UPDATES
FRIDAY 1/3/2020:
Chicago-area and northern Illinois IDTA teams last faced off at the Seneca competition in mid-December. A few weeks later, it’s time to wrap up winter break with category competition in Maine East’s classy, old gym. Many of these teams have been busy throughout November and December competing in front of IHSA judges. They’ll do that again on Sunday, but also with a shot at bringing their routines under the IDTA rubric as well. Like the teams dancing at Villa Grove and Belleville East the day before, these dancers are hoping to qualify for IDTA state and also get more feedback from IHSA judges as we inch closer to sectionals.
Fans get to see dance and flag solos on one side while the pom category runs on the other. Oak Forest has had a busy winter at IHSA comps, so here’s a chance to see their throwback, themed pom routine light up the IDTA rubric. They’re joined in the AAA Pom Dance division by the pom specialists from Taft, Lane Tech, and Hononegah. Next up is a healthy serving of hip hop routines. Look for intense dances by TF South, Thornton, TF North, Crete-Monee, Lane Tech, and Hansberry.
The IHSA category features Oak Forest running their pom and (brand new) jazz routines. Streator looked very good on this floor a year ago. Taft runs their pom routine again, and look for a quick turnaround by Crete-Monee and TF South who will have just done these same routines an hour before. Hosts Maine East get to display their talents on a friendly home floor.
The afternoon lyrical/contemporary block includes four junior high teams (all of them long established), showing again how important feeder programs are to the future of high school dance. Fans also get to see Ottawa’s lyrical, danced by an ascending program that you got to enjoy at IHSA state a year ago. On the jazz side you get Oak Forest, Hononegah, Ottawa, Maine East, and Lane Tech in a sharp AAA battle. All alone in single-A kick is Morrison, but check the records, because that program has rocked the kick category for small schools in IDTA for, like, forever. Props to those dancers, Hononegah, and Ottawa for the long journeys to get to this competition!
THE LOWDOWN
LOCATION:
Maine East High School. 2601 W. Dempster, Park Ridge, IL 60068
TIME:
Sunday, January 5. Dances start at 10 with awards scheduled for 4
TEAM DIVISIONS:
Dance Solos; Pom (AA, A, JV, JH); Lyrical/Contemporary (AAA, AA, A, JV, JH); Pom Dance (AA, A, JH); Production (A); Kick (AA, A, JH); IHSA category; Lyrical Flag (AA); Jazz (AAA, AA, A, JH); Hip Hop (AAA, A, JH)
FAN TIPS:
Architecture fans, history nerds, this is your comp! Roz Varon, Hillary Clinton, and Harrison Ford once walked these halls and probably ran laps in this gym. Look for a big parking lot on the south side of the building or the medium sized one to the east. Either way, you’ll head to Maine East’s old-timey fieldhouse with seating in the main bleachers and more seats in the balcony. Coach Kawecki is one of the state’s most esteemed dance team coaching veterans, so you can be sure that her home comp is well-run. About a minute east of the school on Dempster is a Portillo’s, and a Wendy’s and Dunkin are just across the street from campus.
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