Encore Extreme Columbia 2024
Convention and Competition
Friday, October 18 - Sunday, October 20, 2024
Columbia Convention Center
1101 Lincoln Street
Columbia, SC
View Host HOTELS, past 2023 Event Schedule below (Final schedule will be posted in October)
Encore 2024 Extreme Columbia Schedule
REVISED Final 2024 Schedule (updated 10-18) is now posted
Encore Extreme
2024 Rules and Fees
Updated October 15, 2024
Dance
with the Stars in 2024
Three days of master classes in Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Tap, Ballet, Musical Theatre, and more! Also featuring workshops, classes and networking events for teachers AND Jazz Funk classes for parents!
Experience our exciting group competition with live judges’ feedback for all routines and a $1000 cash prize!
Compete for the title of Miss and Mister Encore Extreme!
Our 2024 Choreographers
Columbia, SC
Allynn Simons
Allynn Simons is an NYC based freelance casting director who has the pleasure of casting for TV/Film, commercials, theater and print. She
holds a B.A. in Musical Theater with a minor in dance from Point Park University. While in school, Allynn was chosen to dance in original pieces choreographed by Kiesha LaLama and Kiki Lucas, just to name a few. Before settling in New York City, Allynn taught dance and musical theater all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey and still teaches numerous classes all over the country.
She is also a regular faculty member of QUEST Intensive; a prestigious in-studio dance experience that brings the industry to the studio. She is currently a faculty member at THRIVE Dance Convention where she teaches contemporary and how to market yourself. She also adjudicates for numerous dance competitions in the U.S. Some of her favorite casting credits include: the North American premier of Dirty Dancing, The Mansion which premiered at Sundance and a multi-million dollar campaign for NIKE that had her casting on the streets of NYC. She enjoys traveling to choreograph all over the county for which she has won numerous awards for. She grew up in the dance competition community and loves seeing young artists flourish. The future of the arts is in the hands of the next generation, so let's cultivate it!
Brooke Paulsen-Zelus
Brooke Paulsen-Zelus hails from Toledo, Ohio where she learned how to dance from her masterful mother Brenda Paulsen. She has worked with tap heavy weights such as Jason Samuel Smith, Chloe Arnold, Jason Janas, Gregg Russell and, Fayard Nicholas. She is one of the most respected female tappers in the country. She continues to travel the world sharing her knowledge and love for dance. She assisted Al Gilbert and Darryl Retter on Stepping Tones, now known as Music Works. Because of this experience, she has the ability to teach any age and any level.
At the age of 17, she moved to Los Angeles, California. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, she was quickly recruited to be in Gregg Russell’s company Tapsounds Underground. She trained under him for many years along with Keith Clifton, Alex Magno, Helene Phillips, Jason Samuel Smith and Heather Cornell.There were many opportunities that came her way such as performing with Pink, Sisqo, Paulina Rubio and T.A.T.U. featuring the Pussycat Dolls. She has performed in the The MTV Movie Awards, The Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, which won an Emmy for choreography and industrials including Adidas, Domino’s, IBM and Google. She appeared on television shows like Sabrina: the Teenage Witch, The Nikki Cox Show and The Young and the Restless. She was also one of the founding members of C.O.M.M.I.T. tap company under the direction of Jason Janas. Brooke realized that she wanted to continue sharing her passions and knowledge of dance. She has taught for The Edge Performing Arts Center, Debbie Reynold’s Dance Studio, Movement Lifestyle and Retter’s Academy of Dance. She taught for Dance Masters, Music Works, New Talent Generation, Hollywood Dance Experience and, Dance Makers, INC. She has also judged for Rainbow Dance Connection, VIP Dance Competition, Encore and, Showstoppers. She is in such high demand that she is asked to teach and choreograph around the world. Her choreography is nationally award winning. Brooke continues to transition from dancer to upcoming choreographer. She works as an associate choreographer to Kevin and Marcel Wilson. Together they choreographed industrials, commercials, music videos and stage shows. Their work includes the Rio Hotel & Casino: The Show in the Sky, the Bellagio New Year’s Eve show, Beach Body, Jery Sandoval music video and VIV Magazine commercial. They choreographed the “James Brown Tribute” starring Wayne Brady on “Dancing with the Stars and worked as the assistant choreographer for Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. Brooke has also choreographed for Beach Body, worked with the world renowned trainer Autumn Calabrese. She has recently worked as an associate choreographer for Latin Grammy’s and for a New Year’s Eve event at Resorts World and Aria Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. She was also very honored to work for Disney as an associate choreographer at the historical El Capitan theater in Los Angeles. Lastly, she has been working for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as an install choreographer.
Julius Rubio
A proud Dominican native, Julius Rubio grew up and trained in Miami, FL where he attended The New World School of Arts and Dance Attack Studios. Just fresh off of co-choreographing The 77th Annual Tony Awards with longtime collaborator and friend Ariana DeBose, Julius resides in New York City.Along with creative directing, choreographing and acting he has worked with renowned choreographers and directors such as Steven Spielberg, Bill Condon, Chris Scott, Kenny Ortega, Marguerite Derricks, Sonya Tayeh, Sergio Trujillo, Jerry Mitchell and as associate/assistant Choreographer to Mia Michaels.
Between on camera and Broadway some acting/film/tv credits include Steven Spielbergs 2021 remake ‘West Side Story’ as a new featured Shark role “Quique”, Law & Order, FBI: Most Wanted , The Greatest Showman, Kiss Of The Spiderwoman Film feat. Jennifer Lipez, Annie (2014 Remake), Starz ‘Run The World to name a few.[BROADWAY]: ‘Santiago’ u/s MOULIN ROUGE!, ‘King Agnar’ u/s FROZEN, ‘Escape To Margaritaville’, 'On Your Feet!' , 'Finding Neverland', 'Wonderland', Twyla Tharp's COME FLY AWAY [LIVE STAGE] Radio City Rockettes, Beyonce, Dove Cameron, Loren Alred, Adam Lambert, Kylie Minogue, Natasha Bedingfield, Academy Awards, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, MTV and more.
Brandon Girouard
Brandon Girouard BA/MFA is a highly in-demand international choreographer, teacher, dancer, and talent manager – having brought audiences to their feet in Paris, Canada, London, Argentina, NYC, Mexico and Spain in summer of 2017. Known for “compelling, explosive movement”, Brandon has performed with dance companies such as dancetheatreX, Melanie Stewart Dance Theatre, Ailey 2, Koresh Dance, Plasma Dance Theatre, and for Bill Clinton’s Inaugural Presidency Gala.
Brandon resides as Guest Faculty at Broadway Dance Center NYC, Millennium Dance in Philadelphia, Studio Harmonic in Paris and is faculty to many dance conservatories on Long Island, NY. Holding a BA in Theatre & Dance from Muhlenberg College and a MFA from NYU, Brandon also studied for 18 years at the Cheryl McCormack Academy of Dance in New Bedford, MA.
Chandler Brown
Chandler Brown grew up as a competitive dancer at The Southern Strutt under the direction of Nancy Giles for 15 years. He is now pursuing a degree in Dance with a minor in Business at the University of Alabama. Chandler has choreographed and performed in nine shows at the University of Alabama and at various other theaters in Alabama. He is currently an instructor at Birmingham Dance Theater in Hoover, AL where he teaches Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary and Acro technique. schools.
He also travels with Encore where he works as a stage manager and sound technician. In addition, he is a member the professional dance company, “Unbound,” directed by Caroline Lewis-Jones and Susan Dabney Hancock. When not in school, Chandler travels the US teaching, choreographing, and cleaning competition dances at various studios and schools.
Lauren Hummel
Based in Charlotte, NC, freelance artist Lauren Hummel is an award-winning and sought after Choreographer and Dancer in the industry. Lauren is known for her work in Contemporary Dance and travels to dance studios all over the country sharing her passion and knowledge with young artists. She holds a BS in Business Administration with a Minor in Dance from SUNY Geneseo where she completed an additional 4 years of performance dance and worked with several artists including John Lehrer.
Currently, Lauren is with Quest Intensive as a Choreographer and Director and is on faculty with Encore Extreme Dance Convention. She has also worked as an adjudicator for Encore DCS for 4 years and is a Regional Director for the company. Lauren's work can be seen on film and stages across the country and continues to receive Choreography and “Best in Category” awards at both the regional and national levels including most recently at Revel Dance Convention, NUVO, and Hall of Fame Dance Challenge.
Jenny Oehlwein
Jennifer Oehlwein grew up in the competition circuit and has now made a career out of dancing, choreographing, and directing professionally. A graduate of Point Park University with a B.F.A. in Dance and a minor in Musical Theater. I have been blessed to have been dancing professionally ever since graduation. In addition to dance I am also a singer and aerialist. Upon moving to NYC 3 years ago a new challenge fell into my lap as a rehearsal director/installer for an entertainment company that casts for a multitude of different arenas
Cruise-ships, national tours, theme parks, industrial gigs, etc. When I am not working on their shows and installing their casts of professionals. I also work with their casting team assisting there dance calls all over the world and teaching master classes. Most recently I have taken a step back into the performance side of the dance world performing in Legally Blonde, The Bodyguard, and the national tour of Elf the musical! I am very passionate about dance education and students who love what they do just as much as I do. I consider myself lucky to have made a career out of my life passion and look forward to continuing it with inspiring dancers this competition season!
Caroline Lewis-Jones
Caroline Lewis-Jones from South Carolina, has been dancing for over 28 years. At the age of 18 she moved to New York City where she performed for six years. Her credits include the VMA’s with NSYNC, the Latin Grammy Awards, WNBA National Commercial, a French Energy Commercial, Disney Industrials, Britany Spears and Madonna “Me Against the Music” video, MTV’s Body Rock Fitness Video, and more.
Although successful as a commercial dancer, her true passion lies within contemporary company work, where she has had the opportunity to work for Mia Michaels Company R.A.W, Dee Caspary’s IV Dance Company, Notario Dance Company, Rhapsody and Company, A.S.H Contemporary, and Justin Giles’ Soul Escape.
In 2001 she traveled to Seoul, Korea where she performed for Jason Parson’s and POZ Dance Theatre. In July 2010, Caroline performed with Sonya Tayeh from “So You Think You Can Dance” with her company in Chicago. She also choreographs for studios around the country, and teaches for Adrenaline Dance Convention and The Dance Sessions. In December 2007, Caroline choreographed and performed a one-woman show, called Finding My Way. It was about the loss of her mother and her life currently without her. It is her greatest accomplishment yet. Caroline also founded Unbound Dance Company in Columbia, South Carolina. Her goal as Artistic Director of UNBOUND is to inspire and give dancers young and old, a new outlet to perform.
Regina Willoughby
Regina Willoughby began dancing at the age of 8 at Ballet Midland while growing up in West Texas. At the age of 15, she was awarded a scholarship to study at Virginia School of the Arts, where she went on to graduate. She also studied at Westside in Los Angeles and on scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. Regina's professional career began at Ballet Austin, where she danced solo roles, including Stephen Mills' "Four Mortal Men." I
In 1997, she joined Columbia City Ballet, dancing such roles as the Arabian, Dew Drop Fairy, Snow Queen, and Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker; Maiden and Lucy in Dracula: Ballet with a Bite; title roles in Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet; and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. Director William Starrett created many roles on her for his original ballets, including Mina in Dracula's Revenge and the "Sand Dance" pas de trois and "Daughters of the South" from Off the Wall & Onto the Stage. The title role of Cleopatra was created on Regina receiving rave reviews. Critics have lauded her commanding stage presence, stating "Willoughby, as one of City Ballet's up and coming stars, was exotically arrogant as Arabian," and "the showstopper was Regina Willoughby with her sultry stage presence." Free Times said that "Willoughby is the company's most enchanting female performer, both technically and dramatically," and "Willoughby possesses that special it quality that makes a performance so riveting." Regina was made a Soloist of the company in 2001, Principal dancer in 2006, Ballerina in 2010, and retired from the stage in 2018. She is married with two grown daughters. Regina has over 20 years teaching experience and is an ABT National Training Curriculum certified teacher in Primary through Level 7.
Dream team
Encore DCS is proud to offer an amazing opportunity for elite dancers to be cast in a one-of-a-kind promotional video and become a member of the Encore DCS Dream Team!
Students were selected at Encore Extreme and this January each dancer was choreographed, staged and featured in a video to create a new advertising campaign for Encore DCS. This opportunity gives up and coming stars the chance to taste what the world of entertainment has to offer with a “dream job” experience.
Professional lighting, staging, make-up, choreography and directing are just some of the many facets of this experience! The video features many styles of dance and is the perfect opportunity to showcase well rounded dancers.
Interested in becoming a member of the next Encore DCS Dream Team? “Shooting Star” tickets will be awarded at Grand Finals. This ticket will give select dancers a free convention fee at Encore Extreme and guarantees their spot on the Dream Team. The remaining Dream Team members will be chosen at Encore Extreme this fall. Don’t miss out on the “Dream Team” cutting edge experience only offered by Encore DCS!
Hotels For Encore EXtreme Columbia
Click Each hotel box to view options
Springhill Suites by Marriott
Springhill Suites by Marriott
511 Lady Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Reservations: 803-978-2333
SPECIAL RATE: $159
(Encore Dance Competitions Extreme Convention)
Sold OUT of Special Rates (See Courtyard for options)
* 6 Minutes to Venue
* Parking is $10 per day per vehicle
For help, contact
Don. - 904.303-4424
Congratulations to the 2024 Encore Extreme Dancers
Overall Mister Encore Extreme 2024-2025
Ethan Greer
Burns Dance Studio
Overall Miss Encore Extreme 2024-2025
Rose Mangan
Renner Dance Company
Senior Miss Encore Extreme 2024-2025
Makaehla Beckel
PBR Dance
