Dance is its own sport at JCPS. It is not part of cheer, and it is not a cheer extension. Dance teams have their own coaches, tryouts, routines and competitions. If your child wants to dance, ask about the dance team by name.
Dance and cheer are not the same
Cheer is built around leading the crowd, stunts and tumbling. Dance is built around choreography, technique and performance: turns, leaps, kicks, timing and moving as one team. A child can be great at one and brand new to the other. Many schools have both teams, and they hold separate tryouts.
Competitive dance is a KHSAA sport
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association sanctions dance as a sport activity. It has crowned state champions every year since its first state dance championship in December 2017. High school teams compete in five divisions:
- Jazz
- Pom
- Hip Hop Small (5 to 12 dancers)
- Hip Hop Large (13 to 40 dancers)
- Game Day
A school can enter up to three divisions, as long as the third one is Game Day. Five licensed UDA judges score each routine. Teams must place at their region to advance to state.
This season, Louisville schools compete at the Region 2 meet on Nov. 7 at Taylor County High School. The state championship is Dec. 13 at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
JCPS has won at that level. duPont Manual won the Hip Hop Small state title in January 2026.
KHSAA Dance page · 2026 region and state dates · 2025 to 2026 state champions
Schools with dance teams
Many JCPS schools offer dance at every level. These are the schools we have confirmed. If yours is not listed, it may still have a team, so ask.
Elementary
- Stopher Elementary lists a dance team as a school sponsored after school team.
- Layne Elementary lists a dance team in its arts and humanities programs.
- Hazelwood Elementary lists a dance team in its extracurricular activities.
Middle
- Echo Trail Middle lists dance as its own team with its own coaches, separate from cheer.
- Farnsley Middle runs dance as a fall and winter team that performs at school events and athletic competitions.
High school teams entered in KHSAA competition this season
- Ballard (Hip Hop Small and Game Day)
- Butler Traditional (Hip Hop Small)
- duPont Manual (Hip Hop Small and Game Day)
- Eastern (Pom)
- Pleasure Ridge Park (Jazz)
Full KHSAA list of schools and divisions
Some high schools have a dance team that performs at games but does not enter state competition. The KHSAA list only shows teams entered in the postseason, so ask your school.
How to join Dance
School team path
- Ask the athletic director or activities office whether the school has a dance team and who the coach is. Ask for dance, not cheer.
- For high school, KHSAA allows one spring tryout period of up to two weeks in April. After April, official tryouts can't be held again until July 15. KHSAA tryout rules
- Middle and elementary schools set their own dates. Farnsley Middle, for example, held its dance clinic and tryout in August.
- Get the sports physical done before tryouts. Turn in the packet (physical, parent permission and the concussion form) to the athletic director.
- No paperwork, no practice.
Studio path
Studio classes and competition studios build technique all year, and many school dancers also train at a studio. A studio does not replace the school physical or the school tryout. See the list of dance studios in Jefferson County below.
Not every JCPS school offers dance, and teams can change from year to year. Check with your child's school before you plan around it.