DBSD Performance Teams
Competition Assessments take place in early June. Auditions for teams are included in these assessments. Late consideration for competition teams, performance teams, and extra pieces after this time will be on an individual basis.
Please refer to all information found at the ‘Competitions’ tab as it pertains directly to Performance Teams
About Performance Teams:
DBSD’s Performance Teams are additional classes for the competitive dancer that are choreography and routine focused. The format of the Performance Team classes allow the dancer to experience being part of a larger scale piece in a fast paced professional atmosphere. Our goal with our Performance Teams is to provide each dancer with an additional experience and opportunity, centering their training around specific performance skills and providing additional performance opportunities.
What Does Being Part of a Performance Team Entail?
The first DBSD Performance Team was initiated in 2009 by Mickaela Maxwell. After competing at the World Tap Championships twice and taking a trip to New York City to see several shows on Broadway, Ms. Mickaela was inspired to create a large scale tap routine in her own studio that was entertaining, polished, and left the audience feeling dazzled! The original Performance Team routine, “Money!” was a huge success and the program has grown to eight different teams in three disciplines for a wide range of ages.
Performance Teams are meant to take traditional dance routines a step further – bringing theatricality, entertainment, large props, themes and stories, emotion, and an extremely high level of precision and synchronicity to choreography. Because there are up to 24 places on a team each year, dancers will typically get to dance with students that are not in their regular classes, allowing for a unique learning environment, new friendships and an increased sense of community within their DBSD family.
Acceptance to a Performance Team is by audition only. Being a member of a Performance Team is a serious commitment for a dancer, and the performance standard of the team is very high. Performance Team dancers must uphold our DBSD philosophies and values to the highest degree, including excellent attendance (maximum three excused absences per season), giving full effort in class, practicing and perfecting the routine outside class, respecting fellow team members and giving assistance where needed, and having a positive, supportive attitude.
Since classes will consist of learning choreography and staging of the routine only, it is extremely important that students maintain their dance training in their regular classes, as little time is devoted in Performance Team classes to reviewing technical elements. There are several pre-requisite classes that are required to be in a dancers’ schedule in order to be part of Performance Team. As of the 2021-22 season dancers may not be on just a Performance team. A supplementary ‘regular’ class is required. Permission for anything else must be given by Ms. Barb directly, and will usually only be considered for dancers who have graduated high school. In additional to the technical and performance ability displayed at the audition, applicants are also evaluated on their class attitude, effort, attendance, teamwork, studying of different disciplines and commitment to their dance training overall. There is also an additional cost involved for each Performance Team. The team will perform in a minimum of three competitions per year, along with additional performance opportunities at showcases or other events, and is included in DBSD’s Annual Recital. There are also scholarship opportunities for Performance Team dancers, and an annual celebratory windup party.
If you have any questions about Performance Teams, audition requirements or how to work toward your goal of making the team, please reach out to Ms. Barb and dbsdoffice@gmail.com!