The Dance Mom Thread

[jwsqrdplus2]

We are home from Celebrity, and the girls did great! This competition had a totally different scoring system than the last one! I hate trying to figure these things out. And this was their Nationals qualifier competition too. Silver and above can compete; bronze can still perform at Nationals, but for judges critiques only; no placement awards.

Ratings were 20 point increments out of a possible 300 this time:

Platinum: 280-300
Gold: 260-280
Silver: 240-260
Bronze: below 240

Age groups (as you know, there are several, but the two below are the only ones that apply for the DDs' results):

Junior: 5-7.99
Intermediate: 8-9.99

So, without further ado:

DD1:

Duo: Gold, 1st place, junior duo/trio open (there was a mistake here; they should have competed Intermediate, but our studio accidentally submitted DD2's name instead of DD1's for the duo, so the age group got skewed)
Trio: Gold, 1st place, Intermediate duo/trio character
Jazz: Gold, 2nd place, Intermediate Jazz, Medium Group
Tap: Gold, 3rd place, Intermediate Tap, Medium Group
Hip Hop 1: Gold, 4th place, Intermediate Hip Hop, Medium Group (they finished learning this dance on Monday, then competed it Saturday!)
Hip Hop 2: Gold, 2nd place, Intermediate Hip Hop

DD2 (her company is not going to Nationals, so this is their final competition of the year):

Jazz (with hula hoops): Gold, 1st place, Junior Open, Small Group
Tap (combined with the next company up, also not going to Nationals): Gold, 1st place, Junior Tap, Medium Group

In the group dances, our studio took a LOT of 2nd places, but with the younger girls, we got mostly style first places in the solos, duos and trios. Only 2 of our dances placed in the overall high scores for an age division; one was a solo and the other was a trio.

Our director is happy with the studio's performance, and I am happy with DDs' performances! WE go to Nationals in less than 2 months, so the dancers definitely have motivation to improve their routines!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Now that competitions are in full swing anyone thinking about next year yet? I know I've made the statement "I swear next year I ___________ (fill in the blank)".

My #1 promise is that I will cut back on the number of dances he's in.

#2 is that I'm also going to enter him in the competitions as his given name Andrew-John instead of his nickname "AJ". He's got shoulder length blond hair (usually in a low pony although in his modern dance he has a mohawk) and all the judges are calling him a girl-even when he's in a dress-shirt and tie. I'm considering it a compliment...He's so graceful they think he is girl masquarading as a boy. Of course if there were any male teachers near my small town I'd send him there in a second. His teachers this year have never taught a 10 year old boy before.

FYI just an update from pages and pages ago. Our dance studio owners showed me the sign they made up for the "Boy's dressing Room" for our end of the year recitals. I finally spoke up and they apologized for leaving the two boys out.

 

[bsnyder]

I hadn't seen this thread before, but would like to join it.

My 14 y.o. DD is obsessed with dance. She started at age 3, but really got into it in a big way a couple of years ago, when she switched to a different studio. She does ballet (just finished her first year on pointe), jazz, acro, theatre jazz and street dance. This year she was on the studio's competition team for the first time. We were in Lakeland today for Showstoppers and the girls had their best performances ever - 1st place in Large Competitive Jazz, 1st place in Large Musical Theatre, and the musical theatre number came in 2nd place overall! The girls were absolutely thrilled. DD was particularly thrilled because the studio owner singled her out as the most improved dancer of the group for this year.

Hopefully, all this will add to her confidence level this week - which is tryouts for the high school dance team. (insert nail-biting mom smilie here) There will probably only be 4 spots open for incoming freshmen (if all returning team members make the squad again), and there are a lot of wonderful dancers trying out. But, her attitude is great, and she has some wonderful role models from her studio - one of the graduating seniors didn't make the high school squad until her junior year, and now she's just made the University of Florida Dazzlers team as an incoming college freshman -quite a feat! Needless to say, DD absolutely hero-worships this gal!

We've used the clear garment bags for recital and they work great, for keeping costume and accessories for each dance separate, but easy to see at a glance.

The studio owner asked me to be in charge of the quick-changes backstage at the recital this year. Any tips from other moms on how to make this go as smoothly as possible?

Good luck to all in any upcoming competitions and recitals!

 

[Sleepy]

Older DD has just begun pointe training these past two months. ...........
The girls started out w/ their pointe shoes on for 15 min. at the most, only in class, at the barre & under their teacher's direct supervision. I believe they sometimes go up to 30 min. now -- although not every girl.

No disrespect, but I think you need to question the teachers to find out for sure how long these kids are en pointe. 2 months is not enough time to progress anyone to 30 minutes even if they have ballet technique class 5 days a week.

 

[cabanafrau]

No disrespect, but I think you need to question the teachers to find out for sure how long these kids are en pointe. 2 months is not enough time to progress anyone to 30 minutes even if they have ballet technique class 5 days a week.

No worries. 30 min. would include the time they are putting on the shoes & the entire time the shoe itself is on their foot. Everyone must wait their turn, either individually or in groups of 3, to take their turn. Much of that time is merely waiting and observing, not up on pointe. DD has had no blisters & no soreness whatsoever. She has a very experienced & knowledgeable ballet instructor who feels a tremendous investment in her dancers and won't be pushed into putting a dancer into even her pre-pointe class if she doesn't see the development required.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Saturday was dd's 1st competition. That was fun. The girls had a blast. I totally understand what you all were saying about the questionable dances winning. WOW was I shocked to see some of them score so high. Our studio did really well though anyway!

Dd's group competed in the Novice catagory since this was their first competition. Most of the crazy dances were obviously in the Elite catagory and the older girls competed against those.

Dd's dances received

High Gold in Jazz
High Gold in Tap
High Gold in Lyrical.
1st Overall in Jazz

the other girls in our studio did really well I just cannot remember what they all got too.

I'm really anxious to get to the studio today because the director thought the girls were robbed in their tap and lyrical. I guess the thought they should have gotten a platinum. They still ended up in 1st place for all their routines for the duo/trio catagory. I'm curious to see how things are scored.

one thing I have now determined i will never go without is Almay eye makeup remover pads. I have thrown those in before but hadnt used them too much. This time they were life savers. The younger group had never worn lipstick before and they kept getting it everywhere. They would wipe their arm across their lips or one got it on the front of her costume. They also thought it was pretty so they would start touching eachothers and it would smear! The only way to clear it up was with the eye makeup remover pads. It was frustrating and cute at the same time. They were 5.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Jessica, congrats to your dd's. Sounds like they did great.

Ya know I had this thought that lasted just a moment that we would drive up to your competition and watch. Dd was loving watching all the dances and she was just soaking it all in like a sponge. She would have loved it. But we were out there from 7:45am til 10:40pm Saturday night watching all of the girls in her company perform so she was dead tired Sunday and the mom part of me took over and said we were sleeping in! Plus that high school is far away. Although I grew up just down the street!

 

[dreamer17555]

Wow. I just found this thread and it is so amazing to see so many other dance mom's out there. My DD6 just finished Showstopper State (NC) two weekends ago. This weekend was spent at try outs for next years team. I was floored by how many girls there were, it seems like whenever the studio has an amazing year girls show up from everywhere. In her age Division she audtioined against 78 dancers for no more than 12 spots. She made Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Production (which had 8 spots given to her age group as they have both the older and younger girls dance together) She didn't make Acro but that's fine. She is still not nailing her backhandspring 100% of the time.

I was just curious as to how many hours per week does your dancer spend in Studio? With all of her ballet, Comp. Teams, and Technique classes she will be there for 12 hours a week! What about you guys?

Anyway thrilled to meet you all.

-Becca-

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Wow. I just found this thread and it is so amazing to see so many other dance mom's out there. My DD6 just finished Showstopper State (NC) two weekends ago. This weekend was spent at try outs for next years team. I was floored by how many girls there were, it seems like whenever the studio has an amazing year girls show up from everywhere. In her age Division she audtioined against 78 dancers for no more than 12 spots. She made Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Production (which had 8 spots given to her age group as they have both the older and younger girls dance together) She didn't make Acro but that's fine. She is still not nailing her backhandspring 100% of the time.

I was just curious as to how many hours per week does your dancer spend in Studio? With all of her ballet, Comp. Teams, and Technique classes she will be there for 12 hours a week! What about you guys?

Anyway thrilled to meet you all.

-Becca-

Welcome Dreamer. My daughter takes 10 hours right now. She's 7. She also takes 1 hour of Gymnastics and 1 hour of cheer somewhere else during the week. I keep telling her she might have to drop the cheer or gymnastics if the schedule conflicts with the dance studio but it has yet to do that.

We have left our recital and the Disneyland performance in June for this season.

 

[dreamer17555]

Welcome Dreamer. My daughter takes 10 hours right now. She's 7. She also takes 1 hour of Gymnastics and 1 hour of cheer somewhere else during the week. I keep telling her she might have to drop the cheer or gymnastics if the schedule conflicts with the dance studio but it has yet to do that.

We have left our recital and the Disneyland performance in June for this season.

Currently DD takes Gymnastics too but she is going to have to give that up. Its just too much running around for me. We still have Recital and then Showstopper Nationals.

I am kinda upset right now because I found out one of the little girls (we will call her Sue) made the team. Sue was on their team this year and honestly I think her mother over schedualed her (her mom is super nice and I like her- just not her parenting) the kid freaked and decided she didn't like dance (she had just started Kindergarten too and had never been to any type of school) She missed constantly so finally they rework the dance and spacing and so on.... then she comes back. Now I understand she is only 6 but still. She they rework the dance again. The girls do great at competitions but still I personally think it is unfair for the girls to constantly be reworking things. I talk to her mom about maybe having her do one team dance (keep her with the girls just cutting back) somehow she made 3 teams all of which my DD are on. I am really concerned that this will happen again. (Sue flaking, not coming, or coming and refusing to dance) Any suggestions?

-Becca-

 

[missypie]

DD's winning Showstopper dance is online now if anyone cares to take a peek.

Go to:

http://www.showstopperonline.com/video_library/

then scroll down to Ft. Worth, then click on Teen.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

Congrats to all who competed this weekend. It soulds like all of our dancers performed brilliantly!

AZMickeyfans, if you had come over on Sunday, you would have seen the solos, duos and trios for the under 10 crowd in the morning and for the teens and seniors in the afternoon (we didn't stay for the afternoon; we were ready to get home!). We'll have to see if any of our competitions are the same next year.

Also, have you thought about recommending a Colorstay (Cover Girl, but other brands have similar products) type lipstick for the younger dancers? We use it on the younger dancers at our studio and it is great. You apply the color which then needs 60-90 seconds to set, then you apply the clear top coat as often as you like for shine and moisterizing (my girls just get the topcost out of their make up kit and apply it ontheir own). The color stays on the lips, and does not end up on costumes, tights, mom, other dancers, etc. And before you are ready to take it off, put any type of clear gloss or chapstick on top (anything but the actual topcoat that comes with it), and that will start to break down the pigment so it comes off more easily with makeup remover!

We only have recital and Celebrity Nationals (DD1 only; DD2's company is not going to Nationals) left this year. We have a new artistic director starting in August (she actually trained our current AD/owner) so next season is a mystery to all of us right now.

Welcome bsnyder and dreamer17555! It's always nice to meet more people as crazy as we are when it comes to our kids dance!

missypie, that was a beautiful dance!

Alright, I need to actually get back to and housework! Doesn't that sound like fun???

 

[dreamer17555]

DD's winning Showstopper dance is online now if anyone cares to take a peek.

Go to:

http://www.showstopperonline.com/video_library/

then scroll down to Ft. Worth, then click on Teen.

That is a really great dance. Congrats to your DD.

-Becca-

 

[missypie]

That is a really great dance. Congrats to your DD.

-Becca-

I watched that dance for a while and had no idea what it meant, even after I read the song lyrics. I found a Wikepedia article that finally made it clear to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_The_Air_Tonight

 

[bsnyder]

Loved the dance, Missypie. Congrats to your daughter!

I just dropped mine off at the high school for the first day of tryouts. In addition to being nervous, for her, I was suddenly hit by the realization that my baby is going to high school!

Friday at 9:30 p.m. (when they announce the results, online) seems like a lifetime away. I hope I'm not a wreck by then!

 

[missypie]

Loved the dance, Missypie. Congrats to your daughter!

I just dropped mine off at the high school for the first day of tryouts. In addition to being nervous, for her, I was suddenly hit by the realization that my baby is going to high school!

Friday at 9:30 p.m. (when they announce the results, online) seems like a lifetime away. I hope I'm not a wreck by then!

We were right there exactly a year ago. DD is a JV drill team officer, so starting tomorrow, she will be helping with the JV tryouts. The officers choreographed the dance and will teach it to the girls. Then, a week later, they will help with JV officer tryouts. She said this year's officers are going to encourage the officer candidates to be nice and well behaved and responsible. I guess that during the lag time during last year's officer tryouts, the outgoing officers regaled the candidates with stories of how badly behaved they were all year!

Two weeks ago we were also where you are, doing varsity tryouts. I like it that they post online. It's so much nicer to get the news in private, esp. if you don't make it, or if you have friends that don't make it. Posting it on Friday night allows the girls to get themselves together before they have to face school the next Monday. But I'm sure your daughter has nothing to worry about!

They just did varsity officer auditions on Satuday. It's very nice that sophomores can't be any type of officer, so we got to skip that drama for a year! However, my daughter is kind of freaked out by how few made it (6 officers, for a squad of 55) AND more importantly, by several of the FABULOUS dancers who did not make it. We're thinking (hoping?) that their bad behavior caught up with them and that they were excluded for reasons other than dance ability.

As for being a wreck yourself, I find that I only get nervous if I talk to the other moms. Going through varsity auditions a couple of weeks ago, my daughter was very confident. (All those years in Company have to count for something.) But then I'd talk to moms whose daughters were not as strong a dancers, and they'd be all nervous, then they'd make me all nervous.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

DD's winning Showstopper dance is online now if anyone cares to take a peek.

Go to:

http://www.showstopperonline.com/video_library/

then scroll down to Ft. Worth, then click on Teen.

Beautiful dance missypie!

Congrats to all who competed this weekend. It soulds like all of our dancers performed brilliantly!

Also, have you thought about recommending a Colorstay (Cover Girl, but other brands have similar products) type lipstick for the younger dancers? We use it on the younger dancers at our studio and it is great. You apply the color which then needs 60-90 seconds to set, then you apply the clear top coat as often as you like for shine and moisterizing (my girls just get the topcost out of their make up kit and apply it ontheir own). The color stays on the lips, and does not end up on costumes, tights, mom, other dancers, etc. And before you are ready to take it off, put any type of clear gloss or chapstick on top (anything but the actual topcoat that comes with it), and that will start to break down the pigment so it comes off more easily with makeup remover!

???

We used Colorstay at the old studio. I was so sure that is what we were going to use here. She said it was a really bright red color. so, when she brought all the lipsticks to the competition I was really surprised to see it was just a regular lipstick Revlon "Love that Red" I also find that wands are easier to apply on kids than the actual stick for me. Yikes but that was messy. maybe after this competition we can bring up to switch lipsticks to the colorstay for next year so it doesnt happen again. might have to have more messes at recital for her to see that needs to happen though. But yes Colorstay was WONDERFUL!

Loved the dance, Missypie. Congrats to your daughter!

I just dropped mine off at the high school for the first day of tryouts. In addition to being nervous, for her, I was suddenly hit by the realization that my baby is going to high school!

Friday at 9:30 p.m. (when they announce the results, online) seems like a lifetime away. I hope I'm not a wreck by then!

Good luck to her and to you for getting through this week!

 

[bsnyder]

Well, the first day of tryouts is over, for DD. I think she found it a bit intimidating. And she's exhausted. Our middle school dismissal is not until 4:15 - the tryouts practice start at 4:30. She ate a snack in the car. Changed and put her hair up when she got to the high school. And ate dinner in the car after I picked her up at 7:30 to take her to the dance studio. The instructor is excusing the girls who are trying out from their classes this week, and letting them use one of her classrooms to practice the routines, after tryouts. She finished with that at 9:30 - came home, studied for a math test, showered, and went to bed.

Friday they will perform the 3 routines (pom, jazz and hip-hop) for the judges, in groups of two, and they are suppose to wear full makeup, so I"m going to let her leave school a bit early, to have some time to get ready.

I can tell she's struggling with the reality that only a few girls her age are going to make the squad, and that it very well may not be her. There are 48trying out, in addition to the 19 returning team members. 24 will make it. I think she wants to have that positive, optimistic attitude, but at the same time, protect herself from being totally crushed if she doesn't get a spot. It's kind of a fine line to thread...

Any advice, from other dance moms, on encouragement for her would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[undercovermom]

Welcome to my world, bsnyder. I have two girls in high school. Older dd is a varsity cherleader, and younger dd is on the dance team. If you think tryouts are rough, wait until the team starts practicing!

 

[missypie]

Well, the first day of tryouts is over, for DD. I think she found it a bit intimidating. And she's exhausted. Our middle school dismissal is not until 4:15 - the tryouts practice start at 4:30. She ate a snack in the car. Changed and put her hair up when she got to the high school. And ate dinner in the car after I picked her up at 7:30 to take her to the dance studio. The instructor is excusing the girls who are trying out from their classes this week, and letting them use one of her classrooms to practice the routines, after tryouts. She finished with that at 9:30 - came home, studied for a math test, showered, and went to bed.

Friday they will perform the 3 routines (pom, jazz and hip-hop) for the judges, in groups of two, and they are suppose to wear full makeup, so I"m going to let her leave school a bit early, to have some time to get ready.

I can tell she's struggling with the reality that only a few girls her age are going to make the squad, and that it very well may not be her. There are 48trying out, in addition to the 19 returning team members. 24 will make it. I think she wants to have that positive, optimistic attitude, but at the same time, protect herself from being totally crushed if she doesn't get a spot. It's kind of a fine line to thread...

Any advice, from other dance moms, on encouragement for her would be greatly appreciated!!

Yeah, a couple of weeks ago, when the girls had varsity tryouts, they'd stay at school for tryout clinic, then we'd bring food which they would eat on the way to Company, then they'd get home about 9:45 pm. What a week! They had a competiton on Saturday (after late Friday night tryouts), so the comapny director couldn't excuse them.

Here's my advice-it won't help your daughter this year but it will help everyone in the future. After some time has passed (maybe at the beginning of the school year), try to lobby for them to choose based on the "natural break" in scores, rather than a set number. It works out SO much better.

Let's say 48 try out and the first 30 scores are between 100 and 88, then they fall to 83....that is your natural break in scores and you take 30 girls. All 30 girls are of about the same ability. The way your team is chosen, let's say 48 try out and the first 20 scores are between 10 and 90, then they drop to 80. If you "need" a team of 24, you have to take the next 4 girls, even if their scores are much lower than the other 20 girls. Choosing the team by natural break instead of a set number gives you a squad of more closely comparable abilities. (It also eliminates the "I missed it by 1/2 point" outcomes.) Talk to some other parents-of girls on and not on the team, and see if you can get a change made.