GUSTINE – Kayli Pimentel of Gustine enjoyed an incredible week in New York City at the KAR All-Star Kids Dance Convention in July. Each day was filled with dance classes, tours, stage shows and plenty of excitement.

From the first class at the Broadway Dance Center, to the farewell formal dinner at Tavern on the Green, the Gustine Middle School sixth-grader enjoyed every minute of the summer adventure.

Kayli has danced since she was 3 years old. She was part of the Westside Academy of Dance competition team for four years, and earned an invitation to the national convention at a competition earlier in the year.

The variety of classes offered in New York City provided an opportunity to learn new combinations and the experience of working with a variety of instructors, master choreographers and famous dancers.

“My favorite class was with the Rockettes,” the young performer shared. The experience began with an impressive tour of Radio City Music Hall showcasing the history and beauty of the famous venue before the convention guests were given the opportunity for a Rockette audition. “We learned a tap dance and jazz routine from one of their shows,” Pimentel explained, and of course the highlight of the class...being part of the kick line. “That was awesome!”

The week of dance also included a theatre class where the students learned a routine from the Disney on Broadway musical “Mary Poppins.” “We learned the dance for Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious which included learning sign language used during that routine,” Pimentel described. That was fun and interesting she said, especially later in the week when she attended the musical and was able to sign along from her seat.

Pimentel made the trip to New York City with her mom Tiffany Pimentel, grandmother Nancy Pimentel and great-grandmother Pat Thompson. Along with the dance classes, the convention experience included tours, Broadway shows, a special dinner and plenty of time for shopping and sight-seeing.

They even rode the subway to a class at the Steps on Broadway dance studio. “It goes really fast, and is all underground so is very dark,” Pimentel described with a thrilled grin, unlike her grandmother who wasn’t looking forward to the experience but in the end said it wasn’t as scary as she had anticipated.

The group started their Big Apple visit with a city tour highlighting Battery Park, Juliard, Central Park, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and Ground Zero. “There is a Bank of America building across from the construction zone that has a whole wall that is glass for you to view the site from,” Tiffany Pimentel explained. There is also a pond in the bank lobby that is dedicated to the 11 branch employees who lost their lives on Sept. 11. “A beautiful teardrop sculpture is suspended above the pond and every so often 11 drops of water come down in memory of those employees,” she described. “It made it so realistic.”

Kayli Pimentel was only 3 years old when the attacks happened but she remembers seeing the planes crashing on TV and asking her mom why that was happening. The time at Ground Zero was particularly moving for the whole group. “It was very surreal,” mom and daughter both agreed with a quiet reflection.

The week in the Big Apple was an educational one in many ways, both in improving her dance skills and experiences, learning about opportunities for her future through studios, stage and schools, and about life and the boundless opportunities available to her.

“I can maybe see myself at Juliard,” Kayli noted. She is not sure if her passion will be as a dancer on the stage or as a choreographer behind the scenes, or possibly both. She loves being on stage and although hip-hop is still her favorite style choice, her roots are grounded in ballet. “I was taught by a good teacher, my nana, and ballet is the foundation of all dance,” she pointed out.

“Thank you to everyone who supported the fund-raisers and gave donations to make this experience happen,” Kayli and her family sincerely expressed.