Printer Friendly Version - Inglis Takes Connecticut’s Junior Miss Dance Crown, Will Compete for National Title

Clinton resident Ashley Inglis will compete for the Junior Miss Dance of America title at the Dance Masters of America National Competition in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, July 11. She is also in contention to join the USA tap team at the World Tap Championships in Germany this fall. Photo courtesy of Kimberly Inglis

Clinton resident Ashley Inglis, 11, will represent Connecticut as Junior Miss Dance in the Dance Masters of America (DMA) National Competition in New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday, July 11. Inglis will be one of 24 dancers from the nation who will be competing for the title of Junior Miss Dance of America.

Inglis earned the regional title at the Dance Teachers Club of Connecticut’s Competition at Western Connecticut State University in March. She was the only dancer to receive a high gold for her tap performance to Sweet Georgia Brown in the Junior Title competition. In April, Inglis won her second regional title at the Headliners Competition in Vernon. She was crowned Junior Miss Headliner and recognized for both her jazz and tap solos.

Inglis has received several elite gold, platinum, and special recognition awards from various judges for her solos, duo, and trio routines during the current dance season. Inglis has been dancing for nine years at Back Stage Dance Center in Killingworth and spent six of those years on the competition team. Inglis studies tap, ballet, jazz, acro, and lyric styles at the center. Michelle Bailey and Stacey Lankarge are the dance studio owners, and Caity Steele is Inglis’s tap choreographer.

This is not Inglis’s first title victory in Connecticut. In 2015, she was Petite Miss Dance of Connecticut and a top ten finalist for Petite Miss Dance of America in DMA’s National Competition. DMA, a professional and certified membership organization, recently celebrated its 125th anniversary. There are 31 DMA affiliated chapters across the United States. The first Miss Dance of America Competition was held in 1963.

This year, Inglis and two other members of her dance studio are also hoping to represent the United States on the national tap team at the World Tap Championships in Riesa, Germany in the fall. The competition is considered the Olympics of dance. The International Dance Organization is reviewing all tap performance submissions to determine who will represent the United States in that competition.

Inglis also placed first in the choreography category at the Clinton Parent Teacher Association’s (PTA) Reflections Art Contest. She represented Clinton in Connecticut’s PTA Reflections Contest and placed second overall among all middle schools in the state.