I just wanted to share that today proved that an idea that my studio just implemented for the first time today proved to be brilliant!

Our competition team, while generally hard workers, tends to get lazy mid-year, feeling that the competitions season doesn't begin till March-ish, so they've got plenty of time. For the past several years, they've gotten worse & worse about procrastinating with practicing, taking corrections, & generally getting their act together. What they always forget is that there's a good month right before the season starts when they never meet all together due to several different schools' spring break schedules, & that there are other things we need to work on during class besides their comp routine at this time of year, so they run short on time, throw it together, & compete with shaky confidence unnecessarily.

My assistant director & I spoke with our senior co dancers about this last year after a poor 1st comp performance, & they came up with the idea of making them audition for permission to perform at the 1st comp of the year, as a motivator to get their act together earlier. So, we decided to turn our annual competition dress rehearsal (held on a stage for perspective) into a dress rehearsal/audition.

It worked brilliantly! Even the seniors took it seriously, which thrills me because it means they took me at my word, knowing from my consistent history of following thru on my word that not everyone would make the cut. Only 2 dances out of 35 aren't going, & that's not because they're awful, but because they need more time to gain confidence & to be clean. The kids all really stepped it up, & there were some genuine surprises, mostly good. So proud of the kids, and also for my wonderful staff, who work so hard to invest their hearts & souls in their choreography, which is amazing. What a talented bunch!

There are 6 company instructors including me, & since we weren't allowed to vote on our own piece, it would take a minimum of 3 (majority) votes for a piece to pass the audition. For the most part, we were on the same page. We had score sheets with space for comments, plus we videotaped, so the kids can watch & hear what the judges had to say. Hopefully this'll help them focus better prior to our 1st comp.

I just emailed the results to the teachers & posted the results on our website, so we'll see what the fallout is like on Monday. All 3 of our understudies were also auditioning for full-membership positions, and all 3 were unanimously voted in. I'm beaming with pride over them too--what remarkable growth! I expect that they'll be happy, & that most of the others will too. My instructors are adept at spinning the negative into a positive, so they'll encourage those who didn't pass the audition to use this as a motivator to practice & polish, and to avoid discouragement.

I'm just tickled with how well today went, how well the kids' idea worked, & how this comp season is looking for us!

That's a fabulous idea! What a great way to attack that mid-year funk that they get in.

It's funny you should mention this because I have been tossing around the idea of suggesting a mock competition for all of our groups next year before they compete. I never really thought of making it an actual audition, but why not? Especially now that your dancers know you will follow through on pulling routines, it should work really well to your benefit in the future.

I think as our kids get older and more experienced, they do start to think they are hot shots and can get it together when they feel like it. When it really counts, for lack of a better term. It isn't until they become teachers themselves that they realize how frustrating this is. Making them work for the fun stuff is so important. Kudos to you! Hope the rest of your season goes well!

I am a dance coach for a highly competitive Gymnastics team. They do this!!! They also will pull any girl from any competition at any point due to behavior or not working hard enough and the parents don't get a refund! Now it works with Gymnastics bc there are no group numbers like in dance, but it just amazes me how much harder they are on the girls (and I do mean in a good supportive way) then any dance group I have worked with.