The Reynolds Raiders and West Albany Hi-Steppers were the hosts on Saturday for the second weekend of dance/drill competitions.
Twenty high school teams showed up for the Eastside Dance Festival at Reynolds High School, and West Albany hosted several teams from the Eugene and Salem areas. Categories had various division breakdowns between 1-4A, 5A, and 6A schools, depending on the number of entries overall.
Strutting their stuff at Reynolds were Barlow, Canby, Clackamas, Cleveland, Estacada, Forest Grove, Grant, Gresham, Lake Oswego, Nelson, Newberg, Parkrose, Pendleton, Stayton, Sunset, Tigard, Westview, West Linn, Valley Catholic, and of course, Reynolds. All current categories were in play, with teams performing routines in Modern, Kick, Jazz, Pom, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Novelty, and a handful of solos and duos.
Despite the historic teacher strike in Albany, West Albany Hi-Steppers stepped up to host a slightly smaller event, with teams from Lebanon, North Eugene, Philomath, Sheldon, South Albany, and West Albany. Five categories were represented at the West Albany event, which included Contemporary, Hip Hop, Pom, Jazz, and Novelty.
Lebanon had a great day at the West Albany competition, receiving first place in two categories, Pom and Hip Hop. Not only serving as hosts, West Albany also took home two first place achievements in Novelty and Contemporary. Congratulations to South Albany, who received first with their Jazz routine.
Highlights of the day at the Eastside Dance Festival included some continued successes for the second week in a row by Valley Catholic and Clackamas, who held onto their first place Contemporary category rankings in their respective classifications. Clackamas also held on to their Novelty status with another first place in that category.
Shaking things up this week was Pendleton, who moved up to first place with two routines, Pom (1-5A) and Hip Hop (1-5A). Pendleton also gained a first place in Jazz (1-4A) over the weekend, as all Jazz entries were split up into two divisions separating 1-4A and 6A. If you are counting, Pendleton went home with three first place trophies over the weekend. Adding to Pendleton's list of hardware, was a second place in Novelty (1-6A). What a day for the Rhythmic Mode Dance Team!
Modern and Kick categories each had one entry at Reynolds. Canby held ground with their Modern routine, and Forest Grove broke the ice for this season with a spirited Kick routine titled, Welcome to the Jungle.
Several teams debuted their routines for the first time at Reynolds, and stellar performances by the Tigard Tigerettes landed them in first place for Pom (6A) and Jazz (6A). Also debuting a first place Hip Hop (6A) routine was Lake Oswego, taking the floor in sleek white costumes to perform a refined and intricate offering for the Hip Hop style. After all was tallied and confirmed, Lake Oswego received the highest score of the weekend with an 85.33, and the only Superior rating.
Sprinkled between team routines at Reynolds, were several solos and duos that showcased individual dancers choosing to share their dances. Teams that brought solos and duos were Estacada, Parkrose, Forest Grove, Gresham, and Pendleton. "The Eastside Festival Dance Competition, offered a supportive space for me to step outside my comfort zone by performing ny self choreographed solo. I am super grateful for the opportunity to showcase my hard work and creativity," says Eloisa Ribbing from Parkrose. Parkrose dancers would lead the day, taking home first place in both solo divisions, Avery Smith (9th-11th grade solo) and Eloisa Ribbing (12th grade solo). Also from Parkrose, Ruby Nunley and Malina Sheley won first in the Duo category.
Reynolds Competition - First Place Performances
- Contemporary (6A): Clackamas (79.78)
- Contemporary (1A-5A): Valley Catholic (82.17)
- Kick: Forest Grove (70.11)
- Novelty: Clackamas (76.39)
- Modern: Canby (78.83)
- Jazz (6A): Tigard (80.94)
- Jazz (1A-4A): Pendleton (78.33)
- Pom (6A): Tigard (81.61)
- Pom (1A-5A): Pendleton (82.78)
- Hip Hop (6A): Lake Oswego (85.33)
- Hip Hop (1-5A): Pendleton (83.06)
- Solo (9th-11th grade): Avery Smith (Parkrose)
- Solo (12th grade): Eloisa Ribbing (Parkrose)
- Duo: Ruby Nunley & Malina Sheley (Parkrose)
- all results
West Albany Competition - First Place Performances
- Contemporary: West Albany (69.17)
- Hip Hop: Lebanon (72.56)
- Pom: Lebanon (76.11)
- Jazz: South Albany (69.56)
- Novelty: West Albany (71.11)
- all results
Both events had a drill down competition for novice and advanced levels. Each drill down revealed ten finalists, with remarkable performances by Cleveland and South Albany. Cleveland landed nine out of ten dancers in the novice top 10 at Reynolds, and South Albany had twelve dancers make a top ten list, with 6 dancers in novice and 6 dancers in advanced. Each finalist has an opportunity to attend the DDCA Invitational for a 2024 drill down finalist competition.
After a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday, teams will be back on the competition floor at Rex Putnam High School for another dynamic competition on December 7. Rex Putnam competition will be the last competition before the DDCA Invitational (12/14), where we will see the season championship for Modern, Contemporary, and Novelty.
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