Leander Winter Dance Clinic Highlights:
Solos
London DeCoux 1st place, 1st grade division Kennedy DeCoux 1st place, 5th grade division Avery Hawthorne 5th place, 7th grade division
Katherine Vescovo 3rd place, 8th grade division
Brooke Hiller 1st place, 9th grade division
Hailey Halgren 2nd place, 12th grade division
Duets
Brooke Hiller and Kennedy DeCoux 1st place overall
Team Information
At West Austin Dance Academy we offer a highly competitive competition team. It is comprised of dedicated students who want to take their dancing to the next level, have a love for dance, a spirit of a performer, and a desire to be pushed. The West Austin Dance Team is composed dancers ranging in ages from 6-18. We do not divide our team up into A's, B's or minis, seniors. That is what the casting into the pieces is for. Obviously there are times when the seniors need to be with seniors and juniors with juniors. However, we also do not want to limit abilities by only letting children dance with other students their age. We believe that each child has different strengths and casting them into the appropriate dance will grow them and be beneficial to the team. We do however level our dancers into different levels for their team technique classes. For the 2011-12 team there will be 6 levels: mini, junior I, Junior II, Teen I, Teen II, and Senior. Levelling the dancers into the correct class allows us to work on each dancer's technical aspects.
The team competes at a minimum of three regionals and one national a year. They will also participate in a minimum of one workshop through out the season.
****CASTING
For WADA team:
The students auditioning for team will all be judged on the following criteria:
1. Performance
2. Flexibility
3. Turning ability
4. Stage Presence
5. Leaping Ability
6. Ability to take a correction
7. Ability to pick up and retain choreography
8. Others which include tumbling and tap
9. Readiness (are they ready for the kind of commitment)
10. Overall
For choreography pieces:
Casting for choreography pieces will be set on ability, age, attendance, and what classes they take. In order to be considered for a piece you must take that style of dance. This is because in order to be proficient and growing in a style of dance you must be studying that style.
***PRE-REQUISITES (although I have these divided into different squads, they will take class and be looked at as one team. Some dances they will perform seperately and some together. This division is solely what they need to do to be eligible to audition for the team at their age)
8 and under:
The 8 and under dancers will be required to take a ballet and a tap class. We would also like to see them add in jazz at this time. In order for them to compete jazz they will have to be taking it.
9-11:
These students are required to take one ballet class (although we suggest two), one jazz or turns and leaps class, and the appropriate team and performance class. In order to compete in any other style you must take that style
12 and up:
These students are required to take one ballet class (although we suggest atleast two), one jazz class, turns and leaps, stretch and tone, the team performance and technique classes. In order to compete in any other style you must take that style!
*If you are participating in Cavalettes or Hyline please speak with Ms. Amy. There are a few waivers of classes that pertain to you. Also, we work closely with the directors of these squads to make sure that our dates do not conflict with their dates. This is so children who really love to dance have the oportunity to continue their technique and training with the team they love, while also getting the experience of their high school team.
****COMMITMENTS
Time Commitment:
The WADA dance team is a dedicated squad. The students are expected to attend their regular classes weekly, as well as their team classes. If for some reason your child has to miss please place a call to the studio to let us know. This way we all stay in the loop. If attendance become a problem in their technical or team classes casting will be affected. They are also required to attend on average one weekend rehearsal a month. This time is for pieces being set, rehearsed, and cleaned. This is also time we will be doing team bonding and other fun activities important to being able to perform as a team. The team is also required to participate in the team camp in summer. This is when guest choreographers will be setting pieces. At the auditions the students will fill out a conflict form. I urge you as a parent to help them with this. This rehearsal schedule (which - to the best ability - is made around your conflicts) will be handed out at the beginning of the season, so that your schedules and your dance schedules will not conflict.
Financial Commitment:
The WADA team has a $45.00/month fee. This covers the students weekly technique and performance classes, and any weekend rehearsals done as a team. New this year we will be doing an unlimited team program. Our unlimited classes in the past have been $265.00 with a $45.00 team fee. We have so many students wanting to take more classes, and we know that is the key to their success, so this year we have an unlimited program for the team students of $285.00. This also includes their team fee.
We will compete three regional competitions a year. Entry fees for students range from $32-$40 per dance depending on the competition. Costume charges for team costumes usually range on average from $65-85 a dance depending on the genre and the age of the students. The students will attend at least one workshop a year. The average for a workshop classes runs $250-375. If we decide to travel that is additional. Lastly, there is the Nationals Competition. This will be discussed in detail at the parent meeting after the team auditions, but it is the most exciting time of the year! There are hundreds of options available. The cost of entry fees for this range from $45-60, and the travel expenses rotate as to where you attend. In my past experiences I have learned some incredible fundraising techniques that our parent fundraising committee (volunteers once team auditions are completed) will get everyone involved in. I have some great ideas and am open for suggestions for the fundraising for this team!
Welcome to the home of the National Champion West Austin Dance Team! Our dance team is composed of a group of dedicated and focused dancers looking to take dance to the next level.
Our 2010-2011 Team had an AMAZING YEAR! Winning overall's, platinums, technique, and style awards to name a few. They won numerous category high points at Starbound Nationals, as well as had 6 numbers make it to the top 10 showcase as well as our production number
