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Captiva woman dances away with trophy from Vegas

2 min read

Susan Scott’s eyes filled with tears when she thought the uncountable hours of practice and efforts she’d poured into competing in a nationwide dance competition were going to be whisked away from her last weekend in Las Vegas.

But the tears quickly dried and were replaced with a 100-watt grin after learning she had won an even bigger competition than the one she was trying to snag.

Scott won the Top Female Bronze award in the Fred Astaire Cross Country Dance Sport Competitions.

She competed in Vegas with dance partner and instructor Steve Wilkie, owner of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Fort Myers.

The competition, held at the Luxor hotel in Vegas from April 14 to April 17, gave dancers a chance to strut their stuff and prove their mettle. The dance competition is similar to the popular TV show “Dancing with the Stars,” Wilkie said.

Scott – who just started dancing three months ago – went on the dance floor in hopes of winning the Top Newcomer award. But after dancing for about 150 times with little time for sleep or relaxation she thought it was all over when the winners were being announced.

“I was a wreck at first,” she said.

But when Scott – who got her dance fever after participating in the Sanibel Community House’s Dancing with the Island Stars a few months ago – learned she had received an even bigger award then the Top Newcomer, disappointment was replaced by joy.

“It was so exciting,” she said. “I got something bigger and better!”

Wilkie said he is proud of Scott’s effort and award. “She did amazing,” he said. “To already win that division is very unusual.”

Wilkie said his school finished No. 2 in the country just behind Chicago. Fort Myers is the only small town in the top five for the competition. Some of Wilkie’s other students won top awards as well, including Top Youth and Top Overall Male.

“We took half of the awards,” he said with some considerable degree of satisfaction.