For the 16th time, Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) students danced the evening away for a good cause.

On April 25, the all-girls Notre Dame  High School in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood — established by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame in 1941 — played host to hip-hop dance teams from 12 schools from all across the TCDSB.

The fundraiser's proceeds are earmarked for Notre Dame’s sister schools in Cameroon and Honduras, and a sponsored child named Korotimi, a Grade 3 student from Mali, Africa. Notre Dame’s Lenten drive also supports these causes.

Sandy Soave, the school chaplain, said there is sufficient interest in the dance-off to warrant more entrants each year, but the number of teams is capped at 12 for multiple reasons.

“Funnily enough, we've had to turn schools away,” said Soave. “We only have 12 schools so that way the competition doesn't go too late at night. And we only have a certain amount of facility (space) available within the school, right? This competition could probably have 16 to 20 teams if we really wanted it to.”

Soave also wants the dance-off in the school gymnasium to remain true to its roots. DJ Jovie J — also known as Jovie Jovellanos — who has mixed at the dance-off since its inception in 2006, has also urged the school not to seek a larger venue for the event.

“He too has said ‘you can’t bring this to anywhere else,’ ” said Soave. ‘“If you bring it anywhere else it’s going to lose its special vibe’ because it is being in the school and the students leading things that make it a special event.

“Many schools have asked us to move to a larger, more professional style venue,” continued Soave. “But the vibe of this school, the volunteer opportunities for our students that are available this night — we have over 75 volunteers helping us from Notre Dame. It's just, we don't want to lose that special feeling in our school.”

DJ Jovie J, who has charged the school the same amount in expenses in 2025 as he did in 2006, originally signed on because of his bond with Lily Ann Adams, the former Notre Dame teacher who is now principal of Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School in Toronto. Notre Dame student alumni Julie Fernandez and Tanya DaCosta were also instrumental in the creation of the dance-off. The inaugural event attracted five competing teams.

Soave took over orchestrating the fundraiser nine years ago. Except for three cancelled years due to COVID-19 restrictions, it has been a cherished annual staple.

The structure of the evening has remained consistent through the years. Each team’s dance performance must be three-and-a-half-minutes or less and the dancing and lyrics must remain clean to avoid scoring deductions from the panel of judges.

The 2025 dance-off attracted a full crowd of 450 people and each attendee paid a $20 entrance fee. Organizers aspire to combine the gate total with other donations to provide at least a $1,000 contribution split between the two schools and the sponsored student.

Winning the contest nets a grand prize of $500, the runner-up crew collects $300 and third place receives $200. The top three teams, respectively, were "Adrenalyn" from Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School, "Synergy Dance Crew" from Senator O'Connor College School, and "Supernova" from James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School. Sponsoring dance studios have also perennially gifted free classes to top-performing teams.

Soave is determined to keep this tradition ongoing for many years to come. Cheryl-Ann Madeira, the principal of Notre Dame, praised the chaplain for her “great compassionate heart,” which is “kind of significant in this particular project.”

For Soave’s part, the work she and student leaders put into organizing the event is validated by “just seeing the faces of the students who are so excited to be on that stage.” She hailed the evening as a “positive and life-giving way” for Notre Dame students and their peers from other schools to come together for healthy competition.