This year, the dance show has evolved into four days of events, although one has been postponed.
Bailey, professor of philosophy at Wittenberg University and founder and executive director of Dance Stomp Shake Inc., said he is excited for the show and events leading up to it.
“One reason I know this show is doing well is because each year we have our show filled earlier and earlier,” he said.
The dance show has been held two times over the last few years since 2019, interrupted by the pandemic. The first competition in Ohio was held in February 2020 at the John Legend Theater, but then COVID-19 hit. The show was then “resurrected” and sold out with over 1,300 tickets for the second competition held in February 2022 at the Kuss Auditorium.
The events this year will take place from Thursday, Feb. 16, to Sunday, Feb. 19:
“Art that Binds” will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Springfield Museum of Art. It will be a night of visual art, creative writing and music to kick-off artwork depicting, “What is best about being (me) in Springfield?” from middle school youth that will be on display. There will be paintings by Hayward Middle School students and creative writings by students from several middle schools on display, as well as live music performances. This event is free and open to the public.
A teen summit was originally planned for Friday but has been postponed until May. It will bring together 100 seventh- and eighth-grade teens from Hayward Middle School to connect with each other.
A dance workshop will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday in the Hayward Middle School gym. The featured professional team ELEVATED will teach four choreographed dances in a one-day intensive workshop. Some of the participants will even have an opportunity to perform with the team for the competition. This is a ticketed event that can be bought for $13 on Eventbrite by searching “dance stomp shake.”
The dance show will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. on Sunday in Clark State College’s Performing Arts Center, Kuss Auditorium. This show will feature 14 teams from nine cities and four states, and more than $4,500 in prizes will be shared.
This is a ticketed event at $17 for general admission and $22 for orchestra level floor seats with a 1,500 seat capacity. They can be bought at dancestompshake.org or at the Kuss theater box office. Those attending the show will want to be early because it will open with a special piece including various dance groups and people from across the city coordinated by Behind the Curtain Dance Studio and Springfield High School cheerleaders.
The hosts will be Faith Daniels of 92.1 FM WROU, Kev Nash of Hot 102.9 FM and Janell Tarver, Springfield High School 2022-23 homecoming queen and cheer captain.
The teams include: Behind the Curtain Dance Studio (Springfield), Black Diamonds (Springfield), Bejayes Dance Studio (Dayton), Black Pearlz (Columbus), Dream Dancers (Pittsburgh,), Fully Loaded Dance Studio (Cincinnati), Sweat Crew (Racine, WI), Tru Kingdom Mega Crew (Columbus), Levitated Crew (Cleveland), Emerald Green and Gold Jazzers of Wilberforce University, University of Dayton Dance Team, Stylez Dance Crew of Ohio State University, Golden Girlz of Kentucky State University, World Championship of Dance Campions ELEVATED, Anointed Dance Academy (Dayton) and Chaos (Cincinnati).
One thing Bailey said he learned from last year is that having over 200 dancers backstage is not possible, so this year he rented out the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center to create a “Dancer Zone.”
The zone will be open to the public from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. as a “pre-party before the show” with vendors, food and performances. Once the doors to the Kuss open, the zone will be shut down and be for dancers only to give them a place to hang out and watch the show that will be streamed on two big screens for them to see.
“We’re excited about that opportunity. It’s new, a new project, but the reception so far, the dancers and coaches think it’s a fun idea,” Bailey said.
For more information, visit dancestompshake.org.
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