LINCOLNVILLE—When we last checked in with Wesley Henderson of Lincolnville, the soon-to-be eighth grader had competed with his peers from Studio Red in a New England competition at Westbrook Performing Arts Center this past spring, after which he’d been awarded one of five $500 scholarships to the prestigious Hollywood Summer Tour in Los Angeles, California.

Wesley fundraised for the trip himself and in July, he and his mother flew to Hollywood.

Now back in Maine, he told us of his experiences, starting with flying for the first time.

“Not a lot of people like flying on a plane,” he said. “My mom was just like ‘ugh.’ But, when I got on, and all the little things like being given peanuts made me so happy.”

The Hollywood Summer Tour is an invitation-only dance career intensive intended for advanced dancers who are serious about learning about the commercial dance industry in Hollywood. The kids were mentored by top industry professionals who are actively working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, including
dancers for Britney Spears, Madonna, Will Smith, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Rhianna, Missy Elliott as well as those who’ve performed on shows like Cirque du Soleil, So You Think You Can Dance All-Star, The X-Factor and America’s Got Talent to name a few.

Once ensconced in L.A., Wesley, along with dancers his age all around the country jumped into the first of six days of intensive dance lessons.

His first class was taught by a French ballet teacher.

“She’s a professional ballet dancer who has been on Broadway,” he said. “It was kind of nerve wracking. You look around and see all of these really good dancers here and ask yourself am I going to stand out?”

Turns out a few kids in that first class felt the same way.

“It was really hard for a couple kids,” he said. There was one girl I could see getting upset. She was really good, but I could see how frustrated she was that she wasn’t getting the moves down. Same with me. Ballet wasn’t my strong suit. You kind of have to trust yourself that no one is going to judge you. You’re still dancing, you’re having fun.”

Along with a variety of dance classes in hip hop, street jazz and acrobatic dance, he also got to participate in Q & A sessions with industry professionals, do a head shot and red carpet photo shoot and a professional dance demo reel, which he now use as part of his dance resume.

On the last day he met Adam Sevani, an American actor and dancer, known for playing Robert Alexander III (or "Moose") in Step Up movie series, one of Wesley’s favorite dance movies. “Meeting him was so cool,” he said. “When I saw him come up on stage, I was like...”

And here, without saying anything, his face said it all. He was mesmerized.

In addition to being able to see Disneyland, Universal Studios and other parts of California, he and his mom packed a lot of experiences into one week. “I feel like I got much stronger,” Wesley said. “After getting home, I had jet lag, but we had dance camp the next day, so I just toughed through it. Being out there for a week actually pushed me harder to be a better dancer.”

The Hollywood Summer Tour has been known to cultivate exceptional young dancers and bring them into the industry when they’re older, something Wesley has his sights on.

“I’m already planning on going back out there when I’m older,” he said. 

Related story: Twelve-year-old Lincolnville boy heads to Hollywood on dance scholarship

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com