Charleston Competition 2020

CHARLESTON IDTA / IHSA DANCE COMPETITION PAGE

UPDATES

FRIDAY 1/10/2020:

Eastern Illinois’ dance scene is on fire for back-to-back weekends! This time it’s Charleston’s turn to host IDTA and IHSA teams on Saturday. Teams from the region get to face both each other and teams from far away. Case in point: the pom category. In single-A, you’ve got IDTA pom stars Quincy Notre Dame dancing against Peotone, Tuscola, and Gardner-South Wilmington. AA pom features Coal City vs. Mattoon, both programs with strong pom traditions.

I was seriously impressed with the set of junior high lyrical routines I got to see at Maine East’s IDTA comp last weekend, so I have to raise the roof for the SIX junior high teams with lyrical routines at Charleston! Four more JH dances are scheduled for pom dance, and six JH dances fill out the jazz category. JV and varsity teams from central and eastern Illinois: you’ve got lots of talent in the pipeline for the future!

Get ready for top-tier lyrical talent with plenty of IHSA Day 1 (and some Day 2!) experience. Teams like Washington, Bloomington, Normal Community, and Normal West will bring their talents to the elite AAA lyrical category. Coal City faces a stellar Mattoon lyrical routine in AA. Similarly, Maroa-Forsyth has to contend with an excellent Eureka lyrical in single-A.

All alone in AAA pom/dance is Dunlap, who hosted their own comp last month and also are no strangers to both state stages. Jersey travels a long way for a matchup against hosts Charleston in AA pom/dance.

In the extremely competitive single-A jazz category, we have powerhouse St. Anthony facing a slate of quality teams led by Gardner-South Wilmington, who, until recent seasons, focused exclusively on pom (and cheer!). In AA, it’s a rematch from last weekend between Charleston and Mattoon, joined by Peoria Notre Dame. The fireworks really crank up in AAA Jazz: Washington vs. Dunlap vs. Bloomington, all teams you might see at IHSA state.

Speaking of, how about 18 IHSA routines? The judges will work that IHSA rubric for this set of routines, many of which are set to appear at either the St. Anthony 1A-2 sectional or at Normal Community’s sectional.

Kick fans will get their fill thanks to routines by Jersey and Charleston, while a hip hop showdown brews on the opposite side. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley joins superstars Villa Grove in single-A; Jersey dances in AA hip hop; AAA features solid Champaign Centennial against a perennially talented Normal West team.

THE LOWDOWN

LOCATION:

Charleston High School. 1615 Lincoln Ave., Charleston, IL 61920

TIME:

Saturday, January 11. Dancing starts at 8:30 with no scheduled lunch break (but 3 mini breaks are sprinkled in throughout the day), and awards are set for 4:30

TEAM DIVISIONS:

Dance Solos; Flag Solos; Lyrical/Contemporary (AAA, AA, A, JV, JH); Jazz (AAA, AA, A, JV, JH); Hip Hop (AAA, AA, A, JH); Kick (AA, JH); IHSA category; Pom Dance (AAA, AA, JH); Pom (AA, A, JV, JH); Production (A); Lyrical Flag (AA); Color Guard (AA)