Liliana Centeno
Dancer of the Year:  2017 - 2018

Dancer of the Year presentation, July, 2018:

​"This year's dancer of the year is a quiet force who has been a very loyal member of the GDA family for 8 years.  She excels in styles like jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, musical theater, and even pointe.  When we announce this year's winner, I hope that all those who take class with this young lady take a minute to think about your fellow dancer, and how she carries herself with humility, poise, maturity, kindness, and an incredible work ethic.  

Other teachers have described her as very self motivated, often putting on her pointe shoes for an extra barre exercise to gain strength.  They see her as extremely positive, and very open to the hard work it takes to improving herself as a technical dancers.  She takes every correction and brings beautiful energy into every class.  She moves beautifully.  She has grown tremendously this past year, and we all agree that it is our pleasure to work with her.  I would describe her as someone to watch.  She will never be in your face about her skill set, or even the fact that she is always on time, always in class, always dressed correctly, always with a smile, great sense of humor, incredible amount of respect for her teachers and others, and an unmatched work ethic.  I'm sure she probably thinks we're still not talking about her, but that is exactly how she got nominated.  Everyone from the teachers, to the parents, to her peers to the front desk, has nothing but incredible things to say about her, and we all feel it is about time that she is honored in this way.  

Sayings like 'good things come to those who wait,' or 'it is amazing how much can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit' come to mind when thinking about this dancer.  She has been a team player who has been patient while many others have had their moment, and she is always just so happy to be on the team, win or lose, and be apart of something bigger than herself, never needing any credit.  Well, it is time to give credit where credit is due.  We are so proud to present the 2017-2018 Gotta Dance Academy Dance of the Year to Lili Centeno!"


​About Liliana

Introduction
I’m Lili Centeno and I’m 13 years old. I really enjoy dancing. I started dancing when I was a toddler through the Parks and Rec program, but then I stopped and started playing softball for three years. I didn’t have a passion for softball so I stopped playing and joined the Gotta Dance Academy family in 2011. I started with ballet, tap and hip hop. I began developing my dance foundation and after a couple of years I was able to join the competition teams. I was so excited when my first jazz team, “Queen B’s Army” won Grand National Champions! I now take classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and lyrical. Other than dance I enjoy hanging out with my friends, shopping, sleeping, and watching Netflix and YouTube. A couple things that are important to me are family, friends, and dance. An important fact about me if you can’t already tell, is that I love dance.
Achievements
2018-2019 Hillside Middle School: Leadership
2018-2019 Gotta Dance Academy: Competition Team (jazz, lyrical, tap, production)
 
2017-2018 Gotta Dance Academy: Dancer of the Year; Competition Team (jazz, lyrical, tap, production)
2017-2018 Hillside Middle School: Academic Achievement & Exemplary Citizenship, Leadership
 
2016-2017 St. Rose of Lima School: High Honors
2016-2017 Gotta Dance Academy: Competition Team (jazz, tap, production)
 
2015-2016 St. Rose of Lima School: First Honors
2015-2016 Gotta Dance Academy: Competition Team (jazz, tap, production)
 
2014-2015 St. Rose of Lima School: First Honors, Presidential Youth Fitness Award
2014-2015 Gotta Dance Academy: Competition Team (jazz, tap)
 
2013-2014 St. Rose of Lima School: Presidential Youth Fitness Award, SLE Open Hearts Awards
2013-2014 Gotta Dance Academy: Competition Team (jazz, tap)
 
The Future
In the future I plan on going to college, not sure what college though. At the moment, I’m unsure what I want pursue as an adult. I know for sure that I want to get married and have kids. I plan on focusing on my school work to accomplish whatever it is I want to do. I just hope on being a successful adult in the future.
Pictures of Liliana throughout her years at Gotta Dance Academy