Manhattan High dance team to host clinic for young dancers

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Manhattan High School Dazzling Blues Dance Team will host a dance clinic for children ages 4-12 on Friday, Oct. 17, from 9-11 a.m. at Manhattan High West Gym.

The clinic costs $30 per child and includes instruction from the varsity-level high school dance team members. Participants will learn one of the team's sideline routines, a cheer and see the dancers perform one of their halftime performances. Each dancer will receive a set of pom-poms.

Registration is due by Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. to guarantee pom-poms. Children who sign up after the deadline can still attend but will not receive pom-poms.

Participants should wear athletic clothing and closed-toe athletic shoes or jazz shoes, and bring a water bottle. Checks should be made payable to MHS Dance and mailed to Rhianna Nelson at 325 Fordham Road, MHK 66503.

The Manhattan Dazzling Blues are part of the MHS Spirit and Band program and serve as a varsity-level high school dance team. The team performs at home football games, basketball games and wrestling events, performing halftime routines as well as sidelines at football games.

The dance team recently received a Division 2 rating for all three of its routines at the Innovative Dance Competition in Kansas City and won the choreography award for the contemporary genre. The team also received a Superior rating at the recent Central States Marching Festival at Bill Snyder Family Stadium alongside the Manhattan High School Big Blue Marching Band.

Manhattan High's competition team, which is the elite division of the dance team, holds tryouts annually and takes several routines to various regional competitions, including pom, hip-hop, jazz, novelty, solos and duets. Over the summer, the dance team attends Universal Dance Association camp where they perform various routines.

The team can be reached through their social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, or by contacting head coach Rhianna Nelson at Rhiannan@usd383.org. Questions about the clinic can also be directed to the coach via email.

Registration for the clinic is available online through a provided Google form link. Scholarships and separate forms are required for each participating dancer.

Manhattan High School is part of USD 383 and serves approximately 2,044 students. The school's athletic teams are known as the Indians, and the dance team has been an active part of the school's spirit program for multiple years.