JOHNSTON, IOWA (January 13, 2021) - Iowa PBS will present exclusive statewide coverage of the 2021 Iowa State Dance Team Championships on Saturday, January 30, 7PM. The two-hour program showcases highlights of all the winning routines and features interviews with coaches and dancers. The competition will be rebroadcast Sunday, January 31, 1PM.
Held November 17-19, 2020, the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association allowed teams to compete in person or virtually. Nearly 5,000 of Iowa's top young dancers participated, with 200 teams appearing in person and another 70 competing virtually. During the broadcast, Iowa PBS talks with Andrea Dana, executive director of the ISDTA, about the COVID-19 safety precautions that made this year's event possible.
Other special features in this year's broadcast include a follow-up interview with Ann Sampson, coach of Eagle Grove's dance team, and her triplet daughters who all competed with the team. Iowa PBS first introduced them in 2018 when the triplets were freshman. Now in their senior year, this is their last year at the state contest with Eagle Grove, and their mom is retiring from coaching.
Viewers will also hear from Lois Turnage, board president of the ISDTA, who recently retired from coaching the Pleasantville dance team. After more than 40 years of coaching, Turnage shares her thoughts on what motivates her to advance dance in Iowa and how she believes dance has benefitted the students she's coached.
Dana, Turnage, and Scott Enyart, the dance championships event announcer, serve as hosts for the fast-paced and spirited finals coverage. The Iowa State Dance Team Championships have showcased the talents of Iowa's young dancers for more than four decades. Teams perform in a variety of categories including: Pom, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, kick, lyrical, prop, novelty, color-guard, co-ed, and all-male. Judging criteria is based on appearance, choreography, execution, technique, and showmanship.
In addition to its statewide broadcast, Iowa PBS .1 is available to livestream on iowapbs.org/watch, pbs.org/livestream, the PBS Video App, and YouTube TV. Iowa PBS programs, behind-the-scenes extras and more can be enjoyed on iowapbs.org, Facebook, and YouTube. Viewers can also stream their favorite shows on demand using the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, and many streaming devices.
As Iowa's only statewide television network, Iowa PBS's mission to educate, inform, enrich, and inspire Iowans guides its quality, non-commercial programming that tells Iowa's stories like no one else can. Four statewide, public channels offer programs of lasting value to Iowans, regardless of where they live or what they can afford: Iowa PBS .1, Iowa PBS KIDS .2, Iowa PBS WORLD .3 and Iowa PBS Create .4 on Channel 11, Des Moines; Channel 12, Iowa City; Channel 21, Fort Dodge; Channel 24, Mason City; Channel 27, Sioux City; Channel 32, Waterloo; Channel 32, Council Bluffs; Channel 36, and Davenport; Channel 36, Red Oak. More information can be found at iowapbs.org.
