Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Why Some Studios Don't Compete

Transcript

Why Some Studios Don't Compete · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_02: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_02: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_02: This is Making the Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
0:16
SPEAKER_02: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
0:24
SPEAKER_02: Making the Impact A Dance Competition Podcast exists because of the competitive dance industry.
0:29
SPEAKER_02: But there's another side of the dance studio world that has nothing to do with competition.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: Studios that don't compete offer a completely different experience for dancers of all ages.
0:37
SPEAKER_02: And with us today to break some stereotypes about non-competitive studios are IBA judge, dance educator, and former non-competitive dancer Courtney Rottenberger, an owner of Encore Performers in Virginia, Raynor Fandomurva.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Hey dance world, and welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
0:59
SPEAKER_02: Hey Courtney, we are like four or five episodes in to season four.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: How do you feel?
1:05
SPEAKER_00: I am feeling great.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: I am so happy about it because I really just love this podcast.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: I get so excited to sit down every week and just chat, dance again after a very busy summer, like we've talked about.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: So it just feels good to be back.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: And we have such great topics already kicking things off in this season.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: I can't like, whoa, so many good ones.
1:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's a lot.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: And I know this is, you know, everybody around the country gets back to school in September and back to dance.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: So we hope that y'all are having a great start to your dance year and enjoying your new technique classes and new teachers and new choreography and everything.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: So yay, dance.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: Yay! And competition season will be here very soon, y'all.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: If you can any minute.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's coming.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure people already have costumes picked out and choreography set and getting everything prepped and ready because that it seems like the competition world just gets soon earlier and earlier every single year.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's a lot.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: It's a big business, and we love it.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: We do love it.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: And today, speaking of competitions, today's episode is actually a little bit different, which I am so excited about.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Because today we're talking about studios that don't compete.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: What?
2:24
SPEAKER_00: They exist?
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, can you believe it?
2:28
SPEAKER_00: They actually exist, you guys, because I think we're just so wrapped up in this competition world, which obviously we love so much.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: But there are studios out there who don't compete.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: And I'm so excited to learn about the other side.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't know any different.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: I only know competitive dance.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: That's all I've done my whole life.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: So I can't wait to talk with our two special guests who are joining us today on this topic.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be a great one.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: But before we jump in, I want to tell all of y'all about our brand new platinum premium subscription.
2:59
SPEAKER_00: If you haven't heard about it, you're missing out, y'all.
3:02
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3:07
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3:14
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3:21
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3:42
SPEAKER_00: And all of our subscribers have the option to receive a shout-out on a future podcast episode.
3:47
SPEAKER_00: And I'd love to say thank you to some of our recent members.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: First up is Krista, a dance parent from Ohio, who said, I've been loving this podcast.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for demystifying the dance world.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, so sweet.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: And Sarah McBride, a dance teacher from Studio 7 in Punta Gorda, Florida, who said, I love your podcast.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: I listen religiously and encourage everyone I know that loves dance to listen as well.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: I've even been known to sit with my dancers in class and play clips.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: I really want them to hear.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: That is awesome.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: I've heard other teachers doing the same thing, Sarah, so you're not alone in that.
4:24
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4:25
SPEAKER_00: So to all of our fans out there who want to help support us and join our new Platinum Premium membership, you can head on over to our website or click the link in our show notes now and join for only$5 a month, or you can pay a one-time fee for yearly access upfront.
4:40
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4:47
SPEAKER_00: All right, we're jumping right on into this episode.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: And like I said, I'm super excited about this one.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: And this episode topic came to me this summer, actually, when I had the opportunity to teach at a studio that does not compete.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: And it was a brand new experience for me.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: I was kind of walking into it with just, you know, and obviously an open mind, but just unsure as to if they would be familiar with some of my stereotypical competition terms like calypsos and things like that that we know from the competition world.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: And when I got to the studio and saw the caliber of training and the talent that was being produced by the studio, I was blown away and I just couldn't get enough of them.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: They were probably one of my favorite studios all summer to teach at.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, you know what?
5:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm so intrigued by this studio.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: And I wonder if there's other studios out there who don't compete but have really awesome training and are producing great dancers.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: I wonder if this could be a podcast episode.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: So I asked the owner of the studio if she would want to sit down with us, and she said, yeah.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: So that's when this lovely topic came to mind and was created.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: So we knew we had to make it happen.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: So I'm really excited to welcome our very first guest to the podcast, a brand new guest to our podcast.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: Please welcome Raynor Vandamerva to the podcast.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: Welcome.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: Hi, Courtney and Leslie.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: So nice to be here.
6:10
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for making the time.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: We are pumped to have you.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: And like I said, just so inspired by your dancers in Virginia is where you were based.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, we can't wait to like dive into your story a little bit.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: But if you want to give us a brief intro and a little bit more about you, where you're originally from, any uh credits and history, and maybe just a quick little rundown about your studio before we dive in.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: Well, I am originally from South Africa, and I grew up dancing at a studio that was kind of like South Africa's equivalent to Broadway Dance Center.
6:49
SPEAKER_01: So like the local dancers that came to that studio were performing in musicals.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: My the owners of the studio were originally from England, from West End, had done so musical theater was always my passion from an early age.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: I moved here, I enjoyed a certain career as a performer.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: And then when I transitioned into teaching, when I moved here in 91, I actually taught at a studio that was a competition studio, which was like a shock to me because that world didn't I didn't know about that world at all.
7:25
SPEAKER_01: So suddenly I was like choreographing, I counted one year a hundred routines in one year.
7:31
SPEAKER_01: Oh wow between my recital routines, all the solo duo trios, and all the root routines.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
7:37
SPEAKER_01: Needless to say, it I got to a point quite quickly where I decided like this this is not feeding my soul, this is not what I feel I meant to do.
7:46
SPEAKER_01: I opened up my own studio in 96 and definitely wanted, I feel like I wanted to train future young professionals.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: And from my background, that didn't mean competition.
7:58
SPEAKER_01: That meant, you know, giving them the other resources.
8:02
SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to put on shows.
8:04
SPEAKER_01: So our Christmas show now runs for two weeks.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: They do 12 performances.
8:09
SPEAKER_01: We do a spring show.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: So the dancers get a lot of stage time, probably a lot more than they would have in the competition world because they might be doing like 10 to 15 numbers in a show, and they get to do that 12 times just over, you know, they get to be different characters, you know, from L's to, you know, all sorts of things.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: So I require them to do acting classes and singing classes.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: They take multiple styles of dance from Broadway to contemporary ballet, jazz, chat, hip-hop.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: So that was kind of my journey from I I delved into that competition world a little bit when I was, and actually when I started my studio, I definitely had a lot of like the kids, I had only new competition.
8:53
SPEAKER_01: And we used to kind of go to a competition here and there, and we were always really well received.
8:59
SPEAKER_01: They did incredibly well when they went because I think what we took was so different and unique because we we kind of we actually had this past year we went to a competition for the first time in I don't know, 10 years.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: Because I had six seniors graduating that had never been to a competition.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: And there was they had kind of what is it all about?
9:21
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's this whole culture that all their friends go to competition, but they had never been.
9:26
SPEAKER_01: And we took two numbers, we did in the room where it happens from Hamilton, Rhythm of Life from Sweet Charity.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: And the I mean, they did really well, they got a perfect score, which was, you know, exciting.
9:40
SPEAKER_01: But the most exciting thing was listening to the comments of the judges saying, I felt like I was watching a Broadway show, and there are dancers on the stage that I could see in future Broadway shows.
9:52
SPEAKER_01: And that just, you know, kind of that was so good for the dancers to hear, but good for me to hear too.
9:58
SPEAKER_01: It's like, yeah, you're doing your job.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you got them on the right track.
10:03
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I I think that struggling, choosing to not do competition when competition all is all around you can be for kids, it's sometimes a tough choice, you know, to say, no, I'm not gonna do what my friends are doing.
10:16
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to do this other thing.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna talk all about that for sure.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: But I think it's it's really exciting to hear how those comments from your critiques just right off the bat, you know, kind of just approved and applauded what you're providing to your dancers as far as the quality of training.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: And like I said, I can even vouch.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, this studio is called Encore Performers in Virginia.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: And I had a f mutual friend who kind of connected me with you and you needed teachers for your summer intensive.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: I went, and I can definitely vouch that what you're providing.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the first, the first 30 minutes of jazz class, I was like, who is your jazz teacher, everybody?
10:59
SPEAKER_00: Because this is the training here.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm just blown away by just the understanding of style and grounded movement and things that a lot of other studios I I struggle to get that out of them in in a short guest class when I teach jazz.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: So it was really refreshing to see that at a studio that also doesn't compete.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: It was just really eye-opening for me.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: So I can't wait to chat even more.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for offering your studio to your students, and we're excited to have you here.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: All right, and our next very special guest is brand new to the podcast, and she is also an IDA judge on our roster.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: Yay! She has been here pretty much from the beginning.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure she's been here from season one of IDA.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Whoa, that's a long time ago.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: And I've loved judging alongside her.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: I've actually had the opportunity to perform on stage with her as well.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: And she is coming to you from the perspective of a dancer who grew up not competing at her studio, who has gone on to have a very successful professional career.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: So I'm excited to welcome Miss Courtney Rattenberger to the podcast.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Courtney.
12:05
SPEAKER_05: Hi, thanks for having me.
12:07
SPEAKER_05: You're so welcome.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: And I think what was really um was really cool about uh casting this episode was we knew we wanted to have a studio owner perspective on to hear the reasoning as to why the studios choose not to compete.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: But then I thought it would be really unique and I remembered that you grew up at a studio that didn't grow up going to competitions.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: So I thought it would be cool to hear the other side of like your experience and journey in your training and what that was like for you.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: So if you wouldn't mind sharing more about you, where you were where you grew up, where you're based now, any career credits you like to share, and what you're working on.
12:44
SPEAKER_05: Great.
12:44
SPEAKER_05: Well, I grew up on Long Island in New York, and then I grew up at a studio that would did not compete, like you said.
12:51
SPEAKER_05: And I had had great training and I did a bunch of summer intensives.
12:54
SPEAKER_05: Um, I went on to get a degree in dance from Skidmore College, and then I graduated, and I was a cheerleader for the NFL for the New York Jets.
13:04
SPEAKER_05: Um, and then I did a tour of cabaret, met some regional theater, and then I did a tour of anything goes, first national tour, and that was super fun.
13:12
SPEAKER_05: And then I was a raquette for seven years.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you were girls.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: Hi, kicking, yeah.
13:20
SPEAKER_02: From cheerleader to roquette, like that.
13:21
SPEAKER_02: I don't feel like you see that trajectory very often.
13:24
SPEAKER_02: That's true.
13:25
SPEAKER_05: No, yeah.
13:25
SPEAKER_05: A lot of the girls who did NFL like didn't really do musical theater or anything in that like world.
13:32
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, and actually was a raquette alongside a alumni of Raynor's studio, Paige.
13:39
SPEAKER_05: So we are all connected.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: We really are.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: I think we're all connected from by Page in a way in on this podcast.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: We need to have Paige on the pod.
13:50
SPEAKER_04: Seriously, seriously.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: Well, uh, thank you both so much for joining us.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: Let's jump on in and learn more about the non-competitive world.
14:01
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
14:02
SPEAKER_02: Well, Courtney, I want to start with you.
14:03
SPEAKER_02: Tell us a little bit more about your studio.
14:05
SPEAKER_02: Does it still exist?
14:06
SPEAKER_02: Have you gone back to teach there?
14:08
SPEAKER_02: And what did you love about it?
14:10
SPEAKER_05: My studio was called Baron Anderson on Long Island, and the studio owner is just so great.
14:16
SPEAKER_05: She loves dance, but she also just loves people.
14:20
SPEAKER_05: She created such a great learning environment and really a safe space for all of us.
14:25
SPEAKER_05: Like, I know you know, middle school and high school can be really rough, and like dance was my safe space, and I think it was all of ours.
14:31
SPEAKER_05: We had such a great community there, like we just had so many friends, and it was just fun.
14:37
SPEAKER_05: Like it was just joy of dance, really.
14:40
SPEAKER_05: And she would always bring in guest teachers, and we'd be doing like an Irish step dance workshop, and like, you know, she would just she would bring in teachers from all over, and we were always encouraged to do summer intensives elsewhere.
14:53
SPEAKER_05: We were fortunate to be near New York City, so we would take field trips and go in to take class together, and yeah, we had really great ballet training that was really important.
15:01
SPEAKER_05: We all took ballet like three times a week.
15:03
SPEAKER_05: And there was some of us who were like definitely serious about it and obviously, you know, wanted to do this professionally, and then other people were just kind of recreational dancers, and everybody was treated the same, and we all just we had a really great time.
15:16
SPEAKER_05: There was like no competition between us because we and not to say that competition studios have this dynamic, but there were people weren't being picked for solos and duos and things.
15:25
SPEAKER_05: We had two performances a year, and so like it was more just we were all kind of friends and having a blast dancing.
15:33
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
15:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
15:34
SPEAKER_05: And what else?
15:36
SPEAKER_02: Are they still around?
15:36
SPEAKER_02: Is that studio still around?
15:38
SPEAKER_05: No, unfortunately.
15:39
SPEAKER_05: Um the studio director retired and they all kind of fizzled.
15:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but I did go back and teach during college and a little bit after here and there I would go in for guest spots when I was around.
15:50
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
15:50
SPEAKER_05: But it was always it was just like a our dance family.
15:53
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
15:53
SPEAKER_05: Which I know, you know, exists in many, many studios.
15:56
SPEAKER_05: Sure.
15:57
SPEAKER_05: But it was a special, definitely a special community to grow up in.
16:00
SPEAKER_02: Did you I mean, uh knowing Long Island and you know, Courtney and I live in New York's New York City and have taught a bunch on Long Island as well and judge competitions out there.
16:10
SPEAKER_02: It's a heavy, heavy competition studio area.
16:12
SPEAKER_02: Did you have friends who grew up competing?
16:14
SPEAKER_02: And did you know about competitions when you were dancing?
16:17
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but it really wasn't on my radar.
16:19
SPEAKER_05: Like I had a friend, like a family friend who had a bad experience at a competition studio.
16:24
SPEAKER_05: So that was like what I knew.
16:25
SPEAKER_05: Like there was a lot of jealousy and like politics, and she just was trying to get out of that world.
16:31
SPEAKER_05: And so then when we were looking for a new studio, I was like in fifth grade.
16:35
SPEAKER_05: And this is the 90s, so like you know, like my parents looked at the phone and we were like looking at studios, so it was like not like we didn't and they were didn't come from the dance world, so they didn't really know, you know, competition versus none.
16:49
SPEAKER_05: So when we were looking for studios, and we knew that I was like really into it, and like, you know, this was like really what I wanted to do.
16:57
SPEAKER_05: Um, we looked at a few studios.
16:58
SPEAKER_05: One was a competition studio that like left a bad taste in our mouth.
17:02
SPEAKER_05: They were like, write us a check for like a million dollars as soon as we walked in, kind of thing.
17:07
SPEAKER_05: And obviously now looking back, like I know, you know, I just know the world better.
17:11
SPEAKER_05: So like I, you know, whatever.
17:12
SPEAKER_05: But so that left a bad taste in our mouth.
17:14
SPEAKER_05: And when we went to Marianne's, like she was just so welcoming and she was so passionate, and like she was really focused on technique and like training, and we just felt really great there.
17:26
SPEAKER_05: So that's where we we ended up.
17:28
SPEAKER_05: That's great.
17:29
SPEAKER_00: I think this is really interesting to hear, especially because last week's episode was about kind of doing like a pre-pro program and how to elevate your training in the competitive dance world.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: And now this week's episode, we're talking about being a non-competitive dancer.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: And I think that there's like a misconception of if you don't compete, then you're not serious or you can't receive the same level of training as a competitive studio.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: And I think that you are perfect proof that that is not true, Courtney.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: And same with so many of the dancers from Encore Performers that are now working professionals in the industry because you found a studio that fit your, I'm sure, financially worked for your parents that worked with them and you didn't have to hand them the million dollar check when you walked through the door, you know, not all about the money.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Then also you could tell that they were providing the quality that you were looking for and you're and what your parents wanted to invest in, which I'm sure is also really hard for parents to navigate, especially when they don't know dance and they don't know what I am signing up for.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: You know, you claim that you are a dance teacher.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: I guess this is good, you know, especially back in the 90s, like you said.
18:44
SPEAKER_00: And now we have social media, we have I've won this, I've won that, I'm first place recreational studio.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: Everyone's a winner.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: And I think that might tell parents, wow, well, I have to go here because that's that must be where the training's at.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, not necessarily.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: You have to make sure that you're really doing the proper research to make sure that the quality and the environment is what you're looking to give.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: Because I we're gonna have, we've talked about on the podcast before, but we're gonna have episodes about jealousy.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: And we've done our winning versus losing episode, which, you know, really comes a lot from competitive dance, but also in life, winning versus losing.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: So I think you found the right place, and I think you're really lucky.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: And the hard part is is that it doesn't really seem like there's many studios that nowadays.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: Back in the 90s, yes.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Nowadays, I don't think there's many that don't compete.
19:42
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I agree.
19:43
SPEAKER_05: And this is, I mean, this is obviously before, so you think you can dance as well.
19:46
SPEAKER_05: So like we weren't seeing competition dance on TV, and that was like, you know, so I actually just remembered that part of the reason that we went to this studio is we saw a guy who had gone to Marianne's and had Marianne in her bio in his bio in a community theater, and like he was so amazing and like blew us all away.
20:06
SPEAKER_05: So we kind of were like, we should go to where he went.
20:09
SPEAKER_05: And then he ended up dancing professionally, and he actually is now a PT for a lot of Broadway shows, and I see him around sometimes.
20:15
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
20:16
SPEAKER_05: What a small world.
20:17
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: Well, Raynor, I'm curious since we're talking about, you know, Courtney's experience was probably much like ours because we're about the same age and we would have been going to dance studios, you know, you opened your studio in 96 and started teaching in the States in 91.
20:30
SPEAKER_02: Back in the day when you opened Encore, how was like I this is more of a question for other studio owners to hear your answer.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: How did you advertise?
20:39
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
20:40
SPEAKER_02: Like if you weren't like, we go to four competitions a year and we do this, like what was your advertising strategy to get the point across that we offer qual like truly quality training?
20:49
SPEAKER_02: You can say the word quality all you want, and it means a lot of different things, but your training really is.
20:53
SPEAKER_02: I mean, and I can attest, I went to went to college with multiple of your former students, and they're excellent, you know?
21:00
SPEAKER_02: So how how did you get that across to the community and attract the kinds of kids who want your kind of work?
21:06
SPEAKER_01: You know, in the early days, I think, especially advertising being so like advertising in the newspaper and those kind of things, it's word of mouth.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: It really was in those early days.
21:17
SPEAKER_01: And I had to do a bit of convincing when we started, convincing those parents who had come from the competition world that you know, please trust me.
21:27
SPEAKER_01: If you trust me with your dancer, I promise I will take her to the level that I and and to have her fulfill her full potential.
21:36
SPEAKER_01: And I think I I think I was just so passionate about it.
21:40
SPEAKER_01: Like every parent I spoke to, it was, you know, they could feel how passionate I was about what I believed I could offer them by rather doing shows.
21:50
SPEAKER_01: Because as I was saying, at competition, even though I had done it, it was still something foreign to me.
21:57
SPEAKER_01: You know, it didn't, it wasn't something that I really.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: So I I felt so confident that um, you know, getting into your four ballet classes a week, having fabulous jazz, and you know, being this close that we can get amazing masterclass teachers, you know, those days.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Andy Blanc and Biola came down several times to our studio.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: We I love conventions.
22:19
SPEAKER_01: We do do conventions, and that's I think great preparation for auditions.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah, it's even more chaotic than a Broadway audition.
22:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, there's so many people like fighting for that front spot.
22:32
SPEAKER_01: So I think it kind of sharpens your brain.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: I mean, my dancers pick up choreography really quickly.
22:37
SPEAKER_01: And even though I'm their primary jazz teacher, I think they get to take from so many other teachers in their other dance styles and through conventions and workshops and master classes that they have experience with other.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: I had to sell the the parents and the students, and I think they spread the word.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: The unique thing, you know, we talk about Paige that we all have in common that was I told her since she was five.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: She was in one of the very first classes that I taught in this country.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: So I kind of have a a fondness and a connection there.
23:10
SPEAKER_01: But I had to, you know, convince the parents to come on this journey with me.
23:16
SPEAKER_01: And I they just bought into it, and I'm so grateful, and they spread the word.
23:21
SPEAKER_01: So it was really parents saying, Oh my gosh, I believe in this, you know, come to our shows.
23:27
SPEAKER_01: We started off with a a very small one-weekend show and it just grew and grew.
23:32
SPEAKER_01: And we now invite Girl Scout troops, and we've got we've performed to over 60,000 Girl Scout troops that come to our shows, and we do backstage tours for them because if they're not interested in, you know, we want to create future young theater goers.
23:48
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we've got to get kids into the theater young so that they'll become supporters of theater when they're older.
23:54
SPEAKER_01: So we do a backstage tour, they get to meet and greet with the cast, we introduce them to the stage crew, they learn about the fly bars and the, you know, all sorts of things behind the scenes.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: And just to and that's great information for our dancers to know.
24:10
SPEAKER_01: It's not just showing up doing your number and leaving.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: You know, we tech into the theater a week a week before.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: We have, you know, thousands of light cues that need to be set.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: And so it just creates a really well-rounded environment, uh, kind of in theater environment.
24:25
SPEAKER_01: And fortunately, I feel so blessed that I had parents that when I started the studio, I was subletting a space.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: There was no bathroom, there was no change room.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: We were next door to a gymnastic gymnastics academy, and we'd have to like sink our bladders.
24:41
SPEAKER_01: So we all went there for the bathroom at the same time between classes.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: It was it was crazy that anybody brought their kids to me at all, actually.
24:51
SPEAKER_01: But they did, and you know, it grew from there.
24:54
SPEAKER_01: And I'm always very grateful to those early parents who really believed in me.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: So, because there was no magic advertising.
25:03
SPEAKER_01: So I would encourage parents who say, you know, maybe if competition, if they don't see their kid thriving in that environment, kind of look for opportunities and you know, look deep.
25:15
SPEAKER_01: What can feed your kid's soul?
25:17
SPEAKER_01: And if they offering great training, you know, I wish more I I don't know why more people don't take this route, honestly.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: As a studio owner, it's very fulfilling.
25:28
SPEAKER_01: It really is.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: And you just saying that, you know, you you sitting here saying if your dancer, you know, doesn't want to compete, find a studio that has the quality training.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: And then I'm going back, like I'm sitting here thinking again, like, I think it's very rare that a studio that's producing high caliber, high-quality level dancers doesn't compete.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm that's not a ballet studio.
25:53
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
25:54
SPEAKER_02: And like I think we need to make sure we're making a big difference here is that Encore Performers does everything.
25:58
SPEAKER_02: Tap ballet, jazz, Broadway point, all the things.
26:01
SPEAKER_02: And ballet studios do produce, you know, really amazing ballet dancers, but it's not the same world.
26:07
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, like if you want to commercial career, if you want a successful Broadway or commercial career, where can you actually go that doesn't have competition attached to it?
26:17
SPEAKER_00: And if you're a 15-year-old advanced dancer who says, Well, I don't really want to compete anymore, are you still like able to get the same experience and and performance opportunities by eliminating competition and just training at that studio?
26:32
SPEAKER_00: Maybe that studio in town is the best studio that you could train at.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: They have the best technique, they have the best teachers, but competition's attached, what do you do at that point?
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, I I don't think there's programs at studios that are offering the the advanced non-competitive program.
26:47
SPEAKER_02: There should be.
26:48
SPEAKER_02: And most places don't let you pop in as an as an advanced level dancer and not compete.
26:53
SPEAKER_02: There, you know, it's either you're all in or you're not.
26:55
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
26:55
SPEAKER_02: And then maybe you go to the local, you know, I know some bigger cities have a Broadway dance center-esque kind of place, but if you're not somewhere that offers that, you know, you are kind of stuck.
27:04
SPEAKER_02: And when we were doing the research for this podcast to see who we wanted on, I was like, oh, there's this, there's a really good studio in my hometown that doesn't compete and that has never competed.
27:13
SPEAKER_02: And then literally the next day, I saw the owner of that studio advertise after 40 years of being in business and never competing.
27:20
SPEAKER_02: We're starting a competition company, and I was like, What?
27:23
SPEAKER_02: Like you are unhelpful.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: Now you now like you're not, you can't be on our podcast.
27:27
SPEAKER_00: And like I'm also I'm looking at it from the perspective of like me growing up.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Like when I, like I said, I don't know anything but competitive dance because that was all that was presented to me.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: Like I've talked about it many times on the podcast, but like similar situation, like as you, Courtney, where it was like, and and like word of mouth as to like how I got to the studio where I ended up, which I'm very grateful for the studio they made me the dancer I am today, but it was attached to competition.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: Like there I there wasn't an option to not like because I was good.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: Here's competitive dance, like presented to you saying, This is what you have to do if you want to be a great dancer.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: You're already good, you have the potential, but you gotta compete.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, there wasn't another choice.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of people are in that same exact boat because, you know, and it and again, you have more resources now to be able to research and find the right fit.
28:18
SPEAKER_00: But I I truly just do not think, especially after our research for this episode, that there are many studios that aren't competing, especially now with the levels things, you know, everybody competes and recreational studios are competing, and it's like, whoa, what is what's going on?
28:34
SPEAKER_01: I actually think that it's just it's now there's so many studio owners who grew up in that competition world.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: That's true.
28:42
SPEAKER_01: So it's just kind of a cycle.
28:44
SPEAKER_01: It's people who don't kind of can't imagine anything different.
28:48
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: And I I think that there's you know, renting a theater, putting a show on, having people actually pay to come and see your dances as opposed to paying to have your dances seen.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: For them to be able to come to two hours and see a show of just your, you know, stud your dances, your choreography, as opposed to I want you to come and see Susie dance, but you have to sit through six hours of competition or 12 hours, you know.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: It's like there's so many points.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: I don't know why.
29:22
SPEAKER_01: It's like I I almost want to tell studio owners, like this is really a very fulfilling, great option.
29:29
SPEAKER_01: You can continue your great training, and um like why can't that h happen in tandem?
29:35
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you have your competition team, but you actually also have a performance team that do local community shows and you know, can you rent the theater a couple of times a year, do showcases, and if they would have paid competition fees, they could have just been paying that same amount to you know, and you charge entrance fees for your shows, so it's kind of covering the cost.
29:58
SPEAKER_01: I think it's just because they've now grown up in a competition world and that's all they know.
30:02
SPEAKER_02: Right.
30:02
SPEAKER_02: And that definitely makes sense because yeah, there's a lot of studio owners, if they're not your age, Raynor, they're our age.
30:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
30:09
SPEAKER_02: You know, and that's there's a generational difference of like what you grew up with, even in another country.
30:14
SPEAKER_02: You know, we didn't have competitions, you know, really prior to the 80s either.
30:18
SPEAKER_02: So Courtney, so you went on immediately after high school to college for dance, is that right?
30:23
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
30:24
SPEAKER_02: Did you feel like your studio prepped you not only for college, but then for the professional world without competitive dance?
30:31
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
30:32
SPEAKER_05: I got a really great ballet training.
30:35
SPEAKER_05: Um, we had an amazing ballet teacher, and so she really helped me progress with my ballet training, and that's what I was like a total bunhead.
30:43
SPEAKER_05: I wanted that's all I wanted to do.
30:45
SPEAKER_05: So I was kind of in that mindset of like ballet or nothing, like in middle school.
30:49
SPEAKER_05: Then I went to Joffrey for a summer program.
30:52
SPEAKER_05: So, and then I kind of realized like that's not what's gonna happen.
30:57
SPEAKER_05: And the program that I went to for college was very heavy ballet and modern.
31:03
SPEAKER_05: So we had like one jazz theater class that was fantastic, but that was really it.
31:08
SPEAKER_05: And I didn't tap for all four years of college.
31:11
SPEAKER_05: Um, there was like a tap club or something.
31:14
SPEAKER_05: I was never really like I didn't really think that tap was my thing um growing up, but I always took it because it was kind of like fit into the schedule.
31:21
SPEAKER_05: Like I would have to go home for an hour in between ballet and jazz.
31:24
SPEAKER_05: So I just always took taps.
31:25
SPEAKER_05: And then I ended up having like tapping in like every single one.
31:28
SPEAKER_05: Literally.
31:29
SPEAKER_05: That's your resume is tapped.
31:31
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, listen up, listen up dancers.
31:33
SPEAKER_02: Even if you don't think you're good at it, you're gonna probably tap later.
31:35
SPEAKER_02: So take a tap loss.
31:37
SPEAKER_05: Versus dancers work always.
31:39
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, my training in college also like took me to the next level.
31:44
SPEAKER_05: So I don't think that I could have gone into the professional world at 18.
31:48
SPEAKER_05: Like I you know what I mean?
31:50
SPEAKER_05: Like I wasn't necessarily ready then.
31:52
SPEAKER_05: And that was like, you know, a variety of factors.
31:54
SPEAKER_05: Um, like I was, you know, maturity and things like that.
31:58
SPEAKER_05: But it it definitely prepared me for my college program, which then prepared me for their professional world.
32:02
SPEAKER_05: But I still was not, it wasn't like in a musical theater program where like they help you with like your audition book, and like, you know, this is what you need, and this is what you need to wear, and this is like how to get a headshot.
32:14
SPEAKER_05: So because it was very concert-based, dance-based, you know, like a lot of the alumni were going into Lamon too, and like, you know, they were heavy gram technique based.
32:26
SPEAKER_05: So I kind of made my own way after school.
32:30
SPEAKER_05: So yeah.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: Something that I wanna mention to all of our listeners out there, and we've something that you both mentioned that I want our listeners to hear is feel free.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you've elaborated a little bit if you want anything to add.
32:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, either of you, as far as your programs and the the weekly schedule as to what it looks like, because Courtney, you said that you took three hours a week of ballet or three classes a week of ballet, and Raynor, you said that your dancers take four days a week ballet.
32:58
SPEAKER_00: I think it's super important for our our listeners to hear that, because I don't know if y'all are familiar with this, but there is this new weird trend in the competitive dance world where ballet isn't important anymore, and they're replacing it with a a class called a technique class, quote unquote, which I've n um what is that?
33:18
SPEAKER_00: And I think they just stand at the ballet bar and like do stretches and do like a like a fake ballet class in a shorter amount of time, like a condensed ballet class to like jazz music or something.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: I truly don't know.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: I have no clue.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: So if y'all listeners, if y'all know what I'm talking about, yeah, somebody shout us out on their group or something.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know what this new trend is, but I've heard people talk about it and it makes me really, really, really sad because these dan and because maybe they'll take ballet, but they take like one hour of ballet a week.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: Oh, but we have our technique class, and then we have our stretch and conditioning class, and then we have our jumps and turns class.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: Like that's supposed to make up for the ballet.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, what are your feel free to like tell us a little bit more about like what is a requirement for your dancers and like your thoughts on this?
34:04
SPEAKER_00: Because I think that that is what we need to really drill home is the training is what the qual and the quality and the consistency.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: Well, even though my dancers probably take more ballet than any one other dance style, they none of them aspire to be ballerinas, and they are not.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: They take their ballet classes for the great technique and placement, and it keeps their bodies physically healthy so that they can do all those strange things with their bodies when it gets to jazz and contemporary.
34:38
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's it's just given them the strength and placement that they need so that you know their instrument can do whatever they choose to do with it.
34:47
SPEAKER_01: They in our kids that are saying, Oh, I really want to dance more seriously, I think I want to, you know, move into the performing uh upper level performing arts company, I would say, well, you have to start taking two jazz, two tap, two ballet, and then you know, if you want to do hip hop contemporary ballroom leaps and turns, we have a separate leaps and turns class, that's great.
35:08
SPEAKER_01: But like that's the go-to, two jazz, two tap, two ballet.
35:12
SPEAKER_01: Once they get into the company, our lower level entry dancers will take three ballet.
35:18
SPEAKER_01: The ballet classes are an hour and a half long, and then our four ballet a week for our advanced dances.
35:26
SPEAKER_01: Uh, one class is an hour long, and the other classes are an hour and a half long each.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: And then we do, which I'm sure ballet studios would be horrified by, we only do a half an hour of point a week.
35:39
SPEAKER_01: And that half hour of point is just so that you know that weird audition you go to and they say who can do point work?
35:47
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
35:47
SPEAKER_01: We want you to be able to fake your way through a point right like, and I use it in like our shows, like randomly, the ballerina, in in our Christmas show, you know, whatever.
36:01
SPEAKER_01: So it's just to be proficient and to not, you know, break an answer.
36:05
SPEAKER_01: Special skill.
36:06
SPEAKER_01: Right.
36:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:07
SPEAKER_01: And then they'll do two jazz classes a week, an hour and a half long, uh connected with two tap classes.
36:14
SPEAKER_01: Then they do an acting class that's mandatory.
36:18
SPEAKER_01: They do ballroom, hip-hop, contemporary, and the leaps and turns.
36:23
SPEAKER_00: So those elective classes are requirements for your company?
36:27
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
36:27
SPEAKER_00: Love that.
36:28
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
36:29
SPEAKER_01: And then at one point, um, we used to offer group singing classes, and then everybody like started booking their own privates.
36:39
SPEAKER_01: So I stopped offering group classes, and the way things have evolved, pandemic happened, like I have to build our singing, our singers back up.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: I have to because so often dancers don't know, they're so afraid to sing.
36:53
SPEAKER_01: Just like I've come to know singers who are petrified to dance, it's like we're just envious of each other's talents.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: They just need to kind of sing in a group and and build their confidence because we have found dancers that actually are really good singers and they didn't know until you know they got to work with a vocal director.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: We have full company vocal numbers in the Christmas show and the spring show as well.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: But we have a vocal director who comes in and works with them.
37:20
SPEAKER_01: And starting this year, we're doing group voice classes again just to build them back.
37:24
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm sure the same thing will happen.
37:26
SPEAKER_01: They'll find their private lesson.
37:28
SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a few that are already in private lessons, but you know, it's I I heard Courtney say earlier on, you know, the more versatile you are, the more you will work.
37:38
SPEAKER_01: So kind of that's that's our belief that you just and and you know what?
37:44
SPEAKER_01: The joy you get from doing everything.
37:46
SPEAKER_01: It all comes down to the last week of class, I asked all my dancers to write down what they felt our studio meant to them.
37:56
SPEAKER_01: Like what was, you know, in one word or a short phrase, like how did they feel about the studio, about their time there?
38:04
SPEAKER_01: Because I had, you know, six seniors graduating, or so sentimental, it's so hard to every year say goodbye to a batch.
38:11
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, joy, acceptance, like all those words that came up just kind of were my philosophy too.
38:21
SPEAKER_01: So I felt great that you know these 30 dancers were on the same page.
38:27
SPEAKER_01: I felt like I was able to really get my message across to them because all those different words they wrote down were very much part of our mission statement and our philosophy.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: Hey Dance World, it's Courtney, and I want to tell you about a program that is near and dear to my heart, and that is Young Arts.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: Young Arts is one of the only organizations in the United States that supports young, aspiring artists across 10 different disciplines, including dance.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: Young Arts offers a national arts competition, open to visual, literary, and performing artists between the ages of 15 to 18, or in grades 10 through 12.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
39:06
SPEAKER_00: Applications are now open.
39:08
SPEAKER_00: By applying to Young Arts, your dancer will have the chance to receive mentorship and scholarship awards, gain access to a lifetime of creative and professional development, and become part of an uplifting intergenerational community that helps artists connect, create, and collaborate throughout their career.
39:24
SPEAKER_00: As a young arts alum and dance winner in 2007, I can't tell you how eye-opening and impactful my experience was as a high school senior heading to Young Arts Week in Miami.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: I met lifelong friends, worked with legendary icons in the dance world, and grew as an artist.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: This program is so much more than just a scholarship opportunity.
39:44
SPEAKER_00: It truly changed my life and helped me start my career in the dance world.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: I highly encourage and recommend all dancers who are aged 15 to 18 to apply to Young Arts and enter into their national arts competition now.
39:57
SPEAKER_00: The deadline to apply is by October 14th, 2022.
40:01
SPEAKER_00: Learn more and start your application today by clicking the link in our show notes or visiting their website at youngarts.org slash apply.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: Something I want to mention before Courtney, you tell us a little bit about you the training at your studio growing up, is that I'm sure a lot of people are sitting here thinking, how do you have time for all of those classes in a week?
40:30
SPEAKER_00: Because especially the cop the company level, your highest level, the ones that are aspiring to be professionals, they're taking every class under the sun, plus singing and acting.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: Like how right.
40:41
SPEAKER_00: Like, do I yeah.
40:42
SPEAKER_00: So, like, how is there enough time?
40:44
SPEAKER_00: And then while you were talking right now, I was just sitting here thinking, because they're not a competition.
40:49
SPEAKER_00: And because they're not rehearsing the comp the 15 competition dances that they're in.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: Because that's all that you keep drilling and drilling, and like, yes, you have rehearsal for your shows, but the training comes first, and then we, you know, you're not in the studio as all like so many people get into this fight with the whole levels thing about, well, I only train three hours a week, but I'm in rehearsal for six.
41:14
SPEAKER_00: And it's like that concerns me because you're spending so much money on the costumes, the rehearsal fees, the entry fees to be at the studio.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: And it should be the reverse.
41:25
SPEAKER_00: You should be training for six hours and rehearsing for three.
41:29
SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, if the ratio is wrong for a lot of studios and a lot of dancers who just think more, more, more, and that's gonna elevate their training, when really it should be in class.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: Like, even just hearing that you do an hour and a half jazz class is the best thing that I've ever heard because so many studios do 45-minute classes.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: And what can you achieve in 45 minutes?
41:52
SPEAKER_00: It's nearly impossible.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: To get a proper warm-up out, do a progression across the floor, and then do a little mini technique combo or something.
42:00
SPEAKER_00: Like you have you have to have the tools to succeed, and we're jam-packing this because we have too many private lessons or we have too many rehearsals.
42:09
SPEAKER_00: And you know, studio time is precious.
42:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that this can really shift the perspective of a lot, hopefully, maybe either parents or studios as to how they structure their schedule and like the priorities.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: I think it's just so refreshing to hear.
42:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, we rehearse most of their technique classes happen Monday through Thursday and Saturday mornings.
42:32
SPEAKER_01: And every those series company dances all get one day off.
42:36
SPEAKER_01: Every we're closed on Sundays, no rehearsals, no anything.
42:39
SPEAKER_01: And they get one day off during the week.
42:41
SPEAKER_01: The advanced dances, it's usually a Wednesday.
42:44
SPEAKER_01: Yes, sometimes they're there five hours, you know, a day.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: They'll like their Mondays are heavy, but then it's like acting, contemporary, hip-hop, ballet.
42:54
SPEAKER_01: So it's like it's different genres, and somehow you when your mind shifts, it doesn't feel that long.
43:00
SPEAKER_01: I don't know where they get their homework in because most like they all go to regular school and they all like straight A AP students, they're amazing.
43:10
SPEAKER_01: But they get their one day off a week and then rehearsals are Friday and Saturday.
43:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh Friday is three-hour rehearsals, Friday, three, Saturday.
43:19
SPEAKER_01: But sometimes they won't be called.
43:21
SPEAKER_01: Like if I'm working on a number with a certain with the advanced girls as opposed to the junior girls, you know, the junior girls are off.
43:29
SPEAKER_01: It's not like they've and we do rehearse, like our Christmas show, we've choreographed nine numbers already.
43:35
SPEAKER_01: We rehearse over we start in August.
43:38
SPEAKER_01: We try and get as many numbers done because it's when they're not in school.
43:42
SPEAKER_01: It's just it's actually, I have to say, my favorite time of year.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: They've got nothing on their plate by coming to dance class.
43:49
SPEAKER_01: They come to rehearsals all day for six hours, they get an hour lunch, dinner break, and then they come to regular classes in the evening, which is typically three to five hours.
43:59
SPEAKER_01: It is The best time they don't have any school, their minds are a hundred percent like focused on dance and just like the most fun times because there's just no no other things pulling them in different directions, like I've got to go to you know, I've got this homework to do.
44:16
SPEAKER_01: It's such a special time.
44:17
SPEAKER_01: I love August and Christmas show rehearsals.
44:21
SPEAKER_05: Similarly, we had a schedule like that where I had three hour and a half class ballet classes a week on Saturdays, whereas usually like when we would do point, we were encouraged to take the class in point or the last half hour at least.
44:34
SPEAKER_05: And then I would take jazz, modern, and tap, as well as one day a week was company rehearsal.
44:41
SPEAKER_05: So it wasn't quite as intense and or broad as the program that Rainor is offering.
44:45
SPEAKER_00: But enough, like you know, enough to prepare you.
44:48
SPEAKER_05: And the technique was also you took modern, right?
44:50
SPEAKER_05: So like you're already winning.
44:53
SPEAKER_05: And it was it was fun and refreshing because you know, we weren't working towards a competition where we were rehearsing the same piece.
44:59
SPEAKER_05: So like every week we would do something new, we'd learn a new combo.
45:01
SPEAKER_05: And I think that really helped with by like picking up choreography quickly because every week we're doing something new and have to learn it and we'd do it, and then uh you know, next week we'd be introduced to something new and a new style or whatever.
45:12
SPEAKER_05: But I think it gave the teachers a lot more freedom too, and they were able to really hone in on our technique.
45:18
SPEAKER_05: And I will say, as a judge, I've definitely noticed if the studio or the the dancer is taking ballet regularly or not.
45:25
SPEAKER_05: Right.
45:25
SPEAKER_05: Because it's so evident in a comp in a contemporary or in a lyrical or even in the jazz, like are they taking ballet?
45:31
SPEAKER_05: And you can really, really see if they are how they walk out on stage using their turnout if they're pointing when and how pointing their toes.
45:39
SPEAKER_02: Oh gosh, please point your toes.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: When and how did you get introduced to the competition world?
45:44
SPEAKER_02: So you've been with us for with IDA for like seven, eight years now.
45:48
SPEAKER_02: So what was it, Courtney bringing you on, saying I think she'd be good even though she has never been to a competition?
45:53
SPEAKER_02: Courtney's known to do basically.
45:56
SPEAKER_05: Basically, I'd never seen like a competition before I judged.
45:59
SPEAKER_05: Oh wow.
45:59
SPEAKER_05: But uh, like obviously, I'd been in the professional world for you know five or six years and then already had my degree.
46:05
SPEAKER_05: So and like in college, we would have to critique each other's choreography and stuff, so like I was able to speak to it.
46:11
SPEAKER_05: But it was definitely kind of an eye-opener.
46:14
SPEAKER_05: I did have one friend in high school, so my ballet teacher brought in a guy to partner with us for some of our ballet variations, and he was from the competition world.
46:22
SPEAKER_05: He was like really into it, and like we kind of I mean, no offense to competition studios, but there was like a stigma, especially for my ballet teacher, of like competitions are only you know, they're only working towards tricks, they have no technique, they're not gonna still exist that stigma, but right.
46:37
SPEAKER_05: And like now, as an adult, you know, as a judge, like see, there's so many fantastic competition studios that are offering great technique, but obviously this was, you know, this is one in just my point of view in high school.
46:48
SPEAKER_05: And he showed us his solo, and there were like toast and walks and illusions and like all these things.
46:54
SPEAKER_05: What is that?
46:56
SPEAKER_05: What is this?
46:57
SPEAKER_05: Like, we you know, we had done so many great field trips to Lincoln Center and the Joyce, and like we were like so much professional dance.
47:05
SPEAKER_05: We were like, what is an illusion?
47:07
SPEAKER_05: That doesn't even register to us as like in the vocabulary of like look at my awesome dance.
47:13
SPEAKER_02: I didn't lose it.
47:15
SPEAKER_05: And he did so well, he's now like a professional dancer for Katie Perry.
47:19
SPEAKER_05: Like he's fantastic.
47:20
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
47:20
SPEAKER_05: Um, because he did have a great foundation of training, but like when he showed us the cellar, I'm just like, what is so yeah, then as an adult going into the competition world, it was definitely eye-opening.
47:33
SPEAKER_05: And like looking back, I would never change my experience growing up.
47:38
SPEAKER_05: But like me personally, I would have like loved the opportunity to perform because I'm such a ham.
47:43
SPEAKER_05: Like, I would have like performing more, I would have loved it.
47:45
SPEAKER_05: And I also just love the pressure of auditions.
47:48
SPEAKER_05: So like I think I would have thrived under a competition setting, but I don't know that everybody will or does.
47:55
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
47:56
SPEAKER_05: And who knows?
47:56
SPEAKER_05: I maybe I would have gotten burnt out, you know, by the time I was professional age, but yeah, there were definitely aspects of the competition world that I would have loved and others that you know wouldn't have suited me as well.
48:07
SPEAKER_00: I have a question actually for both of you when it comes to solos.
48:13
SPEAKER_00: Because you kind of mentioned it, Courtney, and then you also kind of mentioned it, Ray Nora, as far as when your dancers go to conventions and you think that that's like a great opportunity for them to prep for auditioning and things like that.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, if you're not doing competitions, there's probably very limited opportunities for you for a dancer at the studio to be doing any type of solo opera like solo work.
48:36
SPEAKER_00: It's more group dances and ensemble, you know.
48:40
SPEAKER_00: I think solos are very competition.
48:42
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's important to remember to our listeners that you very rarely will be a soloist in the real world.
48:48
SPEAKER_00: So in my head, it makes sense as to why you you probably don't have many solo opportunities, but do you feel like that solos could have helped you navigate the professional world more and or do you create solo opportunities for your dancers, or is it just the conventions where they kind of get that that kind of competitive feel?
49:10
SPEAKER_00: Because I guess in an audition, it is a solo.
49:13
SPEAKER_00: Like you are auditioning for you as yourself.
49:16
SPEAKER_00: You're trying to make an you know an impression on the people behind your table.
49:20
SPEAKER_00: You're not in the ensemble yet.
49:21
SPEAKER_00: So I feel like that's where in the competitive world, being that soloist shines and helps you if you have experience.
49:28
SPEAKER_00: But if you've never experienced that, like, do you have any any thoughts on the solo world?
49:34
SPEAKER_05: I do think that sometimes in auditions I like panic or they're like improv.
49:39
SPEAKER_05: And I'm like, like I'd choreograph something really quick in my head, you know what I mean?
49:43
SPEAKER_05: Because that's something that wasn't big in our studio, and I never had this like solo experience.
49:48
SPEAKER_05: Actually, every senior at the studio would get a solo in the recital, but I mean that was like one opportunity.
49:54
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
49:54
SPEAKER_05: One time.
49:55
SPEAKER_05: So I never really like had that solo experience.
49:59
SPEAKER_05: So that was definitely something new in auditions, and I think that would have prepared me well.
50:03
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, definitely navigating auditions was something brand new.
50:08
SPEAKER_00: Like college.
50:10
SPEAKER_00: When you applied for college, you probably had to like take class, but did you also have to do a solo?
50:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, when I applied to NYU to Tish, you had to do a solo.
50:20
SPEAKER_05: And so I choreographed it and you know, I was like really excited to do it.
50:24
SPEAKER_05: But that was something like I was definitely super nervous, and like, you know, it was something brand new for me.
50:28
SPEAKER_05: So I think that that solos and duos, that's definitely something that is great training for professional, the professional world.
50:36
SPEAKER_05: That being said, I was a rock cat for seven years, so not pulling focus that's being a part of an ensemble and being in, you know, dancing as a group and dancing as a team was also obviously really important.
50:50
SPEAKER_05: Pulling focus of that.
50:52
SPEAKER_00: There's so I literally have seen so many shows where like an ensemble dancer is pulling focus and they're very talented, but they're like overperforming, and it's almost like the like their stage mom told them to like make sure you really over-exaggerate that so everyone's I go to you.
51:08
SPEAKER_00: Like that's what it felt like to me, or that's like all they knew growing up was like that mentality of always be the star, always be notice.
51:16
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, no, no, no, no, we're a pro.
51:18
SPEAKER_00: We gotta, we gotta blend with the ensemble.
51:21
SPEAKER_00: Like, we shouldn't be pulling the focus anymore.
51:25
SPEAKER_01: For me, I agree that you know, sometimes I two years ago we had, as I said, we go to conventions and I had several dancers that won scholarships and then at at a convention and we decided to go to the nationals.
51:40
SPEAKER_01: Uh, this was just after the pandemic, and they so they took solos and all of them was their first time doing solos.
51:49
SPEAKER_01: But so I think when I choreograph a routine that is ensemble type choreography, and your focus is to have your dancers look alike or dance alike, or it's a different kind of choreography than I teach in my combo.
52:07
SPEAKER_01: Like when I'm just teaching a combo on a Thursday night, it's that's different choreography.
52:12
SPEAKER_01: It's almost like that choreography is more solo choreography.
52:15
SPEAKER_01: For me, it's kind of I'm not sometimes you're going to choreograph a certain way because it's like, how are, you know, 12 people going to do this step together?
52:24
SPEAKER_01: So I will choreograph differently when I choreograph a group routine, and also because you're doing formations and and furthering the storyline and stuff like that.
52:34
SPEAKER_01: Whereas it's just a combo, you know, in class, to me, that's more the kind of choreography I would choreograph for solos.
52:43
SPEAKER_01: But there is there's benefit to just working one-on-one with a teacher.
52:48
SPEAKER_01: To me, that's like the most beneficial thing about a solo is that you know, I got to work with these dancers just one-on-one.
52:57
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes, you know, tweaking those little personal things, you always get corrections in the class.
53:01
SPEAKER_01: And you know, I'll often have my students tell me, you know, what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses, like to check in, do you know, like do you know?
53:11
SPEAKER_01: And just to work on their highlight their strengths and work on the weaknesses one-on-one is very beneficial, I think.
53:18
SPEAKER_01: But so I could say that's the plus of doing a solo.
53:22
SPEAKER_01: Do you have do you offer private dance lessons at all at your studio, Renor?
53:26
SPEAKER_01: No, I don't.
53:27
SPEAKER_01: I actually often get people that will ask, and I actually I I'm not a fan, like if somebody it's like you have to learn to learn in a group, and there's so many lessons to be learned from watching other people, like to hear their corrections.
53:45
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, that's part of my mantra.
53:47
SPEAKER_01: Make sure that you are listening to other people's corrections.
53:51
SPEAKER_01: You know, all those corrections are for you as well.
53:54
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it might go, Oh, yeah, I always straighten my back knee, my leap.
53:59
SPEAKER_01: Or, oh my gosh, did I straighten my back knee, my leap?
54:03
SPEAKER_01: It's like just because so I think, yeah, there's so much more you can learn in a class.
54:07
SPEAKER_01: I think to have an additional, you know, private because you're struggling with something, like sometimes we will have those dancers that are now a certain level and they have not taken tap.
54:18
SPEAKER_01: And then we will do tap privates to get them caught up so that their schedules are in sync and they're taking the same level across the board for all the disciplines.
54:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's that's also a big feature of competition studios is the the consistent offering of privates.
54:32
SPEAKER_02: Just come take private lessons and you kind of wonder sometimes, like, well, what are you doing?
54:37
SPEAKER_02: What's what is a 30-minute private lesson?
54:39
SPEAKER_02: Like sometimes they're 30 minutes, and you know, I I kind of agree, and uh that's why I was just curious because I feel like that's like super competition-y-is to be like, oh, I I take this private, I take that private, I take this private.
54:50
SPEAKER_02: But you're right, learning in a group, you know, because you're gonna perform in a group the majority of the time.
54:54
SPEAKER_00: So I can see the benefit.
54:56
SPEAKER_00: We actually have an episode coming up about private lessons on the podcast.
55:01
SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned, everybody, for that.
55:02
SPEAKER_00: I think that'll be a really, yeah, really hot one.
55:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because like you said, Leslie, they are so popular.
55:09
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't even think of it.
55:10
SPEAKER_02: I I love the idea of of like doing it, like Raynor said, for a catch-up.
55:15
SPEAKER_02: Like, listen, I I never took tap, but I'm really, really good in jazz and ballet.
55:18
SPEAKER_02: If you want to be up, you gotta, that's how you gotta do it.
55:21
SPEAKER_02: There's no way you can, you know, progress somebody that quickly and sticking them in a six-year-old beginner tap class when they're 12.
55:26
SPEAKER_02: Like you have to have that consistent effort.
55:29
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, that'll be that'll be an interesting topic coming up soon and get some more perspective on private lessons.
55:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
55:34
SPEAKER_02: Cordy, you've already sort of said this, but can you reiterate for us, like looking back, are you happy you didn't compete?
55:40
SPEAKER_02: Do you really wish you had that experience?
55:42
SPEAKER_02: Or are you like, you know what, my my career and everything happened the way it happened because of how my past happened?
55:49
SPEAKER_05: I think I'm definitely happy I didn't compete because this was my path to professional dance, and I wouldn't change anything.
55:57
SPEAKER_05: Like, I had such a great experience.
55:59
SPEAKER_05: Like I said, there was such a phen phenomenal community at my studio.
56:03
SPEAKER_05: Um, it was just really welcoming.
56:04
SPEAKER_05: And like I was put into a like a high school class when I was in middle school, and the girls were all so nice, and they like invited me to Six Flags, and like and it was like a time as middle school where I was like, I didn't have that many friends, and I was like, Oh, I have dance friends now, and it's just like you know, I just had such a great special experience, and I think it really allowed me to get this amazing training, but also just kind of be in my little bubble and just thrive and like grow.
56:30
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I don't think I would change anything.
56:33
SPEAKER_05: Um, but as an adult and as a judge at competitions, I definitely see the benefits for aspiring young dancers.
56:39
SPEAKER_05: Um, but I do wish that sometimes they would utilize the competitions better.
56:44
SPEAKER_05: Sometimes I feel like judges are like the enemy and like these critiques, you know, people sometimes don't know how to take critiques.
56:50
SPEAKER_05: Like we're offering these critiques to help the dancers, to help them progress.
56:54
SPEAKER_05: And sometimes they think it's thought of as like, well, they just didn't like us.
56:58
SPEAKER_05: No, yeah, I want you to take these critiques and like continue to progress and use these professionals to help you.
57:05
SPEAKER_05: Um, I think a lot of people get caught up in the like, oh well, they won and I didn't win.
57:09
SPEAKER_05: Like, dance is about is an art form that is about the joy of dance, you know, fundamentally, I think.
57:15
SPEAKER_05: So like getting caught up in the like winning losing, I think it can be really detrimental.
57:20
SPEAKER_05: So it's just always something to remember, even though the competition world is exciting and fun and there's all different other benefits, just something to remember when you're training.
57:29
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
57:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I actually feel like listening to to you and and maybe like we can go around and all say like our thoughts on like Courtney's was, I'm happy that I didn't compete.
57:42
SPEAKER_00: And then I'm sitting here thinking, like, what would my life be like if I didn't compete?
57:47
SPEAKER_00: Like, as you're saying that.
57:48
SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm happy that I grew up competing, but I'm also very, very, very grateful that I went to the type of studio that I went to, because there's so many different types of competition studios out there.
58:02
SPEAKER_00: There are ones that focus on solely the win, and there are ones that uh want to go to a convention every single weekend, and then there's the ones that have the happy balance of both the quality training and the emphasis on training, and then also that competitive world and the taste of that too.
58:18
SPEAKER_00: So I think that with the ex you know, how expensive competition dance is and how how much it's got how expensive it's gotten over the years.
58:26
SPEAKER_00: It was even expensive back when I was growing up.
58:28
SPEAKER_00: I think that like as adults and as parents who are pursuing this for their dancers, they ha you also have to look at that approach as to how much money are you really, you know, investing into this and are the competitions really the part that's worth it.
58:43
SPEAKER_00: Because I think that there's so much value in dance competitions, like you said, Courtney, about the critiques.
58:48
SPEAKER_00: I learned how to pick up choreography quickly, I learned how to understand cleaning of a routine quicker.
58:54
SPEAKER_00: I was exposed to so many varieties of different styles that I might not have been in just doing combos or things like that.
59:02
SPEAKER_00: So I think there's a lot of benefits and exposure as well in networking with other people and other dancers, but I didn't grow up going to many.
59:10
SPEAKER_00: I only went to three a year and a national.
59:12
SPEAKER_00: So there's studios that have eight competitions lined up into their schedule.
59:16
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where we're losing the focus on the training, and it's more about the win.
59:21
SPEAKER_00: And it shouldn't really, I don't think it really needs to be, you know, pushed in that direction.
59:26
SPEAKER_00: So I think if you're able to find that happy middle of you're getting awesome training and you're in those hour and a half ballet classes a week and you have like a consistent training schedule that and then competition is the cherry on top, the little extra bonus, then I think that like I s that's what I kind of hope for in the competitive dance world to be seen a little bit more is like and that's what mine was.
59:48
SPEAKER_00: So I'm very grateful for that looking back.
59:51
SPEAKER_00: But who knows?
59:52
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I might have had a I probably wouldn't be where I am right now if I didn't go, you know, competition route or sitting at the or going to the studio that I trained at.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_00: But I feel very blessed.
1:00:02
SPEAKER_00: But Leslie, what are your thoughts?
1:00:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I I've said this before, like we only went to we might have gone to two a year, maybe.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_02: Not and not even for my whole dance career.
1:00:11
SPEAKER_02: And so I always really wished we did more because I I wanted to be so good.
1:00:15
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to be those good kids who did the illusions and you know, but we just did not, we did not do that kind of thing at my studio.
1:00:22
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's why I love being immersed in this world now, is because, you know, not that I'm like living vicariously through these kids, but you know, I I do see the benefits and I see like the opportunities that some competition kids can have to be able to train differently and to see what's out there.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know, we only went to those two comps a year, and then you got to see all these other people in your community, and like now you can see it anywhere.
1:00:46
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's why it's like looking back, it's like, man, why am I not a kid now?
1:00:50
SPEAKER_02: And that would I would not really wish that on anyone.
1:00:52
SPEAKER_02: Uh I don't even wish that on kids now.
1:00:54
SPEAKER_02: Like, sorry, you're a kid now.
1:00:56
SPEAKER_02: But, you know, I I do I do love it.
1:00:58
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, the same with Courtney.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know, we're here now in this industry and have been for so long, and I can't I this is how I make my living.
1:01:06
SPEAKER_02: You know, the competition industry has been good to me.
1:01:08
SPEAKER_02: It never gave me more than like a high silver, but you know it's it's a good place to be and it it needs some uh it needs some finessing, I think, and some some getting back to its roots a little bit uh here in 2022.
1:01:23
SPEAKER_02: But ultimately, um, you know, I'm glad we're here.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_01: You know what I have been joking about for years, and maybe you are the two ladies that can do this.
1:01:32
SPEAKER_01: I joke and talk about the non-competition competition.
1:01:37
SPEAKER_01: That is where dancers can go, and this will be so good for like non-competition studios, but maybe those studios that don't really want to be deep in the high silver, high gold, super platinum plus.
1:01:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
1:01:53
SPEAKER_01: Where you go and you perform and you have like this amazing MC that introduces each and they make it feel like a showcase, like every performance, and they only accept a limited amount and it runs for like three hours at a time, and then they can have a break and another three-hour session, and they have an MC that announces each dance number, and they come on, they do their performance, and you know, it just runs from one and there's no critiques, there's no, it's just we've all come together to perform and show our stuff.
1:02:27
SPEAKER_01: And I would go to that.
1:02:30
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we've talked about like you know, very vaguely about starting an IDA, you know, like when we did the virtual competitions, like, oh, could we do like a virtual nationals?
1:02:38
SPEAKER_02: And you know, it's it was kind of a fun idea, but that's a huge undertaking.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:02:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:02:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:02:43
SPEAKER_01: I think people want to show up and be on stage though.
1:02:45
SPEAKER_01: Like they want to actually have an audience there, like, and and that's what's so nice about an audience who is paid to come in and watch you for just two hours, is they're engaged, they're committed, they want to be entertained, and there's no other distractions and they are fully present.
1:03:02
SPEAKER_02: Because at a competition, you know, and you have I RMC constantly at the competition I work for has to remind people that somebody's kid is on stage.
1:03:11
SPEAKER_02: So please sit down.
1:03:12
SPEAKER_02: Please don't be on your phone.
1:03:13
SPEAKER_02: Please don't be having a party in the back of the room because this is somebody's child on stage, and you wouldn't want it if you you were being distracted while your kid was on stage.
1:03:22
SPEAKER_02: And I like I do love that that you know, your your audience commits to showing up and paying attention and enjoying your show instead of the other way around where it's like we paid money to be here, so I guess I'll just be on a stage, you know.
1:03:35
SPEAKER_00: Or even just like you sitting like you saying that, Raynor, like I feel like that there could be something in uh maybe like studios coming together to create a performance opportunity, but that like it magically blends into like a a a show, like kind of like some of the shows that you produce where it's like each studio gets a different theme that you have to make happen and choreograph, and then it it's formulated into okay, studio A goes here, studio B C, and then C do A comes back with a different theme, studio B comes back, and it just like magically happen blends into this beautiful little show that also has maybe props or tech and sh and lighting.
1:04:11
SPEAKER_02: Because when you were talking about it would be like a project runway, but for dudes, like there's a limited time frame and you had the theme to show up with, and then somebody has to string it together into a story.
1:04:21
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
1:04:22
SPEAKER_00: Like there's a there's a day of like stringing it together, and then here's the final product of all of us come together and we show what we did.
1:04:28
SPEAKER_00: Like, I think that could be cool.
1:04:29
SPEAKER_00: I think there need to be more performance opportunities for non-competition out there because I think that a lot of the competition studios are probably saying, Well, competition is our chance to perform.
1:04:38
SPEAKER_00: But I think there need to be more opportunities where there are the showcases and like can be even more resume building because we talk about it on the on the podcast all the time that like adding first place overall, senior miss whoever on your own your resume isn't a great idea.
1:04:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, probably not gonna get you a job.
1:04:55
SPEAKER_00: But like if someone said I performed at, you know, this dance company's showcase in New York City or at the Joyce Theater, you know, uh at dancers responding to AIDS or like things like that.
1:05:05
SPEAKER_00: Like you can add those things to your resume.
1:05:08
SPEAKER_00: So I wish there were more opportunities.
1:05:10
SPEAKER_00: I think that's probably the one of the hardest things to kind of get past for studios that are even considering going in that direction of not competing is the lack of like, I think that studios are probably afraid that they'll lose customers.
1:05:22
SPEAKER_00: I think studios are afraid that they won't be able to compete with the rival studios nearby because they do competitions and they won't get as much traction or business, then using not being able to use Wii One first place as a marketing uh pitch when they're advertising their studio, and then the lack of performance opportunities that would arise from it because they probably aren't creative like you Renor, where they can come up with full length productions with props and sets, you know, like they don't know that.
1:05:46
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I I I've just learned so much just sitting here listening to to both of your experiences when it comes to growing up and running studios that did that don't compete.
1:05:57
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, I truly knew nothing about it.
1:06:00
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know anything else.
1:06:02
SPEAKER_00: So thank you both for sharing these great perspectives.
1:06:04
SPEAKER_00: It was so eye-opening, and I hope our listeners enjoyed it.
1:06:07
SPEAKER_00: It's definitely a different topic we haven't talked about ever on the podcast.
1:06:11
unknown: Wow.
1:06:12
SPEAKER_01: It's a little contrary to what we do.
1:06:14
SPEAKER_01: I know.
1:06:16
SPEAKER_01: You know, there's another thing that I forgot.
1:06:18
SPEAKER_01: I'm a member of Virginia Dance Coalition, and it's a bunch of studios, obviously non-competitive, and some dance companies.
1:06:25
SPEAKER_01: There's about eight board members, and then now it it fizzled away during the pandemic, and we're actually building it back up.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_01: And we come together once a year, we put on workshop classes, and then we have a gala performance.
1:06:38
SPEAKER_01: And it's just that it's we tech the early part of the day, our lighting designs, and then we show up that night, and it's a two and a half hour show with a 15-minute intermission.
1:06:50
SPEAKER_01: And it's just all these different it includes Indian dance, Chinese dance, hip hop, ballet, jazz, chat, contemporary, everything, full genre of of um styles of dance, and we do that once a year.
1:07:06
SPEAKER_01: And so they are other like that, but in a kind of more uh with my idea of the non-competition competition.
1:07:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it would be that, but on a broader scale.
1:07:18
SPEAKER_01: I think there are people that would, and even if they do compete, if they were like your studio, Leslie, that didn't do a lot of competitions and they could just now go and do other community performances, it would feel more like that community performance.
1:07:32
SPEAKER_01: Would be amazing.
1:07:33
SPEAKER_02: I think the hard part too, Courtney, is you know, it depends on your community because we we did do a lot of community.
1:07:38
SPEAKER_02: We would we would go to nursing homes and we would go to you know the fair and parades and things like that.
1:07:42
SPEAKER_02: But to my knowledge these days, that is very hard to drum up.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_02: Nobody nobody nobody wants you at their parade.
1:07:48
SPEAKER_02: The nursing home doesn't really care anymore.
1:07:50
SPEAKER_02: Like my mom, you know, owns the studio, so she's still trying to do these things.
1:07:54
SPEAKER_02: And some communities are just like they don't they don't value the arts in the same way as other communities.
1:08:00
SPEAKER_02: And so I think that gets in some people's way too when thinking about, oh gosh, well, what would my studio do if we didn't compete?
1:08:07
SPEAKER_02: The arduous task of trying to figure out some kind of opportunity for their kids to perform is is harder in some places than others, which I understand.
1:08:15
SPEAKER_05: I was just saying that we would also do a lot of like charity performances throughout the community, and and that was always fun for us as well.
1:08:21
SPEAKER_05: But if there's not as many opportunities, then that stays.
1:08:26
SPEAKER_00: Well, y'all, this was so great.
1:08:28
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining us on the pod.
1:08:30
SPEAKER_00: It was lovely chatting with you both and learning so much more.
1:08:33
SPEAKER_00: And how our guests always lead us out is just with one final thought on your end.
1:08:39
SPEAKER_00: Whether you want to talk to dancers out there, you want to talk to other studio owners, or even the competitions, you can talk to whoever you want and share one final bit of advice or guidance or thoughts on our topic today, which is why studios don't compete.
1:08:57
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I guess I'll go first.
1:08:59
SPEAKER_01: I would just say to every dancer out there is um to find your joy.
1:09:04
SPEAKER_01: Like dance with joy no matter what it is, and check in with that consistently through your journey.
1:09:12
SPEAKER_01: Always seek out the joy.
1:09:14
SPEAKER_05: I would also like to address aspiring young dancers.
1:09:17
SPEAKER_05: I touched on this a little bit, but versatility is so important.
1:09:21
SPEAKER_05: Keep training in as many genres of dance as you can, even if you feel like this is not your, you know, your strength.
1:09:29
SPEAKER_05: Just to be in that world, just to have that style under your belt is so important if you want to dance professionally.
1:09:36
SPEAKER_05: And also there's a George Valentine quote that I'm gonna butcher it, but I I'll just surmise it.
1:09:42
SPEAKER_05: Um, it's like, what are you holding back for?
1:09:44
SPEAKER_05: What are you waiting for?
1:09:45
SPEAKER_05: There is no tomorrow when you're dancing.
1:09:47
SPEAKER_05: Like, let it all out now.
1:09:50
SPEAKER_00: We hope you enjoyed this week's episode all about why some studios don't compete.
1:09:55
SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow our special guests on social media.
1:09:58
SPEAKER_00: You can find Courtney at CR Funhead and Raynor Studio at Encore Performer.
1:10:05
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1:10:35
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1:10:41
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1:10:49
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1:11:10
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1:11:18
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1:11:28
SPEAKER_02: Season four is off to a great start.
1:11:31
SPEAKER_02: Coming up the next few episodes, look forward to our first studio spotlight of season four with expressions from Indianapolis, transitioning to a new age division at competition, and a look at competitive dance in other countries.