Florence Dance Academy’s Competition Dance Team: The Surge is a year long commitment from May 2026-May 2027. Dancers must be between 10-18 years old at the time of auditions. Auditions will be in late April/early May (TBA) and practices will begin in June 2026. Practices will be TWICE a week. One practice will be for working on technique, and the other for working on choreography. Dancers will be required to take ONE additional technique based class during their time on the team. There will be three unexcused absences allowed per year. They can be used for whatever you’d like and no questions asked. Excused absences are as follows: sick (home from school), doctor’s appointment (with note), and family emergency/death. This is a competitive team, and will need to take priority.

Dancers and families will need to be available for competition weekends and also performances. Notice for performances and competitions will be given with plenty of notice. Families will be responsible for competition entry fees, travel costs, costume costs, and yearly tuition. However, as a team, we will do as much fundraising as possible to alleviate these costs. 

 

Prerequisite skills to be on the team and demonstrated at auditions:

– Clean single jazz pirouette (doubles even better)!

– Clean 90 degree battements (straight legs and pointed toe)

– Clean jete (straight legs and pointed toes)

– Clean chaine turns

– Clean pique turns

– Basic knowledge of ballet/jazz terminology (like the terms above)

– Basic hip hop foundation (bounces, grooves, counting music)

– Ability to pick up choreography in a timely manner

– Ability to be a team player, work hard and take corrections

 

What will happen at auditions?

At auditions, you will be asked to perform the skills listed above, either in a sequence or the skill by itself. There may be some drills across the floor. You will also learn a short piece of choreography in two different styles (jazz or contemporary, and hip hop) and perform them in small groups for the judges. Nerves are allowed and normal! We are there to help you, not make you uncomfortable. I encourage you to try out, even if you don’t think you have the required skills 100%.

 

Why are you putting out this information so soon?

Because our auditions have a specific set of required skills, I am putting out the information early to give students a chance to work on them prior to auditions!

 

Who will be leading the team?

The team will be led by Florence Dance Academy owner/instructor Cara Richter. We will likely have a guest artist or two to choreograph a piece. 

 

Questions? Feel free to email me at [email protected] or text me at 717-599-9089