Las Vegas, Nevada – Sunday, November 3, 2024:

3 Reno dancers travelled to Las Vegas last weekend for the Arthur Murray International Championships, an event known throughout the organization as Superama. The event ran from Wednesday, October 30th – Sunday, November 3 rd at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Annika Johnson competes with brothers, Bryant Ornelas and Cole Ornelas in two separate divisions. The Smooth Division is made up of Waltz, Tango and Foxtrot and the Rhythm division consists of Cha Cha, Rumba and Swing. The dancers prepare choreography for each dance and take the dance floor with 6 to 12 other couples per heat. Each heat is reduced by half until the final round of 6-8 couples/ finalists remain. The finalists are then ranked by a panel of 7-11 judges (always an odd number of judges to help prevent a tie). Due to the nature and grandeur of this event, there were judged by adjudicators from Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan and the USA.

They all competed in the Future Champions division which is limited to professionals with three years or less of ballroom dance experience. Annika Johnson and Bryant Ornelas took second place in the Smooth Category and are the 2024 Vice Champions. Annika Johnson and Cole Ornelas were crowned the 2024 Rhythm Champions!

Throughout 2024, all three have traveled around the US and Canada to compete in their level at a variety of dance events. Their Accolades from 2024 include:

Bryant and Annika – Smooth Division – Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot

8th Place: Area 6 Dance-O-Rama, Vancouver Canada, April 2024

4th Place: Boston Dance-O-Rama, Boston, MA, June 2024

6th Place: Unique Dance-O-Rama, Irvine, CA, July 2024

3rd Place: Northstar Dance-O-Rama, Chicago, IL, August 2024

2nd Place: Flamingorama, Port Charlotte, FL September 2024

2nd Place: Superama, Las Vegas, NV, November 2024

Cole and Annika – Rhythm Division – Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing

5th place : Texas Dance-O-Rama, San Antonio, TX February 2024

1st Place: Area 6 Dance-O-Rama, Vancouver Canada, April 2024

1st Place: Boston Dance-O-Rama, Boston, MA, June 2024

2nd Place: Unique Dance-O-Rama, Irvine, CA, July 2024

1st Place: Northstar Dance-O-Rama, Chicago, IL, August 2024

1st Place: Flamingo-rama, Port Charlotte, FL September 2024

1st Place: Superama, Las Vegas, NV, November 2024

Annika, Bryant and Cole are all full-time instructors at the Arthur Murray Dance Center on Mill Street and teach beginning thru advanced level dancers. Most of their clients are interested in social dancing - being able to confidently dance at parties, on cruises, or in the kitchen with a loved one! Some clients start dancing to meet new people, belong to a community, enjoy better health and physical benefits, and for the stress relief that dancing provides. Every year, they also work with a large variety of people getting ready to dance at weddings – Brides and Grooms, parents and family members.

In addition to their teaching hours, and competitive practice times, all three dancers also took certification exams in 2024 to prove their dancing, teaching, technical skills and dance theory knowledge in 10 to 12 core dances. Additional photos and video clips are available upon request. See below for list of placements at other 2024 competitions they attended.