2024 Conventions
Today's Headliners - Learn from the Industry's Best!
Upcoming Conventions
March
March 14-16: San Jose, CA
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
California Theatre, 345 S.
First St.,
San Jose, CA 95113
March 14-16: Woodbridge, VA
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Hylton High School
Hylton High School, 14051 Spriggs Road,
Woodbridge, VA 22193

March 21-23: San Gabriel, CA
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Mision Playhouse,
Mision Playhouse, 320 S Mission Dr,
San Gabriel, CA 91776-1106
March 21-23: Hartford area, CT
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
RHAM High School,
85 Wall St,
Hebron, CT 06248
March 21-23: Buffalo, NY
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Hylton High School
Hylton High School, 14051 Spriggs Road,
Woodbridge, VA 22193

March 28-30: Lancaster, PA
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
High Fine Arts Center,
@ Lancaster Mennonite School,
2176 Lincoln Hwy E, Lancaster, PA 17602

April
April 4-6: Phoenix, AZ
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Herberger Theater Center,
222 East Monroe, Phoenix,
AZ 85004-2335

April 11-13: Derry, NH
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Stockbridge Theater
@Pinkerton Academy, 44 North Main Street,
Derry, NH

April 25-27: Hartford #2, CT
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
RHAM High School
85 Wall St, Hebron,
CT 06248
April 4-6: Howell, MI
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Hartland Performing Arts Center,
9525 E Highland Rd,
Howell, MI 48843
April 11-13: Sacramento, CA
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Cordova High School,
2239 Chase Dr,
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

May
May 2-4: Chicago area, IL
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Trinity High School,
7574 Division St,
River Forest, IL 60305

October
Oct 6, 2024 – Taunton, MA
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Taunton Conference Center,
700 Myles Standish Blvd,Taunton,
MA 02780
Hotel:
TBD

Oct 13, 2024 – Pittsburgh, PA
PLEASE NOTE: Late Registration will be available on-site on the morning of the convention. REGISTER ONLINE TO SAVE!
Venue:
Hyatt Regency Airport,
1111 Airport Blvd, Pittsburgh,
PA 15231

November
Nov 3, 2024 – King of Prussia, PA
PLEASE NOTE: Room rates and reservation info coming soon!
Venue:
Crowne Plaza, 260 Mall Blvd,
King of Prussia,
PA 19406

Nov 16, 2024 – Chicago, IL area
Venue:
Midwest Conference Center, 401 W Lake St,
Northlake,
IL 60164
Hotel:
SpringHill Suites Chicago,
410 W. Lake Street,
Elmhurst, Illinois 60126
Take your training to the next level with Headliners Conventions!
Headliners Conventions are a 1-Day, affordable dance convention with classes taught by some of the best dance educators in the industry, offering both east and west coast vibes! The Headliners experience is designed to enhance studio training and combine it with industry expertise. Our priority is offering your dancers a one-of-a-kind dance experience in an encouraging, fun, and creative environment.

Why Choose Headliners?
5 Classes
Ballet
Contemporary
Hip Hop
Jazz
Tap
3 Levels
Mini (9 & Under)
Junior (10-12)
Teen/Senior (13 & Over)
Features
Industry-Leading Instructors
Performance Showcase
Scholarships in All Levels
More Information
Levels/Placement
Placement of the dancers is at the discretion of the studio director and teachers. Suggested levels, based on age:
Mini – 9 & Under
Junior – 10-12
Teen/Senior – 13 & Over
Scholarships
Dancers selected by Instructors can earn scholarships to competitions, conventions, and Nationals – as well as scholarships to Conservatories and Nationally-known Intensives.
Registration
Independent dancers are welcome to attend!
Please note, registration must be completed online. Day-of-event registration will be at the discretion of Headliners. Any registration changes and/or add-ons must be made the Wednesday prior to the event.
Payments must be via credit card, bank check, or studio check.
No refunds will be issued once an event has started. Refund requests, prior to an event, will be issued only at the discretion of Headliners. Be sure to contact us as soon as possible with any questions or concerns at info@headlinersdance.com.
Free Entry for Studio Directors/Teachers
Studios can earn one free Teacher Registration with every 10 paid students. Directors/teachers may watch or participate in any of the classes.
Redeeming of Scholarships
To apply a scholarship earned at a previous Headliners event, please email a photo of the scholarship at least 10 days prior to the event you are attending. Emails should be sent to info@headlinersdance.com.
Observer Bands
Parents of registered dancers are able to observe classes throughout the day if they have purchased an observer band. Observer bands can be purchased during online registration or upon arriving at the event.
Fees
Fees are available to studios only through our online registration portal.
Registration
ONLINE REGISTRATION OPENS AUGUST 2020. CONTACT US TO LEARN ABOUT PRE-REGISTRATION OPPORTUNITIES!
Convention Teachers

Jay Barrett
Ballet
About
Born in Miami, Florida, Jay grew up studying dance in Queens, New York. He attended the High School of Performing Arts, and furthered his training at Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, Martha Graham, and Joffrey Ballet. He won the title of Mr. Dance of America at DMA in 1996. Professional experience include Urban Ballet Theater, Company of Dance Arts, Delaware Dance Company, City Ballet of Los Angeles, The New York City Opera, Disney’s Hercules, and A Few Good Men on Broadway. Television credits include Spirit Dance on PBS, Saturday Night Live, Anastasia – a 20th Century Fox special. Jay has been teaching and choreographing for 20 years.

Rebecca Cannaday
Tap
About
Rebecca is a Professional Dancer, Teacher, Choreographer, and Adjudicator from Virginia that now resides in New York City. Throughout High School she had the opportunity to be a part of Denise Wall’s pre-professional dance company and train with and perform choreography from many well-known professionals including Emmy Award winning and nominated choreographers such as Travis Wall and Anthony Morigerato. Rebecca Cannaday is currently in three Professional Tap companies including CHRProject directed by Charles Renato where she is Dance Captain, ProjectConvergence directed by Vikas Arun and Apoorva Natarajan, and #Taplife directed by Anthony LoCascio where she is also Dance Captain and Choreographer for the company.

Eric Decaminida
Tap
About
Eric Decaminada, born and raised in New York, began dancing at the age of 5 at his hometown studio, The Pulse Performing Arts Studio. Throughout his years of training, he was able to work with and perform choreography by some of the best in the business, including Derick K. Grant, Jason Janas, Sarah Reich, and many others. He is currently working as a Professional Tap Dancer based out of NYC where he is a part of CHR Project (directed by Charles Renato) and Project Convergence (directed by Vikas Arun and Apoorva Nataraja) as a company member. As the protégé of the late Dexter Jones, Eric had the privilege of studying under one of the best to ever be on Broadway. Eric’s performance credits include “Tap Family Reunion” (directed by Dormeshia Sumbry, Derick K. Grant, and Jason Samuel Smith), “Gotta Dance” (directed by Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia Sumbry), and “Tap Kids” (directed Lisa Hopkins). In addition, he has performed in a variety of locations such as Dizzy’s Jazz Club at Lincoln Center, the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, and the Ted Shawn Theater at Jacob’s Pillow. He has taught at numerous Tap Festivals around the country such as RIFF Dallas, Tap City, and the Woodshed Experience. Eric is currently working as a full time performer, teacher, and choreographer in the tristate area, as well as being an Artist In Residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation.

Henry Gendron
Hip Hop
About
Henry graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors in Musical Theater. He was the male swing for the Actor’s Playhouse production of “On Your Feet!”, a cast member in “Americano” at New World Stages, and in “West Side Story” at the MUNY and most recently as Bob Fosse in “MJ the Musical on Broadway”.

Larissa Gerske
Contemporary
About
Larissa began her formal dance training at Canterbury Arts High School in Ottawa, Ontario. She has attended summer programs at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Canada’s Ballet Jorgen, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet. She has performed works by Matthew Rushing, Taryn Russell, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse, and Carmen Rozestraten. Ms. Gerszke graduated from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in 2016 and is currently a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

Ricky Loftus
Jazz
About
Ricky has performed in all aspects of Commercial Dance and Musical Theatre in shows such as Kinky Boots, Cinderella, Oklahoma, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert and Chicago. While performing Ricky was a Top Ten Finalist on Britain’s Got Talent in the dance group Four Corners. Creatively Ricky has Directed and Choreographed shows such as Cinderella, Urinetown and Kinky Boots. Ricky is currently founder and head of the dance program at The Norwalk Conservatory Of The Arts.