*Students trying out for a squad are expected to attend ALL workshop dates and the final tryout date for the squad they are auditioning for.

Week 1 - Audition Week Workshop Dates: 

[Monday, April 28th to Thursday, May 1, 4:00pm - 7:00pm]

Dance Team (All-Female & All-Male), Banners & Short Flags

Audition Week Final Tryout Date: 

[Friday, May 2, Start Time: 4:00pm. No predetermined end time]

Dance Team (All-Female & All-Male), Banners & Short Flags

Place: 

Channel Islands High School Quad & Gym

The cost per member can start from a minimum of $500. Because this is a performance based activity, we ask that parents donate toward their student's uniform, as well as other expenses that it takes to run the teams, such as competition fees, music fees, and hotel fees for national competition weekends.  Costs are asked in increments throughout the year, with the exception of uniform costs, which need to be paid in full in order to have the uniforms in time for performances and competitions. To minimize the amount of money needed by each student, we ask for participation of fundraisers that are held during the year. $500 is the minimum amount needed to participate. Throughout the year, especially during competition season, monetary asks will be needed to feed the students during overnight competition weekends.

Becoming a member of a squad will enroll you into the CTE Dance Performance Pathway at Channel Islands High. In your first year, you will be enrolled in the CTE course: Choreography. Then your second year into the Choreography Honors. If you continue on for more than 2 years, then you are able to continue with the Choreography Performance and Choreography Mentorship courses.  For the first two years of the pathway, you will receive CTE credits. Afte the first initial two years, squad members will earn Fine Arts credit and/or elective credit on their transcript.  These classes count toward the F: Visual and Performing Arts component for A-G Requirements, as well as toward your credits toward graduation.

Dance Team: is a blanket term used to include both our All-Female & All-Male dance teams combined. Members of the Dance Team are used to perform and compete in various dance divisions, including: 

-All-Female (aka Medium Hip Hop)

-All-Male

-Coed Hip Hop (aka Large Hip Hop)

-Dance/Drill (routine showcasing both military and other various styles of dance) 

-JV Hip Hop

-Small Military (in which members showcase various with an emphasis on marching styles, sharp arm and head movements, as well as highlights through flexibility, kicklines, lifts, headstands, etc, while moving in and out of various floor patterns).

-Song/Pom

The dance team trains in multiple styles of dance and movement, including open style choreography, hip hop, jazz funk, pom, jazz, partnering, tricking, isolation, popping, breaking, ticking, housing, locking, whacking, voguing, military/drill, etc. Because the Drill Team is currently non-existent as it’s own separate squad at CI, the dance team members will represent the void left in their absence performing military routines for the pre-show at all home varsity football games and any parades scheduled to compete in during the Fall Season. In essence, the dance team has reverted back to a Dance/Drill Team. Members chosen for sideline Song/Pom cheer on the sideline for all Varsity home football games, alongside Varsity Cheer and Short Flags

Banners: derives from the marching band auxiliary unit. Members of this team carry the "Banner" or shields that usually display our school name, initials and/or mascot. Banners’ routines are military/drill team-based: showcasing various marching styles, sharp arm and head movements, as well as highlights in flexibility, while moving in and out of various floor patterns, all while bearing a shield on their right arm. As a part of the marching band auxiliary unit, Banners will participate in the pre-show for all home varsity football games and any parades scheduled to compete in during the Fall season. 

Short Flags: also derives from the marching band auxiliary unit. Short Flags requires members to twirl one flag, a pair of flags, and sometimes even three or four flags while performing to music. Besides twirling, members are executing tricks, tossing flags to one another, while bouncing through intricate formation changes and floor patterns and showcasing lifts, mounts and flexibility highlights. They include sharp arm and head movements and through the United Spirit Association are considered a Spirit Squad: which consists of four entities- Cheer, Song/Pom, Pep/Short Flags & Mascot. As a Spirit Squad, Short Flags cheers on the sideline for all Varsity home football games, alongside Varsity Cheer and Song/Pom. As a part of the marching band auxiliary unit, Short Flags will participate in the pre-show for all home varsity football games and any parades scheduled to compete in during the Fall season.

Stretch! Stretch! STRETCH! If there is one thing we could recommend for you to prepare for tryouts, is to start stretching, especially your LEGS! Once you are a part of a squad, splits are required. In the past, different splits were required for different squads: right splits are required for Dance Team females and Drill team members and left splits are required for Banners and Short Flags members. Moving forward, we encourage all members to strive for BOTH splits, as flexibility will help to excel in all routines. SPLITS ARE NOT REQUIRED FOR TRYOUTS, but the more you stretch now, the easier it will be if you are chosen for one of the squads.

As stated in the Time Commitment section of the 'Other Important Information' section above, being a member of our National Champion ranked squads requires a year-long commitment.  Squad members cannot play sports, either club or for the school, AND be a member on a squad, primarily because practice times and competition dates conflict with one another. This also correlates with any members who are thinking about juggling working a job and being on the a squad. We do not allow squad members to work jobs that conflict with squad practice and competitions, and because our schedule is demanding, members almost never hold a job unless they are working solely on Sundays.