice Racchetto, Emma Rosay, Alexa Druzhinin, Elin Burgess, Charley Toscano
Scholarship awards:
AlléCat category (age 12-17): 1st Prize: $1,500, 2nd Prize: $1,000, 3rd Prize: $500
AlléKitten (age 11 and under): 1st Prize: $1,500, 2nd Prize: $1,000, 3rd Prize: $500
All finalists will also win an AlléCat shirt!
What’s Your Jam?
We’re proud to announce the winners of our What’s Your Jam dance challenge! Thank you to everyone who watched these talented dancers’ submissions and voted – over 1,000 people around the world voted!
Finalists
Congratulations and welcome to the Angel Shine family:
1st Prize: Rebeca Maria Zamfir
2nd Prize: Polina Pikiner
3rd Prize (tie): Ryoma Hudzeleu
3rd Prize (tie): Gigi Brown
Prizes are as follows: 1st Prize ($5,000), 2nd Prize ($2,500), 3rd Prize ($1,000). Thank you to Board Chair Kathy Mele for generously underwriting this challenge in honor of Board Member Dr. Dutkowsky!
Free to Be Me
Thank you to Angel Shine Board Member Kathy Mele and her husband Joe Mele for underwriting this challenge in honor of Lauren Lovette! 
Finally, thank you to everyone who participated in this challenge, whether you submitted a dance, shared the challenge with others, or voted on the finalists. We received over 1,300 votes from around the world and are so glad to have shared these dancers’ talents with you all. We’re so grateful for our Angel Shine community, and our mission is made possible by all of you. We hope this dance has been as much fun for you as it has been for us, and look forward to planning the next dance challenge!
Finalists
We’re thrilled to announce the scholarship winners of the “Free to be Me” Dance Challenge.
Congratulations to: 1st Scholarship winner Alecsia Lazarescu who received a $5,000 scholarship. Veronica Obando who received a $2,500 scholarship. And, 3rd Scholarship winner Bohdana Stoikova received a $1000 scholarship. All Honorable Mentions winners additionally received a $250 scholarship towards dance expenses.
Let Your Hero Shine
We received so many unique, inspiring, emotional performances and are humbled to be a part of your dance journeys. Thank you to everyone who participated in this challenge, whether you submitted a dance, shared the challenge with others, or voted on the finalists. We’re so grateful for our Angel Shine community, and our mission is made possible by all of you. A special thank you to Angel Shine Board Member Kathy Newhouse Mele and her husband Joe Mele for underwriting this challenge in honor of our Board Member and Social Media Director Nancy Jiang!
Finalists
We’re thrilled to announce the scholarship winners of the “Let Your Hero Shine” Dance Challenge.
Congratulations to: 1st Scholarship winner Nali Dobrin from Romania who received a $5,000 scholarship. Viktoriia Liapkina from Ukraine who received a $2,500 scholarship. And, 3rd Scholarship winner Eric Poor from the USA who received a $1000 scholarship. All Honorable Mentions winners additionally received a $250 scholarship towards dance expenses.
Let Your Partner Shine
Thank you to all of the amazing dancers who submitted videos for our Let Your Partner Shine dance challenge. The Angel Shine Foundation Board was incredibly impressed by the caliber of submissions we received. Scholarship winners were recognized for embodying the true spirit of partnership, where both dancers helped one another shine!
Finalists
After tallying up more than 1,000 public votes, we’re excited to announce the scholarship winners of the “Let Your Partner Shine” Dance Challenge. Congratulations to: 1st Scholarship winners Sophie DeGraff & Payton Beckmann from WestMet Classical Training in Minnesota, USA, who each received a $2,500 scholarship. 2nd Scholarship winners Emanuele Faifer & Amaury Zanette from Ballettschule Theater Basel in Basel, Switzerland, who each received a $1,500 scholarship. And, 3rd Scholarship winners Zlata Datsyshyn & Anna Chesnova from Vienna State Opera Ballet Academy in Vienna, Austria, both winners of a $500 scholarship.
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mentions for our spring challenge included: Eric Poor & Berkleigh Hernandez, from Citydance School and Conservatory in Maryland, USA , Alecsia Lazarescu & Fabrizzo Ulloa, from Ballettschule Theater Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and Chloe Lizama & Asahi Hagihara from Ballet Academy East in New York, USA. Each couple receives a $500 scholarship!
Special thanks to a generous anonymous donor for underwriting the Let Your Partner Shine Challenge scholarships. Be sure to keep an eye out for future dance challenges from Angel Shine!
Your Support is the Key That Opens Doors
Each year, Angel Shine Foundation’s programs transform the lives of many children. Your financial support gives ASF scholars and students a path to pursue their dreams.
