What should I expect at a Dance Show (Fall)?
Fall Dance Shows are not competitions. At these shows the participating teams normally perform two
dances. The hosting team may have youth clinic dances, a guy/girl dance, a dad/daughter dance, a
senior dance and a senior recognition time. There is usually an intermission and the show lasts a few hours. Admission is $6 - $10. Concessions are available. The dancers ride a bus to and from the event.
What Winter events do the dancers participate in?
The team compete in conference meets (usually four meets) and the conference championships. The team will also compete at invitationals in the metro area and at the Section Championships. Teams placing in the top three at the Section Championships qualify for State.
How does the Junior Varsity and B-Squad season differ from the Varsity season?
We think of our dancers as one team. The conference meets and Invitationals include B-Squad, JV and
Varsity dances. Only the Varsity dances at Sections and State, but we make arrangements for all dancers
to attend. All dancers come to all practices for the entire season (up until the State tournament).
What should I expect at a Conference Meet?
There are usually two Jazz meets where the Varsity, JV and B-Squad teams perform. There are also two
Kick meets where Varsity and JV teams perform. To conclude the conference season there is a
Conference Championship where the Varsity teams perform their Jazz and Kick routines.
At conference meets the schools are divided into two groupings. Half of the teams will compete against
each other and face SIDE A. The other half of the teams will compete against each other and face SIDE
B. The top three teams on each side will be announced. These placements count towards the scores
that will decide the conference champions for Jazz and Kick.
The dancers LOVE to see a big Twisters cheering section at their performances. Please wear your
Twister or Anoka High School gear and sit with other Anoka fans. If you are one of the first to arrive,
start a section by saving some seats so most of us can sit together.
How does scoring work?
Independent judges score the routines on individual elements like technique, style, straight lines, leaps,
turns, unique choreography, etc.. They also assign a place ranking to the dance – from 1 through
whatever number of dances are performing. The high and low ranking for a team are dropped and the
other numbers are added together to get that team’s ranking points. For example, there are five judges
and School A received rankings of 1, 1, 2, 2, 3. A 1 and the 3 are dropped and School A receives a
ranking point score of 5. The team with the lowest ranking score wins. If there is a tie, the tie is broken
based on criteria that takes into account the individual scoring elements mentioned earlier.
What is an Invitational and what should I expect at one?
An Invitational is an all day Saturday event/competition sponsored by a dance team. Teams are often
from several different conferences. At larger invites, there can be 20+ teams. Both jazz and kick dances
are performed. Varsity, JV and B-Squad will participate in the invitationals. In general, the B-Squad and
JV competition is performed and awards are given, then there is a break and the Varsity competition
begins. Awards are given to the top placing teams in each division – number of awards varies based on
number of teams participating. The entire team travels to and from the competition together.
Admission is usually about $8-$10. There is usually an Invitational t-shirt available for purchase – sometimes
a pre-order is available, sometimes they are just available at the event. There are also often vendor
booths and gift booths at the invitationals.
What should I expect at the Section Championships?
The teams in our section are different than the teams in our conference. Section alignments are
available on the Minnesota State High School League website. Only Varsity teams perform Jazz and Kick. JV Dancers will be going to the meet and paid for by the booster club.
The first, second and third place teams in each event qualify to compete in the State competition.
What should I expect at State?
There is a Jazz day and a Kick day at State. There are three divisions of schools - A, AA and AAA. Anoka is
in the AAA division. In the Preliminary round, all 12 qualifying teams dance. The top six teams advance
to the finals. In the evening, those finalists perform a second time and awards are given for first, second
and third place.
Each qualifying school receives an allotment of tickets. The tickets are reserved for the preliminary
competition. The finals are open seating. Varsity dancers stay downtown as a team and do not require admission tickets.
What fees need to be paid to be part of Anoka Dance Teams?
There is an activity fee charged by the district for all activities. The fee is paid directly to the district
through the district website during the registration process. Dancers must have an up to date physical
on file with the school in order to register. Each dancer is also responsible for purchasing required
clothing and accessories. There is also a Performance and Competitive Booster Club Fee. Please look at the form given out at the parent meeting for both seasons.
What can I expect to purchase for required clothing/accessories?
Items required include team warmup, backpack, poms, sweatshirt, team shirts, shorts, shoes, tights. We do our best to note on the ordering link to let you know what is mandatory or what you can use from year to year!
What fundraising activities will the teams participate in?
The performance team has a raffle ticket fundraiser and a dance show. The competitive team has a candy bar fundraiser and a winter dance invitational. Smaller fundraisers include car washes, Carhartt hats, Egg'ed by the Twisters, Youth Clinic and other opportunities brought to the Booster Club by parents.
Participation is expected from all families.
What is the money raised used for?
The fundraising money is used to cover things like coaches (the district fee pays for two coaches),
costumes, music, music mixing, speakers, recording equipment, carbo loads, team parties/events,
competition fees, awards, state expenses, and JFK camp coaches fees.
Will families be expected to volunteer throughout the season?
In order to provide the best experience possible for the dancers, it is expected that each dancer’s family
volunteer during the fall and winter seasons. All families are needed at both home dance shows. In
addition to that event, families are expected to volunteer for at least two other activities/events. We
use Sign Up Genius for the volunteer activities.
How will families receive updates throughout the season?
A weekly communication is sent out via coaches and will have coaches information, upcoming important dates, and booster updates. You will also be joining BAND and the team Facebook and/or Instagram pages.
I have more questions, what should I do?
Many questions may be answered on the team website. All information that is sent out to the team is
typically on email and BAND. If you can’t find your answer there, please contact a member of the
Anoka Dance Boosters board. Contact information is on the website in the Boosters tab.