Interested in trying out for the competitive season? Read the requirements. Sign up for your intensives. Two try-out dates will be offered at the end of July,/early August. Dates- TBA. Each student only needs to attend ONE try-out!

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SPSG COMPETITION TEAM 2023-24

(All teams will be lead by either Miss Meghan or Miss Rachel)

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This year we are planning to have five competitive teams. The competition team runs with higher requirements, expectations and costs more than a regular dance class. The opportunity to compete is offered to students who put dance as their top priority and want to take their skills to the next level.

In-person, try-outs are mandatory to attempt making a team.

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Students will be judged by two, random judges. NEW! This season, their 3rd scoresheet will be filled out by Meghan and Rachel. These are not our opinions. The scores will be clearly based on the students year-round activity/behavior.

Team Requirements:

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1.      Age

•   For Jazz II or III- Students must be 10+ years old or invited by an instructor. It is recommended that they have passed at least 1 year of Tap/Ballet II.

•  For the level I team students must be 7-11 years old. Or invited by an instructor. If a child has not been placed in dance basics III, it is unlikely they will have the skills they need for team I. Feel free to check with Meghan if you have any concerns on the readiness of your child.

• For hip-hop, students must be at least 13 years old.

•  For Clogging, students must be at least 12 years old.

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2.      Recreational Classes

• 1.      Jazz/Hip-hop Students must be enrolled in a jazz or ballet class for 2023-24 season at SPSG.

• 2. Clogging students must be enrolled in a recreational clogging class for the 23-24 season.

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3.      Intensives

• Students must enroll in their summer intensives AND accumulate the correct amount of hours per age between the intensive options.

• Students aged 13+ need to complete 8 hours of intensives.

Students aged 9-12 need to make sure to complete at least 6 hours worth of intensives.
Minis (age 7-8) need to complete 3 hours. If you enroll and miss a class, enroll for a second intensive to ensure you complete the required hours. Once enrolled, you will be emailed tryout date options when they are scheduled. We always give two tryout options. Only one is required.

**A coach CAN override requiements and invite a student or student(s) to try for a team. This is not done often. Student reliablility and attendance are considered heavily in these situations.

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3.      EXTRA CREDIT: Students aged 13+ who complete 10+ hours will earn 1 extra point on their tryouts. IF they complete 15+ hours they will earn an extra 1.5 points. Students age 9-12 who complete 8 hours of intensives will earn 1 extra point at try-outs.
This is a reward for hard work. Not only can this be the push you need to make a team but it can also benefit students who want to compete solos. Solos are only given to students with high scores and hard work ethic! 

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4.      Special Skill

• Students trying for jazz and/or hip-hop need to have a special skill prepared. We highly recommend attending open gyms or signing up for gymnastics to develop high ranked skills. Our open gym staff members can give you ideas and feedback!
   

5.      1st and 2nd Judging Process

• The following is a list of what the TWO HIRED judges will be watching for during tryouts. If you do not have the below requirements yet, you are welcome to try out but must be advised that your score will be dropped drastically and it will be extremely hard to place in the required score range.

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Flexibility- students will be expected to demonstrate all three splits, straddle stretches, bridges & pike stretches. They will need nearly perfect splits and battements that can be properly performed above hip level.

Turns- students will be expected to demonstrate their pirouettes & chaine turns. For team II, a double is required and triple encouraged. Pirouettes with HIGH posse are required for Level I. The minis will need to demonstrate and execute a pirouette with the correct technique. Turns need to be properly executed on both right and left legs.

Fouettés- students will need to perform their fouettés (these will not be scored as high as pirouettes but need to be attempted)

Jumps, leaps, tricks- Students will be asked to demonstrate a variety of jumps and leaps on BOTH right and left legs. A full split must be reached during a regular chasse, step, leap. They may be asked to perform tombe, pas de bourrée, glissade, grand jete and they must come at least 2-4 feet off the ground during center leaps (depending on their height).

Stage presence and facial expressions- Students will demonstrate a variety of different facial expressions while performing a short routine. They will be scored on their dress code and professional appearance. Black leotards with spandex, tights and jazz or ballet shoes are encouraged. Neat, pulled back hair can also improve scores in this category.

Choreography- students will learn a short routine the day of the tryouts. They will learn one jazz routine (based on age) and then a separate hip-hop and clogging routine will be taught. They will be judged on how quickly they can pick up the choreography in a short amount of time and will be judged on how well they are counting their music.

Outstanding Skill- They will also be given the chance to perform an outstanding skill. (ex: tumbling skills, Y-scales, flexibility skills or they can use their fouettes or leaps). PREPARE YOUR SPECIAL SKILL BEFORE YOU ARRIVE. They will need a hip-hop skill for hip-hop and jazz skill for jazz. Clogging does not need a skill but will need to individually demonstrate their basics.

Overall positive presence- Students will be asked to introduce themselves with their name and age to the judges. A strong stage presence, and projection while speaking is necessary. DRESS APPROPRIATELY. For the tryout, students should have hair tied up tight, jazz shoes or ballet, tights and solid colored leotards.

Extra Info- When trying out for the jazz I team- the above will be expected; however, their age will be taken into account by the judges. Our expectations is that they are performing these skills above average, for their age level. Regardless of score, students above age 12 or older cannot be on the jazz I team and MUST be performing all skills correctly. If trying out for hip-hop or clogging you will be expected to demonstrate all of the above BUT the dance style will be taken into account.

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6.      NEW! Third Scoresheet Process:

Rec Class Attendance- Students will get scored 1-5. Ex: If they missed their recreational classes 10 plus times- they automatically get a 1. They will receive a 5 if they only missed 2 or less times.  

Team/Class Attendance- If applicable, sudents will be scored 1-5. Ex: If they missed ANY team practice without a 24 hour notice, they automatically cannot get higher than 3. If they were late for their team practices 2 or more times, they automatically get a 3. If they missed a team practice and we were not notified in advance, by a parent- they will get a 1 in this section.

Intensives- Students will be scored 1-5. IF they left or quit during 2+ workouts during their intensives, they will automatically get a 3. If they participated and worked really hard during their intensives, they receive a 5.

Performance/Class Behavior- Students will be scored 1-5. This score will reflect how many times a student got overly worked up, angry or emotional during a performance. Although, we understand that emotions are normal- if a students emotions are causing their teammates stress it effects the WHOLE performance. They will be scored on this type of behavior. We want them to learn that mistakes happen and that getting worked up is only harmful for the performance and those around them. Staying calm in a stressful situation is beneficial in many ways.

Extra Work- Students will be scored 1-5. If they did ONLY what they were required to do, they automatically get a 1. If they did extra intensives, dance conventions or any other activity that will better their dancing, they get scored higher.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship- Students will be scored 1-5. This score will reflect the students leadership and team working skills. Is the student working hard for the sake of their teammates? Are they helping and motivating their classmates? Are they trustworthy, honest and loyal to their teammates and coaches? This should be a pretty easy 4/5 points for our students.

Responsibility- Students will be scored 1-5. A 5 will be received if the student is good at keeping track of their practice schedule, not late or absent without excuse. Do they remember their costumes and shoes at competitions?

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*These are examples of the 3rd scoresheet. We have realized over the years that the biggest set-back for our competitive teams are the lack of dedication and lack of responsibility in our students.

For the last several years, we have had students come to their try-out- dressed correctly, focused, positive and stretched; they score perfectly. However, this is not helpful if they turn around and attend their practices dressed incorrectly, crabby, irritable, or tired. Likewise, we have had really positive and responsible kids come to their try-out and score low due to nerves. The 3rd scoresheet will be able to even out the TRUE behaviors of each student.

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Our goal is to create strong teams with positive mindsets. We want to help them develop ways to work with others without allowing their nerves, exhaustion, lack of dedication ect. to be a set-back for the entire team. To be completely fair- we will not edit our scores for students regardless of situational circumstances. This should be a pretty-straight forward score for most kids. We will fill it out with simple: did this occur or not? If we don’t have examples, it won’t be applied.

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Email: Shinepowerstudio@outlook.com for try-out date or questions 

-Miss Meghan

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INFO on Cost/Commitment:

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1. Fees:

   1. Quarterly tuition is reflected on your class portals. This is the average cost (even though 1st and 4th quarter are only half the practices) so that I can keep the cost the same for all four quarters. Typically cost is $50-$55 per quarter.

 

1. Costume Fee- $80-$120 (competition costumes are ordered right away in October; bills will be sent out for that around that time and must be paid immediately).    

 

Hip-Hop Students will need matching tennis shoes instead of jazz shoes. We will order these as a group. I try and get them for $75 or less.

Clogging students will need clogging taps. Please order right away from Carl’s Clogging. This runs at about $100.

 

1. Competition Fees- Roughly $110-$150 per routine (2 competitions total.)

   1.  (This fee is the required cost per competition/per dancer to compete. The fee given by the competitive industry is marked up per dancer to cover teacher-travel fees). **Reminder: If you are on multiple teams, fees will be charged per routine. Depending on the competition, discounts may apply but are not guaranteed.

1. Costumes:

   1. All Jazz dancers must have black jazz shoes for performance and practice. As stated above, hip-hop dancers can practice in any CLEAN tennis shoe until we order matching shoes. Cloggers will need “Clogging” taps.

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 Students MUST have an SPSG jacket. Any style is fine- if you already own one, you do not NEED a new one. We will have a SportsWorld or MoveU jacket option this year. Usually these run from $65-$120. They make great Christmas gifts.

 

Students need SPSG leggings or plain black leggings for awards. Boys may wear blue jeans or black atheltic pants.

 

1. Competitions & Mandatory Performances & Other Requirements:

   1. We will  attend two competitions. BOTH performances are required to compete on the team- please keep all three weekends open until I can notify you of which two we will attend. Normally- one is in February and one is in March. Dates will be finalized by October.

 

We will also (hopefully) perform during one or two halftimes of a Boscobel High School basketball games in December/January for a dress rehearsal. These performances are REQUIRED too. I will ask you to email me conflicts, prior to me making picking dates.

 

Performing/attending both shows of the SPSG recital is required by team members.

 

Nationals is required for everyone, if we qualify.

 

Transportation, food, and hotel fees (if you feel necessary) are a responsibility of the dancer/family.

 

Competitions normally take place on Saturdays or Sundays but Fridays (normally after 4pm) are an option too. We do not get to choose our performance slot and we will not receive our scheduled performance time until the week of the competition. This means we will not know until that week if we will perform on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and whether we will perform at 8 am or as late as 10 pm.

 

​We also require ALL teammates to dress up (even if it’s just your jacket) for spirit day. Not dressing up will result in a point deduction for your following try out.

 

1. Nationals

   1. Each competition has different National requirements. Nationals can take place in a variety of locations but this year we are planning to attend in Branson, Missouri on June 27-July 1 through Starpower (I will confirm this date in October so you can plan ahead).

REMINDER: IF Meghan states that a team qualifies for nationals, you are required to attend. Save the date listed on the schedule. I should be able to give you the exact date and location by October. All students are required to attend if you accept your place on the team.

 Regional scores determine whether we attend so I will not know until March.

 

1. Fundraisers:

   1. At any point, fundraisers may be done to earn money towards competitive costs. If a parent would like to set-up a fundraiser, please notify Meghan. Any student/parent who helps with the fundraiser will be able to split the earned fees and put the money towards any costume, competitive, or tuition fees.

      1. If you use the SPSG facility or events for a fundraiser, you must ask all team members to help. You cannot use our events as an independent fundraiser unless others pass on helping.

 

1. Especially if we plan to attend nationals, fundraising would be very helpful. Simple things like selling garbage bags or Swans items have been popular in the past. Or setting up a brat stand? Parents are welcome to brain-storm.

2. I will arrange to do a popcorn sale again this fall.

**Reminder, besides the popcorn fundraiser- all fundraisers must be planned by a parent(s). Miss Meghan should only be minimally involved.

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In short, being a team member, in ONE routine, during the regular season will cost "about"  $580. This includes tuition, costume and BOTH competitive fees but does not include any discounts. 

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Natioanls is normally an additional $150-$200.