HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — Danielle Sten-Guillermo and Lance Guillermo are heading back to Los Angeles for the second year in a row, hoping to come back with some hardware.
The owners of Rage Box Dance Center in Harford County have once again been recognized for their choreography work on ABC's crime drama Will Trent, earning another trip to the Emmy Awards.
"Back to back is pretty awesome," Sten-Guillermo said. "It's just one of those things; we're doing what we love, and we're getting recognized for it. I mean, what a dream."
This year's nomination comes from their work on the opening sequence of Season 4, Episode 4, a high-energy nightclub scene featuring a blend of salsa and hip-hop choreography.
"It's the time that the person dies on the show; it's in a club, it's this big salsa, hip-hop number," the couple said. "To be a show opener is a big deal. We had to make sure we hit it on the head and everything we were giving them, they wanted more."
The project also gave the couple the opportunity to bring members of their studio staff onto the production. Rage Box dancers and instructors have been involved with the series since its debut, building a relationship with the show's creative team over four seasons.
"It's a cop show, so who really thinks dance is going to be so pivotal?" Sten-Guillermo said. "For them to find value and trust, we've done four seasons with them, and we keep building with them."
The recognition has taken the pair from their Harford County dance studio to one of television's biggest stages, placing them among some of the entertainment industry's most recognizable names.
"You're just like, 'We did it,'" they said. "That was the eye-opening moment. As soon as you walk in the room and two rows in front of us is Jamie Lee Curtis. I'm just like, 'Whoa.'"
But the couple says the experience is about more than awards and red carpets.
They bring the lessons and inspiration from Hollywood back to their students, showing young dancers that opportunities can come from anywhere.
"It's inspiring," Sten-Guillermo said. "It gives them hope and understanding that it doesn't matter where you are, who you are; it matters what you're willing to be in the moment."
Whether they leave Los Angeles with a trophy or not, the Guillermos say the recognition itself is meaningful, and they're happy that dance is getting the recognition it deserves.
"To think that someone watched that and said to their parent, 'I want to start dancing,' that's everything to me," they said. "What a gift it is to put dance on the screen so that anyone in this world can appreciate it and feel it the way that we feel it as professionals."
Their Emmy Awards category will be held on Sunday, Sept. 6, in Los Angeles. After the ceremony, the Guillermos plan to return home and be back in the studio with their students for class just two days later.
They offer classes in all kinds of dance for those ages 2-18 and adult pop-up classes. For more information, click here.
