Jaryd and Cara

The little dancing sensation:



Jaryd, 10 years old, a 4th grader at Our Lady of Peace in Woodbridge, is the son of Drs. Cayetano and Armie Falcon, both dentists from Princeton, NJ. He has been taking ballet lessons since he was 3 1/2 and continues to study lyrical, gymnastics, jazz and tap at the American Ballet Academy in Dayton, NJ. He is a member of the Vision Dance Team and is the youngest member of FR3SH Jrs., a hip hop dance company representing the tri-state area. He holds a 1st degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and is also an accomplished figure skater.

Cara, 8 years of age, a 2nd grader at St. Clare Catholic School in Clifton, NJ, is the daughter of Walden and Irene Campos of Nutley, NJ.

Jaryd and Cara met 15 months ago at a talent showcase in Elizabeth NJ organized by a group of mothers in the Filipino community. Since then, they have been dancing together under the tutelage of Spencer Nyemchek. In August, 2007, they competed at the USA Dance National Championship and placed first in the Amateur Pre-Teen II Silver Latin division. They also placed 2nd in the Gold Latin division. USA Dance is a nationwide non-profit organization which is the United States National Governing Body for DanceSport, the competitive version of ballroom dancing.

They have been featured at the Maury Show (Nov. 15, 2007) and have won Maury's Most Talented Kids contest. They also competed on the same show for The Best Kid Dance Award. Last December, 2007, they appeared on NBC's TODAY show.

Their biggest national exposure came when they were selected to compete at the Kid's competition segment of ABC's widely popular Dancing With the Stars. They were among 55 youths from across the country originally scouted by USA Dance for the competition. This was then narrowed down to 6 couples who appeared at the show. Jaryd and Cara captured the 10 year and under category after dancing the cha-cha. Their final dance, the samba, gained praises from the judges. "The perfect blend of entertainment and technique" Carrie Ann Inaba. "Fantastic!" said Len Goodman. "Completely adorable and totally entertaining" said Bruno Tonioli who had earlier called them "the cutest little gremlins".

They were at the Phil-US Expo '08 (May 17-18) held at the NJ National Guard Armory in Jersey City. During the gala night, they were presented an award for "Young Performing Artists".

They are scheduled to perform at the Philippine Independence Day celebration in New York on June 1.

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride

References:
Star Ledger: Small feet cha-cha their way to the stars
Good News Pilipinas
Filipino Express
2007 USA Dance National Championship results
Phil-US Expo '08: awards

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride:Philippine Independence Day Celebration