Pacific Ballroom Dance (PBD) Junior and Preteen division teams took first place at the National Formation Ballroom Championships in March.

Now, these performers, along with the rest of their company, will present Live the Journey, a dance concert, May 31 and June 1 at the Auburn Performing Arts Center, 702 Fourth St. NE.

Performances begin each night at 7, with an additional 2 o’clock matinee on Saturday.

PBD’s 150 dancers, ages 3-19, will perform all varieties of ballroom and Latin dance, and each team will perform its winning ballroom dance medley.

“In addition to seeing our local champions dance, guests at the concert can expect to be taken on a journey of imagination and emotion. The choreographers at PBD are truly storytellers,” said staff member Anne Eugenio. “Be prepared to laugh and cry.”

The junior champions, ages 12-15, captured the Junior Ballroom Division with their Star Wars medley at the Dancesport Championships in Provo, Utah. They danced to perfection in bright orange and black Jedi knight ballgowns for the ladies.

“Winning at nationals is so tough,” coach Adam Lee said. “Our studio has only been able to do it two other times in over 10 years and never in this division.”

The Preteen champions, ages 9-12, won the Preteen Latin Division for formation ballroom. Their winning medley was set to the music of Elvis Presley.

“I told them they had to believe they could win, and I watched their faces change as I began to believe it. It was amazing,” said coach Beth Dolan.

PBD began in 1994 as a small, local youth club with a goal to provide young teens with the opportunity to build respectful social skills, self-esteem, fitness and teamwork. In 2003, PBD became a 501©3 non-profit organization with a mission to build character in youth by providing a positive ballroom dance experience. Today, PBD is a thriving youth dance education studio based in Auburn, serving more than 1000 students annually from age 10-18 from throughout the Puget Sound area