The center for all things dance/drill was Putnam High School over the weekend.
On Saturday, the Putnam Royal Crowns hosted the third weekend of dance/drill competitions. The Holiday Dance Festival was a full day of great routines and friendly competition. After a quick turn-around, auditions for the dance/drill all-state teams were also held at Putnam on Sunday.
The Royal Crowns hosted a smooth and well attended dance team competition with twenty teams represented. The day consisted of three exciting rounds, two of them part of the official Dance/Drill Coaches Association season, and a third round for additional solos, duos, and trios to share their work.
First round was for the team events entering their Kick, Contemporary, Jazz, Modern, and Pom routines. Round two featured team events for Novelty and Hip Hop. Many of the solos, duos, and trios featured in round three will be seen again next week for the final time at the DDCA Invitational.
The early morning halls of Putnam were bustling with enthusiastic teams preparing for their moments on the floor. These teams included Canby, Clackamas, Cleveland, Estacada, Forest Grove, Grant, Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, Mountain View, Nelson, Newberg, Parkrose, Reynolds, Scappoose, Sherwood, Sprague, Thurston, Tigard, Wilsonville, and the host team, Putnam.
Many friendly smiles and wishes of “good luck” were shared from one team to another, accompanied by the competitive undertones of knowing that the final competition of the year is just a week away, and the end of the Modern, Contemporary, and Novelty categories.
Round one started off with Forest Grove’s energetic Kick routine, the only entry in that category. Kick has been a category that hasn’t had a lot of traction in the last few years, so Forest Grove’s offering has been well received and fun to watch this season.
Next up was Contemporary (5A) and Jazz (1A-6A). Canby took the lead for Contemporary (5A), and Lake Oswego debuted a grand ol’ Jazz routine to Carrie Underwood, receiving first in Jazz.
Continuing with Contemporary (6A), Clackamas maintained their successful run in this category with another win. Sherwood also debuted their striking Contemporary routine, looking sophisticated in satin shirts, and receiving second place for their first event of the season.
The Modern category had two entries, Canby and Sprague. So far, Canby and Sprague have been the only modern routines in the mix this season, an affable rivalry, and Canby took away the first place honors this week.
Pom was next in the line-up and wrapped up round one. Divisions in Pom were separated into two groups, 6A and 4A-5A. Tigard (6A) and Canby (4A-5A) both had clean runs with their dynamic routines and received first place in their groupings.
Round two was a lively one, with the Hip Hop and Novelty routines taking the floor. Clackamas was the winning Novelty routine for the day, with a delightful under-the-sea jellyfish adventure. Sprague’s routine, an animated take on Blockbuster vs Netflix was a hit, and their Be Kind Rewind routine received second place.
Hip Hop, divided between 6A and 4A-5A teams, was quite a competitive category for the day. Scappoose had continued success in the category with a first place win for the 4A-5A teams, and Sherwood edged out Lake Oswego by a hair. A great debut competition for Sherwood this season. Sherwood and Lake Oswego also received the highest two scores of the day (86.83 and 86.56 respectively) and the only Superior ratings with their striking and athletic Hip Hop routines.
Rex Putnam Competition, first place performances:
- Kick: Forest Grove (69.00)
- Jazz: Lake Oswego (83.94)
- 4A-5A Contemporary: Canby (75.83)
- 6A Contemporary: Clackamas (84.94)
- Modern: Canby (79.56)
- 4A-5A Pom: Canby (74.89)
- 6A Pom: Tigard (84.25)
- 4A-5A Hip Hop: Scappoose (77.39)
- 6A Hip Hop: Sherwood (86.83)
- Novelty: Clackamas (79.11)
- all results
The third round of the day was dedicated to solos, duos, and trios. A number of individual dancers shared great work for the day. The final destination for many of these solos, duos, and trios will be the DDCA Invitational in just one week.
When all was said and done, it was a strong day for Canby with three wins and Clackamas with two. Sherwood made a statement with two strong debuts and a win. Wonderful performances by all.
Next weekend's DDCA Invitational marks the end of the Dance Team season for Modern, Contemporary, Novelty, and the solo/duo/trio categories. All other categories will continue on into the new year as the OSAA Dance/Drill State Championships come into focus.
All State Audition - Recap & Results
On Sunday, the dance/drill all-state auditions were also held at Putnam. This year the audition is held earlier in the year to avoid January weather setbacks, but the groups announce at the end of the day become part of the the 2025 all-state teams.
The day began in the early morning hours as dancers checked in for audition process to become part of three different all state teams: 1A-4A, 5A, and 6A. Any senior, nominated by their coach and having the skill level to execute the choreography required at the audition, can audition for the all-state team for their classification. The all-state routine includes three short dance sections that include elements of Contemporary, Jazz, and Hip Hop movement styles.
Dancers are expected to learn the Jazz portion of the routine through video, before the audition. This section was sent to participants about a week prior to the audition to give dancers time to learn and practice the short Jazz portion. After a brief warm up and review session, dancers pinned on their numbers and were divided into small groups for the first half of the audition process.
The first round of auditions involved performing the Jazz section to a panel of three judges. Each small group consisted of dancers from the same school classifications, but ideally mixed in terms of the school they are from. This portion of the audition resulted in a first cut, where about half of the dancers in each classification were selected to continue on to the second part of the audition process.
The second and final part of the audition process involves a more rigorous learning process, where dancers learn the Hip Hop and Contemporary sections of the routine. This learning session is always a little more stressful, as the dancers see and learn the choreography for the first time and don’t have much time to embody the movement before the audition process continues.
Dancers are quickly re-assigned to small groups, and the three combined sections of Contemporary, Jazz, and Hip Hop are put together into a full routine to audition for the same panel of judges. For the dancers, each section provides an opportunity to showcase their versatility and strengths, hopefully landing them a spot on the all-state dance team. Not only do the dancers need to perform the skills of the routine, but they must showcase performance style and confidence, as well as maintain a strong knowledge of the choreography.
There are always movement blips and memory gaffs along the way, but based on what they see during the audition, the judges are able to narrow down the selections and determine the top dancers of each audition group. After a few call-backs for the judges to confirm final decisions, the all-state teams are announced. The juxtaposition of joy and disappointment among the dancers' faces are palpable when the names are announced, but after the nearly 10 hour day, the learning experience is deeply valuable for all of the participants regardless of the prize.
The dancers who make the all-state dance team, will have the opportunity to perform the routine at the OSAA championships in March, and will receive a medal for their accomplishment. The highest scoring dancers are also considered for a dance scholarship, provided by the Dance and Drill Coaches Association of Oregon. Scholarships are also announced and awarded at the OSAA championships.
1A-4A all-state team: Erika Akers (Marshfield), Duylan Candela (Astoria), Rachel Dang (Valley Catholic), Emma Humphries (Astoria), Sammie Stills (Pendleton), Isabella Poe (Astoria), Addison Schrotzberger (Scappoose)
5A all-state team: Isabella Baker (South Albany), Leia Dorman (West Albany), Jack Hurley (Silverton), Brooklyn Jackson (South Albany), Imari Miller (West Albany), Paisley Rains (Silverton), Eloisa Ribbing (Parkrose), Leslie Snair (South Albany), Hailey Vinogradoff (Silverton), Gabriella Walker (Canby).
6A all-state team: Hope Bomar (Tigard), Madison Chambers (Tigard), Ellie Corman (Lakeridge), Dasha Gordienko (Tualatin), Makena Hammond (Lake Oswego), Addie Heyer (Lake Oswego), Arianna Kennett (Sherwood), Anna Mimnaugh (Tigard), Sophie Monahan (Linconln), Lexi Prouser (Sherwood), Brooke Rinard (Sam Barlow), Cloe Roberts (Tulatin), Hannah Robertson (Lincoln), Natalie Santilli (Clackamas), Alaina Schlegel (Clackamas), Sydney Stuart (Lakeridge), Bella Terzenbach (Sprague), Eva Ujifusa (Clackamas), Lily Walsh (West Linn), Bella Waugh (Sherwood), Caden Williams (Grant), Josee Zagacki (Lake Oswego).
healeyjamesr@gmail.com
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