Article updated: 1/25/2013 8:17 AM

Format for state dance championship raises eyebrows

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Dancing in the IHSA sectionals last weekend is the Wheaton North High School dance squad, with Micheli Venckus, center, leading the way.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

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Conant High School's squad, with Ava Snaidauf at center, competes in the sectional Saturday at Palatine High School.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

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High school dance teams across the area are headed to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, for the first state championship in competitive dance sanctioned by the Illinois High School Association. But IHSA administrators have put their own spin on the sport. Instead of grouping different genres of dance into categories, the new competition debuted with an “open routine” format.