Dancing isn’t just an art, but a way of life for some. The adorable and pint-sized Aniya Hodge was born into a dancing family, which includes Monika Hodge, director of the Toronto Dance Industry, and studio instructors Stephanie Hodge and Heidemarie Hodge-Vilord.
Some kids dance for fun while others opt to compete and challenge themselves against other studios as part of a small group, large group, trio, duet or solo, like Aniya.
When Aniya was just three years old, she performed an absolutely adorable solo to the song “Honey, Honey” from the hit comedic musical Mamma Mia Here We Go Again! Everyone can tell how confident this little girl is as she skips out onto the stage, her hands firmly planted on her hips, her blond curly ponytail swinging back and forth.
The dance studio shared this star-studded performance on its YouTube channel and viewers have become instant fans of Aniya.
Once the tiny dancer reaches the center of the stage, she turns toward the panel of judges seated before her and strikes her starting pose, toes pointed and hands flared out to the side. As the upbeat song begins to play, this little cutie pie struts her stuff.
She may have butterflies in her tummy at her first solo competition, but she definitely doesn’t show it.
Aniya sashays around the stage and skips a bit more with extreme enthusiasm. Her choreography is perfect for such a little girl with hop-skips, a few sassy hip swings and hand gestures that match the lyrics all throughout the song. At one point, she even winks at the judges!
Her pink sparkly tutu swishes about with every energetic dance move. Her glittery green top is adorned with a bow that matches the green one in her hair, a perfectly appropriate costume for such a little girl.
When she hits her final pose at the end of her routine, the crowd watching her erupts with hollering, cheering, whistling and wild applause. She beams back at everyone, curtsies adorably and skips off stage to more clapping.
YouTube user Alexis Tex couldn’t believe Aniya’s stellar performance.
“Wow, this is absolutely incredible. Not only the fact that she’s a really good dancer, but that she didn’t know what life was, then only three years later she’s able to remember a 2-minute-long dance routine and perform it in front of hundreds of people like it’s nothing!!! I wanna give her a high five and a hug. And buy her flowers. You know what, she deserves a teddy bear, too. Keep up the awesome work, you are amazing!!!”
YouTube user Ange L chimed in with her support for Aniya, too. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“She has a really great sense of timing and rhythm for being only three years old. And she is definitely very intelligent; that choreo was quite sophisticated compared to videos other three-year-old soloists I’ve seen on Youtube, and she remembered it all! Congrats to her and her teachers; you’ve got a big future ahead of you little one!”
Little did Ange L know that Aniya really does have a bright future ahead of her. The dancing superstar has received numerous accolades for her performances and has even launched an acting career. The actress has appeared in NetFlix’s thriller show Black Mirror, American Gods and According to Kids.
Before you binge watch Aniya’s TV shows, check out her incredible performance in the video below.
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