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06/08/2017 12:00 AMBrooke Dellarocco has earned several accolades in just two years time at Westbrook Dance Academy. Making her accomplishments even more impressive is that Brooke is in her first year as a solo competitor. Brooke, a Chester resident, has placed in the top 10 for both group and solo dance performances at all four of her competitions this season. Additionally, as a solo vocalist, Brooke has earned high gold and platinum for her performance of Don’t Rain on My Parade.
Brooke’s age 12-14 competitive dance team performs three numbers, including a tap routine called The Heist, a jazz routine entitled The Boy Who Lived, and a lyrical routine called The Game. In each of these routines, Brooke and her teammates have never earned lower than high gold. At the Starpower Talent competition that took place in March, the team’s performance of The Heist earned them a chance to compete at the World Dance Championships in New Jersey in August.
“I was really surprised all this actually happened. I started off very rocky,” says Brooke, 12. “When I first started doing dance, I was just in my room a lot. I was really excited when I had the big studio. That really boosted my career. I also I felt I had to prove myself to everyone that I was learning and capable of being on the competition team. I spent most of my free time doing dance.”
Julie Reed-Russo is Brooke’s dance teacher and choreographer at Westbrook Dance Academy. Reed-Russo says that Brooke has a knack for delivering show-stopping performances.
“Brooke is the type of kid that when you watch her on stage, whether in a group or solo, she stands out. She’s one of those kids that’s mesmerizing to watch,” Reed-Russo says. “You can tell she loves what she does, and she loves to practice. She wants to do well no matter what it is.”
Brooke exudes enthusiasm when describing her routines. She has a passion for all things musical, but loves dance numbers the most because of the skill it takes to perform them cleanly, as well as the audience’s reaction when that happens.
“They’re all very challenging, because they are very fast, and we really go for entertainment factor. It really gets our heart rates up,” Brooke says. “It’s really hard to stay clean, but that’s why I love it—because it’s so challenging. And the audience really seems to like it.”
Brooke first got into dancing by watching musicals with her father Chuck and her older sister Alexis, who is also a talented singer.
“My dad was a big high school musical guy. When I got older, I wanted to be part of them, and that’s how I started,” says Brooke. “I really found my passion through that for dance.”
Brooke displays her passion for musical theatre at John Winthrop Middle School, and one of this year’s productions brought her love of musicals full-circle. It was one that Brooke had previously performed in, although she was the leading lady this time around.
“My favorite musical is Bye Bye Birdie. I’ve been in it twice,” she says. “I got my first real role as Sad Girl No. 2. This year, I just did Bye Bye Birdie at my school, Winthrop, as Rosie, the lead.”
Reed-Russo sees that Brooke is brimming with talent and describes her as a triple threat—someone who excels at singing, dancing, and acting. However, talent is only a part of the equation as Brooke’s accomplishments also require tremendous discipline and a willingness to learn.
“She works so hard. If I have to give her a correction, she works so hard on it,” says Reed-Russo. “She learns a lot by watching other dancers while at competitions. She’s like a sponge.”
While Brooke learns from her competitors, she also learns a lot from her teammates, who are a source of inspiration. Although some of Brooke’s teammates are a few years older than her, they’ve always welcomed Brooke with open arms and helped her become the performer she is today.
“My team has helped me by challenging me to work harder, and I like to challenge them. I really hope that I’m helping them as much as they are me,” says Brooke. “My teammates are a little older than me. Some of them are 15 now, and I’m only 12. I’ve never been a friend to older people, but to meet them and see how they worked really boosted me to work harder. They are really great, and they really help me to be the best I can be.”
On top of her acting, singing, and dancing, Brooke also plays flute in her middle school band, and so she’s actually a quadruple threat. Brooke finds that playing in the band helps with her vocal performances.
“The flute helps me reading notes on the page, which a lot of musicians don’t know how to do,” says Brooke, who will sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ in harmony with her sister at Chester’s Fourth of July parade. “I started playing the flute, because it was the only instrument that I could fit my hands around. Plus, it’s easier to carry than all the other instruments. I didn’t expect it to help with my singing, but it really has, because that’s basically the range that I sing in.”
While Brooke is clearly a passionate dancer, sometimes passion and prudence can be at odds. However, Brooke received some words of wisdom from one of her heroes, Misty Copeland, who was the first African American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. When Copeland visited R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison on a book tour, she gave Brooke some tips on how to pursue her passion for dance, while being conscientious about that pursuit. Brooke took Copeland’s advice to heart.
“One of the biggest things in dance is taking care of yourself and staying fit and healthy and not overdoing it too much,” Brooke says. “That is something I have been working on—not trying to do too much, because I love to work all the time at dancing.”
Brooke knows she’s worked hard to get where she is, but she also knows that she’s received a lot of help from other people along the way. Brooke feels grateful to her instructors, as well as her father Chuck and her mother Marjorie, for having such a heavy hand in her success.
“I think Miss Julie Reed-Russo has taught me everything I know and helped me do more with my singing, as well. My dad has helped me with all my auditions, and my mom has helped me with music and playing the notes,” says Brooke. “I also think my horseback riding teacher, Miss Shreiber, has helped me, because she’s taught me a lot about discipline and common sense.”