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WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
W hen Sophie Potillo dances, she is
graceful, precise, and expressive. All
things that make her a winner. Sophie,
School, has been succeeding in dance competitions
since she was six years old. Of all the dance styles
she’s performed — tap, contemporary, hip-hop, and
lyrical — jazz is her favorite. “Because it’s sassy,”
Sophie said.
At competitions across Florida and beyond, Sophie
has danced solo, but also as part of larger groups
and trios, often with girls older than her by at least
one year. Her studio, Pop Dance Club, which
opened in July in Bradenton, plans to attend four
competitions in Florida in 2020, plus nationals in June
in Pigeon Forge, TN. At Pop Dance, which is owned
takes classes totaling nearly nine hours a week, in
the dance genres noted above, plus ballet.