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The 2021 Competition Season - Best Practices For Block Scheduling · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_03: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_03: This is Making the Impact, a Dance Competition Podcast.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_03: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_03: As we leave what little of the 2020 competition season we had behind, many dance competitions have drastically changed how their events run to accommodate safety precautions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_03: The changes will definitely have an effect on nearly everything in the competition industry, which will in turn have an effect on the studios and dancers who attend.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_03: In this episode of Making the Impact, we're diving into the best practices to help you succeed in the new world of competitions in 2021.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone, this is Courtney Ortiz, and welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, and I am here with my co-host Leslie Mueller.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, podcast listeners! We're really excited for this week's episode, and I know that you probably are too, because we are going to be talking all about what the upcoming 2021 dance competition season is going to look like.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: We have some expectations as far as what we think it'll be like.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: We have some guests here who have already participated in post-pandemic events.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it's going to be a really uh great topic.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that during this discussion, we can kind of help get you a little bit more comfortable as far as what to expect when we do attend these events, uh, how safety precautions are going to go, how the entire event is going to look a little bit different than what we're used to, and just kind of ease your mind.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: That is definitely the goal.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: We want you all to feel safe and feel ready for the season because we all know we're we're dying to get back to these live events.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I know some of us have already had the opportunity to, but to all of our listeners out there, this is going to be a really great discussion to just kind of give you some insight as to what to expect for 2021 in the competition world.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So can't wait to dive deep into that so soon.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: But before we do, we just want to give a quick little shout out to IDA's virtual competition, which now has registration open.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: We're so excited to be back running this.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's a solo-only event, and registration is open until December 1st.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure that you head over to our website and enter your solo.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can send in a rehearsal video out of costume, or you can send in a performance from stage in costume.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: You won't be judged on your costume, FYI, just letting you know.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: But we would love to see your dance, and this is the perfect opportunity for you to get some feedback before you hit the stage of the competition season.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: You'll get three critiques from IDA judges, one will be an additional feedback critique where we'll go even deeper into the feedback.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: They'll pause and stop your routine and you know give you even more feedback, which is always helpful and exciting.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So that's one of the bonus features about our event.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have a top 20 challenge that's live streamed, and we have so many sponsored awards and prizes and cash as well that you can win.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely check that out.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to have you participate in this event.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And this is open to dancers around the world, so anyone can participate from all over the place.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: So enter now at Impact Dance Adjudicators.comslash virtual competition, and we would love to see your dance.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And along with that, like I mentioned, we have so many great sponsors for our virtual competition, but we also have some fantastic sponsors for our podcast.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And we couldn't do the podcast without them.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we want to give a shout out to our sponsors.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And first up is Level Up Dance Supplies.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Level Up Dance Supplies is more than just the leading retailer of top name brand dance bags, and it's your one-stop shop for all of your dance gear and accessory needs.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: From dance floors to rolling rack travel bags, and even their brand new privacy tents, which are so perfect for socially distancing at competition.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Level Up has you covered from head to toe.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And because they care, every purchase from Level Up, you will receive a free mask.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yay, we love a mask.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow Level Up Dance Applies on Facebook for their new products and sales and coupon codes, and an exclusive promo code from IDA.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to use the code Bravo5678 at checkout to receive$10 off your first order.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much, Level Up, for sponsoring us in season two.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, thanks, Level Up, for being here for season two.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: You guys were awesome sponsors for season one, so we're glad to have you back.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_03: We also have a new sponsor for season two that we're so excited about, Dance Costumes by Urzua.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_03: Dance Costumes by Urzua was founded by Dance Teacher and Costume Designer Lily Erzua, who's from right here in Queens, just like Courtney and I.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_03: She has a mission to give back to her local dance community.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_03: By purchasing a beautiful one-of-a-kind costume from Dance Costumes by Urzua, you're helping another young dancer continue their training and live their dream.
• 4:54
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• 5:02
  SPEAKER_03: Stand out on stage and in class with a totally unique piece made just for you.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_03: And right now you can use the code IDA15 to receive 15% off of all dancewear and custom costumes.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_03: So head over to their website now to check them out at dancecostumes byerzua.com.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yay, we love you, our sponsors.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for being a part of season two and making this possible.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, it's time to meet our guests, and we have two returning podcast guests with us today, which is really exciting.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: So you may remember these ladies from our season one.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And first up, let's remember Hilary Zabinsky from season one, episode 18, social media.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, Hilary.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, thank you for having me back.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, we're so happy to have you back.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And for all of our news listeners out there, if you can just remind everybody a little bit about who you are, where you're based, and what you're up to right now.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, my name's Hilary Zabinsky, and I'm based out of Phoenix, Arizona.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just teaching dance right now at a local competition studio and then also doing their competition choreography.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I know that you have also already judged so far in the past few months.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: So we're really excited to hear your perspective from the judging side of the table and how those events ran.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll get into that very shortly.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: But thanks for joining us again.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: All right, and next up is Marissa Anderson, who you may remember from season one, episode 17, The Evolution of Acro, which is also one of our most played and downloaded episodes of all time.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: How exciting! So welcome back, Marissa.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_04: Hi, Courtney, hi Leslie, hi Hillary.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_04: Hello.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: So excited to have you back on the pod.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And for our new listeners, feel free to remind them a little bit about who you are, any career credits, and any updates you'd like to share.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_04: Hi everyone, my name is Marissa Anderson, previously Marissa Stanick.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_04: I've been dancing since I was a wee little child.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_04: Um I started my training in Michigan.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_04: I have a BFA in dance from Western Michigan University.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_04: From there, I went on to pursue a professional dance career.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_04: I worked for companies like Royal Caribbean, Spirit Dublin Productions, and I also perform with GP Cabaret Productions.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_04: We have a permanent residency in New York City on Christopher Street.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_04: Although right now, because of the pandemic, we are on hiatus, which is a little sad.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_04: But we continue to have virtual cabaret shows, which are super fun and super innovative, innovative.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_04: I also have been judging now for 11 years with multiple dance competitions.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_04: I am a proud member of IDA as well.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_04: And I continue to teach in the uh Long Island metro area.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_04: And I love it.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_04: I absolutely love it.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, that's a little bit about me.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_04: Yay!
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome ladies.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks so much for joining us again.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're really excited to hear all about your perspectives on the block scheduling and 2020 season.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump on in.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, let's let's jump in because we're all gonna have to jump in pretty soon into 2021.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_03: So I guess for some of our listeners, you know, block scheduling is I don't know that it's ever even been considered or done in the competition world, in to my knowledge.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: Like this is a very new thing.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: This is something that is a massive change to the industry.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_03: So for anybody who may not even know what that is, can we talk about what it is?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_04: So block scheduling is basically a block of time that your studio is allotted to compete all of their routines.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_04: It is very quick flowing.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_04: It almost feels more like a recital or a showcase if you want to look at it that way.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_04: And it's bang, bang, bang, get them all done.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_04: You're in and out in three hours with your entire studio performing in that period of time.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Depending on how big your studio is, they can do two to three studios.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: So you obviously have time to change.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't think most places are doing more than like three studios at a time.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: Just really short, really simple go in, go out, you're done for the weekend, as opposed to blocking off three days and being there every hour of all three days.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that it is definitely it does feel as a judge, and I think as participants, probably like a concert or recital.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_03: And it, you know, you're not going to be seeing the other studios depending on what state you're in.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_03: You know, each state right now has different indoor mandates and a lot allotments for how many people are even allowed in a room at one time.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, you could you could very well be limited to, you know, no parent spectators in the room.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_03: It could just truly be the dancers and maybe one teacher at a time.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: There's gonna be a lot of very different atmospheric concerns, you know, when we're when you don't even have anybody to to applaud for you.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_03: You know, that's kind of what I've noticed too, is that, you know, there's just nobody in the room, which is bizarre.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_04: Leslie, that was my first observation when I was.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_04: I have not judged a uh post-COVID competition yet.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_04: I went as a teacher to observe my students, and that was the first thing I noticed was the energy of the room is completely different.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_04: It's completely changed.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_04: You don't have that wall of audience members, you know, in front of you.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_04: You don't have that noise, you don't have the clapping.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_04: It feels very dry.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_04: It feels very small, and it actually to me, it just didn't feel like a traditional competition feel.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_04: I know that obviously we're doing this because of the pandemic, and obviously we have to make changes, but that was the first thing I noticed was just the vibe is different.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I agree.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think that there's a lot of pros and cons to the block scheduling, which I'd love to kind of discuss even more.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And on my end, I have judged a few different variations of live events since COVID hit.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: And it is a different experience.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: I I feel for the dancers in the block scheduling because it is like a recital and it is so quick turnaround from their last dance where they barely probably have a chance to catch their breath before they're doing a quick change into the next costume.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: And oh yeah, what what dance is this next?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, here we go.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And like enter the stage and they go.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I feel like that as far as like a con in that scenario, it could hinder their performance as far as stamina.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's I I kind of noticed some dancers who had large blocks.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: When I was judging recently, towards the end, they were losing the steam that came out like really hard hitting at the very beginning of like their first two dances, and then like by their like 10th dance, which was all within a two-hour span, they were exhausted.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And like I understand that.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that that is definitely a hard thing to request for dancers to be able to do.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: But like, hey, it's like you're putting a show on.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it is like recital.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you can do it at recital, you can do it at competition.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think that the hard part is as far as with the the quick turnovers from one dance to the next, is they just keep the schedule moving because sometimes there can be like those costume changes or there's the one dancer who was in the last dance and we're waiting on them to switch, and it just leaves for a lot of breaks in in the flow of the event.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it kind of, you know, we need to keep the momentum going, I feel.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's one of the struggles with the block scheduling, if you especially if you are a smaller scale studio, which, like you mentioned, Hillary, makes sense for some of the studios to have like two or three going at the same time.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: But my issue my concern with that is the whole sanitation process because I thought the purpose of block scheduling was so we can sanitize in between sessions.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if there are multiple studios entering the space, then isn't aren't we just couldn't we just have everybody do it at that point?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Unless it's solos, maybe.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the events that I judged since this pandemic, I think at most had three.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: They all had their separate dressing room.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then after their session that was still sanitized.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, the events I worked for, every kid had to get hand sanitizer before they entered the stage.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Love that.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: And then again when they left the stage.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: So that's I think how they kind of like sanitized it for the three studios at once.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because some of them were small, some of them only brought like three groups and a couple of solos.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: So you can't necessarily have a whole block of time for like six routines.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: So they kind of like intermingled it a little bit.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I would guess that's something that, you know, when when small studios and people who are, you know, maybe only bringing a small group of kids, like that, that'll just have to be approved by the studio to say, are you are you okay with having your studio go with studio B and Studio C and not having it sanitized in between?
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: And like, if not, sorry.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I don't know what the answer to that is.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_03: Besides, we'll tr we'll do our best and the hand sanitizer before and after, I think is a good, a good compromise.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: I do know that they were approved, like if they were comfortable being with studio B and C.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: I do know that was reached out to them beforehand.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: But kind of going back to what Courtney was saying with like the flow of schedules, I think this whole block scheduling.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, teacher choreographers, you can't run your dance beforehand.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because I noticed that before too, there was a pause because they wanted to run their dance out in the hallway.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: What?
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh-uh.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: But you don't have time anymore to run your dance.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's competition.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: You either know it or you don't at this point.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: And there's especially with the block schedule, there's really no time to get that one last run in before.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_04: I guess that speaks to the benefit of like not making that a habit to run your dance before you go on stage.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_04: Because my kids never run their dance before they go on stage.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_04: We make a habit of that um because you know, you just have to be focused.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_04: You show up, you're focused.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_04: And I and I think I'm gonna speak to now like the benefits of perhaps block scheduling.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that what it does is it in a shorter amount of time, it focuses their energy to be like, okay, I'm here to compete.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_04: I'm focused in, I'm ready to go.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_04: I'm not, you know, down the hallway practicing my cartwheels.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_04: I'm not eating a bagel in between my dances.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_04: You're there to compete for your for your three hours of time.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_04: And I realize that these are children.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_04: I know that we're asking a lot of them to do all of their dances within a short amount of time.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_04: However, it does ask them to be more professional, to show up, to be prepared.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_04: And it also doesn't keep the parents and the kids there from 7 a.m.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_04: to 12 o'clock at night, which I would bet my paycheck on that the parents love that, you know, that they don't have to give up their entire weekend in order for their kid to compete.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_04: So there's a few things there I think that that are good.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_04: Do I think it's sustainable?
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_04: Uh no.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_04: I don't think anybody would choose block scheduling over what we had previously.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: I could be totally wrong, but I feel like with that statement, Marissa, I saw recently on a thread on a Facebook group for dance teachers, I think it was for.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think someone asked about, like, you know, what is everybody's thoughts on block scheduling?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And and I knew we were doing this episode, so I was kind of peeking at the answers to just see how people were responding.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I couldn't believe how many people loved it.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: In the responses, they were like, I love this.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: We should do this all the time.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is amazing.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: I was in and out, it was fabulous.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, people seemed to love the block schedule for on the dance teacher side, which I can understand as far as like time-wise.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you're in and out, yes, that's great.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: We watched all your dances go boom, boom, boom.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to run back and forth to the dressing room, to the stage, and devote your whole weekend.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like we said, like the timing of it is fabulous.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I do agree in the sense that we're losing that competition feel.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think that, you know, I one great thing about the with incorporating with the block scheduling all of the competitions, a majority, and if they haven't, they should have incorporated live stream elements to their events now, if they didn't have it before, which is essential because I think that everyone across the board wants to see who they're competing against.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: They want to know what the competition is.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: If this dance got first place, why did it get first place?
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: I want to watch it on the live stream if I can't physically be in the room.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what was so what is so great about the regular competition experience in in normal life is you are in the age 15 jazz category.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let's who who I'm up against.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And you can see who goes right before you and you can see who goes right after you.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know that that's your competition for this category.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: That gets lost in the block schedule unless you literally like devote your whole life to sitting and watching each studio.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that makes it a little bit, you know, trickier in that competition element.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: The same applies for like awards.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we miss the whole award ceremonies and and fun things like that and the excitement of the awards and the adjudications.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, I think people love the fact that the awards are now short and sweet.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: You get your adjudications after your block.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of competitions are doing that, where after your block competes, you immediately get your adjudicated score.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know overalls until the end of the weekend, once all blocks have finished.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: But people love that they know, great, I got a platinum.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I did it.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Great, let's go celebrate, let's go to Chile's.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I notice that too is that the two competitions that I was observing did the same thing that Courtney just explained, where they award their medal ranking or their adjudication ranking, however you want to phrase it.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_04: And then they also did judges awards for that block as well, which I found interesting that the kids were more excited to get the special judge award in the block scheduling model than in the regulars model.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_04: The judges came up on stage, obviously masked up, presented their award.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_04: Everyone was focused, everyone was listening.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_04: And it was because they knew that obviously there was three judges award and they were going to this studio.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_04: So everybody had their ears peaked here.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_04: And I thought that that was really interesting, that they were more focused on the judges awards in the block scheduling award ceremony.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's a good point.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say with the block scheduling, I think it kind of takes the focus off of the awards where you don't have the overalls, you have to live stream the overalls.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas like in a normal setting, everybody's just like, okay, who's the top three overall?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: And they don't really care about the adjudicated, anyways.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's true.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: So it just kind of takes the focus off of that, which is probably why they were more interested in like the special judges awards, because it's a little bit more of like a call out how overalls normally are.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and I was I was thinking when you said that, like they were more excited about, you know, I I feel like nobody's excited about awards, you know, until you get to the overalls.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: Like everybody's sitting there and they're just nobody's paying attention, nobody stands up and gets the award.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, how many times as judges have we just had to like search the sea of people for the one kid who didn't stand up or the millions of kids who don't stand up to come get their trophy, you know?
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_03: So I I'm happy that they're more excited, you know, maybe because it is more focused on just them.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, as as much as I would love to just teach the youth of America that don't be selfish, everybody else counts too, you know.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_03: But like I guess in these pandemic times, we we do need to be, you know, sensitive to like, okay, well, let's give everybody some special individualized attention.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_03: And and maybe that is helpful, you know.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_03: So that's that is good to hear.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's what I I get from that.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it's more personal.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it's more individualized attention, like you said, Leslie.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what makes it special.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas, you know, in the mass of the award ceremonies, it's just like a free-for-all.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Here's all the adjudications, no one can keep track, no one knows what number we're on.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's just sometimes they read it so fast, they're like, what's going on?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, even like you said, Leslie, I mean, we've all been there.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: If we've if we've worked for an event where we've had to like give out the awards, that is the most stressful part of my weekend.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna lie.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because I will judge all day long.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: I will give every special award in the book.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: But when it's my time to hand out a trophy to a child in the awards, I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm stressed.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: My heart's racing.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because the kids just aren't paying attention and they don't, they're just chit-chatting, they're tits, they're TikToking on their phones, they're doing whatever they want.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: They don't care about their gold or their platinum.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: They just care about the the big ones.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's when they zone in.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, even with the specials, like you said, I mean, how many times have I stood up on stage and been describing this dancer and giving them nothing but amazing compliments in my special award?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: And they didn't even know it was for them.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: I call their award and they're like, What?
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: What did you say about me?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because they weren't listening.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, on RN as judges, it's super disrespectful because we've spent the time to like announce you.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: We can't, we remembered you.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: We want to recognize you.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: We want to flatter you and compliment you.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: You're getting this award for a reason.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And for dancers to not even be like zoned in and paying attention to the judges is like, come on, y'all.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta, we gotta step it up.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: So like again, why are you here?
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_03: Like sometimes that is truly when I'm on stage and trying to give an award to somebody and they're not standing up or they're not paying attention.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's like, okay, well, you know, we hear all the time, like, there's such a juxtaposition of like, you know, some people come to competition to learn, some people only come to win.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, well, none of y'all are here to get this award, apparently.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_03: So I don't know why you're here.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Why am I giving you this you this award to you?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_04: But but maybe that's why I noticed kids were focused in more on awards because they do have that gratitude now.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_04: They know what it's like for their competition season to be taken away.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and now that we're starting to go to competitions again, things are a little bit different, but maybe they miss that award ceremony, maybe they miss that experience, and maybe that's why they're checked in a little bit more.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Hey listeners, the 2021 competition season is coming up quick.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you already have your solo choreography finished, but do you have your costume picked out?
• 23:25
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• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: They will create the perfect costume to complement your solo and make you feel confident and beautiful on stage.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Head over to their website or Instagram now at Dance Costumes by Urdua to view some of their work or schedule a call to receive a quote to create the custom costume of your dreams.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: And now let's get back to the show.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: What about as far as like safety precautions?
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: What have you guys felt that has worked so far?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of the things that you notice that competitions are doing to keep it safe that might be different than others?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And especially like in the locations that you were based.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Since, you know, this is a very like general discussion as far as block scheduling, because every single competition is going to handle their events differently.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that they also have to handle them based on the CDC guidelines of each state that the event is happening in.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I think there's a lot of competitions who are going to have specific rules and regulations across the board at all of their events that they are implementing and enforcing, regardless of what the CDC says.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if a competition says you have to wear masks at all times besides when you're on stage, even though the state doesn't enforce that indoors, that's the rule of the competition.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: And we have to make sure we're following things like that.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious to hear your guys' experience as far so far and what it's been like as far as safety.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, to go off that, Courtney.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: The first competition I judged post-pandemic was the beginning of July.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: So it was still very early.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I was just outside of St.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: Louis.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't have a mask mandate.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: But like you said, the competition said, I don't care what the city says, you're having a mask unless you're on stage.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: So every audience member had to have a mask, and the venue they were at had a security guard to enforce that.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: So there was people who tried to get away with it because they could go to QT across the street and don't need a mask.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: But so I mean, they just kind of took them on themselves and was like, no, sorry, if you want to sit in this distant audience and be a part of the small audience to begin with, you're gonna have to wear your mask.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_04: Yep.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_04: That's great.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_04: And from a teacher's point of view, first of all, everybody had to sign a waiver.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_04: I think that's like across the board now, is they have to cover themselves.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_04: It was standing room, no standing room in the actual audience.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_04: So everyone had to be seated.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_04: Everyone had the chairs were spaced, they were coupled, but they were six feet apart or a certain distance apart.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_04: There was only a certain amount of people allowed in the actual audience.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_04: And when that number started to exceed, they did open up.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_04: We were in a hotel ballroom.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_04: They did open up sort of those folding walls to create more space, which I appreciated.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_04: All audience members were required to wear a mask at all times.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_04: The dancers, however, were not required to wear masks.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_04: I have mixed feelings about that, and we can go into that a little bit deeper.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_04: But it it was about two weeks ago.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_04: And what part of the country were you in?
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_04: Long Island.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_04: And the awards, the kids were all kind of grouped together.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_04: They do they were wearing their masks.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_04: That's interesting.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm surprised by that.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_04: I think that there's a flaw in the system here.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_04: I think that there's oh, and one more thing.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_04: I there there was no, I know that sometimes certain competitions put like a marquee outside, like the digital marquee or like a sign or anything.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_04: There was no signage at all.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_04: It's not open to the public.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_04: It's only parents, no grandparents, no extra people.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_04: I think that it was one parent allowed per dancer.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_04: So they really do limit the amount of people that they are allowing in the space, but the dancers were not required to wear masks on stage when they were performing, only when they were watching, when they were sitting to get their adjudications.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: Were your dancers allowed on stage, Marissa?
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Or were adjudications like just the competition faculty?
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know like when I worked, dancers had to sit out in the audience.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_04: Oh no, j student dancers could, you know, kind of go on stage like normal.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_04: Yep.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: But it was only in their block of dancers, so it was just that studio.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was just that studio.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_04: It was just just that of those kids that had just competed in that block of time.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_04: I again, I just I don't know.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know what the right answer is.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_04: I'm not saying that that what they did was wrong and and what I'm saying is right.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_04: I'm just saying I question the rules because the rules are not consistent.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, well, I can I I can not wear my mask while I'm dancing and huffing and puffing, but I have to wear my mask when I'm sitting to get an adjudication.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_04: So I know a lot of people have problems dancing with masks on.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_04: I get it.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_04: I teach with a mask on.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_04: I hate it.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_04: It's awful.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_04: I just I I don't know what the solution is.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_04: And I know that this is social distancing practice.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_04: I know it's a practice and I know it's not perfect, but I also think that we're also taking an amount of risk when we have dancers on stage without masks on, and we have to understand that.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_03: I think the competitions, the the one that I recently worked, the the two that I've recently worked, had that same mandate.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you had to be, you had to wear a mask anywhere but on stage.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_03: If you wanted to wear a mask on stage, you were welcome to wear a mask on stage.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_03: That's good.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_03: But I think the reasoning behind, and I saw very tons of people wearing masks on stage, precious bedazzled masks and nude masks and like skin tone masks, and you know, they people have been trying really hard to make whatever it is they're doing work for them.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_03: But I think the verbiage that I've heard from the competitions based on, or like in in terms of that mandate slash lack of mandate, is, you know, if your studio has not mandated masks on your kids while they're dancing, and if they've been dancing together with no masks for four weeks, eight weeks, whatever, that is up to your discretion whether you put them in masks.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_03: And so that part I kind of get because it's like if that's your bubble, I mean, all of our bubbles have expanded since March.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's kind of the reasoning behind that.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_03: And at least in cases that I've judged, I've been the farthest away from the stage that I've ever been in my life as a judge, which I love because like get me away from that stage.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_03: I want to see the whole picture.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want to be, you know, crammed up next to my other judge.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_03: Like we're at separate tables, which is beautiful.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm not, I don't have to hear so and so next to me talking at the same time.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, I think in terms of of the distance, the physical distance, I've been, I've been pleased with what they've been doing, but that could just be one reason, you know, why that is kind of feels a little less harsh.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, here are my thoughts, and I want to go back to the the masks on stage discussion.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I haven't really felt this until actually this past week and I was judging and I was thinking about it more.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually working at a dance convention, so which is probably shocking to hear, but there are dance conventions that are that are happening.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And as as much as we can do the block scheduling for competitions and try to keep it safe and sanitized, I think there is a lot of hesitation as far as the convention aspect of our industry and how do we keep the convention world safe.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say that I did feel as safe as I as I could as a faculty judge at this event.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: We everybody stayed in their boxes when they were taking class, everybody made sure they they stayed six feet apart when they were on the sides when we were doing groups.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: However, when we go back to the competition aspect and the masks, I've been thinking about this more and more.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the few events that I have judged, the masks were not required for while you're on stage performing.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I agree with you, Marissa.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it doesn't really make sense why it's okay to take it off.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I it must it must be because it's like exercise.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: I know there's a lot of rules where it's like if you're if you're doing some sort of heavy exercise and your heart rate's up and you, you know, whatever, then you don't need your mask because it's harder to breathe and you need to be able to breathe, and we want to be safe.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that there are so many masks now that you can breathe in.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I use the disposable face masks, the blue ones, and I bought a pair of the black ones, and I think that those are super lightweight, you can breathe right through them.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: They have the little like bridge, the little metal for your nose, and they like stay put on my face.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that you those would work great for stage, and they come in a variety of different colors if you really wanted to like get fancy with it.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, I feel like that dancers should if you're maybe only solos could be no mask on stage, but especially if we're doing choreography, that we're rolling on the ground, that we're partnering, that we're touching each other, that we are not six feet apart and we are breathing on our friends, we need to have a mask on.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's where I mean, we're already breathing heavy.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: So that means we're breathing extra hard and we're just spreading germs everywhere.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: Unless we're going to choreograph our routines to not have those elements, then I might feel like it's okay.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like, but I shouldn't have to be like monitoring that as a judge.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, wait, you don't have your mask on.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you're touching your friends.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know what I mean?
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: I I just feel like it it would be the safer bet to wear a mask on stage in group routines.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's just me.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_04: No, I'm I I can see where you're coming from.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_04: And I it there's a there's a big part of me that feels the same way.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_04: A lot of I it's just sometimes, and I'm speaking from a teacher point of view, the parents, which I don't get this.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_04: The parents just complain like, how is my child going to breathe?
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_04: Well, aren't you concerned more about the fact that they're not six feet apart and they're heavily breathing with other children?
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I don't know.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_04: And I don't know, and I'm not a parent, but I am a teacher and I've been teaching for a long time.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_04: And I love my students.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_04: I would never want to put them in harm's way.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_04: I just again, it's the consistency factor.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_04: And I don't know, again, I don't know the right answer.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know the right protocol.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_04: I'm just saying that the system is kind of flawed.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and I think the whole system is flawed.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, from top down, and we've we've experienced this since since March.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_03: So I mean, you're not alone in feeling that this is all just a hot mess.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and I think part of that too is kind of what both you, Marissa, and Leslie were saying is every competition's requiring a waiver.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: So if something were to happen, it's not on the competition's fault.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: You can't blame them.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: But then what Leslie was saying is if your studio doesn't require it within that bubble that you're in, like yes, you could be with another studio block schedule on stage, and both studios could be doing floor work, which yes poses the issue, but I think that's kind of how competitions are allowing it.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: And they don't have that rule.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: Is it right?
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: Is it wrong?
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, but I think that's their thought process and how they're getting away with it, so to speak.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: How they're presenting it to the public.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's true.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because I mean once you sign a waiver, it's off, it's off your hands at that point.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_03: Like yeah, you've you've agreed to the risk that you're taking.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_03: And like I've had a sign of worker.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, I did I did see some really lovely block makes a very nice skin tone.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_03: I think they have several different colors of skin tone masks that like is just it's seamless on the face.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_03: It's beautiful.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_03: I saw a bunch of them this weekend.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_03: And that's kind of segues into kind of another part of this conversation is, you know, how does wearing a mask change and how does this whole thing change how we're judging and how you as a studio and a choreographer and a student are going to be judged?
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_03: Because there were moments, yeah, there were moments when I was watching some group dances where I could 100% see these kids were not smiling under their mask because you can tell.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_03: You smile from your eyes just as much as your mouth.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_03: And there were times when I was like, oh my gosh, these kids are smiling and they're having such a great time, and I can only see their eyes, but you could tell.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_03: And that was part of my critique.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, I this is a new normal, guys.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_03: You have to wear, you have to wear a smile on all of your face and perform from all of your face because now I can only see a third of your face.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I think that's a good point because I think that's one of the other arguments as far as why people dancers shouldn't wear a mask on stage is well, they can't perform in a mask.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: We can't get the full performance.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, yes, we can.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: I can see you.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: I I see your eyes.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: Give me a performance.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: I I said it a million times this past weekend.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like you said, you can tell.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: If it's just like boring dead, dead face behind the mask, like we can tell.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: So and let's think about the fact that you don't have to put all the lipstick on, and we can we can we can just like beat half of our face and just like do a fierce eye.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, less is more and just hide it under the mask.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's always a good thing.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_04: I think this is a tough question.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_04: I think this is a tough conversation to to some to sum up.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_04: But I think as far as like limiting your choreography, choreographers are asked to limit their choreography all the time.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_04: You only have this amount of space to perform the show.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_04: You only can be wearing this costume that covers your entire face and is four feet wide.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_04: It happens all the time.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_04: Maybe we can use this opportunity to kind of play with our choreography.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_04: How can we, how can, you know, you guys have played the negative space game.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_04: Like, how can we, how can we dance in the negative space?
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_04: How can we, I don't know, how can we manipulate this phrase to still somehow get across the message of community, but not be on top of each other in a clump holding holding our shoulders.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I don't know.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_04: There's so many different fun things that we can do choreographically.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_04: Stop thinking of it as like a limitation and more of just like a different avenue to to express ourselves because we love dance.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_04: This is why we we are doing competitions because we all love dance, we all want to do our passion.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I know it's hard to look at the glass half full.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_04: It really is, because this has been a heck of a year, but I think we just we have to do we have to rise to the occasion.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_04: What's the alternative?
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_03: Everybody goes out of business and nobody dances like that.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 37:49
  unknown: Yeah.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I think with that, as far as choreography, and we we briefly mentioned this on another podcast episode, but somebody made such a good point, and now I I see the point now that I've judged, with the block scheduling format, it's a studio recital, like we talked about at the beginning of the podcast, which means that a lot of your choreography could look very similar.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because if it's the same choreographer and you have the same style and you're not bringing variation to the stage, then we're gonna see the same thing over and over and over.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: Or same applies for, and we talked about this in previous episodes as well, choreography for solos.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you have multiple solos, you're going boom, boom, right after one another, and it needs to look different.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that this is also another perfect example with the block scheduling, which by the way, I'm gonna predict that majority, at least 90% of the competitions in the industry moving into 2021 will be doing block scheduling, FYI for all the teachers out there, unless things really change quickly, and unless the state doesn't allow it.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because I will say that it is harder for the competitions to do block scheduling.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_00: It is not, it is not easier for them to do.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually it's it's harder for them overall.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: They have to, it's a longer day, they can't take as many entries, they have to have more breaks.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a whole new restructure of the business model for the competitions.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: So on their end, there, they want to get back to the regular one.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I think as far as safety, they're gonna have to go with block scheduling for the most part.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: And with that being said, you don't want your choreography to look the same all the time.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_00: We want to see some variation.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, challenge yourself as a choreographer if you haven't already started choreography yet for the season to make it different because it is going to be a mini recital of your studio and you don't want it to come across as the same thing that's coming on stage every second.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, pull in somebody.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think this was mentioned in a previous episode too.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_01: Pull in somebody who doesn't do competition choreography and have them just look at your team group.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: Just have your teens run all of their dances just one and done to see, okay, does that look too similar because that's what it's going to be at competition this year?
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we're still kind of talking about like judging as far as the season goes and how it's gonna be slightly different.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think that a question that a lot of people are having is how is how is judging and scoring going to be affected in the block scheduling when you're not essentially comparing the category against the other studios?
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is a big question because this is obviously new for so many of us.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, there there is, I'm gonna just straight up say that when when we sit down as a judge, we are judging your dance for what you have presented at that time for what it is.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: We are scoring it based on the category that you placed it in, the the genre, the level, the age, and what we expect in all of those things.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we're judging on.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: However, there are some people that are like, well, you know, how how am I supposed to know, or how is a judge supposed to know that, you know, this one was supposed to get first if it didn't compete in the category and even gets compare against, you know, the rest of the division, which I will say in some cases, sometimes we are comparing in a sense.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're comparing on the level of talent here because let's be real, the level of talent is going to vary wherever you're at in the country and judging, where you might be up again, you might be the best studio at this event because of the level of talent that's there.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then you go to another event and you might not be the best studio anymore.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_00: You might be the middle studio.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's just how it works.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's the same thing as an audition.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's whoever shows up, that's who your competition is.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: So your scores might change based on that.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I think the difference with this year is that we're going to be judging it even more for exactly what is on stage at that given time.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the scores are just going to fall where they fall.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: So, how is this, you know, what can we tell all of the listeners, whether it's a dancer, a parent, a teacher, you know, anything on our end as far as judging how we're going to go into it with a little bit of a different perspective or how things might sound or look different on your critiques or in your adjudication scores?
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: I would say, like, mostly in the adjudication scores, where it is truly your studio.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: And if all of your contemporary solos look the exact same, that might affect your adjudication score.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_01: The critiques are going to stay the same, whether it was a normal schedule or not.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you don't straighten your legs on your Bot Mot, I'm still going to tell you to straighten your legs on your Bot Mot, whether we're in block scheduling or normal scheduling.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't think the critiques would change all that much.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: I just think it's the adjudication.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_01: And if you were a platinum soloist last year because of the talent, just by the way the choreography is presented and your studio is presented this year, you may not be that platinum soloist.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's gonna be hard for sure.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_04: I know I haven't judged a COVID competition.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_04: I hate to call it that, but it's terrible terminology.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_04: I'm sorry.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_04: But a competition during the pandemic.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_04: However, 11 years of experience, I can understand what these judges are already going through.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_04: I think it's no surprise to studio owners that judges are asked to find a range within their within their scores, just so that we don't get everybody gets a platinum.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_04: That the we we have the range of the high platinum, mid-platinum, whatever the the next step down is.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_04: And I think this block scheduling makes it harder.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_04: Do I like the fact that competitions strongly suggest that we find a range?
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I mean, if it if it if it deserves a platinum, it deserves a platinum.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_04: And even more so if I'm seeing the same dancers over and over that are performing at the same level, it's going to be even harder to find that range.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_04: So I know Courtney, you were saying, yes, I see something and I judge it for what it is, which is a hundred percent true.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_04: And is and I agree with that as well.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_04: It's just that sometimes the competitions try to encourage judges to find a range so that it speaks to what the judges are looking for the studios to then go back and be like, okay, this is what they liked, this is what they didn't.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_04: Like.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_04: I think the whole thing is just making it a little bit more taxing for the judges.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_04: I would highly recommend that competitions hire judges that have experience.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_04: I don't think this is a year for brand new judges.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_04: I think this what we're asking of judges is going to be difficult.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and it is definitely I'm I found myself recently, I always take notes and keep a track of my score in addition to putting into the computer or doing whatever it is that, you know, that the competition has asked me to do.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_03: I keep track of it for myself as well for that reason of like, this is a hard job.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want to be wrong.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not doing this, you know, by the seat of my pants and not thinking about it, which sometimes I think that judges kind of get accused of like not, maybe not necessarily not taking it seriously, but not doing the very best they can.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_03: And like, believe us, we are doing the best we can with this difficult job.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_03: And this block scheduling has made it even more difficult to pacify everybody in a fair and correct way.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like obviously I don't want to crush your dreams by not being able to give your studio a range of scores.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_03: But unfortunately, if your studio does not have a range of scores, you're not going to get a range of scores.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_03: You're going to get 90s across the board if that is what you're presenting.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I understand that without hearing other studios scores kind of, you know, wedged in between yours when you're hearing like we normally hear at, you know, big normal adjudication award ceremonies, you know, the the feelings may feel a little bit different when you're at your own studio's only 15 number award ceremony.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_03: And and what you're hearing is it's kind of the hard truth, or maybe it's the hooray truth.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know which truth is yours, but you know it's I wonder if you're allowed to see your previous scores from a previous block.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_03: What do you mean?
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_04: Like, are you allowed to like you as a judge or you as a studio?
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_04: You as a judge.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_04: So, like, say Julie's Jazz Pizzazz is on stage right now, yeah, and I want to know what Julius Jazz Pizazz.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: Your accent just makes it so much better.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_04: I have a thick Michigan accent.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_04: It's perfect, it's never going away.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_04: I've lived in New York for over 10 years.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_04: It's not going away, people.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_04: So we got Julie's Jazz Pizzazz is on stage is on stage.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_04: And then Dolly Dinkles is uh is was what was in the block beforehand, but she has a solo that was like bangering, like awesome.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_04: But then how how do I score this girl from Julius Jazz Pizza?
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_04: Because she was also awesome, but I want to make sure that Dolly Dinkles does better.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_04: Like, can you do you keep track of that?
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_04: Hillary, go ahead.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: I know um the competitions I judge, the software that they use allowed me to see that.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: So for overalls, I could score Dolly Dinkles just a little, it was just a little bit better for overalls, so they can get like a tenth of a point higher.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I could see that, but that was just their software.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's gonna be different for every competition and what their software and what they use.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like another, another, you know, big deal breaker for a lot of the competitions out there.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think that, you know, we need to have the software on our end as judges to be able to do our job properly and correctly.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think even more so now with being able to see how did I score that last one?
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: Can I go back and see?
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: I I I mean, like you said, Hillary, there there's a a software that an event uses that I work for.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the fact that I can see how my rankings are panning out for that category.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: And oh, that number 52 is in first place right now.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, this one was better, so I need to make sure I score higher than number 52 if I wanted to get a higher ranking.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_00: That is just helpful on RN as judges to be able to accurately score properly.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes to that.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I think it is the the sad reality is we're going to possibly hear a lot of the same adjudicated scores in our block schedules for this season.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it just depends on the dance, you know, it it's gonna really depend.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: If if you're a platinum studio, you might be a hardcore platinum studio this time around.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_00: And there might be a few standouts and there might be a few lower ones.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're not, you're not gonna probably hear that the crazy variation of ranges being spread because we also have to go, and I've said this before on the podcast, and I'll I will say it again because I want the people to know the addition of levels to the competition world has eliminated the the opportunity for us to be able to spread the range even more than we would like to, because now we have three different levels and we have five different award ranges within those levels, and we're supposed to judge based on the level, which means that an intermediate jazz would be a platinum.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if it was an advanced jazz, it maybe would have been some a different score.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like where you're gonna live in that middle range a lot, and it that is also due to the levels.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like in this when I judged this past weekend, I judged at an event that didn't have levels, and I felt like I had an easier job to be able to spread the range in block scheduling than if I was judging at an event that did have levels, because that I that's just throwing me on a whole loop.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh gosh, that would just be so hard.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's just also hard, like on the flip side, if you do happen to have two smaller studios, one studio A happens to be really good, studio B not so much.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_01: You've now have these two extremes.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_01: You have the platinum, and now you have like gold, silver, bronze, whatever, which is also affecting the studios.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_01: They're not like intermingled.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_01: You have these two extreme sides.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_03: Which then doesn't really feel great even being in the room when that's happening either.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like, no, you know, that's that's a very uncomfortable place to be when it's that limited in terms of there's only two groups of people there.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I just I just think it's gonna be a little bit different.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's it's gonna be a little bit harder to judge for all of us, us judges on our end.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's gonna be, you know, a different awards adjudication experience for a lot of the the studios out there.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I would highly recommend to all of the studios, like, yes, with the block scheduling, it's gonna be awesome that you're getting your adjudications right away.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_00: Or however they do it.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they wait till the end of the day to do all of that day's adjudications, or they wait until that block is finished, however, your the competition sets it up.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that it is really important to remember in these scenarios that the event isn't done once you've finished your your competition.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_00: Go home and still watch the rest of the routines because then you'll better understand how overalls panned out.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: When you're in the middle of a regular competition event, you're back and forth, you're watching, you're not, you're, you know, you get to see a little bit more of what's hitting the stage and what's up against you.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: And you get to know the studios a little bit more and see, oh, that studio was so fierce, no wonder they got first overall.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like you see that.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: In this scenario, you have to actually go back and watch it on the live stream.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I feel like that a lot of studios might feel a little deflated if their adjudications were lower than they expected, and then they go to overalls and they don't understand why they didn't place or they don't know understand why this studio got high point overall, and it's probably because you didn't go back and watch the live stream either.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to make sure that we're, you know, we're taking the whole competition experience in for the whole weekend, even if we're not physically there.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, still make sure that you're being a part of it because that'll help determine how things play out.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's gonna be like definitely different.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be different for all of us this season on the judging end, on the competition end, on the participant and dancers end.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_00: But I think we have to kind of like walk into it with an open mind and knowing that we are all here and dancing on stage again.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the that is the best thing.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we didn't know when that time would come.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't and we still, even to this this very moment, November, we don't know what if events are actually gonna happen next season.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: We are hoping, fingers are crossed, but we don't know what's gonna happen with the world and if events might get canceled again.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if you do get it that chance to hit the stage, like take that opportunity and live that moment, but don't get so wrapped up in in how the scores may play out or you know, how the overalls may play out because we're just here to dance.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's and at least for, you know, speaking for IDA judges, your critiques are gonna be just the same as they were before.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_03: Nothing has changed in terms of that.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_03: You know, so so if you're coming to competition and maybe, maybe your goal always was to win, or it it felt like it was more important that what trophy you got, maybe in this, maybe this whole big change that we've had in the world will will allow you to think more along the lines of, okay, well, maybe the trophy's not that important anymore.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe let's just take these critiques and you know, fix the things because we're we're still doing the same job.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_03: We're still giving you the same feedback.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's just in a different scenario.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this was such a fabulous discussion, and I'm really glad that we had it because I think it was extremely necessary before we head into the new year.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_00: And like we said throughout this entire episode, just walk into the 2021 competition season with a new outlook on the experience, with open, with an open mind, an open heart.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're all in this together, and we really want to get back to doing what we love, which is dancing.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: So let's stay safe and do that in the season ahead.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_00: But it's been really great chatting with both of you, Hillary and Marissa.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much for rejoining us again on the pod.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_00: And let's lead out with some final thoughts from either one of you about what the season looks like.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: Any uh words of advice and things to remember.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: Go for it.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_04: So I think just to sum up, I think we need to continue to use safe practices.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_04: And again, a practice is not perfect, but continue to practice it, continue to implement it.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_04: And this goes for parents, teachers, and the students.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_04: I know teachers, we start to get lax after a while.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_04: It's up to us as educators to continue to continue to implement these safety practices, continue to educate our kids on how to pre how to behave on stage, how to act on the side of the stage.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_04: That's one thing I didn't mention was that a lot of competitions now are removing their wings because it's another touch surface, tactile surface that they don't need.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_04: It's just another item that that's easily removed that they don't have to clean.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_04: And, you know, pump up the kids, get them excited.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_04: Look, we missed out on competition season last season, but you know what?
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_04: We're gonna be thankful that we're here.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_04: We're gonna follow all those rules, and we're gonna go out there and dance our hearts out.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_04: And that's all that we can do, and that's all that we can do as educators, as parents, that's all that you can do is support your kid during this time.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_04: And dancers, all you all you want to do is dance.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_04: So just remember that in the in the forefront always.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just continue to wear your masks, wear your masks, wear your masks, and just take the competition season however it may present itself.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_01: If a competition comes out with new rules two weeks before your city, be like, okay, we're rolling with these new rules, we're gonna do what they say, and just be grateful for the opportunity to be back on that stage.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_01: Because I do know so many studios did not have a season at all last year.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_01: So just kind of be grateful to be able to perform for even if it is just judges or one parent, and just be grateful for that and take out of it what you can.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for joining us for this week's episode.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can find our guests on social media, Hilary at H.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_00: Sabinsky and Marissa at Marissa Stanic Dance.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_03: Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and the new Amazon Podcast so you don't miss out on the upcoming episodes releasing every Thursday throughout the dance season.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_00: Level Up Dance Applies throughout its almost 11 years of existence has always been a giving company.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's donating products to nonprofit dance companies, sponsoring dance organizations, or contributing to various charities, they want you to know that they care.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_00: Level Up wants our dance community to grow and thrive, so they will now be offering a free mask for any purchase of a Level Up product.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_00: Head over to their website to check out their dance gear products at LevelUpDanceupplies.com and use the code Bravo5678 to receive$10 off.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_03: Season two is in full swing with new topics, great advice, and amazing interviews.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_03: Coming up in the next few weeks, topics include our second spotlight episode featuring Maud Arnold, keeping Jazz alive, and guest choreography.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for joining us.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep dancing.