Tapping to the top: Franklin teen to compete at World Tap Championships

With the scuff and click of her tap shoes, one Franklin teenager is showing up to dance class with a lofty vision in mind: dancing with the best in the world.

Laura Hendrickson will compete in the World Tap Dance Championship in Prague, Czechia — more widely known as the Czech Republic — from Oct. 23 to 27. The 17-year-old Franklin Community High School student will perform with a large group of dancers from New York, as well as in a small group with seven other dancers, representing Team USA.

She started dancing when she was almost 6 years old after her doctor recommended the activity to improve her coordination. Laura’s mom, Christine Hendrickson, said Laura was in and out of hospitals as a child because she would often fall down, hurt herself and go unconscious. Doctors conducted “every test you can imagine” on Laura but couldn’t find anything wrong with her, Christine Hendrickson said.

At first, Christine Hendrickson was reluctant to put her daughter in dance because it was expensive, and she didn’t know how the family could afford it.

Laura’s dance journey started in a studio in Shelbyville, and eventually, a dance teacher convinced them to let Laura start dancing competitively when she was 7 years old.

Dance became Laura’s outlet, a means of escape and a way to decompress.

“I’ve gone through some tough times and dance was always my way of just escaping from that, and just having time for me,” Laura Hendrickson said. “Being able to express myself in other ways than just with words because, at times, I couldn’t find the words for how I was feeling, but with dance, I was able to express myself and get those feelings out.”

Although Laura Hendrickson has danced in several styles, including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop and acrobat, she grew to like tap dancing. For her, the dance style is a satisfying way to express herself.

“You can make so many different rhythms and express yourself in so many other ways (in tap dancing) that other styles of dance can’t,” she said. “You’re actually making music, it’s not just dancing to the music. It’s dancing in a collaboration with the music.”

The competition

Now, Laura will face the challenge of competing in the World Tap Dance Championship, which Mike Glenney, Laura’s coach who also appeared in Canada’s Got Talent Season Four, refers to as “the Olympics of tap dance.” Glenney has competed four times in the competition and coached teams from several countries: Canada, Germany, Italy, South Africa and India.

For the competition, each country is allowed three entries for solos, duos and trios, and five entries for groups, formations and productions, according to the competition website. The best dancers from around the world converge in one location to compete to be the best, Glenney said.

“There is something incredible about getting the best people in the world in one space and to have the best tap dancers in the world … all really fighting to be their best version of themselves. There’s something almost life-changing about being in that environment,” Glenney said, “And not only being in that environment but realizing that you belong in that environment and realizing that you are there because you are in that level and because you are in that tier. I am so excited for (Laura) to be able to experience that.”

There are a few places dancers can audition for the competition. Laura Hendrickson auditioned for a team in Boston and didn’t make it, but her information was passed on to a team in New York, who accepted her into their routine. When she learned she was accepted onto the New York team, Laura said she felt excited but nervous.

“This is a dance of like 20 people that I have never met before. I have never met the choreographer. I never met anyone that I was dancing with. I’m coming new into this and they had already started choreographing, they already had like a minute-and-a-half done of the dance and I had to learn it all over video,” Laura Hendrickson said.

The stress hasn’t stopped Laura’s excitement. She said she is most excited to see all the dancers from different countries compete in real life at the championships.

“I think it’s just an entirely different experience when you actually get to see someone perform in person than when you get to on video,” she said. “I think it’s honestly going to not only like open my eyes to what’s still out there, but also help me be like, ‘Oh, that was cool. I want to try that.’”

Christine Hendrickson said the opportunity is really exciting and it’s amazing to see how much her daughter has grown in dance. One of the greatest things is seeing her daughter dance onstage.

“I see a lot of the behind-the-scenes kind of stuff that can be very aggravating and a lot of tension, so then to see her get up on the stage and just let all of that go and just dance [is amazing],” Christine said. “So to see her do that on the world stage and not just one of our normal competitions that we go to, I just think that’s going to be just beyond amazing.”

The preparation

As for now, Laura Hendrickson is spending as much time as she can perfecting the dance choreography. She has traveled to New York once so far and eventually, heading to New York will be a recurring trip. Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 21, Laura will go to New York eight times, she said.

When school starts Wednesday, Laura’s schedule will become a balancing act between her studies and dance.

Laura will go to school for half days as alongside regular dance training, she is doing a co-op program at school, which resembles an internship, with her dance studio. She will come to the studio after school and work like a student would in a work-study program, including cleaning the studio, teaching and working on dances.

In September, the full dance season will begin with Laura in the studio Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for four to five hours a night. Her coach Glenney also said dancers often practice more hours out of the studio to succeed and thrive.

Christine Hendrickson said Laura doesn’t just tap during dance class. She taps in class sitting at her desk, under the table when the family goes out to eat and up and down every aisle through the grocery store.

When she isn’t tapping with her feet, Laura will tap with her fingers or think through choreography and dance steps in her head, Christine Hendrickson said.

“You hear this a lot of times I think with very high-level athletes when it is no longer just an activity, it is their way of life,” Glenney said. “It’s no longer a pastime, it is a passion, and what that means is it kind of can end up taking over every facet of your life.”

All the traveling and preparing for the competition is expensive.

For those interested in helping fuel Laura’s dreams, there is a GoFundMe page to raise money for expenses related to the competition, travel, hotels and dance training. Visit gofundme.com/f/me-train-and-get-to-the-world-tap-championships? to donate.