DECA STANDS FOR:

Dedication | Education | Creativity | Artistry

We're a creative bunch here at DECAdance. Our multi-generational team is a unique blend of family members, dance professionals and software engineers with roots in the dance industry (hence our DECAdistinctive scoring system and unique audience cue technology!). And most of us are parents to children under the age of 5!

Long story short: we're deeply passionate about the science of childhood development and how dance can support it. We know that training and rehearsing for dance competitions teaches children crucial skills, from time management and organization to managing their nervous system and caring for their physical body. During competition events, these kiddos are receiving constructive feedback and turning to their mentors and teachers to help them apply it to their development. Every part of a DECAdance event is built to account for that and uplift the work that teachers and studio owners are doing for their student body.

After countless conversations with these mentors, teachers and studio owners, we've continued to get curious and creative with all of our additional offerings:

- When we heard that younger dancers under the age of 10 were getting lost in the "bigness" of a convention experience, we created MINI MAYHEM - a themed dance day capped at 50 dancers, designed just for Minis and Petites and their development as artists.

- When studios asked for more access to our specialty judges so that their tap, hip hop and acro pieces could be squeaky clean for adjudications, we started customizing In-Studio Events - a completely personalized experience built to back the teachers up and empower dancers to take the time they need to apply feedback in rehearsal.

- And when we heard teachers and choreographers ask for support in keeping dancers interested in dance culture and history, we created our new "un"convention experience - combining live music with folk/ethnic genres of dance and the broader genres of dance they've influenced.

We're a young, vibrant team who likes to learn just as much as the students who attend our events. You'll often find us taking class alongside the kids or improvising with them during breaks. We learn from these kiddos just as much as they learn from us. And we're so excited you're here to explore which of these DECAdistinctive educational experiences will support your studio and all the work you're doing!

WAYS TO LEARN WITH US!

2024 fall "un"conventions

Our dance conventions have always included specialty genres like Latin ballroom and Bollywood. This year, we'll add live music to these classes and pair them with the broader genres that have been influenced by them for a unique learning experience. Think: Latin fusion and jazz dance, or African dance and tap dance. Our educators will focus on quality of movement, musicality, dynamics, and rhythm during each class rather than spending the majority of it on a choreo combo. We'll be sending dancers home with practices they can implement into their training on a day to day basis, empowering them to take charge of their training and get everything they can out of their classes at the studio.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

In-Studio Events

We provide customized in-studio events that can include everything from ballet to Bollywood! Prepare for Nationals with a customized cleaning package that backs up the teachers while the dancers apply judges feedback in real time. Or host a studio-specific convention with our seasoned specialty educators who can provide very specific technique classes for acro contortion, several different styles of hip hop, tap dance and music theory or even musical theater (with singing!)

Past events have even included a mock competition with live critiques for every piece, including groups; mock auditions with specialized feedback, and genre-specific masterclasses!

CUSTOMIZE YOUR EVENT

MINI MAYHEM: 10.27.24

DECAdance proudly hosts a signature event each October just for minis and petites.

Dancers under the age of nine have a full convention day dedicated to their age group called DECAdance Mini Mayhem. Halloween customes are worn, giggles abound, and our guest teachers are carefully selected so that our youngest dancers have classes with educators who specifically work with this age group. We bring in special guests, order plenty of pizza, offer surprise bonus activities and of course - we host a huge dance party at the end of the day (seriously, does it get any better?)

Student Choreography 2024

DECAdance welcomes and encourages student choreographers to bring their pieces to competition. We staff a specialty Student Choreography judge at every event. At the end of our regional season, all student choreographers will be invited to a virtual choreography workshop and Q&A with one of our DECAdance choreographers. A select panel of professional choreographers will choose five pieces from the season they’d like to recognize with the opportunity to assist our choreographers at 2024 Nationals and/or FACES OF DECA events (based on the dancer's availability)!

LEARN MORE

Select footage from 2023 events!

RECEIVE OUR DECADELIVERY

Our bi-weekly email newsletter called the DECADelivery is dropped every Wednesday! Each newsletter is a five minute read or less because most of us are parents or studio owners ourselves and we know a quick and easy read is crucial!

We include DECAdates to remember and special savings just for subscribers, dance product and podcast recommendations from our amazing partners, and event highlights that allow studios to celebrate their accomplishments throughout the season!