PHOTO VIA Claire Monge

Junior Claire Monge poses in Tiger Friday dancewear

When junior Claire Monge was in kindergarten, her mom put her in both soccer and dance lessons. Monge never had much interest in soccer, however, preferring to do cartwheels on the field rather than play during games. While she juggled dance and soccer, Monge pivoted towards dance after decidedly walking out of soccer in the middle of a game. She learned early on that she could excel in dance and has only grown as a dancer since then. “I don’t think [my mom] even knew what she was getting me into either,” said Monge. 

Since age four, Monge has been dancing with Larkin Dance Studio in Maplewood. The studio competes in prestigious national competitions such as The Dance Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they won Studio of the Year in 2016, 2021 and 2023. Monge’s group dance also won in 2022, and she placed top ten in the Best Dancer Competition three times, winning second place in 2021. The Best Dancer Competition involves competing with their solos, auditioning and, in the final round, participating in an improv dance-off.

Monge works hard to perfect the various styles in competitive dance, ranging from ballet, jazz, ballroom, musical theater and more. “I really like contemporary, just because it’s always just a good class to take. And then I like an occasional jazz class, just combo-wise,” said Monge.

Her favorite performance was the opening number when her senior line danced with the junior line in LaDuca dance shoes, setting a musical tone for the show. Lines are dancing groups set apart by age, and Monge is in the senior line this year, the line for the oldest dancers apart from the adult lines. While she was on the junior line, Monge also served as a captain. 

Besides competing, Monge especially enjoys choreographing her own solos. While most dancers perform solos that are choreographed by their teachers, Monge likes to branch out and choreograph her own — at least one solo per competition. 

She sometimes helps dancers choreograph their own solos as well, giving 30-minute private lessons to younger students and earning some money as a result. In a podcast with YouTuber and dancer Mackenzie Couch, Monge also noted that she often observed her teachers choreograph dances at Larkin, finding their individual creative process fascinating. 

Keeping and improving her talent not only takes a lot of work, but also time. Due to her dance commitment, she takes fewer classes than most students at Mounds View and leaves school during fourth hour for practice, typically practicing four to five hours every day. “It’s been really hard because it’s just such a rigorous schedule,” said Monge.

Occasionally, she is also a model and ambassador for Tiger Friday, a dancewear brand. She creates social media posts for the company around three or four times a month. Tiger Friday has even sponsored Monge, allowing her to fly to Chicago to model — all expenses paid. Along with modeling, Tiger Friday allows Monge to experiment with new hobbies. “I get to design my own top each year, and that’s been fun to design,” she said. “And then at the end of the year, they have a little runway thing, and we get to show off our designs.”

Passionate about her talent, Monge plans to continue dancing. She is looking for colleges in areas that have a large dance industry, including New York or California. Her dancing journey started in kindergarten when her mom signed her up, and Monge does not plan on stopping anytime soon.