SALISBURY — Earlier this month, a rising talent cemented her place in the firmament of competitive dance when Addison Aylward-Vreeland placed first at the national level of the Beyond The Stars Dance Competition.
Aylward-Vreeland, a rising fourth grader at Salisbury Central school, secured top marks among a field of twenty-four regional winners in the solo jazz dance category.
Her routine, “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch,” was her first solo performance at the national competition level since she began dancing at age three. It took her and her coach, Maile Pikul of Cherilyn’s School of Dance in Pleasant Valley, New York, nearly seven months of diligent work to perfect.
“Solos have to be two minutes or less,” said Aylward-Vreeland, who is already working on her solo routine for the 2025 season, “but I have so many ideas I can’t fit them all in.”
Those ideas range from song choices to costumes and choreography — all selected to be perfectly complementary and to express the sounds, rhythms, and syncopations of jazz music. It’s a tall order made by an exacting discipline, but Aylward-Vreeland does it all while staying “cool as a cucumber.”
“She’s so excited to try new things,” said the dancer’s mother, Larissa Vreeland, “and every year she challenges herself a bit more.”
Aylward-Vreeland isn’t content only to take home the biggest prizes in her preferred jazz style, but also practices tap, hip-hop, ballet, and large group dance at her team’s studio in Pleasant Valley. Her teammates, “the Pearls,” are a tightly-knit group that Aylward-Vreeland has been performing with at the competition level since 2021.
Addison Aylward-Vreeland with her trophy from the national Beyond The Stars Dance Competition and her mom, Larissa Vreeland.Sava Marinkovic
Asked to name her dance heroes, Aylward-Vreeland answered, “my friends Lorelei and K.K. They do cool moves and they teach them to me.”
On Tuesday, July 9, at the Kalahari Convention Center in Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania, it came time for Aylward-Vreeland to show off those cool moves on Beyond the Stars’ national stage.
Three judges, a live audience of five hundred, and numerous far-flung livestream viewers had eyes on Aylward-Vreeland as she took the stage, tracked by spotlights so bright that she was “blinded” to the crowd of onlookers. None of it was enough to faze, however.
“I asked her to let me hold her butterflies,” said Vreeland, to which her daughter replied, “I don’t have any!”
It was meant to be the capstone performance of a meticulously-crafted routine that had already won Aylward-Vreeland a regional title and first place in four of five seasonal competitions — and the young dancer delivered.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” said Aylward-Vreeland, recalling how she waited on stage as the judges ranked the performances in ascending order. But as more placements were called without Aylward-Vreeland hearing her name, she began to get excited. “I started to see it coming,” she said, beaming from behind her array of trophies, “it felt really good to win.”
Following the solo competition, “the local support has been overwhelming,” said Larissa Vreeland, citing Addison’s incredible teammates, coaches, and supporters as reasons for her success.
For her upcoming endeavor, Aylward-Vreeland will have this support a bit closer at hand. Her team will be competing together in hip-hop, large group, and jazz dance at the World Dance Championship in Secaucus, New Jersey on July 24, 28 and 29. For the fans who wish to follow the Pearls’ next steps, twists and jumps, a livestream of the event will be available at www.worlddancechampionship.com/live-stream.
Justine and Victor Valla in their studio with a painting of Victor’s,”Jonah and the Whale.” Robin Roraback 
A ceramic vase by Kathleen Heidemann.Provided 
Joy Brown’s delightful ceramic sculptures.Provided 
