The 19th Annual Absolute Dance Regional Championships in Region 7 is set in Season 6 from "No Shell" to "Piano Man". It takes place in 2017.
The SNR Network coverage of the event is hosted by Giselle Bellamy and Chuck Anderson.
The winner is The Next Step Dance Studio.
All studios who wished to compete had to submit a qualifier video, the best of which were chosen to attend Regionals. The exceptions were Gemini Dance Studio, who qualified automatically after winning Internationals, and AcroNation, who won the wild card spot.[1]
History
As with Region 7's previous Regionals, a qualifier precedes this competition. However, this time the qualifier is a video that must be submitted to a panel of judges, who then pick the ones they deem worthy of competing at Regionals. The exceptions to this are Gemini Dance Studio, who automatically qualify as a result of winning the 18th Annual Absolute Dance Internationals, and AcroNation, who qualify after winning a wildcard spot at the Absolute Dance WildStylz Convention.[1]
Rules
- All teams must have ten dancers, and are permitted to have two alternates.
- Studios are not required to submit a definitive list of dancers, meaning a team could theoretically add or remove an unlimited number of dancers at any time prior to the day of competition.
- For the first time ever, the competing teams will be placed in one of two divisions based on the age of their members. Any studio whose team includes a dancer over the age of 18 must compete in the Senior Advanced Division, while studios that compete with dancers who are all under 18 are placed in the Intermediate Advanced Division.
- In the event of a tie in the finals, the teams in question must create a completely new ten-person routine within two hours.
- While the rule of the teams competing one-on-one appears to have been publicized prior to the competition, the detail about the last-minute choreography appears to have been unrevealed before it becomes relevant.[2]
Competitors
Intermediate Advanced Division
- Gemini Dance Studio (presumably)
Senior Advanced Division
- AcroNation
- A B Dance
- All the Wright Moves
- Annex Dance Academy
- Chevalier
- Confidance
- Miss Angela's Encore Dance Studio
- Rythum Plus Dance Company
- Shimmy Shenanigans
- Strictly Dance
- The Dance Pac
- The Next Step Dance Studio
Format
This iteration of the competition has the competitors each perform three routines in succession for a panel of judges. These are, in order: a hip-hop small group, a contemporary small group and a ballet duet. Following each round of performances, the judges award a combined score. At the end of the three rounds, the top three studios progress to the final. The final three studios then must then each perform a 10-person routine; the performance the judges deem the best will be the winner.
Rounds
Hip-hop
From AcroNation, Adrian, Amy, Priya and Ty perform a quartet and score 80 points, placing them fifth in the standings.
From The Next Step, Finn, Henry, Jacquie, Kenzie, Noah and Summer perform a six-person dance and score 90 points, putting them in first place.[3]
Encore Dance Studio perform a quintet, and place second.
Contemporary
From AcroNation, Adrian, Amy, Priya, Simone and Ty perform a quintet and score a perfect 100 points, moving them up to second place.
From The Next Step, Kingston, Noah, Ozzy, Piper and Summer perform a quintet and score 80 points, bringing them down to fifth place.[3]
At this stage, the standings are;
- Miss Angela’s Encore Dance Studio (182)
- AcroNation (180)
- A B Dance (178)
- The Dance Pac (175)
- The Next Step (170)
- Annex (169)
- Strictly Dance (165)
- Chevalier (164)
- Rythum Plus (159)
- ConfiDance (157)
- All The Wright Moves (154)
- Shimmy Shenanigans (151)
Ballet
From AcroNation, Amy and Simone perform a duet.
From The Next Step, Noah and Richelle perform a pas de deux.[3]
Final qualifying teams
- Miss Angela’s Encore Dance Studio
- AcroNation
- The Next Step Dance Studio
Ten-person dance (finals)
AcroNation, Miss Angela’s Encore Dance Studio and The Next Step Dance Studio perform a ten-person routine in the final round.
The winner is Encore Dance Studio, but due to Miss Angela plagiarising a routine and attempting to bribe a judge, they are disqualified.[4] AcroNation and The Next Step tie for second place, meaning the competition will progress to a tiebreak round.
Ten-person dance (tie-breaker)
Following Encore's disqualification, AcroNation and The Next Step are given two hours to create a completely new ten-person routine.
Summer competes for both The Next Step and AcroNation after Simone injures herself during rehearsals.
The Next Step and AcroNation each perform their ten-person routines in the tie-breaker round. The winner is The Next Step, meaning they have qualified for Nationals.[2]
The Next Step Dance Studio's team
Gallery
"Look at that painting!"
To view the Absolute Dance Regionals/19th Annual Absolute Dance Regionals (Region 7) gallery, click here. |