Miss Dance Team Minnesota Competition to be Held October 28th!

The Miss Dance Team Minnesota competition is set to hold it's 11th solo competition for Minnesota High School Dance Team participants.  I caught up with Jenny Raiche, head coach of Eastview High School's Dance Team and coordinator of the Miss Dance Team Minnesota program. 

Erin: Tell me about the Miss Dance Team Minnesota competition what is it and why do we have one?

Jenny: The Miss Dance Team Minnesota competition started 11 years ago by Tami Krause and myself. This competition provides an opportunity to members of Minnesota Dance Teams to represent their schools as soloists. There is a national Miss Dance (Drill) Team USA competition that has taken place for nearly 50 years. With all the talent we have here in Minnesota, we wanted an opportunity to display that nationally as Minnesota High School Dance Teams can not compete at the national level.

Erin: There are some changes to this year's event, tell me what's new and how will things run this year?

Jenny: In the past the contestants who have competed in the 'Miss' division, which is for all 12th grade participants and 11th graders who serve as captains on their teams, have had to compete a modeling of technical skills and interview category. These categories are offered at the national competition as well. This makes the competition more 'pageant-like'. As MN Dance Team is strictly a dance-only event, I decided to remove these categories from our competition and only train those competing at nationals in these areas. My hope is this will entice more dancers to participate as I know these categories created the most anxiety for contestants.

Erin:  Is there a benefit to registering even if you don't think you're going to win anything? 

Jenny: Absolutely! I have had so many dancers from so many different schools tell me how much the enjoyed the experience of working on a routine throughout the summer/fall, competing as a soloist representing their high school/team, meeting dancers from other teams right at the beginning of the competition season, and a not having restrictions on costuming and different moves. I have also had coaches tell me of dancers who they never thought would want to do a solo have come out of this experience much more confident and stronger dancers as team members. Competition is healthy and makes all of our dancers stronger, but what an amazing confidence booster for any dancer to know they succeeded in getting on stage and performing solo for other dance enthusiasts. While this is a competition, I think it is also an amazing way to display the talent we have here in our state.

Erin:   Where can you sign up?  Any important details we should know?

Jenny: All of the registration forms are available on www.missdanceteammn.com. Registration is open through October 12 so dancers still have to time to decide to compete! If you're not competing, come out and watch all of these great dancers on Sunday, October 28 @ 1pm at Eastview High School. It is a great event and a fun way to kick off the competition season.

Lets get a great turn out at this event this year - or if you're more into watching, be sure to get to Eastview on Sunday October 28th for a great kickoff to our winter season.  Best of luck to all those participating!  See you there!