We are initiating a handful of first-time dance parents into the competition world this season! Welcome! We have prepared a fun Q&A to help us prepare for this season and wanted to share it with everyone. If you are an experienced dance parent, please watch out for our newbies! Competition for the first time can be overwhelming and new dance parents can feel clueless, lost, and intimidated about the rush of it all! Please be helpful, kind and calm to each other! There are a lot of you and only a few of us, so helpful parents can be a lifesaver to a new dance mom or dad. We are so excited for this weekend and want to make sure it is great for all our parents and dancers!
If you read this over & think of something we should add to help inform future parents, let us know!
“Crap! Susie has a hole in her tights and has misplaced her earrings and I just noticed Saturday morning. What should I do?” We always have extra tights, earrings, eyelashes etc. Don’t stress about it! If you need these items just know that you can pick them up when you arrive for your call time! No need to call us to tell us that you need these items, we probably are already at the competition and can’t answer!
“What it I have a last minute question or get stuck in traffic and am going to be late?” If you have an urgent question on competition weekend, the fastest way to get a response will be:
Let your team know in the GroupMe
Text the studio phone number 801-683-7588
“Am I allowed in the dressing room?” Yes, but we often share dressing rooms with other studios and are often very crowded. Men are NOT allowed in the dressing rooms. Once your dancer’s call time has passed and your dancer is completely ready to perform, you should leave them with a teacher and exit the dressing room. This will help keep the dancers focused as we prepare for performance. After your dancer performs, meet us
“Do I need to come backstage?” Parents should never be backstage with a dancer unless it is a solo and a teacher is not present. This is the last chance for dancers to be focused and ready to perform and the fewer the distractions, the better.
“Should I stay by my dancers side the whole day?” While dancing on stage is fun, most of the dancer’s favorite memories will come from spending the day with their teammates. We try to always organize team lunches, but we encourage you to let your dancer spend time with other teammates. Of course our younger dancers should always have adult supervision and we trust your judgement as to setting boundaries and expectations for your dancers when not dancing. Teachers are not able to supervise outside of team call times. After your dancer has danced you need to pick them up in the dressing room. They will remain in your care until their next call time.
“Can I send treats for the team?” No need. We don’t want dancers eating in their costumes or making a mess in the facility. Please make sure they are wearing their jacket or jersey at the competition the whole day.
“Where do we keep our stuff during the day?” Each studio will be assigned a dressing room or changing area. We can leave our bags in that space for the day. Be conscious of how much space your dancer’s items are taking up and keep your area neat and tidy.
“I don’t really know other parents, and no one is talking to me” Don’t wait! Walk up and introduce yourself to another mom! Our company parents are some of the nicest and sweetest people we know! Chances are if you’re feeling like this, other people are too, so make the first move and you’ll get to know people in no time!
“What in the world happens at awards?” At awards all dancers will gather together on the stage. Encourage your little one to go find their friends from our studio. One of our teachers or an older student will sit with our younger teams to ensure that their attitude stays positive, to help them understand what the announcer is saying, and to redirect dancer’s reactions if needed. We think awards are a great time to reinforce the classroom focus on doing our best, growing, and improving. Big awards are fun, but if that isn’t the end result we want to make sure that we help them to process their disappointment into the mindset of “We can do better next time,” and “We can work harder in class so that we can continue to improve.” We also encourage our dancers to have great sportsmanship by clapping for the other teams during awards! They should come to awards wearing their team crewneck and pink team pants (or whatever is listed in the final details as the designated teamwear for that event).
“Does my dancer receive an award?” Most competitions present the studio with one large trophy to represent all the dances performed and give each dancer some sort of participation award. These participation awards are usually given to us and can be picked up from our teachers. Sometimes competitions have them near the main entrance of the competition and you can pick them up after you dance. If participation awards are not handed out at the competition, we will have them at their next class.
“I am more stressed about competition than I was for my own wedding. Why do I feel like this?” STOP WORRYING! We are going to have so much fun at competition! Just sit back and enjoy seeing your dancer beaming with excitement and pride before and after the performances. Don’t be afraid to ask a teacher or another parent if you have questions about where to be or what to do! Competition is something you have to experience to know. After the first weekend you will be seasoned professional dance moms and dads! (Nice ones of course.)
Don’t forget to check out these helpful links on Company Footnotes:
Competition Guide
Performance Hair & Makeup Tutorials
Competition Survival Amazon Wish List