The National Dance Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NDA) has announced the finalists for the 2026 edition of SPARK – Schools Festival of Dance, marking a significant expansion in both participation and national reach for its flagship youth platform.
Now in its second year under the SPARK banner, the festival builds on the legacy of the Secondary Schools Dance Festival and forms part of the Association’s 45th anniversary celebrations, which will culminate in a National Dance Gala on September 6 at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA). The announcement comes on the heels of another major cultural milestone, the successful return of the National Limbo Competition, hosted in collaboration with the National Carnival Commission (NCC).
This year’s competition drew more than 80 dance entries from primary and secondary schools across Trinidad and Tobago, representing a wide range of genres, including folk, contemporary, classical, social, and creative dances. From that pool, 40 performances have been selected to advance to the final round.
Among the returning contenders is Cedar Grove, a standout from the 2025 edition, which dominated the prize-giving ceremony. The 2026 finals will also feature, for the first time under SPARK, participation from Tobago schools. Goodwood Secondary School, Mason Hall Secondary School and Bishop’s High School have all secured spots in the final, reinforcing Tobago’s long-standing strength in the festival’s earlier iterations.
Widen public access and allow students to perform before a fuller audience of peers, relatives, and supporters who play a role in their development
The grand finale will take place at the Southern Academy of Performing Arts (SAPA) on Saturday, April 25, with two shows scheduled to accommodate the expanded programme. Primary school finalists will perform at 9.30 am, followed by secondary schools at 1.00 pm, with prize-giving ceremonies immediately following each segment. Tickets are priced at $40 for students in uniform and $100 for the general public.
This marks the first time the finals are being staged on a Saturday. NDA President Alette Liz Williams noted that, while “weekday scheduling” had traditionally worked for schools, it limited access for families and community supporters. “The shift”, she explained, “is intended to widen public access and allow students to perform before a fuller audience of peers, relatives, and supporters who play a role in their development”.
what has made a real difference is the level of support we have received, not just financially, but in the form of expertise, time and collaboration
The 2026 edition has also seen an increase in institutional and corporate collaboration. Williams said the Association has been intentional about introducing more efficient systems, including new technology and stronger operational partnerships, to ensure that the festival continues to grow in a structured way, adding that “this is especially important as we operate as a volunteer executive, where capacity is always a consideration.”
She also expressed that “what has made a real difference is the level of support we have received, not just financially, but in the form of expertise, time and collaboration. That kind of support strengthens the work and allows us to deliver an experience that students, schools, and communities can be proud of. For us, this is progress in how we build and sustain dance at a national level.”
The Department of Creative and Festival Arts of the University of the West Indies, the Trinidad and Tobago Business Etiquette and Protocol Specialists, and Mark De Moment have joined the production team, supporting logistics, event management, and execution. In addition, the competition has introduced SCORZ, a newly developed scoring platform by PHNYXPRO, which provides an integrated adjudication system with real-time scoring, streamlined evaluation and exportable reports. The system was used during the semi-final round and will continue into the finals.
The festival is supported by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture and Community Development, and the Division of Education, Research and Technology of the Tobago House of Assembly.
2026 SPARK Finalists
The following schools have advanced to the final round:
Judging for the semi-final round was conducted by a panel of experienced practitioners across both categories. Primary school adjudicators included head judge Ursulin Nelson, Deboleena Paul, Hana Delong, Hamid Rahman, and Delano Manganoo. The secondary school panel consisted of head judge Susan Mohip, Matthew McClean, Cleavand “Arlington” Serries, Brigette Wilson, and Marcia Fergus.
Tickets for the finals will be available soon. Pre-orders and enquiries can be directed to sparkdancefestival@gmail.com. Further updates can be accessed via the National Dance Association of Trinidad and Tobago on ndatt.org and Facebook and Instagram @nationaldanceassociationtt.
