Only 7 years old and a second-grade student at Laurence Manning Academy, Charleston Hodge has been making waves in the dance and pageant worlds.
In the last week of June, the youngster was named the 2017 Face of Inspire, which held a national dance competition to find its representative.
“It was a three-part process,” said Dixie Elliott, owner and instructor at Carolina Dance Academy, where Charleston has danced for five years. “The Inspire National Dance Competition came to Manning, she entered its photogenic contest. There were two parts, and she won the 12 and under category in March.”
Charleston also placed first overall for a duet with Brynli Brewer in that same competition.
“When the Inspire season was over, they did an Instagram photo contest with all the winners from the regional competitions, which Charleston also won,” said Elliott. “This was from all over the country. She won that. That was in May when she was named the overall mini-photogenic winner.”
“This was strictly from people’s votes,” mom Michelle Hodge said. “That took her to nationals, which were in Savannah, Georgia, on the last weekend in June.”
Charleston was part of the Top 5 there in her capacity as the winner of the Mini-Photogenic category.
“The Top 5 girls included mini, petite, junior, teen and senior,” said Hodge. “Charleston then won overall from that Top 5 and became the 2017 Face of Inspire.”
Elliott said she believed more than 900 girls had tried out overall for the role, which won Charleston a $2,000 scholarship, a new dance wardrobe, a photoshoot in downtown Savannah and a trophy and two crowns.
“They are supposed to use her photoshoot for Inspire’s entire year of print and digital products,” said Hodge.
Charleston was no stranger to winning: She has won every division of the Miss Striped Bass Festival Pageant thus far through her age group.
“She’s currently Little Miss Sumter County and she’s also Miss South Carolina Primary America, a division of the Miss America Pageant,” said Hodge.
Charleston said her motto with pageants is, “Win some. Lose some.”
“You can win and lose and still have a good time,” said Hodge.
Recently participating in the Miss South Carolina program a few weeks ago, Charleston did not place.
“She said that night, ‘I wish every day was Miss South Carolina day, don’t you?’” said Hodge. “She said, even though she didn’t place, ‘That was just so much fun.’”
Asked whether she likes pageants or dance better, Charleston said “dance.”
“That’s led her to the photogenic awards and has helped with pageants,” Elliott said.
Hodge said Charleston stays busy.
“She likes to do anything,” she said. “She’s well-rounded. She likes sports, she loves to dance, she loves doing pageants, she loves to travel, she likes to ride four-wheelers and go fishing. Whatever you want to do, she’s game for it.”
