We are a small studio and this year was the first year we attended this ballet competition. Backstage a teacher asked me what sudio i was from, when I told her that this was my first year to attend she told me that I didn't have a chance winning anything and that I wasn't going to place anywhere but the last place. She told me that only the large studios that pay the big sums for enetering have a chance of winning. I didn't want to believe her at first - I thought she only wanted to scare me. But it was exactly what happened. My dancers were last in every category and the same schools won all the trophys. I don't want to say that my dancers were better than the others, but they didn't diserve to be last! My youngest dancer to attend (8 yrs.) was really sad. The older girls understood and accepted the outcome.

All the large studios were allowed to reherse on stage (right before they performed their number infront of the judges!!!). We were allowd to practice 3 minutes on stage with 5 numbers attending!!!!

Now the little girl doesn't want to compete anymore. She doesn't even want to dance anymore. Me and her mom both tried to explain to her that this wasn't about her.

We decided not to attend this competition anymore. But I don't know how to get this girl to dance again. We are attending other competitions and I would really like her to be a part of the competition. She worked her butt off and would've deserved to at least make 5th place (out of 10).

Have you ever attended a competition that was all about how much money you left there?

Darcey

I also teach at a fairly new studio and we have tried different competitions every year to see what ones we like. Some are only about the money or they already have a favored studio and it is very dissappointing for the kids and the teachers.Other competitions are very poorly ran,we attended one where the judges didn't write any comments and just had a number score penciled in-we thought that was pretty lame. I would explain to the kids that since you are a new studio you need to try the different competitions to see what ones you like and will be attending in the future. You can also explain to them that even though the competition was unfair you did get to practice your routines on stage infront of people so it wasn't a complete loss.You can also do more appearances like at fairs or other venues to make your dancing more about your passion to dance instead of just competing. Hang in there it gets better as you gain more experiance we are still learning to so I know how you feel.

What ballet comp was this? That is horrible. I know it's always about the money. I have plenty of friends who judge and who judge for some of the biggest comps. They have been told to change scores. Let's face it, it's a business and their in it to make $. But mostly you see some of their dances win high score and some win in the middle to keep them happy and going to nationals. They know the little schools won't go to nationals. It's too bad, it can be such a turn off for the dancers.

I use comps as a learning tool. My girls don't score high most of the time. We have schools that don't even take classical ballet kill us in scoring but yet I have dancers dancing on Broadway, in modern & ballet companies and accepted into top college & university programs...so I try to remind them "it's not about the score, but about the experience".

Don't do that comp again. I have only been doing comps for 5 years. I try new ones until I find relatively fair ones or ones with excellent dancers for my dancers to learn from.

Wow, that's really rotten. It's so sad that one bad experience can ruin a child's entire view of dance altogether. I'm so sorry about that.

I've searched long and hard to find competitions that don't treat the smaller studios/teams this way. I understand that they need to make money and so obviously they want the larger studios to come back, but there's no need to be unfair. I was at a competition one time that had 120 dancers on stage. They hardly danced at all, mainly because they had no room to move, and they still took home top awards. It was rediculous. I haven't been back to that competition since.

I hate to suggest competitions, because every city is different, and some have different experiences than others, but Showstopper is great. They've always treated us the same as the biggest studios - like we deserved to be there, like my dancers were important to them and they valued us being there. We win and we lose, sometimes I agree with the results, sometimes I don't. That's just part of the biz, but I always feel as though we are scored based on our performance, not how much money we shell out for them. They have no problem scoring us higher than the biggest studios, even if they get mad about it. They also offer very useful critiques.

Either way, do whatever you can to coax this little girl back into just dance. I wouldn't bother with competition right now, she's just too fragile. Encourage her to just do it for fun and then you may be able to ease her back into comps. Wish you well!

I have ALWAYS had the same experience. The most entries we have ever taken was four - so you can guess how we scored. And yeah, we're not the BEST, but a couple of times we deserved to be wayyyy higher scored than we were.

I explain it like it is to the kids and especially the parents. We are small. Competing is really a learning tool for us.

If you ever find one that is fair, please let me know. I will certainly NOT hold my breath.

I think its aweful, but alot of competitions are this way. If you are small and aren't bring the big bucks, you are going home empty handed. We went to many different competitions growing up and have experienced this. As a teacher, we attend the same competitions every year because we know what we like, and occassionally will try something new. When I was a dancer we were trying out new comps all the time, and we learned the hard way which ones were good. I have always like Kids Artistic Revue-or KAR because they have always been very very fair, regardless of where you are from. I came from a small studio and they never treated us any different then anyone else. Its unfortunate that there are competitions out there that make children feel the way they do.
One other thing, you might want to have a talk with the students if you haven't already. Tell them not to compare their scores with the other students, but read the scores and listen to the critiques to see what the judges had to say. Tell them this was a learning experience. Make sure that they aren't going there thinking they will win. I competed for years before I even got a gold, and that gave me all the drive I needed to work harder for it. Tell them that this is behind them, and we need to work even harder for the next one, but also remind them that you think they did a great job and you were proud of them no matter what score they got.

Never in my life have I even *heard* of studios "buying" their way into competition here in Australia. Small studio-run competitions aside, things are very fair over here. Winners might only get a trophy (only the really big competitions can afford cash prizes, even then usually only for the winner - they can usually only afford one adjudicator per section too), but it's fair.

So, the answer is simple. Book flights to Australia

You know the way around this kind of thing don't you? Go to competitions which limit their entries. Look at Jump, Nuvo, NYCDA, Hollywood Connection, most of these limit studio entries to only 10 numbers, that way no one is stealing the show with 100 numbers from their studio. It forces larger studios to bring only the best of the best. For us we have on avg between 25-35 numbers that we bring to comp every year, this year we are going to Jump in January and only the 10 best students will be there. It does mean that the competition will be tought, but at least it will be fair, everyone is paying the same thing.

tremaine also only allows 9 numbers per studio. They treat EVERYONE, even new people, like family. By far the best experience I have had as a teacher and my students are still talking about how much they love it. We are going again in November. I also love that the kids are all suppose to sign up for the convention and it really seems like they pay attention to their technique in these classes. Its the best! and they have been around forever. I went as a child...and that was a loooooong time ago.

Thanks so much everyone! This really helps me soo much! I wa sooo proud of my girls they did such a great job! Two ballet dancers from a different studio even tried to spit in my sisters face when she left stage! Can you believe that!!
This was an international ballet competition in Munich Germany. I will never attend it again!
The worst part was that they treated us like sh... - like I already said we were allowed to practice for 3 minutes (total) for all of my 5 numbers!!! And the large schools were allowed to run through their routine right before they were judged! It was unbelievable.
Last year was the first time I ever had my girls attend a competition ! My girls made 2cnd spot - but didn't win an award because only the 1st spost got one. That sucked. But at least they made it to the top! I was soo proud.
I am always the youngest teacher and I get weird and shocked looks all the time from the other teachers, at the ballet competition they even talked about me aloud!!!
I really enjoy competitions - this bad experience only makes me work even harder!!! Too bad that where I am from we don't have as many sompetitions as elsewhere.

THANK YOU SOO MUCH EVERYONE
We small studios ROCK because we have a lot more FUN!
We are like a big family of DANCERS and most the kids know eachother and become friends for LIFE!

I don't know --we've never had more than 32-35 numbers, somewhere in there, and this last year we took top production at all five comps we went too, as well as a bunch of other overalls - solo, duo, trio, sm grp, lrge. grp. -- at least two each time. And this is at comps that did have the 120-dance schools. So this theory doesn't hold water in our experience.

Well if any of you are located in Texas, my new comp won't do what that comp did. In fact we are trying to cater to the new & smaller dance schools. What I have discovered over the years is that many times the studios who only bring a few routines actually are better technically, and the kids are more dedicated to the art. I have never had a competition director tell me while I was judging to only give the large studios a better score, if they had I would have never judged again for them. At any rate, if any of you are in the state of Texas, private message me if you want information about our 2009 season.

Although many competitions "politic" their scores, there are many that don't. Even the comps that limit their entries because they're convention/competitions favor the studios that have their faculty in to their studios to teach & choreograph. Also, don't believe for 1 second that these comp/convention owners don't know who brought 100 students to their convention & who only brought 10.

Keep trying different comps until you find those that are honest & ethical. You will also need to be honest & realistic when assessing your own dancers because, much like parents, we often are biased when judging our own. You will never find an "honest" comp if you are not capable of doing this.

I run an honest comp and I can tell you that we've had many small schools walk away with top honors. I've also had many small schools and large schools leave disappointed because they were not happy with their medal placement (thus the reason why most comps give nothing lower then gold medals). I've also found that sometimes that "bigger" school really is better.

What it really comes down to is:

A. Being capable of honestly assessing yourself (and your dancers) & others (and their dancers).

B. Determining what you hope to get out of competition for yourself & your dancers.

C. Finding a company that you feel is ethical, suits your needs & echo's your philosophies on competition.

Good luck to all in finding a competition that works for you. I know it's not easy. If you're looking for a competition that's going to give you honesty, reality & a fair assessment to all I suggest you try mine:)

To some of us 32-35 dance numbers is a lot. I don't think that most people understand what we are talking about when we say "small studio". I have taken kids to competitions and the most numbers we entered was 3. I have had positive experience though. I can't complain about how we were treated at all. I just had to clear up the "small studio" definition. (at least my small studio)

I totally agree... you have to try out different competitions!
The only fair way for judges (in my oppinion) would be if the judges wouldn't know what school they are judging - they shouldn't be told who they are judging and who the choreographie is from - who the teacher is... This would be FAIR! The way it is done during piano competitions..

DARCEY

^ Glitterfairy is right! Book a flight to OZ. We have eisteddfods mostly here in sunny Queensland and the name of the studio is not announced when they perform. All the groups, large or small, are on an even keel when it comes to judging and most places don't even let you rehearse inside the building anywhere! (which I like 'cause I'm one of those who doesn't drill her kids right up to the last minute!)

We are a VERY small school too and usually only go to two comps a year, taking only the senior dance team. I love that we are small because I have such a loyal group of kids who 'get' me and what the studio is about!
YAY for small studios!

xxxKyla

darcey wrote:



THANK YOU SOO MUCH EVERYONE
We small studios ROCK because we have a lot more FUN!
We are like a big family of DANCERS and most the kids know eachother and become friends for LIFE!

Ahh I love this! It's so true! I went to one of those "big" studios that brought tons of routines and for the first year that I went there everyone was SO RUDE and mean to me. So now, when I see those nasty girls at competition (like the one's you were discussing that tried to spit at yoru girls) you know that unfortunatley that is how they treat each other as well! They are all in competition against each other and never have any FUN! Go us small studios!

I love having a small group! My girls are so close-knit and they have learned to work hard and appreciate every award they get. Not that there are no big studios like this, but you can't help noticing things.

kyladance wrote:

^ Glitterfairy is right! Book a flight to OZ. We have eisteddfods mostly here in sunny Queensland and the name of the studio is not announced when they perform. All the groups, large or small, are on an even keel when it comes to judging and most places don't even let you rehearse inside the building anywhere! (which I like 'cause I'm one of those who doesn't drill her kids right up to the last minute!)

We are a VERY small school too and usually only go to two comps a year, taking only the senior dance team. I love that we are small because I have such a loyal group of kids who 'get' me and what the studio is about!
YAY for small studios!

xxxKyla

Oh yeah. I'm stunned that the american competitions let you practice on the stage - that doesn't happen over here at all!

I think the practicing on stage is a ballet thing, because that does not happen at theatre dance competitions here in the states. As far as the judges not knowing who is on stage...I absolutely agree. Judges should not know what schools the competitors come from. I know we don't let them know at my comp.
We don't even announce or post "studio codes". Judges critique CD's & DVD's are actually filed to their proper studios by our computer & my staff. Takes more effort & manpower, but it assures that the judges are in the dark and on the up & up. Even when they start recognizing the competitors because they've been on stage a gazillion times, we do not let them know what studio they're from. It's easy to figure out if you watch the awards ceremonies, but we put our judges on break on all of those except for final awards.

It isn't common to be able to practice on stage. Sometimes during judges breaks you can run up there just to catch a glimpse of it, like if you have really little ones to show them the center or something but its not something you see often at all.