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Junior Dance Team

Rehearsals

Junior Dance Team is considered an after-school auxiliary program. All practices take place at our lower school and high school campuses. Exact times and days to be confirmed for 2024-2025 school year. 

  • Practices two times per week
    Wednesdays full team 3:45pm-5:15pm
    Fridays: Paws 3:15-4:15pm and Stripes 4:20pm-5:20pm

  • Students are placed onto one of the following team levels at the time of their audition based on their current skill level.
    Paws - primarily composed of dancers who have had 1-2 years of prior training and whose skills are suited to perform routines within a similar technical-base.
    Stripes - primarily composed of dancers who have had 2 or more years of prior training, whose skills allow them to learn at a fast pace and perform advanced choreography.

  • Over the season, the team will perform 2-3 full team routines (pom, jazz/lyrical, hip hop) as well as perform 1 routine separately in their sub-groups (Paws, Stripes). 

Dancers are expected to attend all scheduled rehearsals and performances. Should a circumstance arise in which a dancer is unable to attend, they should notify their coach directly and immediately.

Absence Policy

Consistent attendance is required. Students with more than 3 total absences from rehearsals per semester, whether excused or unexcused, may result in the dancer’s removal from that routine for upcoming performances. These decisions are made in the team’s best interest and at the discretion of the coaches.

Attendance at both team practice days is expected. Participation on the team is considered a year-round commitment. As this is a team activity, dancers may not opt-in or out of practices and routines during the year. Students who are not able to attend all practices regularly throughout the school year are encouraged to take recreational dance classes instead. 

Dance Training

Team dancers are expected to maintain a high level of technical proficiency throughout the season. In order to keep up with the demands of challenging choreography, it is expected that dancers are consistently training outside of rehearsal time, which is primarily used for choreography. Additional dance classes are not included in the monthly team practice fees.

  • Dance Team Turns/Leaps/Skills class is a required technique class for all team members. Dancers will be automatically enrolled in their assigned class and billed the monthly class tuition. 

  • Supplemental classes in ballet, tumbling, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop are highly recommended for all team members.

Policies

The purpose of the performance team is to support the school and greater Ensworth community through dance performance and to prepare dancers who seek to continue dancing at a higher level down the road. 
 

Attendance is crucial to the experience of the individual as well as the team culture as a whole. Repeated missed practices make it difficult for students to feel connected with the group, to keep up with choreography, and to know where they are in a formation. 

Casting for routines is determined by the Coach and/or Choreographer and is not negotiable. Team members are expected to be supportive of their teammates and their placement within a routine including where they are placed in a formation. 

 

Important Dates

Football Halftime Performances 

  • Tentative, October 25 - 1 Friday night home high school football game halftime performance

Basketball Halftime Performances

  • Date TBA - typically December/January - 1 halftime performance

School Assembly

  • March 21, 2025 - Red Gables Dance Assembly

Ensworth Dance Concert & Tech Week

  • Tentative, March 31-April 5, 2025, with performances on Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5

  • Dancers are required to attend all rehearsals during show week, including Saturday, March 29, 2025

Competition (STRIPES team dancers)

  • Choreography Boot Camp: Friday, August 16, 2024 (3:00 pm-5:00 pm @ Red Gables)

  • October 26, 2024 - Dance Team Union *regionals - Nashville, TN

  • December 7, 2024 - Dance Team Union *state competition - Nashville, TN (optional)

 

Additional Information

  • Candidates should fill out the Pre-Registration Form (click here) by Monday, May 13. 

  • Monthly Team Dues are $185 per month for 10 months (August-May)

  • $175 Dance wear fee to be billed in August to your JackRabbit Dance account.

  • Costumes fees are charged per costume for select performances. 

  • Stripes dancers will be required to pay an entry fee for contests they attend. Competition fees vary from $50-$75 per event, plus any travel expenses, and are required a month prior to each event. Please note that costumes for competition can be more expensive than traditional dance costumes. 

Click below to learn more about the Middle School Dance Team

Middle School Team