The OSAA dance/drill championships were held at the Salem Pavilion on Friday and Saturday.
The first day of spring was accompanied by the last days of the 2026 dance/drill season. On Friday, 6A and Show Category teams didn’t let the drizzle outside dampen the dynamic performances inside the arena. For Saturday, all of the 1A-5A teams, the blue sky broke through the gray and history was made on the dance floor.
The state championshios are quite a long day for teams. The morning hours are full of short rehearsals to get acclimated to the performance space, followed by a rehearsal for the “Grand Finale.” Grand Finale is a long-time tradition of all the teams gathering on the floor to perform a dance to “One Singular Sensation” from A Chorus Line. A spectacular sight to see when all the teams come together to celebrate their season.
Throughout the day, teams spend hours in tight quarters getting make-up applied, costumes situated, and finding a “back-stage” nook within the Pavilion to warm up and prepare for their final performances. A palpable energy of frantic moments mixed with mutual appreciation for each dancer’s final days with their team. Often seen are tearful hugs between teammates, coaches, and dance team families recognizing the journey they have had together, accompanied by a deep breath of “this is it!”
This year’s senior class of dancers is the first class to have only performed at the Salem Pavilion for the OSAA championship, and the first class that has only known the category style event that provides the opportunity for a state championship trophy in two categories. Dance/drill moved to the Salem Pavilion and a category style championship in 2023. The Pavilion has become the biggest stage for the best version of the season’s dance/drill routines to be seen. Categories this year included Hip Hop, Jazz, Pom, Traditional, and Show.
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of scores and placements, there was a bit of history made at the Pavilion during the Saturday grand finale rehearsal. Dance/drill is a competitive sport for sure, but before the competition, comes the coaches. Anne Ellett, head coach of the Centennial Hi-C’s Dance Team, was celebrated for her 60th year of coaching. If it was not for Ellet, the dance/drill activity would not have had the place it does today among Oregon's sports and activities, and every dancer in the room was honored to share a big thank you and heartfelt applause for this amazing mentor and coach.
As many high school activities face unique challenges to hold their space in the big picture of things-to-do, dance/drill, not without its struggles, continues to hold on and sustain year after year in notable ways. The question of whether or not the participants are athletes or artists, participating in a sport or an activity, may never be sorted out, but the semantics are less important than the impact. Anne Ellett is an inspiring example why the dance/drill activity continues to evolve and endure, as many of her former dancers are now coaches or involved in the activity, and some of those former dancers guided and inspired by Ellett have even seen their own dancers become coaches, judges, mentors, and dance/drill enthusiasts as well.
New teams that hit the floor this year at the OSAA State Championships included North Bend, Mountain View, and Jesuit. Molalla returned to the state championship arena after a ten year hiatus. The addition of these teams from different areas of the state show that the activity is still making its mark on the dancer athletes that participate.
Scappoose made history for their program on Saturday, receiving their first OSAA championship win. Taking home first place in the Traditional (1A-4A) category, Scappoose was thrilled to receive the honor of State Champions against a field of nine teams. Astoria landed the second place position by less than half a point.
Tigard and West Albany also celebrated some noteworthy wins. Always strong contenders for high placements, Tigard finally made it to the top of the category-style state championship podium with their Jazz routine titled “Hit the Road, Jack!” The Tigerettes’ score of 91.83 took the lead over Tualatin and Lake Oswego, who were very close behind. The field of Jazz (6A) routines was twelve teams, so quite the accomplishment for all three of these teams earning that “superior” ranking.
West Albany celebrated their win in the Pom Category (1A-5A). West Albany can often turn heads as a strong team on the competition floor, and it is that strength that led them to this first-time state win since the category style championship began.
Many more celebrations were had on Friday and Saturday. Each of the routines taking the floor were exciting to watch, and within each genre, unique approaches and captivating creativity filled up the space.
Clackamas celebrated the unofficial bragging rights of “grand champion” with their Traditional (6A) routine, “For River.” Choreographed by Brandy Guthery, this piece stood out from the rest. Not only receiving a remarkable high score of 92.22, this piece was also striking in its approach to the contemporary movement style.
In “For River,” seven dancers took the space, and the audience followed their river-like journey from the right side of the floor to the left, immediately captivated by each individual dancer as a character to get to know. Provided with an opportunity to showcase individual talent over synchronized same-ness, these confident dancers didn’t give the audience a chance to rest or look away until the final note. Setting any debate of scores or adjudication aside, this dance was certainly not like the others.
Clackamas also had a great day in the Show Category with another win. A winning streak for both of their routines that was undefeated all year. Canby fell behind Clackamas in the Show Category by just a bit, with both teams scoring 88.42 and 87.06 respectively.
Focusing on the other Friday events, Hip Hop (6A) and Pom (6A) were also highly competitive. Sherwood took home the Hip Hop championship for the third year in a row over a field of twelve teams. Lake Oswego regained the top spot in the Pom Category with an unconventional interpretation of the “Phantom of the Opera.”
Following Lake Oswego's score of 91.31 in the pom category placements were Sherwood and Jesuit. A well established finish for Jesuit’s first season in the mix.
Saturday performances in each category were mostly combined 1A-5A, but Traditional managed to hold on to individual 1A-4A and 5A groupings. As mentioned before, Scappoose landed the top spot in the 1A-4A group, and Silverton had the win for 5A.
Silverton also took the lead over Canby and Lebanon in the Jazz category. These teams have received scores that have been neck in neck throughout the season, and the final tally had all three quite close. Canby’s first year out with a Jazz routine had them just .89 behind Silverton’s 82.06.
Astoria took the Hip Hop category again this year with their score of 86.83, the highest score received on Saturday and a superior rating. Dynamic in white costumes and bringing forward an unique, graceful approach to the hip hop style, their routine “Don’t Let Me Down,” earned a third Hip Hop championship win in as many years for Astoria.
State Champions
- Traditional (6A): Clackamas (92.22)
- Jazz (6A): Tigard (91.83)
- Pom (6A): Lake Oswego (91.31)
- Hip Hop (6A): Sherwood (90.39)
- Show: Clackamas (88.42)
- Hip Hop (1A-5A): Astoria (86.83)
- Traditional (5A): Silverton (86.47)
- Jazz (1A-5A): Silverton (82.06)
- Pom (1A-5A): West Albany (81.31)
- Traditional (1A-4A): Scappoose (78.14)
- All results (OSAA)
As always, the team competitions showcased extraordinary style, creativity, and talent. One never really knows what the judging panels will respond to, and nobody really can determine what the day will bring in terms of nervous wobbles and bobbles getting the best of one team, while another team may just have the best performance of their season.
The Drill Down competitions on both nights were fun and had a few competitive nuances in each group as dancers marched their way to a top six for the 1A-4A, 5A, and 6A groups.
Drill Down Awards
- 6A: 1st Place - Gabriella Fields (Cleveland), 2nd Place - Saoirse Finn (Cleveland), 3rd Place - Leann Vang (Reynolds), 4th Place - Dayessi Orozco (Reynolds), 5th Place - Rachel Cortner (Cleveland), 6th Place - Kaitlyn McCord (West Linn).
- 5A: 1st Place - Onika Hernandez (Wilsonville), 2nd Place - Grace Robinson (Canby), 3rd Place - London Wilcox (Canby), 4th Place - Eden Stevens (Parkrose), 5th Place - Brooklyn Yates (Silverton), 6th Place - Ruby Nunely (Parkrose).
- 1A-4A: 1st Place - Abby Lemen (Scappoose), 2nd Place - Kaylee Lillie (Pendleton), 3rd Place - Marie Wooters (Pendleton), 4th Place - Ellie Geesey (Pendleton), 5th Place - Marissa Smith (Pendleton). 6th Place - Krizelle Tacla - (Astoria).
Several scholarships were also awarded by the Dance and Drill Coaches Association of Oregon on both nights. Top scoring dancers within each classification from the All-State dance team audition in December received a dance scholarship. These dancers were Morgan Wallis (Sherwood), Gisele ElAzma (Lake Oswego), Giana Allen (Tualatin), Nyah Kinney (West Albany), Alyssa Baker (Parkrose), and Myla Johnson (Marshfield).
Academic Scholarships were also awarded. Dancers receiving academic scholarships were Kelsey Kumm (Tigard), Alani LoBravo (Lakeridge), Elise Quinlan (Canby), Sophia Cottrell (Newport), and Tony Willingham (Pendleton).
One Diversity Excellence Scholarship was awarded to Lakeridge dancer Ellie Wang.
Although the OSAA State Championships is really a day for the dancers and teams, there was also a moment to recognize some DDCA Lifetime Achievement Award inductees. These honors are given to coaches, judges, or associates that have shown over fifteen years of service and participation within the Dance and Drill Coaches Association. This year, the inductees are Amanda Wilcox (Putnam), Michele Napier (Judges Affiliation), and Pamela Didier-Delwisch (Scappoose).
Dance/drill is a long and exhausting season. These dedicated dancers often use the summer months to take class to refine an improve their dance technique. Dance camps and classes make up this summer preparation that leads into a fall season that starts in August for many teams.
OSAA recognizes dance/drill as a winter activity, and that is when most of the routines we will see at the state championships start to reveal themselves. The dancers that make up these teams, however, are often spending the entirety of fall and winter building their team dynamics. fundraising, learning routines for competitions, crafting routines to perform at football and basketball games, and preparing for performances to be shared at school assemblies and community events.
Hats off to another year of amazing artists, athletes, students, choreographers, coaches, mentors and families continuing make wonderful pieces of exquisite artistry, folded into unparalleled athleticism, wrapped in unwavering dedication and hard work. Let's do it again next year.
healeyjamesr@gmail.com
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