The amount of sparkle amid the abundance of trophies, crowns, sashes and medals earned by members of Heather Bennett’s Dancin to the Rhythm during a pair of spring competitions can’t help but impress.

All that bling doesn’t come without investment. It is payoff for years of sweat and training inside the Elmira Heights dance studio that is accompanied by a family-like atmosphere for the roughly 30 dancers across five age groups.

The studio is owned and operated by Heather Bennett-Cavanaugh and has been open for 17 years, migrating from Hanover Square in Horseheads to its current home on Lake Road five years ago.

“It’s a big family. Everybody is supportive of everybody and we genuinely love each other,” Bennett-Cavanaugh said.

There is family within family. All four of Bennett-Cavanaugh’s children are dancers. That includes Madisonrose Cavanaugh, 17, who is wrapping up her junior year at Horseheads High School, where she was part of the Blue Raiders’ varsity cheer team that placed third in Class B at the New York state championships.

Cavanaugh earned quite a haul from United States Tournament of Dance competitions this spring in Vestal and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Highlights included Miss Acrobat New York, Miss Acrobat Pennsylvania first-runner-up, and International Queen Pennsylvania first runner-up.

She has been dancing since around the time she took her first step. Her sister, Cassandra Cavanaugh, is a professional dancer in Los Angeles and their brother, Ethan Cavanaugh, is a professional singer/actor/dancer who works at the well-known Ellen’s Stardust Diner on Broadway.

“Everybody gets along really well. We all talk to each other, we’re all friends with each other,” Madisonrose said of the studio’s dancers. “If somebody has a problem with something we all come to each other. A lot of us, this is our safe haven. This is our place to go when things aren’t good at home or at school.”

More: Cavanaugh among Horseheads High School athletic award winners for 2023-24

She said success largely comes down to how much work you’re willing to put in, an assessment in line with that of graduating Horseheads High senior Lila Fell, who was third runner-up for Ms. Dance Pennsylvania.

“Working hard, doing your best, and putting everything you have on the dance floor,” Fell said of core requirements to succeed.

Fell has been with the studio the last year and been dancing since she was 3 years old. She said everyone has been “super friendly and very loving” at her new dance home, which she also described as being like a family.

Like athletic endeavors or other activities, a balance has to be struck.

“We take it super seriously because we are showing people what we have practiced for months, but we have fun doing it,” Fell said.

Ariahna Castle, 16, is completing her sophomore year at Elmira High School. She has been dancing since she was 5 and competing since she was 13, with the competitive element one of the draws for her. Castle’s triumphs include Teen Ms. Dance Central NY and Pennsylvania.

Castle said the studio is filled with hard workers who feed off each other’s positive energy.

“I think we all have a competitive drive and I think we all love what we do, which is the most important part of it,” she said. “We all have a great time.”

Others from the studio who earned strong individual finishes this spring include Aislinn Young (first-place overall NY) Aliciana Villegas, Lilly Dentzau, Kamryn Slusser, Rhilynn Guinnip, Isabelle Penman-Bennett, Kaylee Manikowski and Neola Castellano.

Collective success likewise came in bunches.

“They came in, put the time in, did the work and were able to pull it off,” Bennett-Cavanaugh said of her dancers. “They did a very good job. I was very proud of them. Each and every one of them had things to overcome and they did it.”

Up Next

The studio will host a recital that is open to the public at 2 p.m. June 23 at the Journey Center in Breesport.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira Heights studio comes up big at U.S. Tournament of Dance events