Every Fall, young dancers aspire to dance under the “Friday Night Lights” with the local High School Drill Team.Good technical dance training can help her to reach her goal more easily when it is time to audition for her local team.Most local High School Drill Team Directors recommend that auditioning dancers who want to have the competitive edge take Ballet and Jazz technique classes to expand their training as a performer. Here are some FAQ's to help your dancer get on the team.
My daughter really hates Ballet and thinks it’s boring.Does she really have to take Ballet?
Yes, she really should. Ballet is the basis for all types of dance and is part of a good dancer’s training.It teaches technique, alignment, discipline, form, flexibility and strength.
Why should she take Jazz?
The majority of the High School Drill Teams in this area have routines that are based on studio style jazz.
What about other styles of dance such as Lyrical or Hip Hop?
Every style of dance that she can add to her dance training increases her knowledge base and will help her towards working on form, technique, strength and flexibility, but she should still keep Ballet and Jazz as her first choices.
What else can my daughter do to be better prepared for Drill Training Class and/ or Team auditions?
She should take as many dance classes as possible so that she increases her confidence in performing.Taking more than one Ballet and Jazz class can only help. Another great class is Tricks of the Trade, where they go over advanced stretching, conditioning, turns and leaps. Finally she should take the Dance Expressions Drill Audition Intensiveclassin the Fall. This class prepares them for the actual audition, including working on their audition dance in class.
Wouldn’t private lessons be a better choice?
No, the classroom environment is a great way for her to see a variety of corrections and to broaden her knowledge of dance technique.Dancers learn from watching each other.The classroom environment will also create essential teamwork and timing skills for dancing that cannot be learned in a one on one private lesson.Private lessons should be reserved for working on a specific skill that she is unable to accomplish in class.
My daughter hasn’t danced for several years or has very little dance training, is she ready to audition?
She should begin taking the classes she needs and go ahead and follow through with the audition. Going through the audition process will give her audition experience because even if she doesn’t make the drill training class or team, she will know what to expect for next year’s audition.
Why do the High School Drill Teams require a Drill Training class?
This gives the team director an opportunity to teach the specific skills they require to audition for the Team and to see which dancers have the style, work ethic and skills to blend with existing team members.
Generally, when are auditions held?
Most local teams audition for Drill Training classes sometime around April so that schedules can be adjusted for those who are selected for the class.Team auditions are usually around December or January.Please contact your local Drill Director for the most current schedule for auditions.
