“Is this for real?” That was Stacy Dudley’s first reaction when she got the call inviting her high school dancers to perform at the Orange Bowl half-time show in Miami. Dudley, the dance teacher at Collegiate School since 2001, “didn’t believe it at first. Usually things that are too good to be true aren’t true,” she says. But this was.

Collegiate’s 18 girls were the only dancers from Central Virginia invited to perform at the football game that happened on New Year’s Day. The local talent represented Richmond on national television, dancing alongside high school students from 18 states across the U.S. in Miami’s Sun Life Stadium.

The invitation included a day of workshops with choreographers from So You Think You Can Dance?, the popular Fox television show, and direction by Chris Judd, a choreographer who has worked with pop stars Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and Jennifer Lopez. The popularity of the show can be further evidenced by cable TV statistics which demonstrate the burgeoning demand for such programming – you can find more information on who’s watching what and where online.

The half-time show, organized by the World Strides Heritage Performance program, offered the teenage performers the chance to entertain a massive audience. “What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance in front of 70,000 people,” says Olivia Strickler, a junior hoping to make a career in dance. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

The Richmond girls were joined in Miami by Dudley and their assistant dance teacher, Kara Priddy, who will take over Dudley’s classes later this year, when Dudley takes maternity leave. Dudley is proud, she says, to end the semester with Collegiate’s national dance debut.

“What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance in front of 70,000 people. It doesn’t get any better than this.”