By John Kubal | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS — Area residents have an opportunity to see five local dance studios perform more than 70 dance routines in Shine competitions — for free — in Brookings on Feb. 21. The gathering goes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center (proscenium theatre) on the South Dakota State University campus.
Hosting the dancers for the second straight year is Brookings-based Madison Avenue Dance Studio. The four local studios competing against the Brookings dancers are: Grace Dance Academy, Grace Expressions Dance Studio, Serenity Dance Company, and Hip-Hop Shop.
“We’re overly excited to have a competition here that is strictly ‘dance’ and no ‘cheer’ (competition),” said Assistant Manager Kimberly Miller. Madison Avenue Dance Studio is owned by Brooke Burlage. The studio opened at a different site in Brookings in 2010. The studio also hosted a Shine competition in last year.
“Shine is just the name of the competition,” Miller explained. “In the dance industry, each competition has its own name, its own meaning. Shine kind of nods back to New York and the dance scene to Madison Avenue.”
Age divisions for the dancers include: Tiny, 4 to 6 years old; Mini, 7 to 9 years old; Youth, 10 to 12 years old; Junior, 13 to 15 years old; and Senior, 16 to 19 years old. All the dancers are in one of two competitive levels: One-star or two-star.
“It usually is measured by how many hours a week are spent in training, how many technique classes they are taking at their studio,” Miller explained. “Typically, your younger dancers but also just dancers who are maybe multi-sport athletes, they dance but they also play basketball. So they’ve invested not quite as much time each week to just dance. They would all be in that one-star (category). Those dedicating the majority of their time to dance would be in the two-star category.”
Officially, one star equates to less than 3 hours of practice per week; two star to 3 hours or more practice per week.
Style divisions for this Shine competition are ballet, jazz, pom, lyrical, and hip hop. Competing dance studios can compete in a variety of routines in all different divisions: solo, duo, trio, small group (four to nine dancers) and large group (10 to 19 dancers).
“These are kind of standard across the dance industry competition,” Miller noted. Five studios are expected Saturday, with each studio bringing a number of routines. Madison is entering 29 of the more than 70 routines.
“Dance studios in the area can register to compete, any number of routines,” she added. “There could be group routines, there could be solos, there could be trios, all different divisions. Madison Avenue Dance Studio has a competitive dance program that offers all those different size routines. Most of the competitive programs take place in Sioux Falls.”
Each routine on Saturday will be performed in less than five minutes. People are invited to drop in and see as many routines as they like.
“One of the most valuable things is the judging,” Miller explained. “For every routine there are three judges and they will offer audio critiques that are laid over a video of the dance being performed. So the feedback that they give is the moment of the routine. … This is really powerful feedback.”
Additionally, each routine receives an adjudication award based on points awarded by the judges: gold, 100.00 to 150.60; platinum, 150.61 to 175.60; and high platinum, 175.61 to 200.
Finally, there are Judges’ Choice awards that include: Empire Award, highest point soloist and team; Broadway Bound, most entertaining; Best Costume; and Best Choreography.
For additional information log on to: madisonavenuedance.com and shinedancecomp.com.
— Contact John Kubal at [email protected].
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