Las Vegas’ Prodigy Dance Crew ready for hip-hop championships — PHOTOS

For most kids, summer is a time for camp and sitting by the pool. But members of the Prodigy Dance Crew are not most kids. For them, summer vacation is anything but.

Once school is out, the 15-member crew — and dancers vying for a spot in the prestigious group — spend 40-plus hours a week in the studio learning new choreography, drilling their flips and tricks, and mastering routines for performances.

Practice is like a musician repeatedly drilling a few bars combined with a track athlete running intervals. It’s physically taxing, as shown by the sweat on their brows and heaving chests. The dancers, ranging in age from 8 to 18, are constantly reminded to take on a character and connect with the audience. The facial expressions can be just as important as the rest of the body’s movements.

This weekend will determine if all that effort pays off. The Prodigy Dance Crew is competing at Hip Hop International’s USA Hip Hop Dance Championship, with the hope of qualifying for next weekend’s World Hip Hop Dance Championship — and the top prize.

“To say you’re the best hip-hop crew in the USA?” Shane Davis, 11, muses. “That’s pretty big.”

CREATED TO COMPETE

The competition is not only the crew’s biggest of the year, but also its raison d’etre. Director Kay More created the Prodigy to compete in the 2009 hip hop championships, gathering a crew of seven dancers younger than 13 to compete in the junior category. Despite their loss that year, the crew decided to keep training together. In 2011, armed with two years of disappointment, the Prodigy won gold in the HHI USA Championships. Then, they added a group of 13- to 18-year-olds to compete in the varsity category.

In the years since its conception, the Prodigy has performed on “America’s Got Talent,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and with Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour in Las Vegas. Individually, members have danced for Cirque du Soleil shows and on Broadway. During the school year, they juggle these commitments with a normal class schedule.

“Our kids are working kids. Our kids are professional,” Daquan “Day Day” Barnes, assistant to the crew and guest choreographer, says. “It’s their livelihood.” Their time in the studio differentiates the Prodigy from other local dance crews, who may dance for recreation and practice 10 to 15 hours a week.

‘THIS YEAR’S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT’

As high-level competitors, director More compares the Prodigy dancers’ level of physical activity to that of high school athletes, yet until recently, they didn’t take advantage of all their methods. This year, they began consulting professional athletes about their regimens in an effort to bring their bodies as close to 100 percent as possible by the time they get up for training each day.

“I think a lot of people kind of think that we’re crazy, in a way, like, ‘Oh my gosh, you guys spend this many hours?’” More says. “But once you get there and you see the level at the world level, it makes sense.”

This means that when the dancers leave the studio in the evening, their day is far from over. Depending on their age and physical fitness, the Prodigy members have added stretching programs, conditioning, ice baths, supplements and massage techniques to their weekly schedule.

More and Barnes stress the importance of fueling the body both before and after practices with nutritious food — no fast food, a high-protein breakfast — a concept that wouldn’t compute with many teenagers.

“To be able to do the stuff that we do we have to eat super healthy, to make sure our bodies are in top shape,” Angelo “Gelo” Mariveles, 13, says. Small rolling coolers filled with a day’s worth of food, water and protein bars are clustered at the edge of the studio floor each day and often used as resting points for the dancers midpractice.

Along with these changes, this year the varsity crew has taken part in choreographing their own routines.

“I feel like this year we’re a lot more prepared, because we know what more to expect and what the crowd really likes and what the judges like,” Julienne Villaraza, 16, says. “I feel like this year’s going to be different for us.”

ONE WEEK OUT

On the Friday afternoon one week before the USA dance championship, the Prodigy members are feeling different levels of physical and mental exhaustion. Some are sprawled out on the Summerlin studio floor, gasping for breath after running their routines three times, back to back; one or two sit with their head down, crying.

The hours of training hit the junior team, with overall lower endurance, harder than the varsity. Although many of them have competed at the HHI championships before, they don’t have the collective years of experience that the varsity group does. For the most part, though, both groups are in good spirits.

“Well, (varsity), I want you to just take a minute, assess how you feel, just do a quick little statement,” More says to the group. “I mean it’s for your team, but it’s also for the juniors. How you feel right now, and tricks that you use to get through this, and what helps you. Does anybody care to start?”

“You just have to, just be there for each other,” Gaevin “Rated G” Bernales, 17, says. “You just have to really calm yourself down at times and when you know you’re about to do something big, or you have to be in the center of everything, just take, like, 0.1 second’s breath, and then you gotta blow it up.”

“Find your breathing points,” Sammie Kaye, 16, reminds the junior crew.

The varsity crew members talk the juniors through their thought process as they walk in circles catching their breath, explaining how they choose moments to gulp for more air during the routine. As the window for physical improvement is coming to a close, they’ll have to rely on pure inspiration to reach their peak levels.

“Any tips in general from having been there, done it, and then gone home?” More asks.

They all agree: It’s awful.

Bernales is familiar with the feeling. He competed with another crew last year and placed last in preliminary rounds.

“Don’t give up. I’ve been there,” he says. “Even though you’re down, you have to just pick yourself up, like it’s hard, it is really hard. Even if she yells at us or if you cry, you just have to keep going through it. Just keep pushing yourself because you never want to give up.”

Contact Sarah Corsa at scorsa@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0353. Find @sarahcorsa on Twitter.