Expressions Dance Academy

Competitive Dance Team Information:

The EDA Competition Dance Team is a group of dancers who have demonstrated strong technical skill and high motivation for dance.  Tryouts/Placements are held before every new dance season, and all dancers new and returning are invited to come.  The competition team quickly learns their dance at the beginning of the season and then competes at local competitions and performs them at certain events during the spring season.  For this reason, those who decide to be on the team must be committed to working hard and together as a team. 

 

The Competition Dance Team meets during regular class times during the week, most classes including a mandatory technique time which will incorporate ballet training, toning and flexibility, and skills technique.  There will be some optional workshop classes on Saturdays, but these are not mandatory.

 

What are Tryouts/Placements?

Although they are called "tryouts", we will not cut anyone from the Competition Dance Team*.  If they want to be a part of this prestigious team, we want to give them the opportunity.  What we do have is a time where they must come and be evaluated on technical skill and learning ability, and then placed into a class accordingly.  

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The tryouts are ran like a regular class.  Dancers do not need to have anything prepared upon arrival.  We ask that they get there a few minutes early to fill out any paperwork.  The teacher will most likely teach them a routine and then have them show them in groups (they will NOT be required to do it by themselves). This format allows your dancer to see the teacher's teaching style as well as how they run a class.  And the teacher gets to see what your dancer is capable of and their best learning style.  

 

We hold two tryouts for every dance year.  The first is always during the week of Recital of the previous season and the second is right before the season begins, after our Open House.  Therefore, dancers must "tryout" so we can see where their level and ability is at.  They can tryout for just one style of dance or multiple depending on their interest.  They will get an email during the summer with further information.  Your dancers will be categorized as follows based on their age as of September 30 of the current dance season.  Some classes will be combined.  

Mini: Ages 3-6

Junior: Ages 7-10

Teen: Ages 11-14

Senior: Ages 15-19

Adult: Ages 20 and up

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Teams will attempt to be split up as follows:

-Mini Tap/Mini Jazz (2 routines: 1 tap and 1 jazz)

-Junior Jazz/Junior ContLyrical (2 routines: 1 jazz and 1 ContLyrical)

-Teen & Senior Jazz / Teen & Senior ContLyrical (2 routines: 1 jazz and 1 ContLyrical)

-Mini & Junior Hip Hop (1 routine: Hip Hop)

-Junior, Teen, Senior, Adult Tap (1 routine: Tap)

-Teen, Senior, and Adult Hip Hop (1 routine: Hip Hop)

-Adult Jazz/Adult ContLyrical (2 routines: 1 Jazz and 1 Cont/Lyrical)

-Mini, Junior, Teen, Senior Acro (1 routine: Acro)

-Mini, Junior, Teen, Senior, Adult Musical Theatre (1 routine: Musical Theatre)

 

What do I need to have to be on the Competition Dance Team?

You must have a strong desire to work hard and challenge yourself in all aspects of your dancing.  You must be willing to work with your team members.  Everyone is expected to work together and respect each other.  You succeed as a team or you fail as a team.

 

You must have a dedication of time.  Dance team members are expected to be at EVERY weekday practice and any additional practices.  If you are injured or not feeling well, you are still expected to show up to class and watch, take notes, or participate to the best of your ability.  Attending a birthday party for a friend, being tired because you stayed up too late watching TV, or having a headache are not acceptable excuses for missing class. (Parents: think about if your dance teacher used the same excuse to not have class that day if you think it would be acceptable.  If you think it would be unacceptable for a teacher to cancel class because they stayed up too late the night before hanging out with friends, or they just were a little tired or had a headache, then rest assured we would also find it unacceptable for your dancer to miss for that same reason.)  

 

You are allowed to miss class for the following reasons: School event that you are required to attend for a grade, extreme illness (if you are throwing up, stay home.  If you just have a stomach ache and can't jump around alot, come to class and sit and watch).  We also will work with you and your other sports schedules, but please allow us the same consideration.  If we let you miss a class for your school sport, please realize that you may have to miss a practice of your school sport to attend one of our practices.

 

Always inform your teacher if you are going to miss practice for a legitimate reason, and do it ahead of time!  The teachers spend alot of time putting together schedules and lesson plans, and can be very easily ruined if you tell them at the last minute that you are not going to be there. 

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You must also be able to be flexible.  As directors, Miss Jennifer and Miss Kelly try very hard to get all the information out as early as possible, but just as everything else in life, things change.  Many times this is not due to anything the directors have changed, but someone else along the way (competition, adjusting to school scheduled, ect).

 

Competition Dance Team has more rules and expectations than just taking a regular dance class.  But all the extras pay off and your dancer will have a great dance experience and memories that will last forever!

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Expressions Dance Academy has two tiers of competition level classes.  Please read below to see the structure and the requirements for each of them.

 

1. Regionals Competition Classes:  These classes are open and available to all dancers at Expressions Dance Academy.  Regionals Classes will learn their dances early in the year to be able to perform them at local events as well as competition.  Regionals Classes will attend 3 competitions (Most likely one in March, April, and May).  These competitions are determined by the directors and will be decided and told to you at the beginning of the season.  The cost to be on the Regionals dance team is $85 monthly for the months of September – May.  With this $85 fee, your dancer can take as many Regionals classes as they want – no additional charge for additional regionals classes.  Please note however that each regionals class will have a $85 costume fee and $65 competition fee for each competition ($130 total each for both competitions).   The $85 costume fee per regionals class will be due October 31st of the current dance year.  Group Competition Fees are due by the end of November of the current dance year.  If you are a new enrollee in the regionals competition team, you will have to pay $125 enrollment fee with which you will get a bag filled with everything you need to start up (rhinestone hair clip, necklace, earrings, hair spray, leotard, turners, makeup, ect).  If this is not your first year, you can “refill” your enrollment and not have to pay the full $125 if you are just missing a few items.  Enrollment fee/refill fees are due by the end of September of the current dance year.  Regionals classes offered may be Acro, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Musical Theatre, Ballet, and Lyrical/Contemporary.  Not all classes are offered at all levels and not all may be offered in a given season.  Tuition is charged September – May.  Even though there will be a wide variety of ages in these classes, we assure you that the teachers will push the different ages and levels to the best of their ability.  

2. Nationals Competition Classes:  This team is NOT a separate team from the regionals; it is an extension of the regionals team.  Any dancer that wishes to be a part of the Nationals competition classes must take AT LEAST ONE regionals class.  Once they have chosen one regionals class, they may enroll in as many of the nationals classes as they desire.  Nationals classes will attend 3 regional competitions and 1 nationals competition.  The monthly cost of EACH nationals class is $55.  Each nationals class will have a $85 costume fee and a $65 competition fee for each regional competition and $75 for nationals competition.  The costume fees will all be due October 31 of the current dance year, and the group competition fees will be due November 30 of the current dance year..  Everything that applies to the regionals class dancers will also apply to the nationals class dancers since they will be in at least one regionals class.  Tuition is charged September through June.

 

Why this structure?  As Expressions Dance Academy continues to get better each and every year, we want to make sure that parents and dancers are getting their monies worth.  Regionals classes take more work than recreational classes, and Nationals classes take more work than regionals classes: on both the dancer, parent, and teacher level.  While we at EDA give our best efforts to all our classes and dancers regardless of whether they are recreational, regional, or nationals, it is no secret that the more money you are spending at the studio, the more time, energy, and effort of our teachers you deserve.  But we also do not want to cut out regional classes entirely.  We know that there are many dancers who love the thrill and challenge of competing, but due to money or schedule restraints may not be able to do nationals.  We are hoping this change of price for regionals will encourage dancers to do more regionals classes and be very mindful of the nationals classes they take. 

 

Specialty Classes: (solos, duos, trios, closed small groups) Solos, duos, trios, and small groups that want to compete are still eligible to do this.  Any of these classes will be a half hour each.  Solos will be $85 for 1 solo, and $100 for 2 solos in the same half hour slot, and duos/trios/closed small groups will be $55 per dancer.  However, for anyone to compete in any of these specialty classes, they MUST be a member of at least one of the regionals teams.  (Unless you are out of high school – different rules apply in this case).  Solo competition fees are $150 per solo, Duos/Trios are $85 per person.

 

Specialty Classes that are planning on doing Nationals:   If you have a solo, duo/trio or small group that is thinking about competing at nationals, please make sure you think about all the costs and time involved.  We are going to start being a little more strict with our specialty group costumes.  This may include costs outside of the $85 costume fee.  If necessary, costumes will need to be rhinestoned, embellished, or modified.  More and more the judges are basing scoring on costuming – whether the soloist looks like they took time and effort picking out their costumes or whether they just found something basic in a costume book and put it on.  Solos are $130 competition fee and duos/trios are $85 per person. 

 

***Over 18 Rule*** We have had this over 18 rule for awhile now but many people don’t seem to know about it so I want to make it clear: If the dancers is 18 or older AND not currently attending high school (for example if you are 18 but still a senior in high school this doesn’t apply), special exceptions apply in your case.  Why?  Because after high school your college classes or jobs can be at many different times during the day which may restrict your schedule, but we want to encourage you to keep dancing.  We would LOVE you to be a part of a regional class, but you do not HAVE to be to compete a solo or be on a Nationals team.  If you have questions, talk to Kelly or Jen. 

       

• Enrollment Fee: The enrollment fee is $125 per dancer (this does not include boys) and with it you get a dance bag filled with rhinestone necklace, rhinestone clip-on earrings, rhinestone hair clip, body tight, turners (practice pair), a black leotard, makeup, hair pins, safety pins, hair spray, and hair ties.  Keep all this stuff together as you will be needing it for every performance.

• Costume Fee per dance: $85 for all classes

• Competition Fees: $65 per dancer per dance for group classes, $85 per dancer per dance for duos/trios, and $150 per solo.

       

Other Possible Fees: Dance Performance Shoes (1 pair per class taken), Tickets to Grand Rapids Drive to see their performance, Tickets to Showcase, and Tickets to Recital at the end of the year.

       

 

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