At school sports festivals, it’s not just the competitions—cheer battles and their performances are also major highlights.
Every year, the creative dances and joke-filled routines put on by elementary, middle, and high school students across the country are a joy to watch, and their full-body expressions can even be moving.
That said, some of you might be wondering what kind of performance to tackle this year.
In this article, we’ve put together a variety of ideas, including recommended dance tracks for performances and cheering at sports festivals.
You can go classic with a traditional school-uniformed cheering squad, or dance to trending songs—choose a performance that every member of your team can enjoy!
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- Sports Day/Athletics Festival: Crowd-Pleasing Cheer Battle Ideas and Performances
- [Dance Basics] Simple Choreography for Middle School Students
- [Youth Songs] Songs that liven up sports days and athletic festivals. Music that adds color to the event.
- [For School Culture Festivals] A Selection of Hype Dance Tracks [2026]
- [For Creative Dance] A Collection of Easy-to-Dance Japanese and Western Tracks
- [Uplifting Songs] A curated selection of popular and latest tracks to energize your school cultural festivals!
- Popular Dance Songs Ranking [2026]
- Songs I want to use for a flag dance at a sports day. Recommended songs for a flag dance.
- [Boost Your Energy] A Collection of Cool and Funny Team Huddles
- Coloring the drama of youth! Heartwarming songs perfect for school sports days and athletic festivals
- [Sports Day BGM] A selection of classic tunes that liven up the venue
Ideas for Standout Performances at Sports Day: Dance Songs Compilation (1–10)
A performance using Japanese taiko drums
When it comes to school sports festivals, traditional performances featuring Japanese taiko drums are a staple.
The Soran Bushi, in particular, is widely recognized nationwide, and I believe many schools actually perform it.
One of the appeals of taiko is not only its familiarity but also its relatively low level of difficulty to play.
Of course, at a professional level it’s a challenging instrument, but compared to something like the drum set, it’s easier for beginners to handle.
The sound of taiko drums can really stoke your fighting spirit, so be sure to check it out.
haka
The haka is the performance made famous by New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks.
This dance originated with the Māori people of New Zealand and was originally used to intimidate rival tribes.
In sports, the haka isn’t meant as provocation; instead, it carries the meaning of rousing and motivating oneself.
It’s truly an ideal dance for a school sports festival where various events are contested.
Rather than having the cheer squad perform it, it’s best presented as a dance by the students of each class.
U.S.A.
DA PUMP’s 2018 single “U.S.A.” is a cover of Italian singer Joe Yellow’s song, and it became popular for its perfectly cheesy vibe.
One of the key reasons for the hit was, without a doubt, the dance.
That distinctive bouncy, hopping routine created a huge buzz on social media.
Surprisingly, the steps are quite simple, so I think it’s well-suited for many students to perform.
human formation
Let’s try creating team unity by taking on human lettering or a human-lettering panel display.
At a sports festival with many participants, you can stage large characters formed by many people using various props.
Human-lettering panels, where participants hold and flip panels to depict letters and shapes, may require meticulous planning.
But the time spent thinking it through will likely become a fun memory, too.
You can also arrange people to form letters by color-coding with T-shirts, and the difficulty can vary depending on your ideas, making it suitable for a wide range of ages.
blue dresser
The dance “Ao Dance,” which gained popularity through YouTube and other platforms in 2019, originated from a Pocari Sweat commercial.
Its powerful choreography and a video featuring a collaboration with the Mie High School dance club helped it become popular nationwide.
As you can see in the video, the choreography grows more impactful with larger groups, making it perfect for school sports festivals.
Although the intense contrast between stillness and motion makes it fairly challenging, performing the same choreography together fosters strong teamwork and can be highly educational.
Eisa
Many of you may be familiar with Eisa, the dance performed in Okinawa on the last day of Obon.
It is an important dance to send off the ancestors who returned during Obon.
With its powerful movements set to the rhythm of the sanshin and drums, it’s a perfect fit for a school sports festival performance.
When presenting it at a sports festival, assigning roles for instruments like small drums will make the dance even more vibrant.
Within Okinawa’s distinctive, relaxed rhythm, be sure to perform each movement with care.
It’s the kind of dance that will move the audience, too.
Yosakoi
Yosakoi is a dance that enjoys nationwide popularity.
It originated from the Yosakoi Festival in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, and, as the name “Soran-bushi” suggests, it arranges the traditional Soran-bushi in a Yosakoi style.
The greatest appeal of Yosakoi is undoubtedly its dynamic choreography.
Since there are no rapid, small steps, it’s easy enough for elementary school students to dance as well.
Because many of the moves use large, full-body motions, it also pairs well with school sports festivals from the standpoint of serving as a warm-up.