My son has been dancing competitively at fursuit conventions around the country since 2013.  He is completely self taught in urban and street dancing (never took a dance lesson) and has managed a string of second- and third-place finishes, both solo and in small group performances (that he has choreographed himself).

He’s never won a competition, but having placed second (and third) so often is nothing to sneeze at, since it’s not that easy to make finals at these events and even get to perform on stage, and even then, there are usually at least 20 finalists vying for the top three spots.

We spoke on the phone last night and he’s been working on a group performance involving himself and 4 other dancers since October.   This weekend they’re headed to Atlanta to practice together and get a feel for the actual competition which takes place in April (also in Atlanta).    He thinks — and he says others have told him they think — he’ll win this one.   He seems very confident and has never, ever thought he’d win before.

He says if he wins (or even if he just places second again) that he’ll feel encouraged to start expanding himself and not limit himself to costumed competitions.  He feels like he’s ready to start entering regular dance competitions regionally and eventually, nationally, if luck should take him that far.   He likes the idea of dancing in charity events, both competitively and not.  He told me of one taking place now where the proceeds are being used to help the people of Puerto Rico who were devastated by Hurricane Maria.

Since he’ll be 27 later this year, his best dancing days may be winding down.  But he’s a talented choreographer and good at motivating others.  Choreography is something he’s seriously looking at as a career for himself and can still do no matter how old he gets.