2018 was Showstopper’s 40th anniversary. You might think after 40 years of dance competitions, every year would be all routine, but we strive to make each year more of a celebration of glitter and confetti and dancing than the one before. For our 40th anniversary, we took that attitude to the next level. 2018 was a year full of memories with you that we’ll never forget!
January
We kicked off 2018 with confetti cannons and loads of glitter in preparation for our 40th anniversary season! 40 years is a big deal, and we wanted to celebrate all of those amazing memories with you!
February
February was a busy month for us. The Spring 2018 issue of Showstopper Magazine hit the shelves at Barnes & Noble, Hudson News, and our competitions. Speaking of competitions, February marked the official beginning of our 40th season. With regionals underway, we introduced a brand new series to highlight some of our favorite teen dance news and highlight your incredible performances, The Glitter Drop! Oh, and how could we forget that our #ShowstopperFam on Instagram reached 50,000 followers!?
March
In March, Dance Moms‘ Lilly K taught us her signature move, the floor needle in a must-see tutorial video. Showstopper VIP got a fabulous new look, too, and celebrated one year of incredible dance news!
April
In April, we visited our friends Peace Love Hip Hop in Charleston, SC at their studio for a photoshoot! We couldn’t stop looking at the rainbow walls and the motivational quotes, but we managed to dance away with some incredible photos for Showstopper Magazine! We also celebrated Easter with Showstopper’s favorite Bunny, Ori, and hit the beach with some behind the scenes looks at our Myrtle Beach photo shoot.
May
2018 was full of photo shoots, and in May we had another one! This one took us for a walk on the wild side as we hung out with Bubbles the elephant, tigers, monkeys, alligators, and more! You won’t want to miss out on these safari adventures in the next issue of Showstopper Magazine!
June
Showstopper Sparkle Society member and Royal Couture’s Lead Fashion Designer Christy Lyn joined the Showstopper VIP writing team. Now, every month she shares some of her dance-inspired fashion advice with us! The Summer 2018 issue of Showstopper Magazine also hit shelves, giving us an inside look at the lives of some of the most popular dancers in the world including Beyoncé’s dance captain, Ashley Everett. That’s still not all for our showstopping June, though. We also kicked off our 40th anniversary finals!
July
In July our finals season wrapped up with a bang with incredible moments and performances that took place all over the country. When we traveled to the west coast for our last finals competition in Anaheim, CA, we also met up with some of your favorite dancers for a Showstopper Magazine photoshoot!
August
After July, our 40th anniversary of competitions wasn’t quite over. We decided to end with an explosion of confetti, giving away a car to a lucky studio that competed with us during the season! But before that, there was a whole live stream to celebrate with including a tour of the warehouse and some highlights from the competition season.
September
September was a month for celebrating the start of convention season. We gathered up some of the best dancers in the world and brought their passion for dance and teaching to you! There were hugs all around, and we could tell you missed us as much as we missed you.
October
Even though October is the spookiest month of the year, we managed to make it faboolous with a little bit of glitter and a Halloween costume contest! Nothing makes fall better for us than seeing all of your incredible (and even dance-related!) costumes.
November
November marked our glittery return to Houston after Hurricane Harvey prevented our dance parties and fun there last year. We’re glad to have our gulf coast members of the #ShowstopperFam back in our convention classes!
December
At Showstopper, nothing stops us from being as bright and colorful as possible. So, in December we planned a rainbow-filled photoshoot and even took five fabulous dancers to a candy store to get all of those sweet pictures you love seeing in your feed.
Alright, #ShowstopperFam! That’s a wrap on 2018. We’re diving into the new year feet first (ready to hit the dance floor), and we have even more incredible things planned. Stay tuned, you won’t want to miss a thing!