Logan Manning has studied dance most of her life,
but the excitement and energy of competitive dance
introduced her to a whole new experience.
ABOVE LEFT Logan and Tessa Gibase perfom together at the Inspire Nationals. MIDDLE Years of instruction at what is now
Vidalia Ballet helped Logan hone her skills. RIGHT Competing with the Georgia Red Hotz at National Dance Alliance.
dancing FOR THE
WIN
BY TERI R. WILLIAMS
Some enjoy competition. Others despise it.
Some feel only the pressure. Others feel it
motivates them to give their best performance.
When Logan Manning, daughter of Mike and Jenny
Manning, began competition dance her junior year of
high school, she excelled in new ways as a dancer. She
found her place among the raw nerves and pressure of
competitive performance. Like the best of competitors,
it was a tool she used for motivation. But she didn’t
dance because she loved to compete: She competed
because she loved to dance. And that’s what made
Logan stand out as a dancer when she auditioned
for the Georgia Red Hotz competition team at the
University of Georgia (UGA) her freshman year.
After Logan graduated from Vidalia High School
in 2018, she moved to Athens, Georgia, to attend
college at UGA. As she began the transition from life
in a small-town community to college life in Athens,
Logan realized she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready
to leave behind her life as a dancer and the world of
competition she had only recently discovered.
HOMETOWN LIVING AT I TS BEST 93