05/02/2026
To our Starz Nationals families —
We want to address the recent schedule change directly.
Nationals reached its routine capacity before the published deadline. At that point, we were approached by several studios who had not completed their registrations in time, but had already committed their dancers and families to attending.
At that stage, we had two options:
turn those dancers away, or find a way to expand the schedule to allow them to participate.
We made the decision to expand. Our priority has always been giving dancers the opportunity to take the stage at Nationals.
We understand that adding time to the schedule impacts travel, lodging, and planning — especially for families who prepared well in advance. That impact is not lost on us.
Here’s what we are doing to help:
Tuesday will begin as late as possible to reduce early travel needs.
We have worked with Kalahari to release additional rooms at the block rate - many of those rooms sold out right away.
There are also many nearby lodging options in the Dells at more flexible price points.
If your dancer is affected and you have scheduling constraints, please reach out — we will do what we can to help.
This was not a decision made lightly. Expanding the event comes with significant additional cost and coordination, and it is not something we would choose to do unless we believed it was the right call for the dancers.
We will make sure to get the National first draft schedule out as early as possible, in order for families to make changes to reservations since we know the Kalahari has tightened their policies.
We appreciate your understanding and look forward to a great Nationals.
Tyler
Starz Dance Competition
