Notre Dame set to host 17th annual Dance Off competition this Friday evening

East Toronto’s Notre Dame Catholic High School is preparing for the 17th annual Dance Off taking place on Friday, April 24.

Notre Dame’s dance team is called Avidity, and they will be hosting 12 teams from the Toronto Catholic District School Board. The competition features hip-hop routines.

Competitors heading to the Malvern Avenue school this year are:

The Xcel team from Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton; the Coalesce team from Dante Alighieri Academy; the Carr Elite team from Father Henry Carr; the Diversity in Sight team from Loretto College; the Bullseye team from Marshall McLuhan; the Synergy team from Senator O’Connor; The Notorious SBC team from St. Basil-the-Great; the Elevate team from St. Joan of Arc; the Hype team from St. John Henry Newman; the SMT Vitals team from St. Mother Theresa; and the Velocity team from St. Patrick.

The judges for this year’s Dance Off are Greg Samba, Josh Torres, Zahra Badua, and Monique Pascall. Samba, Torres, and Badua are back for a second year as judges. There will also be a professional DJ spinning tunes all night.

The 2025 winners were Adrenalyn (from Mary Ward), followed by Synergy in second place and Supernova (from Cardinal James McGuigan) in third. Avidity placed sixth in a three-way tie with Carr Elite and Diversity in Sight.

The last time Avidity finished first was 10 years ago, so they are working toward the number one spot this year.

Along with being a night of music, talent, and energy, it’s a fundraiser that collects proceeds for Notre Dame’s sister schools in Cameroon and Honduras and to help cover tuition costs for sponsor child Kortimi. Last year, the event raised $2,000.

This year, Notre Dame has also teamed up with Studio North, Run The Flex, and The Underground to support the competition. These studios are offering classes as prizes for the winners. 

The first Dance Off took place in April 2006 and was founded by former Notre Dame teacher Lily Adams and students Julie Fernandes and Tanya Da Costa. The first competition had only six schools and has since doubled that number.

Doors open at the school, located at 12 Malvern Ave. for this Friday’s Dance Off at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15. For information on how to order tickets, please go online to https://sites.google.com/tcdsb.ca/danceoff2026/home?authuser=0