Christie Doss began dancing at the age of 3, and by first grade, she was ready to quit. At the request of her mother, Doss stuck it out, and by the end of first grade, she loved it. In third grade, Doss began competing, and the following year, the director of her dance studio asked her to perform a solo for a competition number. After two years of solo competition, Doss began winning awards, scholarships and dance offers.
“[I remember my] first recital. I was dressed like a baby chick,” she recalled. “That year, part of our recital was sliding down a steep slide and landing on the stage. All I remember is watching the other chicks slide down and fall on their bottoms since their tap shoes were too slick. I was so nervous that I would fall as well, but I didn’t.”
Doss, a sophomore from Kennesaw, is now a full-time dancer, practicing most weeks from Monday through Sunday and taking lessons at Centre Stage School of Dance in Marietta as well as Atlanta Ballet. “I take jazz, ballet, pointe, tap, lyrical, modern, acro, contortion, hip-hop and musical theatre lessons Monday through Friday, and then practice a lot of my competition dances on the weekends. During the summers, I am usually gone for six weeks at an out-of-town ballet school,” said Doss, who has attended Atlanta Ballet in Milledgeville, Columbia City Ballet in South Carolina, Atlanta Ballet at Western Carolina (N.C.), American Ballet Theatre at the University of Alabama, Atlanta Ballet in Midtown and Starpower’s Pak Jazz Camp (twice in Orlando and once in Las Vegas).
“My dance studio director likes for all of her soloists to practice their solos before dance competition season by performing at Little Miss Cobb County’s Talent Pageant,” she said. “It is a way to test your solo on stage. My director asked me to do it so I could get used to performing on the stage by myself.”
Doss entered for the first time in 2000, and in 2001, she was named Cobb County’s Talented Miss. The next year, she gave up her crown to her sister, Mary Frances, a seventh grader at Darlington. In 2003, Doss was named Cobb County’s Talented Teen, which led her to compete in the Miss Teen Georgia Pageant, held in June of 2004 at River Center Theatre in Columbus.
“I have never thought of myself as a pageant girl. I have several friends who compete in pageants, but I never thought of competing in them until this past year,” she said. “The Cobb County Pageant Board had asked me several times in the past few years to compete in the Miss Teen Georgia Pageant, but I was always too busy with summer dance camps. I was also a little intimidated by them.”
However, last fall, Doss and her parents decided she would compete in this year’s pageant as Miss Teen Cobb County, America. “The Cobb Board was super. They worked with me for months by setting up mock interviews, going shopping with me to help choose the perfect wardrobe and practicing on stage,” she said. “The first time I walked on stage at the pageant, I was a nervous wreck. We had to introduce ourselves, and all I could think about was what would happen if I forgot my lines. But I didn’t.”
Contestants competed in interview, evening wear/poise and talent.
“I performed a musical theatre dance to ‘Strongest Suit’ from the Broadway show ‘Aida,’” said Doss. “I wore a two-piece costume that I designed. It has a purple chiffon skirt, a purple lace-covered top, a purple feather boa and hundreds of rhinestones scattered all over the fabric to make it sparkle.”
And did she ever sparkle. In fact, Doss received a standing ovation after her performance. “I know I was all smiles after performing … I felt like I danced the best I had ever danced,” she said. “My mom still makes fun of me because after I danced, I skipped off the stage like a little girl with the biggest lolly pop.”
Although Miss Teen Warner Robins, Mandy Best, was crowned this year’s Miss Teen Georgia, Doss wouldn’t trade her experience for anything. “The best part of the pageant experience was meeting and working with new friends that have become lifelong friends,” she said. “Everyone was so supportive and caring. They always make me feel like a queen even though I’m not officially Miss Teen Georgia.”
Doss said she plans to continue competing in pageants, and is currently getting ready for the next round. “It is not so much the winning that I want so much, although it would be nice, but the experience of building up my confidence level and improving my public speaking skills,” she explained. “Before pageants, I had never really thought of spending much time volunteering, but now it is one of my goals to get more involved in charities such as The Salvation Army or The Red Cross.”
Pageants also mean one more venue for Doss to dance. “My dance has, over the years, become more and more serious and competitive,” she said. “I’m a very driven person. Therefore, I am always serious about doing my best. And now, it’s somewhat of a career ambition for me. I’m constantly working on my technique and performances.”
Doss has literally won hundreds of awards, from first place trophies at regional competitions to placing ninth in an international ballet competition in New York City. She won the National Junior Starpower Title at the age of 12, Cobb County’s Talented Miss in 2001, Cobb County’s Talented Teen in 2003, first place at the Starquest National Talent Competition in 2003, Top 10 Nationally for American Dance Idol in 2003 and ninth for the U.S. at the International Grand Prix Ballet Competition in New York in 2004. She has also won dance scholarships from Joffrey Ballet, West Coast Dance Explosion, LA Dance Magic, Stepp with Me and LA Underground.
“My most prized award was winning first place at Starquest National Competition in the summer of 2003 in Virginia Beach,” she said. “There were several nationally known dancers at this competition, and I thought there was no way I would be able to win it.”
Doss and her studio friends were on stage for the top five final awards, huddled together and holding hands as the top five teen soloists were announced. “I was so nervous,” she said. “The announcer called out second place, and it wasn’t my name. All of my friends and I were jumping up and down and screaming. I couldn’t believe it. I started to cry. It is definitely an amazing experience to be ranked No. 1 nationally.”
Doss’ star qualities do not stop at dance and pageants, though. She has also modeled for a dance catalog and been featured in advertisements for Starquest Competition, Starpower Competition, Discount Dance and Dance Spirit magazines.
Although Doss has already been offered a job with Caribbean Cruise Line upon graduating from Darlington, her plans for the future include college. “[I’d like to attend] New York University, where I can study and audition at the same time,” she said. “My dream is to perform on Broadway, but I also realize that it is extremely difficult to get a job there. While in school, I would like to major in fashion and, someday, create my own line of teen clothing.”
Doss began attending Darlington in sixth grade after coming to campus to take the SSAT. Lea Duncan, assistant director of admission for the Lower and Middle Schools, contacted Doss’ father, Clay Doss Jr. (’74), and suggested she stay for the day and experience the Darlington family. “After taking the test and spending the day at Darlington, I rode the Brookstone bus back to Marietta to meet my father,” she said. “When I got off the bus, I immediately told my dad that Darlington was the place for me.”
At Darlington, Doss is a varsity cheerleader and a member of the Ladies’ Chorale and Spanish Clubs. She also enjoys drawing and art.
“The thing that interests me most about the arts is the actual performance itself,” she said. “Just knowing that you gave the audience chills or even made someone cry is definitely worth all the hard work and effort.”
