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218 S. Main Street, Wauconda IL 60084

Welcome!

Jazz Team Registration closes 10/11 and new Halloween Camp info below!

Follow us as we celebrate our 8th Season of fun!

We are run on 100% Volunteers and YOU, the COMMUNITY, help us run!

REGISTRATION FOR OUR JAZZ TEAM 22'-23' IS OPEN UNTIL 10/11!

Registration for our Poms and Hip Hop Teams are closed, but in response to several inquiries after closing, we are now opening one more Team to the public before Fall and Spring registrations are absolutely closed - a competitive Jazz Team! This is the last time frame we have open to the public due to packed schedules for our dancers, so if you or someone you know wants to take advantage of this last Fall signup please let us know!

We most likely will not have our teams open up for registration in the Spring, especially if bids are won for local National competitions (we have not opened up in the Spring the last 3 years!).

Email us at info.bulldogsspiritpoms@yahoo.com for paperwork!

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Fun Videos!

Come see what we're all about!

Welcome to Bulldogs Spirit Poms & Dance!

Here your dancer will...
Learn technique
Perform at competitions/local events
Make best friends
Feel safe in our drama/bully-free zone
AND HAVE FUN!

This is just a quick glimpse of one of our practices! We still have a few spots left until registration closes for our fall season. Contact info.bulldogsspiritpoms@yahoo.com or visit https://bulldogsspiritpomsanddance.com/ for more info!

DANCE WITH HEART!

Halloween Fun 2021!

Programs we offer - Fall and Spring 22'-23'

Princess Poms

Platinum Team

Princess Poms

Princess Poms is like a "Super" combo class all in 1! This Team is for the Kindergarten age group in our community. In the Fall we learn Jazz, Poms and Ballet, and learn a Poms competition dance on top of a Ballet dance for our Showcase. In the Spring we learn Jazz, Poms and Tap, and work on our Poms dance along with a Tap dance for ou

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Purple Team

Platinum Team

Princess Poms

Purple Team is for grades 1st-3rd. They work on Jazz and Poms, and also vote on their favorite style for a dance for our Showcase! Lots of our girls have started on our Princess Poms Team, moved up and learned even harder skills much quicker to show off in our routines!

Silver Team

Platinum Team

Silver Team is for grades 4th-5th. They work on Jazz and Poms, and also vote on their favorite style for a dance for our Showcase! Lots of our older girls have gymnastic and acro training that they like to show off, and we give them the dance skills they need to nail their competition dances!

Platinum Team

Platinum Team is our Jr. High Team, grades 6th-8th. They work on Jazz, Poms, Strengthening/ Conditioning and Ballet/Lyrical. They also vote on their favorite style for a dance for our Showcase. Our Coaches have taught all-level classes so your dancer can get the personalized teaching they deserve!

Premier Team

Adult Basic/Beginner Tap

Baby Bulldogs

Premier Team is our High School Team, grades 9th-12th. They work on Jazz, Poms, Strengthening/Conditioning, and Ballet/Lyrical if time permits during the busy competition Seasons! Just like the other teams, they vote on an additional dance to do at our Showcase as well. Our Jr. High and High School Teams have more opportunities for extra competitions!

Baby Bulldogs

Adult Basic/Beginner Tap

Baby Bulldogs

After many requests from our families we are starting up another program early this year –

Baby Bulldogs!

After many requests from our families we are starting up another program early this year –

Baby Bulldogs!

Many know that our Princess Poms Team is like a Super-Combo Class for Kindergarteners, where our dancers learn 4 styles throughout an entire year and compete, but for those with 3-4-year olds who are just starting out and enjoy the excitement of an end-of-the-year Showcase while learning the fundamentals of dance, now’s the time to sign up!

Your little ones will get to enjoy a fun, encouraging environment while learning the fundamentals of dance (Royal Academy of Dance curriculum is implemented), exploring space and rhythm, and performing for their families at the end of the Season! A 12-week session that you don’t want to miss out on! All your dancer needs are ballet slippers, tights for their costume and we provide the rest! Spaces are very limited and we have a minimum/maximum for class so sign up ASAP!

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Adult Basic/Beginner Tap

Working on your counts in your dances? Need to get in some cardio? Curious about tap dance in general? Maybe you took lessons as a child and would like to get back into the groove?

We are excited to offer tap lessons this Season, and spaces are very limited, everyone is welcome to join while they can! We have a minimum/maximum for our gr

Working on your counts in your dances? Need to get in some cardio? Curious about tap dance in general? Maybe you took lessons as a child and would like to get back into the groove?

We are excited to offer tap lessons this Season, and spaces are very limited, everyone is welcome to join while they can! We have a minimum/maximum for our group numbers so sign up for this 12-week session ASAP!

Miss Catherine has been teaching tap with various programs for nearly 20 years. Her bio is available on our website! We have always incorporated tap and ballet into our Princess Poms program, but now in response to repeated requests from our Poms families, we will offer tap as a stand-alone lesson!

In using metal taps on the heels and toes of a dancer’s shoes, this is one of the ways this can transform the dancer into a percussive musician. Of course, there’s more to tap than just fancy tricks like wings and toe stands, there are rubrics created over 70 years ago that help tap dancers with the basics and give them a good, solid foundation to build on.

All lessons will be basic/beginner level with a relaxed atmosphere, if you’d like to sign up, let us know and we’ll get tapping! Our goal is to have our tap group be a Showcase Group that performs in our Spring Showcase!

Anyone Jr. High through adult, come sign up and join in on the fun! Everyone is considered a dancer in our Bulldogs Spirit family!

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Cardio Drumming!

Adult Basic/Beginner Tap

Our Showcase Group that is a cardio/ drumming program, the FIRST and ONLY in the area! Work on rhythm, learning drum patterns while your routine incorporates cardio, using a yoga ball on a base and drumsticks as your instruments!

22'-23' Hip-Hop Dance Team! Ages 8-12!

⭐️NEW ANNOUNCEMENT! SEPARATE COMPETITIVE TRYOUT HIP-HOP TEAM FOR BOYS AND GIRLS AGES 8-12!⭐️

💜 We've been planning this, and now, we are ready to unveil!! This fall season we will be adding a separate competitive hip-hop team!

🤩 Coach Christine has always had a passion and love for hip-hop. And with her experienced background, she's r

⭐️NEW ANNOUNCEMENT! SEPARATE COMPETITIVE TRYOUT HIP-HOP TEAM FOR BOYS AND GIRLS AGES 8-12!⭐️

💜 We've been planning this, and now, we are ready to unveil!! This fall season we will be adding a separate competitive hip-hop team!

🤩 Coach Christine has always had a passion and love for hip-hop. And with her experienced background, she's ready to get her sass on with our dancers!

We are taking names NOW for our list. More details are to come, but feel free to contact info.bulldogspiritpoms@yahoo.com or visit our website https://bulldogsspiritpomsanddance.com/ for more info!

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22'-23' Jazz Team! Ages 8-12!

22'-23' Hip-Hop Dance Team! Ages 8-12!

Due to several inquiries after our Poms and Hip Hop Teams have closed, we are opening one last Team before the Fall really gets rockin' and rollin'! This will be the last chance!

Our dancers will work on Jazz technique, and compete in the Spring. For Fall they will perform at Trick-or-Treat on Main Street with us, learn a second dance

Due to several inquiries after our Poms and Hip Hop Teams have closed, we are opening one last Team before the Fall really gets rockin' and rollin'! This will be the last chance!

Our dancers will work on Jazz technique, and compete in the Spring. For Fall they will perform at Trick-or-Treat on Main Street with us, learn a second dance to perform at our Christmas Showcase, and in the Spring they will compete, as well as learn another dance to perform at the Spring Showcase! Lots of bang for your buck! If you or someone you know would enjoy dancing this Fall and Spring with us, please pass it on and we will be happy to answer any questions, just be sure to contact us right away as this has a short window time for registration!

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NEW Fall and Winter Camps!

Tricks for Treats Dance Camp!

Parents can have hours of ghastly alone time while our dancers learn new tricks for treats! All dance backgrounds welcome! We will learn our Hocus Pocus routine and all campers will have an opportunity to perform it with us at Trick-or-Treat on Main Street! There will be crafts, spooky games and more! Dancers are welcome to wear their costumes so long as they can dance in them!

Email us to put you on our waiting list and we will send out paperwork once we've hit our minimum/maximum! We expect this camp to max out! :)

Community-Based

Our Happy Place is our permanent "Pommies HQ" on the beautiful Main Street in Wauconda, and we are grateful to rent additional facilities in our communities to give back to the dancers in our communities!

Do you love to dance, tumble and stunt? Then this may be the place you're looking for! If you're not happy where you're at or looking for something new and want to bring out your Bulldogs Spirit, then this may be the place for you!

We are a rec-level competition team but compete with an All-Star heart! We go to traditional rec-level competitions and above, and our dancers consistently win at all levels!

We spotlight the children and NOT ourselves. The spotlight belongs on YOUR child. This is THEIR time to shine!

Our cost is comparable to traditional dance classes but we are all-inclusive – costumes, competition fees and more. You pay for shoes and tights. We strive to give you the best quality and quantity for less. This is our service to the community.

Costumes are owned by you and INCLUDED in the registration fee. They are used again for Spring Championships, competitions, performance opportunities and Showcases. This helps keep costs low for you too.

We are transparent. We utilize several ways to get our info out to parents and are always looking for more ways to communicate our info to busy parents who need to be kept up to date on our Bulldog happenings!

Parent input is key to our dance competitions. We take into consideration the location/distance, venue, cost, dates and reputation of a competition. Parent input on the locations and days is key as we would love to be your dance family but we understand that YOUR family comes first. No weekend practices (unless absolutely necessary), no surprises. Parent involvement and input is welcome and encouraged. Solos and duets are available at an extra cost to our team members by coach approval. Our technique class is OPTIONAL, we will not force families to purchase extra classes to attend our program!

We are a non-profit, which means we don't charge outrageous prices and keep our bank account padded. Your Coaches and Volunteers serve for free the entire year as a service to the community. We believe that dance, competition and being on a team should be accessible to EVERYONE. What's paid in registration fees and donors from sponsors goes directly to your child and their dance experience, 100% to the program. We are here for the community and to be a place where every child (and adult!) is welcome to dance, compete, and be a part of something that's their very own.

Volunteers with Experience

We have volunteers who have decades of experience working and volunteering with children and adults of all ages!

Our coaches and staff are 100% volunteer and do not teach at ANY other dance school, school, dance teams, studios, programs or park districts. They have in the past, but now they dedicate their dance coaching and teaching time to Bulldogs Spirit ONLY. You get 100% of their dance experience and time. Our award-winning choreography and music is included in your fees! There is original choreography for each team, not dances and costumes that all have the same look, pumped out like a machine. Months of time, thought and effort go into each team and routine. We have multiple coaches, so different styles and choreography get used to wow the judges and the crowd. They utilize the skills the dancer has and teach them dance technique to further their skills. All of our coaches have experience working with and teaching children. Our decades of dance experience and syllabus we have crafted almost 2 decades ago is what we use for our dancers to gain success and hit their goals!

We've navigated the pandemic for 2 years without missing a dance beat. Showcases, competitions, we made it ALL happen! In 2022-23 we will be striving for more beats! Our community needs our Bulldogs Spirit and we will be here to share that with everyone!

Partnering with the Best

Uniforms, supplies, competitions, programs and more, we scope out who's the best so we can give the best experience for your dancer! We are a rec program that loves to give the All-Star experience that is budget-friendly! We have flexible, ingenious coaches and dancers who are always up for the challenge and end up on top. From choreography, costumes, themes, all of our hard work and what we have, others can attempt to recreate, but NEVER duplicate. Why pay thousands for recycled choreography, costumes and themes when you get the BEST for less! There's no need to copy like others do when we've got the best! Your volunteers have already been involved in the community with dance and volunteering for decades, and on top of Miss Catherine creating her own curriculum almost 2 decades ago we support almost TWO DOZEN other wonderful programs/curriculums that excel from Early Childhood Education all the way up to advanced levels. Many programs will boast using these companies but this is our STANDARD. This ensures we always keep things fresh, new, informative, and yet traditional. Sass with class! We have been fully invested for nearly 2 decades right outside your front door, and we love to partner with wonderful people to give the All-Star experience with variety and fun!

Just SOME of our awards in the short time we've been in the community!

2022-2023

14 National Championships (1 of these Soloist Win), 100% paid bids to Spring 2022 National Championships

Elite Gold and Golds won by 2 Soloists and 3 Duets at Starbound Regionals

2 Ruby Award wins by one of our soloists this Spring

2021-2022

15 Division Championships (2 of those Soloist Wins), 100% paid bids to Spring 2022 National Championships, Dance Grand Championship Win by Silver Team

2020-2021

12 Division Championships

Dance Grand Championships won by Platinum Team

4 1st - Place Soloist Wins, 2 2nd - Place Soloist Wins

6 of these wins received at the Kalahari Nationals Championship

Elite Gold Winners by Platinum Team

4 High Gold Wins for our Soloists and Purple Team,

2 of those High Gold Wins and Judge’s Awards

received at Starbound Regionals

2nd Place Overall Top Senior Int. Solo for Poms Solo/

Top 10 Soloist award

received at Starbound Regionals

Starbound Nationals Finals High Gold Winner for Poms Solo

Elite Sapphire and Judge’s Award for “Crowd Pleaser” for Poms Solo

at Groove Regionals

Platinum Award for Soloist at Showstopper Regionals

2 1st place, 2 2nd place, and 2 1st place Solo wins in Xtreme’s Virtual World Championship

2019

Purple Team 1st Place State Championship Winners with the IRCA

2018

Princess Poms was the youngest team to ever compete with the IRCA, with some of our dancers as young as 3 years old, and receiving full-stadium, standing ovations at every competition!

Dozens of 100% PAID BIDS earned to National Championships,

earned by hitting high-rubric scoring at every event!

Just SOME of the venues we've performed and competed at!

Just SOME of our awards in the short time we've been in the community!

Hemmens Cultural Arts Center

Spartan Events Center

The Kalahari at Wisconsin Dells

Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center

Harper College

College of Lake County

NOW Arena for the Windy City Bulls Annually and IRCA State Competitions

Six Flags Great America - Wilderness Outdoor Theater, Grand Music Hall

McHenry Downtown Indoor Theater

Wauconda’s Trick or Treat on Main Street Annually

Multiple High Schools throughout Illinois

Unique Accomplishments by Bulldogs Spirit

Just SOME of our awards in the short time we've been in the community!

Unique Accomplishments by Bulldogs Spirit

In 2021 awarded the Wauconda Mayor's Community Service Award in recognition of steadfast service and dedication to the Community and for Mentoring the Youth of Wauconda and Surrounding Communities!

Placed in top 10 the FIRST TIME our dancers started competing in "true" dance competitions!

A major Competition Organization started taking solos, duets, and trios this last year (dance and cheer!) because of Bulldogs Spirit! Those categories are now growing within this Competition Organization, and Bulldogs Spirit opened the doors for other dancers to compete!

Windy City Bulls has informed us that Bulldogs Spirit is "Consistently one of our most successful and engaged groups" who use OUR marketing and communication as a guide for other group leaders!

Your 2021-2022 Staff!

Miss Catherine, Founder, Coach, Private Lessons

Miss Christine, Head Coach, Graphics and Design/Marketing

Miss Catherine was born and raised in Chicago and has 3 decades of dance training from the heart of the City and the surrounding suburbs. Since the age of 3 she has been studying dance, performing all over the Chicagoland suburbs, competing for several years and sharing her love of dance with her community for over a decade. She has taught at park districts, dance studios in the Chicagoland suburbs, taught dance numbers for her church's musical theater programs and implemented a worship dance program in Lake Zurich. She has spent 20 years working with inner city youth in the Kilbourn Park/Humboldt Park area, while also working with children in the suburbs (Preschool-Middle School), and for several years as a Director for an after-school youth program for children 3rd-6th grade in the Inner City serving children in the Kilbourn Park/Humboldt Park area. Just some of the responsibilities as Director includes lesson planning, games/activities, outings, and sports events/training. She has worked in the field of Accounting for 15 years and has a passion for dedication and commitment. “Ingenuity” is her motto!

She was accepted at the age of 3 to study under Mary Lou Troumanhouser (a student of Tommy Sutton), the former owner of (the former) The Dance Academy in Chicago. Since then she has performed all over Chicagoland, some of those places including The Copernicus Center, Navy Pier, The Daley Center, The Children’s Museum, the opening of the Norwood Park Historical Society, and The Portage Theater. She won top in dance routines for Waucondafest has Talent in 2011, and was given the opportunity to perform at the Pritzker Theater in 2011 and Carnegie Hall. She has performed at festivals and shows all over the Chicagoland suburbs and competed with high honors in dance competitions with companies such as Starlight, Rainbow Connection, Footlites, Starpower and StarQuest. She has studied Tap extensively as well as Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Lyrical and Hip Hop. After studying for over a decade at The Dance Academy in Chicago she moved to the Barrington/Wauconda area, and immediately got involved in the communities around her. She taught all forms of dance for several years at the Island Lake Park District starting in 2005 and studied/taught at the former Dancer’s Pointe in Island Lake. She started offering Tap, Jazz/Hip Hop, Ballet, Tumbling and Poms starting at the Village of Island Lake in 2005 and on and off until 2012. At the same time, she traveled extensively to Chicago to study under teachers at The Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Lou Conte Dance Studio, and several others. She took time off teaching until 2017 to focus on private lessons and classes, got married, and had a little dancer of her own. She has taken innumerable classes and workshops with the best for Tap. Her favorite teachers to study tap from have been Tre Dumas III, Lane Alexander, Phil Brooks and JaBowen Dixon. She has studied all forms of dance under teachers such as Mary Lou Troumanhouser, Jeanne Sok, Kathy DeMaira, Inaside Chicago Dance’s Nell Heflin, Dionna Pridgeon, Chicago Dance Crash’s Chris Courtney, Step Africa!’s Jakari Sherman, Chicago Movement Collective’s Melinda Wilson, private lessons with JaBowen Dixon and many more. She enjoys contributing to the Chicago Human Rhythm Project and Dance Accepts Everyone, studies Music Theory in her free time, and loves to add to her extensive dance curriculum. She has carefully crafted the syllabus she and all of the coaches use from her 30 years of dance experience and knowledge, and has taught over half of our staff in the last two decades, starting at the Village of Island Lake.

Continued study is the mark of a true artist. Performing is fun but the hard work behind the scenes is what she truly enjoys. Miss Catherine loves to bring the latest styles to her students, so she brings in amazing teachers to give the newest and best ideas, continues to study from her favorite teachers, taking workshops, networking with successful teachers and directors, and continuing her growth as a teacher and director, but also as a dancer. She works with successful programs and is a member of Progressive Ballet Technique, Just for Kix and many more! She truly enjoys serving the community and has been blessed to move into the 8th successful Season of our program. Ingenuity is her most important motto. Whether it's tap dancing on planks at local fests, dancing on the grass, carpet with tap masters or sand, "we can always make it work!", and now we have a Pommies HQ of our own on Wauconda's Main Street! Not only is she excited to pass her love of dance to the 3rd generation of dancers in her family, she is excited to continue giving back to the community she's been involved with for decades and has a passion to work with children and adults alike, training them in dance and expression and having them carry that with them through whatever adventures they have in life!

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Miss Christine, Head Coach, Graphics and Design/Marketing

We are proud to have Miss Christine as our Head Coach since our founding in 2018. She has been dancing since she was 5 years old, starting her training in the heart of Chicago at (the former) The Dance Academy by learning from teachers such as Sharon Girten, Jeanne Sok and Kathy DeMaira. After moving to the Barrington/Wauconda area she studied at the Village of Island Lake’s Dance program and the former Dancer’s Pointe in Island Lake. She has studied Poms, Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop. She was a cheerleader in the Wauconda Bulldogs Cheer program and an All-Star Cheerleader at Cheer Fusion. She has danced and competed with the former Premier Poms in Barrington, and has coached Rec Cheer and Poms. She has experience performing in and out of State competing in Poms, Hip-Hop and Kickline. She has performed Poms, Hip-Hop and Kickline for halftime many times at Chicago Bulls Games as well! She helped found the Wauconda Bulldogs Men of Cheer and their choreography (2012-2017), and in addition to doing choreography for our Bulldogs Spirit Teams she jumped right in and choreographed our first Bulldogs Spirit Poms and Dance Parent/Family Routine for our Windy City Bulls Game performances in 2018 and 2019! She has brought our Teams over 30 Championship wins, and a State Championship win in the short time we have been in the community! She was a Pre-K/K Teacher for 4 years at a local private school, and created curriculums for this program as well to help enrich their learning experience. She is currently in school to finish her bachelors in Integrated Marketing Communications. She works at a local, family-owned business in the heart of Wauconda, lives in Wauconda, and loves the lake life and volunteering in the community! We are so excited for our 8th Season with Miss Christine, she loves meeting all our new dancers, making our girls laugh, and bringing her passion for teaching children and love of dance to everyone!

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Miss Kelly, Assistant Coach

Miss Christine, Head Coach, Graphics and Design/Marketing

Miss Kelly, Assistant Coach

Miss Kelly has been studying and performing dance for 15 years. She has also done cheer but soon found that dance was her passion. She started when she was in 6th grade, all the way through High School competing and beyond. She has studied Open Dance, Poms, Hip Hop, Lyrical and Contemporary. Her favorite go-to dance style is Lyrical/Contemporary. When she is not dancing, she is a school nurse and in-hospital pediatric nurse, and takes additional dance classes, most recently at Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. She has been with Bulldogs Spirit since the very beginning and each time she comes to practice and sees her dancers hit those milestones (like landing double pirouettes!) with excitement it makes her remember why she loves doing what she does!

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Miss Ally, Jr. Coach

Miss Isabella, Jr. Coach

Miss Kelly, Assistant Coach

Miss Ally started dance at the age of 3 and cheer at the age of 5 and has training in Cheer, Poms (and competitive poms before Bulldogs Spirit), Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical and Contemporary!

Miss Isabella, Jr. Coach

Miss Isabella has been dancing since she was 4 and has training in Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical and Poms!

Miss Emily, Jr. Coach

Miss Isabella, Jr. Coach

Miss Emily has been doing cheer since 4th grade and has training in Cheer, Jazz, Lyrical and Poms!

Miss Leah, Jr. Coach

Miss Leah has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has experience in Ballet, Modern, Tap, Lyrical, Jazz and Poms!

Ways to support us!

Popits and toys for sale!

Sponsorships and Donations

Come to class to see what fun toys we have for sale!

Sponsorships and Donations

Contact us for paperwork if you would like to help our programs run by becoming a sponsor or donating! You are advertised on our Facebook page, website, a banner displayed at parades, and more! Ask us how your dancer can dance for free if you are a sponsor!

Slow-Smoked Snacks!

Sponsorships and Donations

Ultimate Gourmet Fundraiser!

Our second fundraiser is here, and we have TWO links for you! The first is our Smoked Snacks fundraiser! Just click this link below, choose a dancer to support, and we will contact you when the mass-order comes in and is ready for pickup at our Main Street location!

https://megadoughshop.com/fundraiser-463.html?fbclid=IwAR2ryri2efwLXk-sxcfLTceXp3YAnIW63obWW-iRSaSZ3z42IqfESpRPRxo#!/Fundraiser/463

This ends September 25th!

Ultimate Gourmet Fundraiser!

Our second fundraiser is here, and we have TWO links for you!

For our "Ultimate Gourmet" Fundraiser, all you have to do is click this link below, and put in 83400543 under "Seller ID" for Customers! Choose from amazing items that will be delivered directly to your home, it's as easy as that!

https://www.gofundraisenow.com/

This ends September 25th!

Spiritwear Pop-Up Store!

Ultimate Gourmet Fundraiser!

Spiritwear Pop-Up Store!

https://bulldogsspiritwear2022.itemorder.com/shop/sale/

This sale ends September 27th!

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Bulldogs Spirit Poms and Dance founded?

The groundwork and funds were being laid out in late 2017/early 2018, and finally implemented in 2018.

What grades/ages is this program reaching out to?

In Fall 2018 we had Princess Poms, and in Spring 2019 we quadrupled in numbers to add ages 4-8th Grade. In Spring 2022 we've expanded to Baby Bulldogs for our littlest ones and Showcase Groups that the families in our communities have specifically requested. We are proud to have children from eight different towns from surrounding areas for the last 6 Seasons (now 10 towns in our 8th Season!) to come together to learn dance and have a great time! We love having girls from towns all over coming to enjoy dance and performing!

What info do you have on requirements like games and practices?

We will not be dancing/performing for any weekly games. We will be participating in community events and performing at special events as they are available. On top of getting the chance to compete and learn with fantastic volunteers in the community with an amazing amount of dance/poms/cheer/performing backgrounds, we want the girls to have the opportunity to perform. As for practices they will be indoors. For the start of Fall 2020 we started outside due to Covid protocols. We have partnered with Volo Sportsplex, Village of Island Lake, Wauconda Post 911, Wauconda Township, local schools and other facilities in past/present for our practices.We have recently secured a location on Main Street in Wauconda but we will still continue to use other facilities (as other programs do) within the area, especially if we have a larger team and choreography needs more space/social distancing. Each Season and each group will be unique. We don't do "what's best for business", we do what's best for YOUR DANCERS and what the community asks for, always aiming to give the All-Star experience without the All-Star cost.

Who are you members with?

The Wauconda Chamber of Commerce, since the very beginning of our organization!

Who are you working with for uniforms/dresses and spirit items? We want quality!

And you will get it! :) We partner with several big name distributors to get the best quality at the best price!

Will there a be a no-bullying policy?

Absolutely. We have a no-tolerance policy, and the parent/guardian who is registering their child will sign this confirming that they, AND their child, are aware that if this policy is not followed, they will be removed from the team with no refund. These will be teams that are encouraging, uplifting and working together. We are a no-drama, no-bullying, no-clique organization, and want our dancers to get the best experience out of Bulldogs Spirit Poms and Dance. Save the drama for Dance Moms! ;)

How do you plan to keep prices so low?

We are a non-for-profit. That is what we stand on, and we are not going to charge any more than what is needed to get the best quality items for your girls, to go to competitions with a wonderful organization, and our volunteers are just that - volunteers. They truly enjoy giving back to the community! We have chosen to keep this a non-profit as a service to the youth in the community that we hope all children and adults can enjoy. Most our staff have grown up giving back and it is their passion. Most of our volunteers have professions in the community and all of them work with youth, and want the girls and boys in the surrounding communities to make friends, have a no-drama, bully-free zone that they can enjoy dance, perform, and learn how to become the best they can be, inside and OUTSIDE of the studio. Our volunteers have been teaching dance in the community for over 15 years. We solely rely on donations and sponsors to cover any additional costs we may need. All the info of what it costs you is on our flyer, as we are very determined to keep all info open and transparent to anyone who has questions. Any donations are gratefully accepted. And remember, you can always reach out to us to see how a sponsor can waive your fees! We do not offer refunds as all of our expenses are paid for immediately at the beginning of the seasons.

Is dance experience required for your program?

No, we are mixed-level teams that are recreational status. Right now we are starting a tryout team for hip-hop, but there will be tryouts ONLY for this team, and will be advertised as such.

What is taught at class?

Foundations of Jazz and Ballet (Cecchetti Method) are a must, so that will be a big part of class along with learning their routine. The little ones will have more activities in class such as tumbling, learning rhythm/music with instruments and much more. In Spring we do Tap and Jazz for Princess Poms and in Fall we do Ballet and Jazz for Princess Poms.

Are all the events that the dancers can go to required?

No, but we hope they take advantage of being out in the community to perform and give back! We want our dancers to have as many opportunities as possible, we want to have a lasting impact on the community when we give back AND provide wonderful memories/experiences for our dancers!

Scheduling - How does it work?

We take care of everything! Parents run around a LOT, and we keep our schedule as consistent and up-front as possible. We don't like surprises (unless it's fun event or two!). We try to plan the whole season's class schedule (and most of our events) ahead of time so it's ready to give to you when you register your dancer. This has been tricky during Covid! We sometimes use a few different facilities throughout the season to help with costs (this has been tricky during Covid as well!), so we want to make sure parents have all the info immediately. We know parents are tired of last-minute changes, and entire weekends wrapped around activities. We don't want that either! We want you to have all the info you need so you can plan accordingly. The only thing that could be "last minute" is a special event or two we may want to sign up for, and those are always fun, but those are optional to our dancers. (Most of our events are discussed and signed up for before the season starts) But we do hope they take advantage of them, we want to give the All-Star experience without the All-Star cost! :) Our classes this Fall don't start before 6pm. Why? Not only do our teachers have full-time jobs but we get that you do too. Not everyone can rush their kids home to grab dinner and make class, or run through the drive-through as they go through the motions. It's hard. Lots of our families have two full-time working parents, we have single parents who run everywhere, and we want to make sure everyone can get home, enjoy some family time, then come practice with their Poms family :) We have Mommies, Grandmas, and Aunties all involved in our organization so we know family time is the most important. THEN your dancers get to see "their girls", as they like to call them :)

"Spirit Booster Events", how does that work?

Those are our special events we do throughout the year. Some events will become a staple from year to year, and some events our staff find as the year goes on. We have staff that have been working on special events and working in the community with children for decades, so you can be sure we are ALWAYS keeping our eyes out for new and exciting events for our dancers! ;) Our most favorite one is performing for the Windy City Bulls :)

Do we need to fundraise/pay for fundraiser costs or "buyouts"?

NO. As of now, our registration costs only cover a small part of rent and insurance, and the rest has been covered by donations and fundraisers. We try to give a nice gift/prize for the dancer that sells the most items though! We are careful which fundraisers we choose (if any) as we want to pick ones that have useful items and the less the kids have to sell, the easier for the parents ;) We've all been there! These fundraisers are also ALWAYS OPTIONAL, this is never mandatory. Your registration covers uniforms, bow/accessory, poms, trophies, competition fees and much more. And what's GREAT is your child brings home their uniform/costume to keep, along with a bow/accessories and poms. We're not going to charge you a fee and keep the uniforms/costumes. No fees, keeping uniform/poms/bow, practices that are easy on your schedule (and wallet!) and at the same time keeping the quality! We've heard you and we want to deliver! :)

What level are these classes?

These are mixed-level (multi-level) classes. Since we are a NON-TRYOUT team (besides our one hip-hop team we are planning), we may have basic beginners to advanced. We do our best to highlight those skills in routines as best as we can. This depends on the size of the group, choreography, skill levels, etc. As the Season progresses we may add in harder tricks/skills/patterns in our routines, especially Spring. Even though we are a rec category, we have commitment agreements that need to be signed and followed, as choreography can change/evolve at any time and we need to make sure all dancers come to all practices ready to learn.

Where do you go for competitions?

We have a few organizations we like to work with and we always take feedback from the parents as to which ones they like the most. Of course, winning is NOT always everything, we want our girls most importantly to learn, make friends, and grow closer together as a team while having fun. It's a special dance family that makes bonds that last a lifetime! But we do like to switch it up and try a few different competition organizations and sometimes we have opportunities to add more throughout the year if the parents like. Our parents have been instrumental in helping up choose competition organizations they truly enjoy going to. Each organization has something different to offer, and we like to have our dancers enjoy as many of them as possible! We stay local for competitions so there isn't a concern about affordability and the uncomfortable position of doing fundraisers to cover costs. If we ever go out of State, it's COMPLETELY optional, and our volunteer staff is experienced, qualified and competent so we can change choreography to make any adjustments for that event.

What's the difference between Fall and Spring Seasons?

When you compete in the Fall, you may get paid "bids" (paid registrations) to Spring competitions. If that happens, we keep Spring registration CLOSED and the girls that earned those bids can keep competing in the Spring to different championships. This is why it's crucial to sign up in the Fall as we haven't been able to open Spring registration for 3 years. Our girls have won so many bids in the Fall we continue doing their dance in the Spring (we've been able to teach a couple fun dances on the side as well for our Winter and Spring shows!), and that helps save cost majorly in the Spring because we have paid "bids" (registration fees). We may take on a competition through a dance competition circuit like Starbound, KAR or Showstopper (your staff is well-versed in these and were requested by the parents, and went very well!) because those are special ones that only run in the Spring. Spring is a much busier season for competitions normally. We are proud that we are the best deal around in the dance circuit, especially in competitions. Teams pay thousands of dollars in fees and we are happy to be budget-friendly! Everyone should get a chance to dance! :)

Covid - what are your guidelines?

We have been following CDC Guidelines, IHSA rules (though we are not IHSA, these were good guidelines to follow, like no dancers touching and hooking up for kicklines), and State guidelines. We always have extra masks and soap on hand, an air purifier and thermometers if we don't self-assess in the Fall/Spring. We have sanitizing wipes/sprays as well. We are no longer doing lessons by Zoom. We know rules continue to change so we always keep copies and stay on top of all the changing guidelines!