**Content Warning: This article briefly mentions suicidal ideation.

**This article contains spoilers.**

Being 13 is messy. It’s confusing, lonely yet thrilling. “Dance Nation”, now playing at The Station Theatre, doesn’t just remind you what it felt like to be a teenager — it makes you sit in it. Playwright Clare Barron’s “Dance Nation” dives headfirst into the brutal beauty of girlhood.

“Dance Nation” was a 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama and follows a competitive group of 13-year-old dancers as they chase their dream of making it to Nationals in Tampa, Florida.

Performed by a multigenerational cast of adult actors ranging from their 20s to 50s, the show emphasizes the emotional distance between who the characters are and who they eventually become.

Right from the start, the play dives into its high-stakes, hyper-dramatic world, where dance teacher Pat (Syed Faizaan Ahab) rallies his team for Nationals.

From the moment he steps on stage, Ahab commands attention with a loud, passionate energy.

Whether he’s shouting affirmations or barking choreography, Ahab’s presence is magnetic, drawing the audience into the frantic, funny and deeply emotional world of competitive dance.

The tension between Amina (Maggie Kinnamon) and Zuzu (Ari Warner) lies at the heart of the play — two best friends torn apart by the clash of ambition and competing desires.

Zuzu stumbles during a solo, and Amina swoops in to perform it perfectly, stealing the spotlight and breaking up their friendship in the process.

From there, their paths split. Amina chooses perfection, even if it means going it alone. Zuzu, on the other hand, picks herself and her own sanity.

This turning point not only shifts the direction of their friendship but also sets the emotional tone for the rest of the show. It underscores how painful it can be to grow up and make hard choices, especially when success and self-worth are on the line. 

Watching their relationship unravel adds a raw honesty to the play, reminding audiences how intense and confusing it is to figure out who you are while still trying to hold on to the people you love.

Kinnamon shared her thoughts on Amina’s personality and character.

“(Amina) wants so badly to be in a part of the friend group,” Kinnamon said. “She wants to fit in with her friends, she wants to be included, she wants to be like everybody else, but she has this extraordinary talent … and it causes troubles in her friendships because they are jealous.”

Amina can sometimes be frustrating, annoying and her need for validation can come off as self-centered. Underneath the surface, however, Amina is a young woman grappling with her own vulnerabilities, and this complexity is what makes her journey both relatable and powerful.

Zuzu’s character is raw, vulnerable and achingly human. Warner brings a quiet strength to Zuzu that makes her journey deeply personal, especially since she dances for her mother, who is battling cancer.

Warner reflected on how deeply she connected with her character.

“I also dealt with a parent having cancer, and that is a really crazy thing to go through at a young age,” Warner said. “(The show) has helped me really sort through my own feelings. That part was not acting work, it was me work.”

Warner’s ability to channel her own experiences into the role made Zuzu’s story all the more moving, with a genuine emotional depth that resonated throughout the show.

Each team member also gets their moment in the spotlight, offering glimpses into their individual struggles.

Ashlee (Kortney Wilcher) delivers a powerful monologue that radiates unshakable confidence and self-love. Her words are bold and unapologetic, capturing the untamed energy of adolescence.

Maeve (Erin Roux) and Sofia (Katelynn Domonkos) are wonderfully odd and bring humor to each of their scenes.

Connie (Janhavi Kolhe) spends much of the play in the background as the quiet, observant friend. But in a late monologue, she steps forward with a powerful reflection on suicidal thoughts and the invisible battles people face, even when they seem fine on the surface. It serves as an emotional reminder that pain often hides in plain sight.

Luke (Henry F. Collins IV), the lone boy on the team, serves more as a gentle thread through the girls’ stories. His moments are wholesome and never overshadow the more complex emotional arcs of the girls. 

Collins does a great job playing the awkward but kind guy trying to fit in with a group of girls. He adds humor and warmth to the show without taking away from the main story.

Finally, Sara Benson shines in her role as every mother, bringing impressive versatility to each portrayal. Whether overbearing or proud, she shifts roles seamlessly, adding depth to the girls’ backstories and highlighting the often unseen influence of the adults in their lives.

Benson, a mom of a 15-year-old, talked about how she could relate to her role.

“It was more of a challenge to go from a tiger-type mom to a loving, supportive mom in back-to-back scenes,” Benson said. “But, it is a lot of fun because I get to play a variety of different characters.”

Beyond girlhood, the play delves into taboo topics with surprising honesty, tackling themes like mental health, sexual exploration and the harsh realities of adolescence.

These moments may catch the audience off guard but are handled with such sensitivity and depth that they feel both shocking yet necessary. 

As “Dance Nation” unfolds, it’s clear that it’s not just a play about dance or competition — it’s about the unspoken, raw moments that shape us as we grow.

In the end, this production doesn’t just remind audiences of what it was like to be 13 — it makes them feel it all over again.

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