A rite of spring.

More than 600 high school gathered at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, for a weekend of total dance immersion. A performance by Billy Siegenfeld and Jeannie Hill of Jump Rhythm Jazz Project opened three days of classes, performances, and auditions at the 5th Regional High School Dance Festival. Organized for 2003 by Deborah Thorpe of Governor's School for the Arts and Amanda Thom Woodson, dance chair at Goucher College, the festival is held every other spring to alternate with the biannual National High School Dance Festival. Participants could take up to three classes a day from dozens of offerings in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, African, hip-hop, contact improvisation, partnering, acting for dancers, yoga, and Pilates. Performances featured thirty faculty and student works, and college dance departments and summer festivals (including Jacob's Pillow and the American Dance Festival) held auditions for admission and scholarships. Participants noted that the festival is a great way to meet and study with teachers from universities at which they may later enroll.