Ascension Dance Inc.

What Ascension Dance Inc. does

Ascension Dance Inc. is a privately held, faith-based event-management business headquartered in Cypress, Texas, that organizes dance team contests, camps, workshops, and intensives for middle school, high school, and collegiate programs. Its core offering is a dual-format contest circuit — a Traditional Challenge Circuit (focused on technique and precision) and a Spirit Style Champion Circuit (focused on energy and esprit de corps) — operating across 14 host-school locations throughout Texas from January through March, culminating in the Ascension Dance Nationals at Texas State University. The company monetizes per-event registrations (contest entry fees detailed in a downloadable PDF), camp tuition (L.E.A.D. Officer Camp at $530 per officer, A.I.M. Manager Camp at $200 per manager, Accelerate Intensives at $100–$120, Ascend Officer Audition Workshop at $100–$120, and customizable 1–4 day T.E.A.M. Private Camps with $500 deposits), and spectator admission sold via TicketTailor; downstream revenue is augmented through a World Strides travel partnership and a Spirit of America Productions alliance that funnels qualifying dancers into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The company runs on a lean operating model with approximately four named staff members (Founder & President Debbie Nordstrom, VP of Camps & Special Events Whitney Baker, Accounting Manager Emely Rodriguez, and Administrative Coordinator Kirsten Gillespie) and relies entirely on third-party platforms for technology — DanceCompGenie for contest registration, TicketTailor for ticketing, Formstack for camp/intensive enrollment, and GetPOMS/dance-scoring partners. Go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven: directors and coaches at Texas schools register teams directly through online portals, with host-school Team Directors acting as local ambassadors at each contest location. Distribution is supported by organic social (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), email outreach for entry verification and scheduling, and strong word-of-mouth referrals documented via multiple director testimonials on the company website. Ascended players can earn a Team Judges Award or Division I Solo Rating, qualifying them for the Macy's Parade pathway — a distinctive elite-performance hook that anchors the long-tail value of participating in Ascension's ecosystem.

Name

Ascension Dance Inc.

Legal name

Ascension Dance

Website

https://ascensiondance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ascension Dance Inc. organizes faith-based dance team contests, camps, workshops, and intensives for middle school, high school, and collegiate programs across Texas, operating a dual-format contest circuit, multiple camp programs, and a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performance pathway.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dance Competition and Event Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Dance Competitions & Showcases (Non-Esports) (MPAGADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performing Arts Camps (Theater, Musical Theater, Dance) (EDAMALAI)

Keywords

• Dance team competitions
• Dance camps workshops
• Summer dance intensives
• Officer leadership camps
• Faith-based dance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Cypress

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Contest Entry Fees: Dance teams and officers pay entry fees to participate in the contest circuit. Entry fees are detailed in a downloadable PDF on the contests page.
2. L.E.A.D. Summit Officer Camp Fees: Multi-day residential camp for dance and social officers. Priced at $530 per officer, with additional supply fees for social officers and director programming fees. Includes hotel accommodation coordination.
3. A.I.M. Manager Camp Fees: One-day camp for team and district managers. Priced at $200 per manager, including instruction, supplies, and camp t-shirt.
4. T.E.A.M. Private Camp Fees: Customizable private team camps with pricing based on camp length (1–4 days) and number of routines. Optional contest choreography add-on at $375 + $15/dancer over 20. Requires $500 non-refundable deposit.
5. Ascend Officer Audition Workshop Fees: One-day workshop for aspiring leaders. Early bird pricing at $100 (register 2+ weeks in advance), standard/walk-in at $120.
6. Accelerate Summer Intensive Fees: Full-day intensive (6 hours) with early bird pricing of $100 (ends June 30, 2026). Directors receive free registration with team registration and up to 6 hours CPE credit.
7. Spectator Admission Fees: Spectator tickets sold via TicketTailor for contest events, providing an additional revenue stream from families and fans of competing dancers.
8. Competition Travel / World Strides: Partnered with World Strides for travel coordination to competition destinations. Travel is provided at a cost and customized to meet team needs, with the company benefiting from seamless travel logistics that support contest participation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ascension Dance Inc. organizes a faith-based dance team contest circuit and a portfolio of camps, intensives, and workshops for school and studio dance teams across Texas. Its core offering is the dual-format Contest Circuit (Challenge Circuit for spirit/style and Champion Circuit for traditional technique), supplemented by officer leadership camps (L.E.A.D.), private team camps (T.E.A.M.), manager camps (A.I.M.), summer intensives (Accelerate), audition workshops (Ascend), and a national championship pathway. Revenue comes from contest entry fees, camp tuition, spectator admission, and coordinated travel services.

Product overview

Ascension Dance Inc. offers a portfolio of dance team event services centered around a dual-format Contest Circuit (Traditional Challenge Circuit and Spirit Style Champion Circuit), culminating in the Ascension Dance Nationals championship. The company complements its competitions with three distinct camp programs: L.E.A.D. Officer Camp (leadership development for dance and social officers), T.E.A.M. Private Camps (customizable team training and choreography), and A.I.M. Manager Camp (manager support and leadership). Additional offerings include Accelerate Intensives (summer dance training across multiple genres), the Ascend Officer Audition Workshop (leadership preparation), and the Spirit of America Productions special event (Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performance opportunity). A Tour & Travel add-on service provides competition travel coordination through World Strides.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ascension Dance: Primary brand for dance team contests, camps, and intensives
• L.E.A.D. Summit Officer Camp
• T.E.A.M. Private Camps
• A.I.M. Manager Camp
• Accelerate Intensives
• Ascend Officer Audition Workshop
• Spirit of America Productions
• Ascension Dance Nationals

Products and services

• Contest Circuit Professionally run dance team contest circuit offering a dual format structure — Challenge Circuit (spirit/style) and Champion Circuit (traditional technique) — with expert adjudication, transparent scoring, Grand Champions awarded by Division and Category, and Size & Category Champions for Schools, Studios, and Collegiate Teams across Elementary through Collegiate divisions.
• Ascension Dance Nationals The pinnacle state championship event held annually at Texas State University, providing elite performance opportunities under championship-level conditions with professional adjudication and transparent scoring.
• L.E.A.D. Officer Camp A 2.5-day Leadership, Exploration And Development summit camp for Dance and Social Officers at high school and middle school levels, held at The Westin Galleria Houston. Includes leadership seminars, choreography, teaching, cleaning, social yearly planning, inspirational speakers, dynamic camp dance for both officer groups, day-to-day evaluations, and TEA CPE-credited director seminars.
• T.E.A.M. Private Camps Teamwork, Enhancement and Motivational Private Camps providing customizable team camp experiences that combine training, choreography, leadership, and connection aligned with each program's goals. Includes 1–5 customizable routines depending on camp length (1–4 days), technique classes, stand routines, team-building activities, and optional contest choreography add-ons.
• A.I.M. Manager Camp Assist, Inspire, Manage one-day camp experience for team and district managers who work behind the scenes. Curriculum equips managers with practical systems, motivational insight, and real leadership tools to become organized, confident, and reliable assistants.
• Accelerate Intensives Full-day summer intensive offering six hours of training with top instructors across various styles and genres including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, hip hop, musical theatre, and technique. Designed to elevate technique, artistry, and confidence for dancers preparing for high school and collegiate programs. Directors receive up to 6 hours CPE Credit.
• Ascend Officer Audition Workshop One-day workshop for aspiring leaders analyzing their leadership style, amplifying communication skills, and activating authentic creativity while pursuing leadership positions within their dance organization. Includes 5 hours of instruction from experienced instructors and guest artists.
• Spirit of America Productions A special event program offering dancers who have earned a Team Judges Award or Division I Solo Rating the opportunity to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, providing elite performance opportunities at one of the most iconic live events in the world.
• Competition Travel (World Strides) Competition travel services provided through World Strides, offering customized itineraries built around contest schedules including travel, hotel, trip activities, and excursions. Available for any Ascension contest location.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple contest locations throughout Texas serving dance teams across elementary, middle school, high school (JV and Varsity), collegiate, studio, and officer divisions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World StridescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWorld Strides serves as Ascension Dance's preferred travel provider for competition trips. They work closely with teams to create seamless travel experiences including transportation, hotel accommodations, and excursion activities. The partnership is promoted across multiple pages including Tour & Travel and Nationals pages, and a testimonial from a director attests to the quality of travel coordination.
• Spirit of America ProductionscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSpirit of America Productions partners with Ascension Dance to offer qualifying dancers (those who earned a Team Judges Award or Division I Solo Rating at Ascension contests, or completed any Ascension Camp) the opportunity to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Ascension dancers use registration code ASCENSION to reserve their spot. The partnership is listed under 'Our Friends' on the Ascension website and is a featured special event offering.
• DanceCompGeniecoreTechnology or IntegrationDanceCompGenie provides the online competition registration and management platform used for all Ascension Dance contests. Directors register their teams through this platform for competition entry, login, and management.
• Texas Dance Education Association (TDEA)minorOthersListed under 'Our Friends' on the Ascension Dance website. TDEA is a statewide dance education association. Ascension Dance's contest scoring and classifications may align with TDEA standards.
• GetPOMSminorOthersListed under 'Our Friends' on the Ascension Dance website. GetPOMS is a dance team management or competition scoring platform.
• Fluid Frames TexasminorOthersListed under 'Our Friends' on the Ascension Dance website. Fluid Frames provides video production services, potentially for capturing contest performances and critique videos.
• GroupFund (Cheer & Dance Fundraising)minorOthersListed under 'Our Friends' on the Ascension Dance website. GroupFund provides fundraising tools for cheer and dance programs, supporting teams in raising money for contest and camp fees.
• Modish Media Co.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDesign credits on the website footer identify Modish Media Co. as the design partner for Ascension Dance's website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Starpower International: National dance competition and convention company operating contests and intensive training camps for studios and school dance programs. Comparable contest-and-camp model targeting dance teams in the same customer vertical.
• Trios Teen Talent: Dance competition and convention circuit serving school and studio teams with contests and intensives. Overlaps with Ascension's contest, camp, and intensive offerings for the dance team vertical.
• Showstopper Dance Competition: National dance competition and convention operator running regional contests and a national event. Comparable contest circuit and camp structure for school and studio dance teams.
• American Dance & Drill Team Society (ADTS): Texas-rooted high school dance and drill team competition circuit offering a similar contest-and-camp portfolio to Texas HS dance programs. Closely comparable mission, geographic base, and customer segment (school directors and teams).
• Stage Right Dance Competition: Regional dance competition circuit operating contests and conventions for school and studio dance teams. Directly comparable contest-and-camp format for the same director and team customer base.

Emerging players

• Dance Masters of America: Dance education and competition organization offering workshops and certification. Partial overlap with Ascension's training and intensive programming for dancers and teachers.
• World Dance Championship (WDC): Dance competition and championship organization offering contest and performance opportunities for school and studio dance programs. Comparable contest format and team-based competition structure.

Broad incumbents

• Universal Dance Association (UDA): National HS dance competition circuit owned by Varsity Spirit, running contests, camps, and a national championship. Competes head-to-head with Ascension for HS dance team registrations, but at much broader national scale.
• National Dance Alliance (NDA): One of the largest national HS dance competition circuits, owned by Varsity Spirit. Operates a contest circuit, camps, and nationals at scale across the U.S. — overlapping directly with Ascension's contest-and-camp model for HS dance teams.
• Spirit Brands (Spirit National Championship): Major cheer and dance event operator running national championships, regional contests, and camps. Comparable event-driven business model for school-based dance programs, though broader across cheer as well as dance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/danceascension
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ascension-dance
• Instagraminstagram.com/ascensiondanceco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ascension Dance Inc.