Philomath High School’s Shining Stars dance team plans to host its 18th annual Dancing With the Stars competition on Saturday, coach Stefanie Larson announced.
The event runs through most of the day in the high school’s main gymnasium with Round 1 beginning at 9 a.m. and Round 2 at 2 p.m. The Shining Stars will compete along with other high school, middle school and club teams. Two local youth dance teams — Pure Energy and Velocity — will also perform.
In addition to the team performances, the event also includes various other activities, such as the drill-down competition. In addition, Shining Stars seniors Morgan Gross and Stella Neville — both 1A-4A all-state selections) will perform their all-state routine.
Admission is $10 with children ages 5 and under free.
“It will be a great day of many talents showcased,” Larson said. “It’s also our largest fundraiser of the year, so we are hoping to see a lot of community support. The money goes to costumes, competition fees, dance camps, choreography and many other expenses.”
Larson said Dancing With the Stars requires the help of a lot of volunteers, including parents, to be able to put on the event.
“We are especially thankful for Lori Haslem helping us with the competition as we are first-year coaches. She has been a tremendous help,” Larson said. “My assistant coach, Michelle Park, has also done a lot of work getting things organized and ready to welcome teams from all over the region.”
Haslam is the longtime former coach of the Shining Stars team who stepped away last year for a dance coach position at Oregon State University.
In addition to Gross and Neville, the Shining Stars roster also includes juniors Kayli Blake, Alexa Eckhold, Jadyn McMullen and Abigail Workman, sophomore Shaylyn Noble and freshmen Astrid Cropp, Ginnah Hopper, Gianna Lusardi and Adriana Nanoski.
Dancing With the Stars opens the doors for the two rounds 30 minutes prior to the two rounds — 8:30 for the morning session and 2:30 for the afternoon session. Round 1 will include solos, duos and trios with Round 2 featuring the high school and club teams.