Dance/Drill returned to the dance floor after a weekend off for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Putnam was the host school for The Holiday Festival of Dance, with teams from Canby, Clackamas, Cleveland, Forest Grove, Grant, Jesuit, Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, Lincoln, Molalla, Mountainside, Nelson, Newberg, North Eugene, Parkrose, Reynolds, Scappoose, Sheldon, Sprague, Tigard, Westview and Wilsonville in attendance.
Often, this early in the season, teams are choosing to share partial or abbreviated routines, with plans of continued development as they focus further into the distance to the OSAA State Championships in March. Other teams are cultivating their routines for a short time, knowing they will conclude their journey with the category at the DDCA Championships on December 13.
During this time, teams tend to dabble with ideas in Jazz, Hip Hop, and Pom, testing out which style seems to be most successful for them to carry on throughout the full season.
For teams participating in Contemporary, Modern, and Novelty, these categories conclude their run at the DDCA Championships. Teams have the option to adapt any of these routines for other state championship-bound categories like Traditional and Show, which are not offered until the new year.
Many of the gathering teams at the Putnam event have already seen each other at other competitions this season, but a few took the stage for the first time.
A warm welcome to Jesuit, who brings another group of talented dancers to our dance team scene. Jesuit shared their Pom category routine with an enthusiastic response and a 3rd place finish in a highly competitive 6A category.
Modern (5A-6A) and Pom (6A) categories kicked off a packed day of three rounds. Two rounds of team events, and a third round of solos, duos, and trios.
There are only three teams competing in the Modern category this season, Canby, Sprague, and Sheldon. Canby maintained their first place streak with their modern routine, “A Modern Conundrum.”
Pom was divided into a 6A group and a 1A-5A group. The 6A group was dynamically competitive and held the largest line-up of the day with seven teams. Top honors went to Lake Oswego, who shared a unique and risky pom routine titled “Phantom of the Opera,” where they manipulated mysterious and stunning black hooded costumes adorned with elegantly placed rhinestones.
For the 1A-5A Pom offerings, three teams took the floor and the Canby Cougars earned the top spot for this group.
Hip hop closed out round one, with two groupings of 1A-5A and 6A. Parkrose stood alone as the only team in the 1A-5A group and celebrated the win. Notable that their score of 73.61 was also among the highest scores in the 6A group as well.
Lake Oswego’s hip hop was untouchable in the category, with a remarkably high score of 87.39. Highest score of the day and Lake Oswego’s second win of the day.
The second round of the day featured Novelty, Contemporary, and Jazz, with teams bringing more creative routines forward.
Contemporary (5A) and Jazz (6A) kicked off the round, with Canby’s Contemporary routine followed by Clackamas’ Jazz routine. Wilsonville and Molalla rounded out the 1A-5A Contemporary group, and Canby took home first place.
Jazz was divided into two groups as well, with two groups of five teams divided between 1A-5A and 6A. After a couple weeks of scoring and placement ping-pong, Canby earned first place for the 1A-5A teams. Nelson earned the 6A win with consistent success in the category this season.
The 6A Contemporary group was another large field of six teams. A nuanced competition for the day, housing a variety of offerings and perspectives in the contemporary style. Teams with long-standing success in this category alongside teams giving the style a shot for the first time. Congratulations to Clackamas with their Contemporary win for this group, and another remarkable high score of the day with an 86.83.
In a field of three teams, Sprague’s Novelty, “Mr. Sandman,” continues a successful run, receiving first place against Newberg and Grant.
Of course it isn't really Dance/Drill competition without a drill down battle. A novice and advanced drill down competition revealed two top ten lists. The dancers in the Novice top ten were Mackenzie Claussen, Lola Fick, Elsie Gefael, Jenny Lomchanthael, Katie Lin, Eden Stevens, Savannah Shields, Evelyn Savanh, Cory Tompkin, Ellie Tran. After an intricate series of calls by drill down caller BriAnne Dillard-Hollett, Advanced drill down finalists were Talia Atkinson, Rachel Cotner, Etta Isles, Cherrnoh Kargbo, Abigail Lemen, Ali Marquis, Ruby Nunley, Aurora Oneill, Elise Quinlan, and Abbey Rosenlund.
Congratulations to all the teams participating, with shout-outs to Lake Oswego for their double win and Hip Hop high score, and to the Canby Cougars for winning the four categories they participated in: Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, and Pom.
The third round of the day included solos, duos, and trios, where dancers shared and celebrated some individuality. The Dance and Drill Coaches Association of Oregon (DDCA) is in their third year of offering the solo/duo/trio options at various competitions, and will host the DDCA Solo/Duo/Trio Championships on January 24, 2026.
The final competition of 2025 will be held on December 13 at Clackamas High School. The DDCA Championships will bring final outcomes for the Novelty, Modern, and Contemporary categories, of which are only offered early in the season. Additional temporary victories will be crowned for Jazz, Hip Hop, and Pom offerings, as they continue their journeys into the new year.
Holiday Festival of Dance - First Place Finishes
- Hip Hop (6A): Lake Oswego (87.39)
- Contemporary (6A): Clackamas (86.83)
- Pom (6A): Lake Oswego (84.94)
- Novelty (1A-6A): Sprague (81.67)
- Modern (1A-6A): Canby (80.00)
- Contemporary (1A-5A): Canby (78.72)
- Jazz (1A-5A): Canby (78.67)
- Hip Hop (5A): Parkrose (73.61)
- Jazz (6A): Nelson (73.44)
- Pom (1A-5A): Canby (71.94)
The weekend wasn’t over for many of the seniors. Auditions for the 2026 All-state Dance Team were held at Tualatin High School. Another full day of full-out dancing and learning for these athletes. Eligible seniors, nominated by their coaches, are invited to audition for the All State Dance Team associated with their school classifications. Three teams were announced, a 1A-4A team, a 5A team, and a 6A team.
The day began with 99 dancers, all of which had already learned a portion of the routine they would perform at the audition. The first half of the day, dancers reviewed material and auditioned with the partial routine. In small groups, dancers performed for a panel of judges. Judges score each dancer based on their performance, then create a narrowed down list of dancers to stay and continue on with the audition.
During the second half of the audition day, dancers learn the full routine and audition again in small groups for a panel of judges. During this round, the judges choose the list of dancers who will have the honor of being on the All-state Dance Team.
Dancers learn if they made the team as the day concludes, and will have the opportunity to perform the routine at the OSAA State Championships in March. High scoring dancers on each team will also receive a DDCA Dance Scholarship, to be announced at the OSAA Dance/Drill State Championships in March.
All-state Dance Teams
- 1A: Cierra Arstill-Brown (Scappoose), Myla Johnson (Marshfield), Arrayah Tyre-Gault (Marshfield), Tony Willingham (Pendleton)
- 5A: Alyssa Baker (Parkrose), Annabel Brueckner (Silverton), Hailey Crum (Mountain View), Baylee Fox (West Albany), Nyah Kinney (West Albany), Ruby Nunley (Parkrose), Avery Smith (Parkrose), Brooklyn Yates (Silverton)
- 6A: Talia Atkinson (Clackamas), Camille Begin (Lakeridge), Dylan Bush (Clackamas), Maddi Dale (Lake Oswego), Gisele ElAzma (Lake Oswego), Avery Guffee (Lakeridge), BrenLeigh McKinney (Clackamas), Elaina Nielsen (Gresham), Clara Penoyer (Lake Oswego), Isabelle Rinehart (Tigard), Cali Rutten (Tigard), Paige Squires (Sherwood), Emilia Tapia (Tigard), Georgia Truax (Lake Oswego), Giana Allen (Tualatin), Morgan Wallis (Sherwood)
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