High school dancers from around the world are leaping into Pittsburgh this weekend for the National High School Dance Festival at Point Park University. It’s the largest festival of its kind around the world.

The students come to Downtown Pittsburgh from 100 high school dance programs all around the U.S., as far away as Hawaii, and even some from Canada and Australia.

While Point Park University dancers are on spring break, the studios are filled with high school students. Dancers from Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, were rehearsing a piece choreographed by junior Piper Bott, who says the choreography process was challenging.

“Now that it’s done, I’m just so happy. I feel like it’s been so rewarding. It’s like my baby, and I hope that people like it as much as I do,” Bott said. 

These dancers will not only perform Bott’s piece but take dance classes from renowned teachers and sit in on seminars through the weekend.

This year, there are 1,600 dancers, up from 1,300 when Point Park hosted two years ago, with 2,100 people total at the festival.

“In the past, we’ve had many participants that wanted to come to the festival, and we had wait lists. So we wanted to give those who constantly wanted to come but have not had the opportunity,” said Garfield Lemonius, the dean of Point Park University’s School of Dance. 

One reason they’re able to expand the festival is they’ve gone from the Byham Theater to the Benedum Center, the largest theater in Pittsburgh with 2,800 seats  There will be performances on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with additional dance concerts at the new Pittsburgh Playhouse on Point Park’s campus.

“The restaurants and eateries, they can walk there and they can walk to their classes in between even if they’re in different buildings. It’s really convenient. So it’s a win-win for everybody,” said National High School Dance Festival founder Kathryn Kearns.

Kearns says more than 650 of these high school students will also audition for scholarships from more than 70 of the most prestigious dance universities and schools in the country, including Point Park.

One of the dancers from Jefferson High School in Portland two years ago auditioned and is now a student at Point Park.  She says the festival sold her on the school.

“I got accepted to Point Park, and I got to see the studios and see performances from the students here, and I kind of fell in love with it and the environment that was here,” Sophie Glass said. 

“If they come to Point Park and experience the space, experience the city, then they can see themselves coming here,” Lemonius said. 

Having so many dance universities and programs in one place is also helpful for the high school students so they don’t have to travel all over to audition.

Just a month ago, Point Park transitioned from a dance department to its own School of Dance, one of the top ten programs in the country.