07/15/2026
Sharing Mia’s routines & nationals journey… 2026
This nationals week, I got a front row seat to how amazing my daughter is, not just as a dancer, but more importantly, as a good human.
Mia has spent all year facing down fear, of not being enough, of falling, of failing in front of a crowd. This week, she finally stood on that stage and did the whole thing, every skill, no hesitation, something she’s been working toward all season. She placed 3rd runner up in both her acro title and her dance title, and I could not be prouder of how hard she worked to get there.
Still, the result wasn’t exactly what she hoped for, and for a few minutes, I watched her feel that. If you’re a dance mom, you know how hard it is to watch your dancer’s heart break and not be able to fix it. But just as quickly, she picked herself back up, no grudge, no letting it touch the incredible week we still had ahead of us. She found her way back to joy almost instantly.
That’s just who Mia is. Kind to her friends even in her hardest moments, the kind of person everyone in that room already knows, not for how she dances, but for how she shows up for the people around her.
- I’ve always told you, you are a better human than me. This week, you proved that right over and over again & I could not be more proud of you & who you are becoming!
Special Thank You to her studio The Performing Arts Academy and teachers Dawn jolie schaub Meghan Frayne & Sophia Miguel for the year of training, choreography, and preparation that got her to that stage. And thank you to the moms who let me cry and shake next to them all year while my heart was up there on stage.
And last but not least, congrats to every dancer who competed at nationals this week. It’s not easy to get up there and do what you do, you should all be so proud!
