Brother-sister dance their way to Las Vegas this week
By Katherine Peters

Kristen and Patrick Coker will compete in the Dance Educators of America National Competition in Las Vegas this week.

Eleven-year-old Kristen Coker and her brother Patrick, 13, may be much younger than the usual Las Vegas crowd, but they still dream of winning big.

This week, Kristen and Patrick are dancing their way through the Dance Educators of America National Competition in Las Vegas after their win as a brother-sister duo at the April regional competition in Richmond, where they competed with a jazz piece titled, "Boogie Fever."

Now, they face competition from studios across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. The siblings are also participating in five other numbers with their dance studio, the Jessica Morgan School of Dance.

Patrick faces an additional challenge. He is competing for Mr. Preteen DEA, a title that requires auditions in ballet, modern, tap and jazz as well as his dance number, a lyrical interpretation of Josh Groban's "To Where You Are."

But the two siblings aren't focusing on the pressure. For Patrick, the most exciting part about the trip is "just being able to compete." Kristen savors "seeing other dance groups, and maybe meeting other people."

The siblings began dancing together four years ago. Since then, they have consistently garnered trophies at both regional and national competitions. In addition to titles, the siblings also won full and partial scholarships for the dance workshops and professional ballet seminar taught at this year's DEA National Competition.

Kristen is a rising sixth grader at Carver Middle School, and Patrick is a rising eighth grader at Matoaca Middle School. During the school year, the siblings usually participate in two or three competitions, presenting another challenge.

"Normally, [competitions] take up the whole weekend. So if you have a project due, I guess you have to manage your time wisely and not procrastinate," Patrick says. Grinning, he adds, "But I normally procrastinate anyway."

What began as a hobby - they started taking dance classes at age four - has now become a lifestyle, ruling out sports for Patrick. Kristen echoes, "Most of my friends know I dance, but I don't think most of them understand how much I have to dance just to go to nationals."

In spite of the sacrifices and challenges, both preteens have a hard time imagining life without dance. Patrick dreams of pursuing dance on Broadway while Kristen has her eye on being a future Radio City Rockette or a dance teacher.

Las Vegas is exciting, but Kristen and Patrick aren't overawed. If a big win doesn't happen this week, there's always next year.