SDA COMPETITION TEAM INFO and FAQs 2026-2027

Dancers who love to perform and want to take dance to the next level may be interested in our Competition Team!

We know you may have heard friends from other studios describe their experience with competitive dance as intense, or time-consuming, or exceptionally expensive! SDA works hard to give dancers the competition experience without dedicating every dollar and every weekend to this one activity.

Dancers who make our team will compete in three regional competitions in early spring! Group competition dances will perform again in our annual recital.

Our competitive dancers should be prepared to work hard in class, and dedicate some practice time each week outside of class. We have higher expectations for them than in our recital classes, and they typically do very well at our competitions! But, we still have fun in rehearsals, just like in all of our SDA classes, and we minimize time in the studio so they also have time to be kids and have a life outside of dance.

BASICS

We may have dancers in any of the following age groups, but may combine or adjust as needed based on the dancers that season:

Minis (ages 4-6). These dancers will take a ballet/tap combo for recital and will add weekly rehearsals for a jazz dance that will compete.

Star Squad (ages 7-9). These dancers will take a ballet/tap combo for recital and will add weekly rehearsals for a jazz dance that will compete. These dancers may also have the opportunity to compete in an additional group dance, or in a solo/duet/trio. They’ll also participate in a weekly stretch/strength class.

Honors Line (ages 10-13). These dancers will take ballet and tap for recital and will add weekly rehearsals for a jazz and a lyrical dance. They’ll also have the opportunity to compete solo/duet/trios. These dancers will also participate in weekly stretch/strength and technique classes.

Junior Line (ages 13-15). These dancers will take ballet and tap for recital and will add weekly rehearsals for a jazz and a lyrical dance. They’ll also have the opportunity to compete solo/duet/trios. These dancers will also participate in weekly stretch/strength and technique classes.

Senior Line (ages 15-18). These dancers will take ballet and tap for recital and will add weekly rehearsals to compete jazz, contemporary, and lyrical dances. They’ll also have the opportunity to compete solo/duet/trios. These dancers will also participate in weekly stretch/strength and technique classes.

BUDGET

The budget for each team varies based on the number of dances they participate in, the competitions selected, how many dancers are in their group, the number of rehearsals required to get the dance stage-ready, the team apparel for the season, etc. To give brand new families a ballpark, the full season (including music, choreography, rehearsals, costumes, competition entry fees) range from $1300-2500, starting at the lowest end for our Minis and the highest fees for our Senior Line. Additional Dances ($600-1000 per dance) and Tuesday classes ($160 per dance) are not included in those estimates.

You can get a closer estimate for each age group by reading the class description from last season.

REQUIREMENTS

Dancers must take our Summer Audition Prep Class and will audition to be part of a competition team.

Dancers must be available for all of their weekly rehearsals, including their technique classes.

Dancers in the Senior Line will compete at the intermediate level. They’re required to have both splits and a clean triple pirouette.

Dancers in our Minis - Junior Line will compete at the novice level. They must have flat splits on both sides to be eligible for additional dances (solos/duets/trios).

Every single rehearsal is important, since dance is a group sport and missing choreography or corrections slows down the progress of the team. Dancers who miss more than one rehearsal in a calendar month OR have fallen behind in the choreography will be required to make up the missed material in a private lesson at a time chosen by that teacher.

Auditions

All dancers who want to be part of the Competition Team must audition. Auditions take place during the last week of our Summer Adv Tricks (Pre-Comp) Class.

Before the audition, families will fill out a form indicating preferences for the number of dances your dancer is interested in competing, and other details about the season. We take your preferences into consideration when finalizing our season, but ultimately our judges will decide which dances your dancer is best fit for.

Results will be announced via email in August.

Questions? Send an email to administration@StarsDanceOmaha.com!