Dance squad

A dance squad or dance team, sometimes called a pom squad or song team, is a team of participants that participates in competitive dance. A dance squad can also include: a jazz squad, ballet squad, or any kind of religion dance squad. Dance squads are a type of performance dance.

In the United States and Canada most high schools, and universities, have a dance squad. These squads perform at sporting events, most commonly at football and basketball games. They perform during the pre-game activities, halftime periods, and on the sidelines during play.

In a routine, a dance squad will incorporate a specific dance style (e.g. hip hop, jazz, or lyrical), technical work (leaps, turns, kicks, splits, jumps), and, depending on the routine, pom-poms and cheers.

A dance squad may use pom-poms in some of their dance routines. A dance squad that uses pom-poms in all its dance routines is called a pom squad. Pom squads also use kicklines in their routines. A kickline routine is a routine of kicks, which cheerleaders also use. The pom squad stands in a line and performs a series of kicks, such as high kicks, fan kicks, low kicks, and kicks that go to their waist.

Dance squad is a highly competitive activity. Youth, association, middle school, high school, collegiate, all-star, and professional teams, compete on local, regional, state, national, and international levels. Dance squads are judged on a number of criteria including form, squad unison, showmanship, precision of motions, jumps, leaps, turns, choreography, enthusiasm, and, in the case of pom squads, visual use of poms-poms.