By Susan Shinn
Salisbury Post
MOORESVILLE ó You’d expect a group of dancers to gather at their dance studio.
Duh.
On this particular day, however, a dozen dancers came together for a good cause at Absolutely Stars in Mooresville.
The girls, ages 4 and up, gave away 15 ponytails for Locks of Love. Kimmon Miller, 16, cut hers at the last minute, and Whitney Brannen, 7, had hers cut on another day.
Their teachers ó studio co-owners Wendy Martlock and her sister, Stacy Olzewski ó even got in on the act.
The girls had to wait until summer dance competition was over. They attended a national competition in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“They did really well,” Stacy said. “It was a hard competition. They’re a good group of girls.”
The young ladies came to the studio on Aug. 3 to have their hair cut.
Doing the honors was Gayla Schenk, who owns Style Center, “on the square” in Bear Poplar.
Gayla’s daughter, Hailey, 9, went first.
“That hurt,” Gayla said, making the first cuts into her daughter’s hair. She was OK, though, and kept on cutting.
“Go Hailey! Go Hailey!” the girls chanted, sitting on the floor watching.
“I’m excited!” said Hailey after she hopped up from the stool. “I have more air in my hair!”
Lining up to donate their hair were Chloe Patterson, 6, Claudia Patterson, 9, Victoria Patterson, 9, and Susannah Horton, 9, of Mount Ulla; Jurney Weatherman, 11, and Mackenzie Martlock, 9, of Salisbury; Grayson Fleming, 7, and London Fleming, 4, Sarah Ferguson, 9, and Brianna Dennis, 9, of Mooresville.
“I really feel bad for the people who have cancer and lose their hair,” Mackenzie said as she waited. This was her second time in two years to donate hair.
It was essential to wait until after dance season ended.
“We had to have coco buns and rocker poufs,” Jurney explained, referring to dance hair styles.
Alrighty then.
Susannah has also donated her hair previously. Her brunette hair was so thick that Gayla had to cut it in six ponytails.
“Look how fat that ponytail is,” Sue’s mom Jenny said once she combined all the pieces.
Wendy helped out by drying and styling each girl’s hair after it was cut.
“She should have been a hairdresser,” Stacy said.
“She just wants free haircuts,” her sister shot back.
Like Susannah, Victoria had long, thick hair which she said was hot and very hard to comb.
“I normally put it in a ponytail or in braids,” she said. “I want to grow it back out again.”
Victoria’s mom, Michelle, said that among her three girls, she usually spends at least 30 minutes on hair each morning.
Her husband, Doug, she said, “loves their long hair, but he’s excited about it. Everybody wants to see them this afternoon so we’ll be making the rounds.”
“If he takes us to church,” Claudia said, “he combs it and puts it in a ponytail. But other than that, he never does our hair.
“At first, he said no. Then he said, ‘Just cut it off!’ ”
While the girls got their hair cut, several little brothers sat in the front, watching “SpongeBob SquarePants.” A few dads set up a grill out front and fixed hot dogs for the girls’ lunches.
While each girl took her turn, the other youngsters swished their heads back and forth, admiring their new hairstyles, eventually breaking into cartwheels, backbends and dance moves.
After all, they’re dancers, and they’re absolutely stars.Contact Susan Shinn at 704-797-4289 or sshinn@salisburypost.com.