Amanda Tae wants to make Miami the mecca of dance. And she's stepping up the effort thanks to a new dance craze.
It's called dance dubbing, and Tae's studio in Kendall just won a national dance dub competition sponsored by the movie "Step Up 3D."
Focal Point Dance Studio beat out the top studios in New York, L.A. and Atlanta, with a 4-minute choreographed dance video that moves from scene to scene all in one take.
"It was a real big headache," said Tae, who choreographed the dance. "I think the dragon-lady in me came out. I definitely was screaming a lot."
Tae's studio got a late invite to the competition and on top of that---she had no dance dub experience. So at first, she was intimidated. But after four days of late nights practicing, her attitude changed.
"I knew the video was going to be good because the people behind it were excited to do it," Tae said. "They would've stayed until four in the morning to pull it off. Some of them arrived the day of the shoot at four in the morning, too."
For winning the contest, Focal Point Dance Studio got a $7,500 gift card to Best Buy that they're using to buy a new sound system and computers. But the bigger prize may be the national exposure.
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"Miami's never really chosen to do stuff like this," said Tae. "So to be recognized for what we do, it was exciting."
More than 60 dancers were used in the four minute video that includes flips, throws, car stunts, people coming out of lockers and jumping down a flight of stairs...so that explains the celebration at the end that's as much relief as it is joy.
"For us to all come together and make it work," Tae said about her dancers who come from all over South Florida, "it was a ridiculously good feeling."
