Ta’Nario Riggins leaps across the Showstopper stage during All-Star Weekend. Photo Credit: Tyler Amaral for Showstopper.

The first Showstopper Virtual Dance Experience kicks off with an all-new Opening Number performance Saturday, August 29 at 2PM ET. To make that possible, the 2020 Showstopper All-Stars made their way to Showstopper’s headquarters for a weekend of dancing, rehearsing, and filming.

The All-Stars worked with choreographer Taylor Quinn to learn the moves to the Opening Number, showcase their individual talents, and adapt to the warehouse set and unique Showstopper Virtual Dance experience stage layout. Taylor was a top-scoring soloist when she competed at Showstopper Dance Competitions as a young dancer. Since then, she has gone on to become a beloved Showstopper Convention teacher and competition host while also producing and filming her own dance and music videos. Taylor has also been a choreographer for the Opening Number for Showstopper’s America Loves to Dance Awards for the past four years. All of this comes together to make Taylor the perfect bridge between professional dance and the Showstopper experience, making all of the All-Stars feel confident on stage.

This is the first time a production has ever been filmed at the Showstopper headquarters in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the dancers were given the task of learning a routine that would have them on- and off-stage and even outside. (Filming outside was the All-Stars favorite part of the production.) The dancers spent almost twenty hours rehearsing and shooting over the course of the weekend! All of the time in between was spent bonding and growing together.

Featuring a stage layout unlike any from any of Showstopper’s live competition setups, the virtual Opening Number also included an LED screen alleyway created just for filming. The Opening Number choreography also features the All-Stars’ individual styles and genre preferences. While all of these features are in the Opening Number itself, a behind the scenes look is coming soon with a short documentary film, which will include interviews from Taylor and the dancers, forthcoming about the All-Star Weekend and the making of the virtual Opening Number.

The Senior Age Group (15+) All-Stars. Photo Credit: Tyler Amaral for Showstopper.

To see the 2020 All-Stars in the virtual Opening Number, tune into the Showstopper Virtual Dance Experience. The All-Stars’s Opening Number performance will be the start of a weekend full of fun and dance unlike any other and it’s all only a click away.

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Veronica Good has been with Showstopper Magazine since 2016. When she isn't keeping you updated on the latest trends, she is at home with her many pets or probably playing The Sims 4. Veronica has a BA in English and an MA in writing from Coastal Carolina University. She is also a writer of fiction and poetry, and her work can be found in Archarios, Tempo, and Scapegoat.