Youth Dance Festival

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DARE YOUR STUDENTS TO RISE

The Elevate Youth Dance Festival gives dance students the opportunity to explore more in dance, develop their technique, performance, and creativity. The Festival’s emphases on small group work and student composition are defining features of the Elevate Youth Dance Festival for the following reasons:

  1. When dancers learn small group choreography it gives them a chance to showcase their individual talents outside of large group dances.
  2. Young creators have the the chance to experiment with their own creative voice in choreographing work to present for adjudication at the Festival. Those in the Young Choreographer’s category of the adjudication will enjoy a special one on one live feedback session with one of the adjudicators.
  3. Both small group performance and creative opportunities give dancers a sense of ownership. You will see some of your less assertive dancers rise when they have something special to work on.
  4. The pace of the festival and style of teaching closely resembles classes in college dance programs. Prepare your students for the kind of class or conference they might participate in if they continue with dance in an undergraduate setting.
  5. The Careers Panel portion of the event offers your students insight into how they could make a career out of dance. This experience is designed to help your high school dancers consider and define their aspirations in dance.

STUDIO BENEFITS

The Elevate Youth Dance Festival offers you the unique opportunity to keep your business going and  inspire your dancers to take class and continue growing in dance over the summer. Dance studios often compete with trips, camps, and other activities for summer business. Working on a small group dance over the summer keeps students in the studio while experiencing other activities. One possible model to implement this opportunity in your studio schedule and prepare your students for the adjudication is as follows:

  1. Dancers meet with an instructor for a required number of rehearsals, set by the studio, prior to the adjudication.
  2. Each rehearsal may have a required length.
  3. The first rehearsal may be spent collaborating with students on music choices, theme, and assessing strengths and areas for growth, both of which could be included in the resulting piece.
  4. Payment to Studio: Charge a choreography fee. Fees for rehearsals could be charged similarly to your private lesson policy. Fees for duet, trio, or quartets could be a variation of that policy.

All studios have the freedom to implement this model or another policy that suits your studio needs and culture.

The Elevate Youth Dance Festival staff are happy to offer consultation if your studio is interested in participating, but unsure how to incorporate this opportunity into your summer or annual programing.