More than 12 years of stretching, sweating, spinning and stepping has finally paid off for Samantha Capriotti, 14, of Connoquenessing Township.

Samantha was crowned Teen Miss Dance of Pennsylvania in early November at the Dance Masters of Pennsylvania chapter 10 competition and state convention.

She competed in the “teen” category against 14 other girls from across the state.

“It was definitely something I worked (toward) for multiple years,” Samantha said. “I was so surprised and excited.”

She will move on to the 10-day national Dance Masters competition from June 27 through July 6 in Anaheim, Calif., where she will compete for the title of Teen Miss Dance of America.

“Samantha’s perseverance and self-motivation to achieve her goals has led to her success,” said Jenna Molzcan Higby, owner of Butler Center for the Performing Arts on West Penn Street. “She is eager for corrections and is a very coachable student.”

Samantha said she was nominated for the competition by Higby, whose studio is a member of Dance Masters.

On the first day of competition, Samantha “auditioned,” or learned short routines in ballet, tap, jazz, modern dance and acrobatics.

She then performed the routines before the judges, who scored the contestants on their skill and technique in each type of dance.

Samantha also sat for a formal interview with a panel of judges and learned the competition’s opening number with all the other contestants.

On the second day, Samantha performed her solo before the judges, which was a contemporary dance to “Hands Tied” by Billy Lockett.

“It’s a song about being stuck for a while and finally getting released, and how you overcame those challenges,” Samantha said.

The dance was choreographed by Lindsay Peters and Higby.

The contestants’ total scores were determined by the audition performances, the solo performance and the interview.

Samantha sufficiently impressed the judges in all three disciplines, because she was crowned the same day as the state titleholder in the Teen division.

On the third day of the competition, Samantha assisted with dance classes taught by the judges.

She explained that girls from studios affiliated with Dance Masters who didn’t compete had the opportunity to take the classes.

Samantha will now spend the winter and spring perfecting her “Hands Tied” solo for the national competition, where she also must sit for an interview with judges.

She has been dancing since she was 2 years old, and has no plans to slow down.

“For me, dancing is how I get to express my emotions without having to say a word,” Samantha said. “I don’t know life without it.”

Because she is only a freshman at Butler Senior High School, Samantha is not fully certain on the direction she will take after high school.

“I definitely want to be on a college dance team and maybe pursue professional dancing when I’m older,” she said.

She said neither her state dance title nor her future dance plans would be possible without her parents, Mark and Shannen Capriotti.

“I’m definitely grateful for all they did for me,” Samantha said.

She said Shannen and her mother, Dori Shook, are her most fervent dance supporters.

“They never miss any events,” Samantha said of her mom and grandmother.

Shannen Capriotti said her older daughter, Jenna, took dance classes with a friend when she was a girl.

Samantha and the friend’s younger sister would watch their older siblings longingly through the glass door of the studio as the family waited for Jenna’s class to end.

Pretty soon, the younger girls began learning the dances and mimicking the older girls’ moves.

“The teacher invited them in,” Capriotti recalled. “She said ‘They’re doing (the dances) anyway, so they might as well come on in.’”

Capriotti was elated at Samantha’s success in Monroeville.

“We were just so excited,” she said. “It’s a goal she has been working toward for many years.”

Higby is thrilled with her student’s success on the state level and has every confidence Samantha will be just as triumphant this summer in Anaheim.

She said Samantha has been working on the state Dance Masters title since she was 8 years old and first entered the Dance Masters competition in 2017 in the youngest age division.

“She has learned the commitment and responsibility and dedication that it takes to earn the title,” Higby said. “There are so many components of the title competition, and it isn’t something you just accomplish on the first try.”