Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Q&A With Courtney Live 2024 - Platinum Premium Exclusive!

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Q&A With Courtney Live 2024 - Platinum Premium Exclusive! · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_00: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: 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_01: Happy holidays from Making the Impact.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: This week, we are bringing back our fan favorite QA with Corney episode as a special treat for you.
0:32
SPEAKER_01: Our Q ⁇ A with Corney episodes record monthly as a bonus perfect exclusive for our Platinum Premium subscribers.
0:38
SPEAKER_01: Each month, I sit down with a special guest IDA Judge to answer all of your hot topic questions about the competitive dance world.
0:45
SPEAKER_01: Our Platinum Premium subscribers not only get access to these episodes, but they also get to pre-submit their questions and receive priority during the recording.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: We stream our QAs live in our Facebook community.
0:56
SPEAKER_01: These episodes are packed with informative dance details from industry professionals and in-demand judges.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: Interested in joining Platinum Premium to help support our podcast for years to come?
1:06
SPEAKER_01: Join now for only$5 per month or$60 for the year.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: Platinum Premium members receive access to our QA episodes, discounts on IDA online critiques, making the impact stickers mailed to you, and get to be a part of our Zoom Talk Back Chat with me, where you get to connect, interact, and check in three times throughout the dance season to ask me personalized questions.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: Learn more and sign up now on our website at Impact Dance Adjudicator.com slash Potton.
1:34
SPEAKER_01: Or click the link in our show notes.
1:36
SPEAKER_01: And now let's jump into our special QA with Courtney Live episode, featuring special guest IDA judge Deanne Hamza.
1:43
SPEAKER_01: Hope you enjoy.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone.
1:47
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to our next QA with Courtney Live.
1:51
SPEAKER_01: This is our December 2024 episode, and we are streaming live onto Facebook on the Making the Impact community group as well as Impact Dance Adjudicators Facebook page.
2:04
SPEAKER_01: We do this every single month, and this is an exclusive episode for our Platinum Premium subscribers.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: So if you're not a Platinum Premium subscriber and you are catching this live on Facebook, then you get a little sneak peek as to what's to come.
2:18
SPEAKER_01: But our Platinum Premium members will get this full episode hitting their accounts at the end of the month.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: And we do this every single month to answer some of the questions that you may have about the competitive dance world.
2:30
SPEAKER_01: And I always bring in an IDA judge to help answer the questions with me.
2:34
SPEAKER_01: So can't wait to do that today.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: I want to just give everyone a shout out and say happy holidays, y'all.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: It is that time of year, and I hope that you are having a great time getting lots of presents and gifts ready for the holiday season.
2:49
SPEAKER_01: We are rounding out this final week of work right now in recording time on December 18th, and I'm sure all of us are really looking forward to some time off as we head into the holidays and the new year.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: I know I sure am.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: It's been super fun and busy over here in New York City.
3:06
SPEAKER_01: I've been teaching classes regularly at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center.
3:10
SPEAKER_01: I've seen a lot of podcast fans, I've seen a lot of new dancers, and it's always so great to connect with you guys there.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: And then starting in the new year, I will be on tour all season long with the Streets Dance Convention.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: So if you are heading to a Streets event, I will be jazzing it up with you and judging at the competition, and I cannot wait.
3:29
SPEAKER_01: And speaking of competition season, it is here.
3:32
SPEAKER_01: We are about to kick into the season starting in January because as we know, so many competitions are having events earlier and earlier in their season.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: So maybe you've had a chance to compete your solo in the fall and your group competition is coming up after the new year.
3:48
SPEAKER_01: But I can't wait to see the talent this season.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: I know you've probably been hard at work, so congrats on all of your achievements.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: Can't wait to see y'all hit the stage.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: And I'm thrilled, I'm pumped for competition season.
3:58
SPEAKER_01: It's finally arrived.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: To all of our viewers who are tuning in live, if you would love to say hey in the comments on the Facebook chat to let us know where you're tuning in from.
4:09
SPEAKER_01: If you want to give your studio a shout out, we'll give you a shout-out live on the pod.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: And if you have any questions that you would like to submit during this next hour for us to answer, we would love to tackle them.
4:20
SPEAKER_01: So input them right into the comments.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: And if you prefer to stay anonymous and not show your face or name with your question, then you can shoot me a private message on Facebook at Courtney or Tease and we will try to tackle it.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: But we do have some pre-submitted questions that were sent in from Platinum Premium subscribers and other fans of the podcast that we're going to jump into first.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: But I need to share with you who's joining me today on this amazing QA.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: And we have another IDA judge who is here to answer questions for y'all.
4:53
SPEAKER_01: We go all the way back to whoa, oh my gosh, season one, episode 19, COVID 19, the effects on the dance community, which was a pivot episode that we had to do when the pandemic hit y'all, and we had to talk about it.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: So I'm so grateful that they joined us then, as well as a previous QA with Courtney all the way back in season two, episode 60.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: I am so excited to welcome Dion Hamza to the podcast.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: Welcome.
5:22
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
5:23
SPEAKER_03: I'm excited to be back and not talking about COVID.
5:26
SPEAKER_01: I know.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: I was like, when I saw that, I'm like, we need to get her back onto the podcast for another episode.
5:33
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to be here.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: And Dion, not only are you an IDA judge, you're an amazing dance educator, but you are a new studio owner.
5:41
SPEAKER_03: Super excited.
5:42
SPEAKER_03: A long time coming.
5:43
SPEAKER_03: I feel like I've been talking about it for years, so I'm glad to have finally done it.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: And it's been so fun following your journey.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: And I know it's going to be super successful.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: And you're coming to us from Detroit area, Michigan.
5:57
unknown: Yes.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: Love it.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: So if there's any other pe fans listening or listeners listening around the world, be on the lookout for Dion's new studio.
6:07
SPEAKER_01: Could you share with the world more about you, where you grew up, early dance training, any credits you'd like to share and uh and a little bit more about what you're working on now?
6:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
6:18
SPEAKER_03: So grew up dancing in the competitive world, tap, jazz, ballet, all the above.
6:23
SPEAKER_03: I danced in college dance team.
6:25
SPEAKER_03: I also started a group there when I was in college.
6:28
SPEAKER_03: I went to Central Michigan University.
6:30
SPEAKER_03: After that, I did a couple different credits of dancing with a lot of hip-hop groups.
6:34
SPEAKER_03: Acid was one of my first groups I danced with.
6:36
SPEAKER_03: They did, I wasn't a part of it, but they did like MTVs.
6:40
SPEAKER_03: Wasn't making the band America was the best dance group, sorry.
6:43
SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
6:44
SPEAKER_03: They were on season two, I believe.
6:47
SPEAKER_03: I've done Steph opening for E40 when he came here doing the N1 mixtape tour.
6:52
SPEAKER_03: And then I really actually found my niche is teaching.
6:56
SPEAKER_03: That's what I love doing.
6:57
SPEAKER_03: I love choreographing, I love creating.
6:59
SPEAKER_03: So I've been teaching for over 20 years.
7:00
SPEAKER_03: I specialize in hip hop and jazz.
7:02
SPEAKER_03: I've been judging for about 10 years now.
7:05
SPEAKER_03: I feel as I'm talking about that.
7:06
SPEAKER_03: I'm aging myself.
7:08
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, a new studio owner.
7:09
SPEAKER_03: So midlife.
7:11
SPEAKER_03: Here we go.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
7:13
SPEAKER_01: So for all of our listeners who are tuning in live, if you have any questions for a studio owner, now is the time to ask because we have one right here.
7:22
SPEAKER_01: I those are questions that I can match in my brain.
7:24
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
7:25
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
7:25
SPEAKER_03: What is going on?
7:27
SPEAKER_03: Any questions?
7:28
SPEAKER_03: I'm an open book.
7:29
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
7:31
SPEAKER_01: And before we jump into our questions, we have some friends that are saying hey in the comments.
7:36
SPEAKER_01: We have Heather who's tuning in from Ohio.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: Carmen is here from San Diego.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: Heather is coming to us from Florida.
7:43
SPEAKER_01: So thanks for tuning in, y'all.
7:46
SPEAKER_01: I know I'm I'm jealous.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure it's probably nice and warm in uh California and Florida.
7:52
SPEAKER_01: The sweater on.
7:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I got my hoodie on.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: I got the cat in my lap.
7:57
SPEAKER_01: Everyone say hey to Chico.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: He's here at the live today.
8:01
SPEAKER_01: He made it.
8:03
SPEAKER_01: He's a little fluff ball.
8:05
SPEAKER_01: And he's usually always just making an appearance and just pops up on my lap when he hears me go live.
8:09
SPEAKER_01: He wants to be on camera.
8:11
SPEAKER_03: Animal, animals and uh kids.
8:14
SPEAKER_03: Yes, they know when you are talking.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: Always.
8:17
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: And we have Megan who is also joining us from Ohio and says that it's 36 degrees here.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: That sounds awful.
8:25
SPEAKER_01: Awful.
8:26
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's about us too.
8:28
SPEAKER_03: I guess.
8:29
SPEAKER_01: I don't love the cold.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: New York City gets cold, and we all have sleeping bag jackets that we have to wear that go down to our feet just to protect us from the cold.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: And I went to the football game this weekend, New York Giants against the Baltimore Ravens, which I'm a Ravens fan.
8:44
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
8:45
SPEAKER_01: And I was watching the weather.
8:47
SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
8:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, go lion.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: Y'all are fierce.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: Y'all are fierce.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: So I'm not mad about it.
8:53
SPEAKER_01: And I was I knew I wanted to go, but I was like, a December football game.
8:58
SPEAKER_01: Like I cannot.
8:59
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be absolutely freezing.
9:01
SPEAKER_01: But I really want to root my team on when they're next door.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: So I just kept watching the weather, and it kept it kept saying it was gonna be like in the 50s.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I can do that.
9:11
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
9:12
SPEAKER_01: And then it turned into a cold front and it was like a 35 degree weather outside.
9:16
SPEAKER_01: And we had the hand warmers, we had the blankets.
9:20
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't horrible, but like yesterday in New York, it was beautiful and 50 degrees.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: It's you just never know.
9:25
SPEAKER_03: This weather's crazy.
9:26
SPEAKER_03: Michigan, the past couple, it's been just really dreary.
9:29
SPEAKER_03: So you wake up and it's just cloudy, and we uh live on the water, and the water hasn't frozen over.
9:34
SPEAKER_03: So on a nice day, my husband might be out jet skiing, even in the dry suit on.
9:41
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they voted us.
9:42
SPEAKER_03: Yes, for the past three years, I think they voted every single month.
9:47
SPEAKER_03: That's unheard of in Michigan.
9:48
SPEAKER_03: I know.
9:49
SPEAKER_03: That's crazy.
9:50
SPEAKER_03: Yes, I say that.
9:51
SPEAKER_03: I just up his life insurance policy while he's out on a jet ski, and when he comes home, we're good.
9:57
SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, that is wild.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: I love the dedication though.
10:02
SPEAKER_01: It's great.
10:03
SPEAKER_03: You have to.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: All right.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: We have one more viewer who wants to say hey, and it's Steph from Long Island.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: Hey, Long Island, not far away.
10:14
SPEAKER_01: No, and and we also have, oh, Megan said, also a studio owner year eight for me.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: And then there's a question for the studio owner.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: So we will get to that, Megan.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: Our very first question has come popped into the comment.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: For our viewers, if you have a question, pop it on in, and we are going to tackle some of our qu pre-submitted questions.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: Are you ready?
10:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:37
SPEAKER_01: All right, let's do it.
10:39
SPEAKER_01: Our very first question, pre-submitted, is coming to us from Ashley, a dance parent from Maryland.
10:47
SPEAKER_01: Her question is as a competition judge, what skills do you expect to see at each level?
10:54
SPEAKER_01: Assuming a comp has three levels, are there any skills that you believe should push a routine up or down?
11:01
SPEAKER_01: Do you feel you can generally equally judge routines when the scope of the divisions is so broad?
11:08
SPEAKER_03: I feel like that is a question that everybody has every year.
11:13
SPEAKER_03: I can definitely vary.
11:14
SPEAKER_03: I know a lot of competitions like to leave it up to the studio owners and where they do it.
11:20
SPEAKER_03: For me, I kind of judge what's in front of me, right?
11:23
SPEAKER_03: At a beginning level, you want to see, like for beginning jazz, for example, you want to see transitions, you want to see their chausset, their triplet, their potabouray working on that single turn, like a bat mob, a leap, like those beginning level movement for them to like advance in intermediate level.
11:42
SPEAKER_03: You spice it up a bit, I would say you really pay attention to that musicality of not just keeping on the one, two, three, four, the one Ianna, two, Ianna, three, and four, like the just playing with that.
11:53
SPEAKER_03: And you're going into those double turns, maybe a leap just second if we're staying on the jazz.
11:57
SPEAKER_03: And then by advanced, I want to see it all.
12:02
SPEAKER_03: I want there to be musicality for there to be dynamics for them to understand the music and really let the music dictate how their movement is, right?
12:11
SPEAKER_03: Because if it's a happy dance, you want to see that emotion emote through them.
12:15
SPEAKER_03: If it's sad, the same thing.
12:17
SPEAKER_03: It's hard when you're a parent looking.
12:20
SPEAKER_03: I think you can give some forgiveness.
12:22
SPEAKER_03: If there's one trick that they have that's more like a more advanced trick, like an aerial, for example, every kid wants to do an aerial and they throw it in a beginning routine, but they nail it and they have it.
12:32
SPEAKER_03: And that's the one that they really have, let them do it.
12:35
SPEAKER_03: If they start to get into if they're in the beginning level and they're starting to do double turn solid, leaps a second solid, challenge your kid, challenge them and let them go to that next level.
12:44
SPEAKER_03: Same thing with intermediate.
12:46
SPEAKER_03: If they're really understanding the dynamics and the music and they have the whole package, push them.
12:51
SPEAKER_03: Put them, that's my view on it.
12:54
SPEAKER_03: I've been to competitions before where we've asked, hey, like this person was amazing.
12:58
SPEAKER_03: Are you sure you don't want to bump them?
13:00
SPEAKER_03: Because they might be winning the intermediate category, but if we bump them up to advance, they might be in the top five still.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: Right.
13:06
SPEAKER_03: There's been some places that told me no, and then there's other places be like, wow, this is her first year of dance or his or hers, and let me go talk to them, see what they say.
13:14
SPEAKER_03: And I've had people say, Yeah, we would love to push them.
13:16
SPEAKER_03: We just didn't know where to place them.
13:17
SPEAKER_03: It was our first competition we went to.
13:19
SPEAKER_03: You just never know the behind the scenes of it.
13:22
SPEAKER_03: But I can definitely tell as a dance parent how that can be flustering sometimes when you watch these competitions and you're like, Oh, you just did Alice a cone turns into a leap, into a pirouette, into a calypso down to the floor, and they're in the intermediate category.
13:36
SPEAKER_03: And you're like, Oh no.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I completely agree with you.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: I think that it really is a tough thing as a parent to view and not understand what's actually happening it when it comes to the flash and the tricks that we see.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: A trick doesn't always equal advanced, and it also doesn't mean that even on the choreographer in the studio side, I don't necessarily think that we need to be cramming every trick in the book and every single dance.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: Like you said, whatever we classify as a trick, that's that's a very loose term.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: A trick as an aerial, like that to me is a gymnastics skill.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: It's more of a gymnastics move than a dance move.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: It's becoming a dance move, but these days it's practically a double pirouette.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: But if you can do an aerial and you can't do a double pirouette, then you're still a beginner to me.
14:26
SPEAKER_01: You have to be able to do the dance skills correctly, not just the gymnastics skills.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: And if that's the case, go to a gymnastics competition.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: Like it's I think that those worlds are blending a little bit too much, and then we see the flash, and it's like, oh, that kid did a standing back tuck and an aerial and a front aerial and a round off, whatever, but they can't do any basic jazz or any basic uh dance moves.
14:48
SPEAKER_01: Then it's we have to go back to square one, and maybe they came from the gymnastics world, and that's why they're good at that, and that's why their teachers highlighting that.
14:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I have actually had a lot of gymnasts that have crossed over because they might not want to do competitive gymnastics, they might just want to do acro at a studio.
15:03
SPEAKER_03: So now they're just working on like their tricks.
15:06
SPEAKER_03: I think I had the love-hate relationship when it came to tricks in general, because at first it's no, but that now it's if it accents them or it accents the music, but then they know how to transition in and out of it.
15:17
SPEAKER_03: That's what makes it like I think the dance portion is that transition, how they get into it, how they come out of it, how it connects to the music.
15:25
SPEAKER_03: If it connects, great.
15:26
SPEAKER_03: If it doesn't, you're just putting it in there for a filler.
15:29
SPEAKER_03: I think that's where that difference comes into play.
15:32
SPEAKER_03: But as a parent, it can be like, why did this person do, like you said, like a handspring and an aerial?
15:37
SPEAKER_03: They might have come from the gymnastics world and this is their first time ever dancing and competing.
15:41
SPEAKER_03: But you just don't know the backstory of it.
15:43
SPEAKER_03: So I try to take everything with an open mind.
15:46
SPEAKER_03: And unless I know for sure, hey, because there's multiple competitions now that have the little bump thing on the screen.
15:53
SPEAKER_03: And if you have all the judges that say bump, they will either bump it automatically or go talk to that studio owner and leave it up to them.
16:01
SPEAKER_03: So that it is being done.
16:02
SPEAKER_03: I just don't think they make it known though, either.
16:05
SPEAKER_03: So you might be like, oh, that needs to be bumped.
16:07
SPEAKER_03: Well, maybe we did talk to them about it.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:09
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's true.
16:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's most competitions I've are starting to have that conversation because they get so many people of why this and why that.
16:18
SPEAKER_03: And like you said, too, it's just because they can do an aerial doesn't mean they're an advanced dancer.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: Um I think that the more of the competitions need to be transparent about it.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: And also, yes, the judges are watching, and we can get an idea.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: Like it's also it's also not just skill and and trick related.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: It's like the total package of the dance.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: I have to look at the whole thing and then decide is this are they advanced or should they be bumped?
16:44
SPEAKER_01: It's not just like they did that one skill and that equals them moving up a level, and they did that skill well.
16:50
SPEAKER_01: No, because they might have done other things that weren't great, like the transitions, like the musicality that you mentioned.
16:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and they do belong there, even though you as an outsider think it looks good.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: But I'm like, there's still issues here, and I understand why you're put in that level.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: We do, we can tell as judges, like when someone is abusing the level placement, and then I think that's when the conversations are typically had or presented at the judge's end.
17:15
SPEAKER_01: And it's a matter of at that point if the competitions enforce that or want to pursue it.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: And I think that more should.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: I think it should be at the discretion of the judge's final say.
17:24
SPEAKER_01: If it's a true, like yes, a thousand percent this needs to be bumped.
17:29
SPEAKER_01: If it's on the line and questionable and not everyone's in agreement, it's not worth the conversation, then we move on to the next routine because it's gonna hold up the event too.
17:39
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
17:40
SPEAKER_01: And what if those overalls already happen for the other division?
17:43
SPEAKER_01: Then are they just eliminated because they're penalized for not putting themselves in the proper category right away?
17:49
SPEAKER_01: There's just so many issues with it, and it's hard to structure and enforce, but we see the abusing.
17:56
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how the right way to fix it.
17:58
SPEAKER_03: That's a definite good way to put it too, because you could have your intermediate teens that go on Sunday night, but the advanced teens went on Friday, and you want to bump them to advanced, now they're not even eligible for an overall when it might have not been their intention.
18:12
SPEAKER_03: So maybe we do leave it alone for that competition.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know.
18:16
SPEAKER_01: That's why I truly think there just needs to be like I understand the point of levels, and I've talked about it a million times on the podcast, but I think there should be like beginner competitions, like just only beginners come.
18:29
SPEAKER_01: I think there should be intermediate competitions where there's not levels within that, but that event is an intermediate-leveled event.
18:36
SPEAKER_01: That way there's just the competitions can make a schedule that makes sense.
18:40
SPEAKER_01: There's no bumping that needs to happen because everyone attending agrees that they are on the same level.
18:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
18:46
unknown: Yeah.
18:47
SPEAKER_03: And that I think that would help with some smaller studios too that might have one or two like advanced dancers.
18:53
SPEAKER_03: You could do like an intermediate competition, and maybe you have a couple that are like a little bit more advanced, or if not, all the kids have to go to the same competitions.
19:01
SPEAKER_03: That's something that we're looking at this year, is the kids that are like our intermediate ones.
19:05
SPEAKER_03: Let's take them to a competition that they are gonna get really good feedback, be still against somebody too, because I think that's the other issue, is nobody's in the advanced category anymore.
19:14
SPEAKER_03: I don't know how many times last year for the studio I taught for that they competed against themselves.
19:18
SPEAKER_03: And it's this isn't fun.
19:19
SPEAKER_03: The only ones that you can go to that there's no levels are convention, but you have to be top-notch, otherwise you're just not gonna place and you're there for the experience of being in that environment.
19:32
SPEAKER_01: So conventions are expensive.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: Very not some people just want to go to a high-level competition.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: There are studios out there that are like, listen, I love the convention aspect, but I would we have a trillion dances, and we just want to be able to compete against others in the advanced category.
19:50
SPEAKER_01: But at this point in how our industry has evolved and how saturated it is, there aren't enough high-level advanced one-level competition for those advanced dancers to go to without a convention attached.
20:03
SPEAKER_01: Yep, correct.
20:04
SPEAKER_01: And we need, I think there we go, there's another whoever wants to jump on that.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Someone jump on that because there's a need for it in our industry.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: Everyone keeps making new competitions and having a million levels, and it's like we need to look at like where are the gaps in the industry.
20:19
SPEAKER_01: Beginner level competition is there's a need for that.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: Advanced only competition, there is a need for that.
20:26
SPEAKER_01: If everyone's gonna be creating new things, why not fix the holes in our industry with something that's innovative and different?
20:33
SPEAKER_03: I know I like because I revert back to like when I was younger growing up, and competition would be on Saturday night from five to nine, and that was about it.
20:42
SPEAKER_03: Like you might have had solos on Friday for a few hours, but now it's like these weekends are so jam-packed, and I get it because it's it's expensive for a competition to fly in other people, the stage, the sound system that they have.
20:56
SPEAKER_03: It it's expensive for them to run it, and I get it.
20:59
SPEAKER_03: But also these kids competing at 7 a.m.
21:01
SPEAKER_03: and getting done at 10, 11, and then expected to be back at 7 a.m.
21:04
SPEAKER_03: the next day is like are they really truly getting something from being up on stage for how expensive that weekend is?
21:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:13
SPEAKER_01: It's an investment, that's for sure.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: I do want to just throw in this question to you since it popped up and it's related to this, and it's from Rachel, and she said, Thoughts on limiting certain skills in particular levels, for example, only single or double pirouettes in intermediate.
21:29
SPEAKER_01: So there are some competitions that are giving definitions on expected skills, but I'm wondering like, does that hinder the artistic creation on the choreographer's end?
21:41
SPEAKER_03: It it does because like we were talking about if somebody is like a super solid turner, maybe turner turns is what they are amazing at, but they're still working on transitions or jumps or in between.
21:54
SPEAKER_03: So if they throw a quad in there because that dancer can do it in their solo, I don't think they should be.
22:00
SPEAKER_03: penalized and now they've been pushed up to advanced because they're working on maybe they're still working on their com like musicality and their dynamics and in that advanced category they're gonna get completely lost because they're not truly there yet.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: Right.
22:11
SPEAKER_03: So I would like a mixture of it though.
22:14
SPEAKER_03: So it would be like so if you have three of these elements like in your dance something along the lines of musicality or of a skill or something, then I think it makes sense because if you have all of that, yes, you should be pushed up.
22:26
SPEAKER_03: But having one of those skills, like that's I I think it's still like a fine line because you want to highlight your dancer.
22:32
SPEAKER_03: So if your dancer has legs that go up to the sky and they have beautiful control, you're gonna showcase that as a teacher and a choreographer.
22:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that makes sense.
22:41
SPEAKER_01: I completely agree.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: And like the thing that upsets me about this whole level conversation and the skills and what's allowed and what's not and all these things is that it's just creating more headache and more confusion and more jobs that someone else has to do to monitor this.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: Who's watching that dance and enforcing that is there like an auditor next to me as the judge because my job is to critique what I'm watching and score it.
23:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm not supposed to be watching out for oh you did a double and oh you did an aerial and oh you need to be bumped up.
23:10
SPEAKER_01: There's just too much on our plate as it is.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: So like the competitions need to number one figure out ways to make this work for your clients who are the ones that are complaining about the issues of levels and how things are choreographed and who's placed where and if that means like adding another staff member to the judging roster DECA Dance competition does this.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: They have a routine monitor that they pay an additional judge to just sit there and watch for rule breaking.
23:37
SPEAKER_01: They have the final say and ask the judges if this dance should be bumped and what are your thoughts?
23:41
SPEAKER_01: Is it in the right genre category?
23:43
SPEAKER_01: Like those things that matter that no one's really enforcing so like I applaud them for doing that.
23:49
SPEAKER_01: And I think that more competitions need to get on board with that extra step to just make this work for everyone.
23:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
23:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah because you think about it like if you compare it to gymnastics like gymnastics is it's based upon difficulty it's based upon how they're executing certain skills where dance isn't that because dance is an art form.
24:09
SPEAKER_03: So that's where it's like that gray line of if we go too close to gymnastics, we're not an art form anymore.
24:17
SPEAKER_03: We're a skill competition.
24:19
SPEAKER_03: Because I always tell my kids on like different days different judges different results.
24:23
SPEAKER_03: You might have somebody that comes in and is in love with a piece and for whatever reason they connect with it way more than everybody else and they scored a lot higher.
24:31
SPEAKER_03: Does it mean it was technically better than the one that went after no they just they scored it higher for whatever reason it's subjective.
24:38
SPEAKER_03: So if I tell my kids when they're listening, I'm like the most important thing is that you improve from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
24:46
SPEAKER_03: So let's look to see what we did at the beginning.
24:48
SPEAKER_03: Let's see how we like ended it and how did we grow individually and what can our judges offer to push us to the next level is how I think it should be looked at.
24:58
SPEAKER_03: And sometimes I know like we're as owners we're businesses so parents want to see us win.
25:04
SPEAKER_03: I I get that I get that portion too but sometimes it's just not your weekend.
25:08
SPEAKER_03: You don't know what's going to be there what's going to show up and who you have sitting in front of you.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: That's true.
25:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:14
SPEAKER_01: And fun little teaser for all of our podcast fans out there we have another winning versus losing episode coming up after the new year that I'm sure you're all gonna love and it very much discusses this exact topic right here.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned for that all right and just to throw in here Heather in the comments said we have a few USA SF comps that are one level and very advanced dancers.
25:39
SPEAKER_01: So that's cool.
25:41
SPEAKER_01: That is cool.
25:42
SPEAKER_01: Yes okay studio dance let's go we gotta do that hey teachers and studio owners get ready to experience the ultimate resource to unlocking technique results like never before Relative Motions Total Technique Academy 2025 is about to begin and you don't want to miss it.
26:02
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26:25
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26:32
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26:50
SPEAKER_01: Learn more on their website at therelative motion experience dot com slash impact or click the link in our show notes to register now great job answering the first question we have two more pre-submitted that we're going to tackle and then we'll get to our comments.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: Ready for the next one?
27:12
unknown: Yeah.
27:13
SPEAKER_01: Alright this is coming to us from a platinum premium member and anonymous dance parent in Florida their question is thoughts on the popularity of dance how fast this hobby is growing and how it impacts college and careers in dance it seems so hard to get into the top dance college programs and then hard to secure a job not to mention ever getting hired for a performance role do you think it will die down what will it take for the bubble to pop or if it is just going to keep growing every year how is that sustained just keep adding more college dance programs and more cre and create more convention and competition companies I I don't want it to pop as I I think it's amazing but I think what needs to happen is kids need to find out what they really want to do.
28:06
SPEAKER_03: Okay I think there's a ton of jobs there not only dance education so if you go into dance education you should be studying like anatomy like in college like there should be something that backs it up if you want to be a studio owner study finance study business you can do theme parks you can do cruises you can do Broadway you can do dance teams you could teach at a call or you could do sporting events.
28:29
SPEAKER_03: The competition world is great it teaches you time management in school it um gives you an opportunity to perform and it gives you an opportunity to work towards a greater goal.
28:38
SPEAKER_03: So that's why I love dance in general regardless of what you decide to do after high school in college if you want to do a college dance team you have to learn how to blend because if you watch take like Ohio State for example phenomenal dance team if you watch them they all are the same dancer that are out there.
28:55
SPEAKER_03: So if you don't look like them guess what you're not making their team so if that's what your goal is then you need to learn how to dance just like them.
29:02
SPEAKER_03: If you're doing Disney might not take the most technical dancer I have um a friend that dances at he does like the Lion King show at Disney he does like the stilt walking at Universal and he will tell you flat out he is not the most technical dancer.
29:15
SPEAKER_03: But whenever you see him dance or just be in his presence there is like a light that beams from him.
29:21
SPEAKER_03: You're you smile being around him because of how much energy he puts out so if you know what you're confident in and what your strengths are, there's a job for you.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
29:31
SPEAKER_03: There there is composition will get you ready but not sometimes I think it hurts you a little bit more than helps because you're like working towards like a trophy instead of working on individually like how can I showcase myself as a dancer.
29:46
SPEAKER_01: That's a good point.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah I do I understand the concern and stress and I think that the interesting thing about this question is when I read it initially it's always been this way with dance.
30:02
SPEAKER_01: But at the same time I guess not because like we just talked about how saturated how many comps are popping up how many people are actually dancing and I I think the difference now is that especially looking into the competitive side of the dance industry I think there are a lot more dance studios now because of the boom of dance moms particular I think that dance moms just skyrocketed the dance industry and now everyone and their mother is opening studios people who aren't qualified are opening studios and thinking they can run a studio a dance studio because they see it as a popular service and popular from the kids but I also think that in the competition side of it now every dancer is a competitive dancer even if you are a beginner dancer even if you are a recreational dancer.
30:54
SPEAKER_01: And those dancers still existed at all the studios around the country back when we were growing up in the 90s and the 80s and the 2000s but they just weren't competing.
31:03
SPEAKER_01: So you didn't see them out on the scene as much there it but they were still dancing because they liked to dance and they wanted to dance.
31:10
SPEAKER_01: But now it seems like that it's grown so much because everyone is competing.
31:15
SPEAKER_01: So that's why there are so many more conventions that's why there's so many more competitions because the demand is there on that side of the industry.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: But when it comes to college and after you graduate I think the amount of jobs that are out there are still the same as they've always been and it's just a matter of what you want to do and you have to decide are you trying to go into a it's highly competitive yes but if you know you want to dance on a cruise ship that is highly competitive but way more opportunities in that one part of the industry than it would be to book something on Broadway because Broadway you need other additional skills that you have to be able to do same thing I want to dance for Taylor Swift.
31:58
SPEAKER_01: How often is Taylor Swift auditioning how many dancers does she already have is there only one spot open you have to be realistic and think about those things it's a timing game all the time right place right time does it work in your life whereas something like a cruise ship or theme parks they're all over the country and the world they're recasting every six months there's 20 ships in each cruise line fleet and that means there's at least 10 dancers per ship.
32:24
SPEAKER_01: If you do the math there's a lot of work there versus one individual touring artist show or one individual Broadway show.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: So I think that dancers just have to open their mind a little bit and be realistic with what they want to do, set those goals like you said.
32:40
SPEAKER_01: And also I do think that because of the popularity in dance like there are a lot of new dance programs for college that are opening up a lot more commercial programs are starting to come onto the scene which is really great to see because the demand is there and I think that's a good thing.
32:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah because just because you don't get onto like their dance team like U of M, for example I have a dancer he's a senior this year that does their dance 2X, I think it is I might have screwed up that name I'm sorry if I did but it's a hip hop crew I actually have two dancers that I taught that are on it.
33:12
SPEAKER_03: They love hip hop they love performing and he's actually like through that they've done like world of dance they just got an invitation to compete there.
33:19
SPEAKER_03: So there's other avenues there's a tap group that one of my other dancers is a part of and it's not necessarily something it's still through the university it's still a group they go to different shows and different events.
33:31
SPEAKER_03: I think if you really look deep down there's so many more opportunities than there ever was at these universities because they're realizing how many people have that common interest and it might not be contemporary program.
33:45
SPEAKER_03: It might be they want to do hip hop but they still want to go get a degree in for example my um student that's at U of M, he's going into neuroscience and he's going to do his master's program.
33:57
SPEAKER_03: I'm not sure if where yet he still has the opportunity to dance because he loves it so much.
34:01
SPEAKER_03: So I don't know if he's gonna go into a career with it.
34:04
SPEAKER_03: He might if you feel like he does have the opportunity to do it.
34:08
SPEAKER_03: But I think if you sit down and really think okay what is the direction I want to go in what is my ultimate goal of where I would like to go and then go talk to your teacher.
34:18
SPEAKER_03: Studio owner should be able to if they don't have the direct connection be able to put you into that person that has that connection to hey follow this path and really fight for it.
34:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
34:27
SPEAKER_03: That's where the instant gratification of winning every competition does not come into play.
34:31
SPEAKER_03: You need to work you could be the boss dancer at your studio and you go and you get swallowed alive at these auditions and not even looked at you have to work you have to put the networking in like any other industry network.
34:42
SPEAKER_03: Be easy to coach always be coachable always be learning.
34:46
SPEAKER_03: Otherwise if you're the person that goes in with a big head and they don't they give you a correction or they tell you something and you don't do it sorry.
34:53
SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm Dion for the win y'all that is it right there all the collapse I am here for it this is great advice and it is a hundred percent true I think more dancers need to hear that and it's gonna be a shock when they get into the biz and it was it is for every single dancer.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: It's a learning curve when you just break into the industry and you're not just handed things and you don't know why you got turned down and you don't know why you didn't book this job and those types of things.
35:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah it's a you gotta let it you gotta let it build you up instead of bringing you down.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: I think that's the hard part that people fight with you have to let it be like okay this is an experience I didn't make it but maybe I'll reach out to the choreographer and be like hey what can I do next time because I'll see you next time and show them your face hey I'm here I'm here early like you you have to do that and if you're not gonna fight for yourself nobody else will totally yeah love that hope that is a helpful answer to that question really good question hot topic question maybe we need to do a full episode on that yeah yeah I'm gonna mark that I'm gonna make a note all right we have one more pre-submitted question it's two at the same time they were sent in just before we started and this one is coming to us from another platinum premium member an anonymous dance parent in California and their question is there a difference between movement quality and movement maturity we have heard both at different times sometimes praise and sometimes critiques I have listened to the episode about movement quality but how is movement maturity developed and with that similar and I wanted to just throw this in but another uh fan asked the difference between textures versus dynamics so I think all of these kind of wrap into a similar answer but primarily movement quality versus movement maturity.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: I've never heard movement maturity before so I like it.
36:55
SPEAKER_03: I do too we were I think movement maturity comes with age you know it's like that senior level where you want to see them like breaking through I think it's the dancer's own confidence.
37:09
SPEAKER_03: I can tell when a dancer is super comfortable on stage and with themselves I think sometimes kids try to fit a mold which is funny me saying with dance team like you need to be a chameleon if you want to dance on a dance team but if we're talking about just a soloist in general be confident with who you are and how you move everybody can do the same choreography and it come across different with each person.
37:34
SPEAKER_03: And then people that usually tend to stand out are the ones that have the connection with the music, the intention of the music.
37:41
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's the maturity come there I don't know how many times I've taught and dancers like oh I have no idea what the song is about.
37:47
SPEAKER_03: How can you dance to it?
37:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
37:49
SPEAKER_03: Like how what are you dancing tounced?
37:51
SPEAKER_03: Like but you still need to understand what the intention behind it is.
37:56
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
37:57
SPEAKER_03: And I think movement quality is a little bit different, but it does go with the maturity.
38:02
SPEAKER_03: It's like the transitions in and out of things.
38:04
SPEAKER_03: How do they move throughout the stage?
38:06
SPEAKER_03: It's not I always tell the kids it's not just that one step like how are you coming out of your tilt jump into your cut roll down to the floor whatever it is it's not just about that one jump and running for your dear life just to hike your leg up.
38:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah there's so much more to it.
38:22
SPEAKER_03: So I think when people talk about the maturity of it could be how they're trying like how their intention is coming across on stage either that judge or person really connects with it or they just don't feel anything.
38:34
SPEAKER_03: And at that level at a senior level you need to have the whole package like you need to be able without words tell your story tell your feeling whatever it is and that person sitting there needs to be able to feel it as well.
38:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah yeah I agree a hundred percent I feel like exactly what you said is a perfect definition of the difference and I think that you're right when it comes to age I've seen young eight year old dancers have insane movement quality.
39:03
SPEAKER_01: I don't even know how someone taught them to do that.
39:06
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm just sitting there and yeah technique is great.
39:10
SPEAKER_01: There's emotion happening whether they know or not and or if it's like they're just acting for their lives or their teacher told them to do this but like the way that they're transitioning and moving through and the dynamic usage and things like that for that young of an age I'm just like wow and I will say I and I've personally never used the the term movement maturity before in my critique style or even when I teach so this is like a new term for me and I'm really like intrigued by it.
39:37
SPEAKER_01: But I will say usually on those critiques like wow your movement quality is so impressive for being eight years old.
39:45
SPEAKER_01: And I think that kind of is the same thing as movement maturity in a in a way because you're beyond your years in the way that you're carrying yourself and the way that you understand how to move in this way.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: And that like you said typically comes with age it c it takes time and training to understand movement quality to that level.
40:05
SPEAKER_01: So I think that movement maturity can have a lot to do with age because there's dancers who are 11, 12 who are about to become teens and you it's still a little awkward.
40:16
SPEAKER_01: Like they're still they're doing everything and everything looks good but there's something missing and it's that probably that movement maturity that's just missing and it's hard to describe but like the quality's there but once they go get into the teen and they go through puberty and they are becoming whoever they are as this adult human they're the way they move is going to change how they if they did the same dance from when they were 10 versus when they were 15, there's going to be a a different maturity within the movement just based on how their bodies have changed and grown up and the experiences that that they've lived in life.
40:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:53
SPEAKER_01: It is an interesting discussion.
40:55
SPEAKER_01: I like this movement maturity thing.
40:58
SPEAKER_01: I want to even learn more about it and see examples of what people classify as movement quality versus maturity.
41:06
SPEAKER_03: Yeah agree I think that's a great way to put everything and as far as textures and dynamics I think they're the same.
41:15
SPEAKER_01: I use them a little interchangeably dynamic usage I always use an example of a wave yeah a wave in the ocean or even like a wave an audio wave file if you've ever looked at that on a screen before how there's all these different jumps and there's a build and things like that.
41:34
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of times that I watch dancers who are just sitting in the middle just yep just going through the motions and there's no attack there's no smooth there's no fluidity there's no stop there is no stillness and those things are what I think are textures and dynamics.
41:54
SPEAKER_01: Shading listening to the music and connecting to what the song is doing I really feel like dynamics are heavily influenced by the music that you're dancing to and 100% the songs have dynamic shifts so your dancing needs to match that.
42:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah it most definitely it's funny because when you watch like those videos of people like teaching and they're like boom da like just waking up and they're like it's still counting there still counts there.
42:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah but listening to how they're saying it that's how your movement needs to translate if you're it's like a really soft part of the music you don't want to be super sharp and it just doesn't make sense.
42:33
SPEAKER_03: And I do think that's where the movement maybe maturity comes into place.
42:38
SPEAKER_03: Somebody being able to read their music and read how it should be translated.
42:44
SPEAKER_03: Like you are an extension of the music is how you need to look at it.
42:48
SPEAKER_03: There's so many songs that might have not been a song that I'm like super into but then you watch like a dance to it and it makes all the difference of wow like now I really feel it.
42:59
SPEAKER_03: Yeah dynamics is something that is I think when you're cleaning dances you need to go through and as teachers we need to be able to express that to the kids.
43:11
SPEAKER_03: It should still have the same feeling but everybody's going to portray that feeling a little bit differently in their own way but it just still should come together in the end.
43:22
SPEAKER_03: So I think that's a huge that's what makes everybody could have good technique but if you have that technique and the dynamics in your dancing that's just where it's amazing to watch on stage.
43:33
SPEAKER_01: Totally yep I love what you said about the teachers like how they say the counts but maybe they're not the counts or they're using like a phrase not as totally me.
43:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm a counter but like I am always giving a shum ta a ba whatever it is and like I think that the rhythmic way that's said like how that's said rhythmically is I'm saying it that way because I want you to get that rhythm and that texture and that dynamic into your body.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: That you need to then execute that.
44:02
SPEAKER_01: What is that?
44:02
SPEAKER_01: How if I said shoom ba ta, what would you do?
44:06
SPEAKER_01: And then and see what they would do.
44:07
SPEAKER_01: And if it's all just chillin' at the same, it's no, you're not even playing with the accent.
44:12
SPEAKER_01: What's the difference between the ba and the ta?
44:14
SPEAKER_01: There's a difference there.
44:15
SPEAKER_01: And I need to see that within the the dynamic usage.
44:18
SPEAKER_01: I'm not just making up different phrases for fun.
44:21
SPEAKER_01: I'm making them up for you to interpret in a different way.
44:25
SPEAKER_01: And then I put the music on and it cohe it matches the music.
44:28
SPEAKER_01: That's where I got that musicality from because I choreographed it to the song.
44:32
SPEAKER_01: And if that's like a a tool for teachers to like help get the dynamics across, but there's so many times I'm like, how are we still dancing on the same level when I'm screaming over here?
44:43
SPEAKER_01: All of your accents that you need to be hitting dynamically, and you're just ignoring me.
44:47
SPEAKER_01: You're just ignoring it.
44:48
SPEAKER_03: I started before we start choreography at the beginning of the year.
44:52
SPEAKER_03: I started having the dancers like lay down on the floor, and I'm like, listen to the backbeat.
44:56
SPEAKER_03: This is what we're gonna listen to first.
44:57
SPEAKER_03: Don't listen to anything else but the backbeat.
44:59
SPEAKER_03: All right, now let's listen to the lyrics.
45:01
SPEAKER_03: All right, now let's listen to the even beat, right?
45:04
SPEAKER_03: And I'll be like, and then I'll ask them questions like what's something you notice that you didn't notice before.
45:10
SPEAKER_03: Um, or even like in the middle of cleaning, maybe they've learned half of their dance and you just can't get them, they're not on that accent that you're looking for.
45:19
SPEAKER_03: Make them sit there and listen and close their eyes, and they're like, Wow, that's what that was too.
45:24
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
45:24
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
45:25
SPEAKER_03: That's what they've been saying for the past three months, and then you see that click and that connection, and then all of a sudden the dynamics start to come through.
45:32
SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
45:33
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's important for teachers and choreographers too, just the final thought on this, is to challenge your dancers with different types of music that have different varying dynamics so they can start understanding what that is.
45:45
SPEAKER_01: If you're giving them similar music across the board that doesn't really have any change in dynamic, or you're expecting them to create the dynamics in their movement quality, that's gonna be harder for them to achieve if they aren't advanced level dancers.
46:00
SPEAKER_01: So you really have to think about okay, this song has all this crazy accent, and this has a smooth and a sharp and a this and a that.
46:07
SPEAKER_01: This will be really fun.
46:08
SPEAKER_01: That's the goal this year.
46:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna challenge their dynamics with this song.
46:11
SPEAKER_01: And whatever age that is, or whatever, as long as they're getting that varied training, that way by the time they do become seniors, like you said, you're expecting we are expecting everything.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: So you should know how to have your good movement quality and dynamics by the time you're a senior.
46:26
SPEAKER_01: But if you were never introduced to that, leading up in throughout your whole training, then it's gonna be harder for you to find at that stage.
46:35
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:35
SPEAKER_03: Um, I have a grooves class that's just like a hip hop like tech that we do grooves, and I'll do a 32 count for a warm-up.
46:42
SPEAKER_03: But I every week I change it, but it's just super simple.
46:45
SPEAKER_03: Like a box step, for example, would it's a jazz square, but hip hop, you call it a box step.
46:50
SPEAKER_03: I'll do that, but then I'll change the music to it.
46:52
SPEAKER_03: Like we do the same 32, 32 count, and I'm like, okay, how would you execute this to this song?
46:56
SPEAKER_03: How would you execute it to this song?
46:58
SPEAKER_03: Because it changes what you do.
46:59
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and now they're getting more comfortable with it to where it's coming a little bit more natural.
47:03
SPEAKER_03: But at first it was like really Mission.
47:05
SPEAKER_03: We're gonna be doing a box up.
47:06
SPEAKER_03: I like did this when I was five.
47:08
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but you can make it super interesting, but you should at this level.
47:11
SPEAKER_03: You're not just working on the feet anymore at five, like you're actually putting something into it, and that's what I want to see.
47:17
SPEAKER_03: So take easy stuff and do that, and it's a great way for the kids to finally you don't have to teach them how to connect anymore because it's just gonna start coming natural to them.
47:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that that idea and that what you utilize in your hip-hop class.
47:32
SPEAKER_01: I do similar.
47:33
SPEAKER_01: If I have enough time, I don't get to work with dancers on the weekly in a studio, but like I've done this in in intensive when I have them for consecutive days, where if I'm teaching jazz, I'll be like, all right, so here's a progression across the floor.
47:46
SPEAKER_01: It's a jazz progression.
47:48
SPEAKER_01: Here's the song.
47:48
SPEAKER_01: They do it, it's great, beautiful.
47:51
SPEAKER_01: Now let's change it up.
47:52
SPEAKER_01: I want you to do the exact same thing, but I'm gonna put on this song and it's a lyrical song.
47:56
SPEAKER_01: So, how are you interpreting this different in your movement quality to get across the floor?
48:02
SPEAKER_01: Same exact steps, but it should have a different feel.
48:06
SPEAKER_01: How do you make this contemporary and go from jazz with strong, clean dynamics, lines, angles, whatever?
48:13
SPEAKER_01: And then how do we flow through it in lyrical, but still don't lose the dynamics?
48:17
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to connect to the music, but it should change the way that you move through space and just testing dancers' ability to adjust movement in different ways and be influenced by the song that's playing is a great training tool.
48:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
48:33
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
48:35
SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
48:36
SPEAKER_01: We did all of our pre-submitted questions, so thank you to all of our fans who sent those in and our platinum premium members, and we have a few more questions that have popped into the comment.
48:47
SPEAKER_01: So let's see how many we can get through before our QA ends.
48:50
SPEAKER_01: And I'd love to jump into these studio owner questions if you're cool with that.
48:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
48:56
SPEAKER_01: This one is coming to us from Megan, and she said, also a studio owner year eight for me.
49:04
SPEAKER_01: I was wondering though, how you figured out your tuition and pricing structure for clients.
49:10
SPEAKER_01: What approach did you take?
49:12
SPEAKER_01: Which I'm sure there are a lot of approaches, but there is.
49:15
SPEAKER_03: So I think you need to know your market.
49:18
SPEAKER_03: If you are too far off from other places that are in your area, people don't really like change.
49:24
SPEAKER_03: So what works for us is monthly.
49:26
SPEAKER_03: Once they get to a certain tier, like my competitive level dancers, pay one flat rate monthly fee for all their court classes, and then recreational as well.
49:36
SPEAKER_03: They pay their monthly.
49:37
SPEAKER_03: And it doesn't matter if there's three weeks in the year, four weeks in the year, it's just still that same monthly rate.
49:42
SPEAKER_03: That's what works for us in this area.
49:45
SPEAKER_03: I have had other um people do it to where they do like sessions, which I do that for my adults.
49:50
SPEAKER_03: I do eight-week sessions because adults are really hard to get them to commit for a full year.
49:55
SPEAKER_03: So I think you can have multiple.
49:56
SPEAKER_03: You can have a drop-in rate as well when it comes to all my conditioning classes, my conditioning progressions, all of that is open to any dancer.
50:05
SPEAKER_03: So if they want to come in and take an extra class, even if they don't go to our studio or in my competitive program, they can come in for a drop-in rate.
50:13
SPEAKER_03: So I think knowing your market is how you need to figure that out.
50:18
SPEAKER_01: Wonderful advice.
50:20
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that this is always like a big topic of conversation in a lot of dance studio owner groups and a lot of dance teacher groups on just the business side of how do I make this work for my customers and what works for you?
50:37
SPEAKER_01: What have you tried that doesn't work?
50:39
SPEAKER_01: And I think the advice that you're giving as far as knowing essentially like what your competitors are doing and what do people like from that, or maybe something that if you were a dance parent or if you had a kid in an activity and the pricing structure for that, did you like that type of payment?
50:55
SPEAKER_01: Did you want to do something different?
50:56
SPEAKER_01: Like you're your own owner now, so you can kind of trial and error and see what works best for you and and get the feedback from your customers too on do you like this, do you not?
51:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because I I think especially for like littles too, we try like a lot of this has been like trial and error.
51:10
SPEAKER_03: We've had a lot of people sign up for monthly, but then to get like littles in, sometimes parents are afraid that their kid isn't gonna dance.
51:16
SPEAKER_03: Offer four week sessions for the flat rate, have them come in if you have a teacher, even you, and then if they really like it, they enroll into your yearly program.
51:25
SPEAKER_03: If they don't like it, have them try again in the summer.
51:27
SPEAKER_03: Never try to force it, especially with the young ones, because some of them are ready at a really early age and some of them aren't.
51:32
SPEAKER_03: And that's okay.
51:32
SPEAKER_03: You can't take it personal.
51:34
SPEAKER_03: A lot of times people think it's them when it might not be them.
51:37
SPEAKER_03: It's just their kid cries at net like after nap time every week coming in to dance.
51:41
SPEAKER_03: They might like it when they get there, they're just not ready yet.
51:44
SPEAKER_03: So being understanding and empathetic for each individual person and what works for them is I think very important too.
51:49
SPEAKER_03: And that's how you're gonna get people.
51:51
SPEAKER_03: Maybe they don't sign up today, they're gonna sign up summertime.
51:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great advice.
51:56
SPEAKER_01: And hopefully that was helpful to Megan, our fan, in the comments as another studio owner.
52:02
SPEAKER_01: Yay! Yay for studio owner questions.
52:04
SPEAKER_01: I love this.
52:06
SPEAKER_01: We have one more that I think we can tackle if you're up for it.
52:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
52:10
SPEAKER_01: This is coming to us from Heather.
52:12
SPEAKER_01: She says, I run a 501c3 for our studio, and we help with certain costs and fun parties at our studio as a studio owner.
52:22
SPEAKER_01: Is there any recommendation on how you can help your dancers bond more?
52:26
SPEAKER_03: I think doing so.
52:28
SPEAKER_03: We just had a whole studio Christmas party.
52:30
SPEAKER_03: It turned out great.
52:31
SPEAKER_03: We had like pajama party, and it was actually cost-effective.
52:33
SPEAKER_03: We didn't charge anything for the families.
52:35
SPEAKER_03: We had each person like bring in something, but then we made ornaments and we had them color paper.
52:40
SPEAKER_03: And we bought, she was an old student of mine that I love dearly, and she still comes and helps out whenever she can.
52:46
SPEAKER_03: She did hair tinsel for the kids.
52:48
SPEAKER_03: We played bingo and got like fidget spinner stuff.
52:51
SPEAKER_03: So it was really inexpensive, but it was also a way that everybody at the studio got to feel involved.
52:57
SPEAKER_03: Because I think when you have a competitive program and a rec program, sometimes the rec kids don't feel they might not get as much love on your social media just because you don't have the content like you do for your competitive kids.
53:09
SPEAKER_03: So it's a great way for them to meet and then they meet other parents and maybe they're involved, like they want to be involved in competition so they have other people to talk to.
53:16
SPEAKER_03: And so I think doing in studio events, cost effective for you, because I know it can get pricey, um, are probably the best way to make them bond and then just let it happen naturally.
53:26
SPEAKER_03: You can't force it, just keep activities that keep them going and engage, like coloring.
53:31
SPEAKER_03: They I had eight kids sitting around a table and coloring a picture, even my older ones did.
53:35
SPEAKER_03: They thought it was then they made a picture of me, which that was fun.
53:38
SPEAKER_03: But they did.
53:38
SPEAKER_03: Everybody had a great time.
53:40
SPEAKER_03: Families got to come too.
53:41
SPEAKER_03: We made it like a family-friendly event.
53:42
SPEAKER_03: It was great.
53:43
SPEAKER_03: So I would say keep doing stuff like that, and that would be a great way for everybody to bond at your studio.
53:49
SPEAKER_01: Love that.
53:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, amazing.
53:51
SPEAKER_01: I know I remembered from way back in the day the sleepovers were so much fun in my studio.
53:58
SPEAKER_03: The kids have asked me.
54:00
SPEAKER_03: I'm like, I'm old, I'm not sleeping on the floor or in air mattress.
54:04
SPEAKER_03: This is true.
54:07
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
54:07
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how they did it.
54:09
SPEAKER_01: I don't even know which teacher was there for it.
54:11
SPEAKER_01: I can't remember.
54:12
SPEAKER_01: I just you don't even as a kid, you don't remember who's chaperoning or who's watching.
54:17
SPEAKER_01: You're just running around like crazy, watching movies, doing this, like doing dances in one of the studios and staying up all night with your friends.
54:26
SPEAKER_03: Uh but yeah, do a parents' night out where like maybe some of your older dancers, as long as they're like CPR certified and all that, can drop off and pay like a 20 bucks, something like that.
54:35
SPEAKER_03: The parents can go out for a night, and then the older kids can watch the younger ones.
54:40
SPEAKER_03: It's a great way to fundraise some money, but then also like that type of stuff.
54:44
SPEAKER_03: It's just be creative.
54:45
SPEAKER_03: I would actually love, love, love to have like a mastermind with like multiple studio owners like all over and just talk about different things.
54:52
SPEAKER_03: I think that would be great because I think sometimes owners don't want to give away secrets, but it's not secrets, like we're all in this business together no matter what, and we can help each other.
55:00
SPEAKER_03: And what might work for one doesn't work for the other, or it might spark another idea.
55:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
55:05
unknown: Yeah.
55:05
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
55:06
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, make it happen.
55:08
SPEAKER_03: I know, with all the time in the world.
55:10
SPEAKER_01: Dance studio owners have no time in the world to do anything extra.
55:14
SPEAKER_01: They are eat, sleep, breathe, work, live at the studio more than at your home.
55:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they're always like, Are you at the studio?
55:20
SPEAKER_03: And I just I always texpect, I live here.
55:22
SPEAKER_03: What are you talking about?
55:23
SPEAKER_03: I'm here.
55:24
SPEAKER_03: I'm here.
55:25
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
55:27
SPEAKER_01: I can't.
55:27
SPEAKER_01: I give all the props and y'all are doing it, and you're heading into the craziest season now with competition and giving all your time and energy into that.
55:36
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to all the studio owners out there.
55:38
SPEAKER_01: And congrats on your new studio, Deanna.
55:40
SPEAKER_01: I'm so thank you.
55:42
SPEAKER_03: I'm very excited for it.
55:43
SPEAKER_03: I'm like that all this is brand new as far as like it's our first competition season, and we have a small team, but we have a pretty big team, like a good amount.
55:51
SPEAKER_03: So I'm excited for them.
55:53
SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
55:54
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
55:55
SPEAKER_01: That is a wrap on our QA for this month.
55:58
SPEAKER_01: And it was so much fun chatting, dance with you, and answering questions with you.
56:03
SPEAKER_03: Same as well, Courtney.
56:04
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having me.
56:05
SPEAKER_01: Of course.
56:06
SPEAKER_01: And for all of our listeners out there, can you share with them where they can find you on social media, Instagram?
56:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a couple different places.
56:14
SPEAKER_03: So Facebook, Ultra Dance Company, and Instagram, Ultra Dance Company underscore M-I.
56:19
SPEAKER_03: Same thing.
56:20
SPEAKER_03: We just started a TikTok.
56:21
SPEAKER_03: I don't TikTok's like less, so I'm not really sure about that one.
56:24
SPEAKER_03: But then also my name, Dion Hamza handle is Dion.hamza.
56:28
SPEAKER_03: So my name's pretty unique if you pull me up.
56:30
SPEAKER_03: I don't think there's another one out there.
56:34
SPEAKER_03: And my maiden name was Monday, and I loved that name.
56:37
SPEAKER_03: My husband was like, Are you gonna change it?
56:39
SPEAKER_03: And I was like, I want to, but also I was like, oh, like there wasn't another Dion Monday in the world either, but now there's no more too.
56:47
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
56:48
unknown: Wow.
56:48
SPEAKER_03: Like I kept on to it for a while, and then I was like, oh, okay, changing your name sucks.
56:55
SPEAKER_01: Oh, Dion, uh, I wish you a happy holidays with your family and a wonderful competition season coming up.
57:01
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
57:02
SPEAKER_03: Hopefully, we'll see you soon.
57:03
SPEAKER_01: I know, I hope so.
57:05
SPEAKER_01: All right, I'm sending you onto the backstage as I wrap it up over here.
57:08
SPEAKER_01: Bye.
57:09
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, everybody.
57:10
unknown: Bye.
57:11
SPEAKER_01: All of our listeners, thanks for listening in to Platinum Premium.
57:15
SPEAKER_01: And if you were tuning in live on Facebook, thank you for joining us.
57:19
SPEAKER_01: We do this every single month.
57:20
SPEAKER_01: So if you want more questions answered by IBA judges, then tune in next month for another live QA with me and a special guest.
57:29
SPEAKER_01: I want to give a quick shout out to some of our season six podcast sponsors because if you listen to Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast, you know that it is a free resource that we offer to our dance community with weekly episodes launching every single Thursday.
57:43
SPEAKER_01: And we couldn't make this free for you if it wasn't for our wonderful sponsors.
57:47
SPEAKER_01: So shout out to Relative Motion, Capizio, Squirrel Trench Audio, Michelle Legan's Hey Dancers, Let's Talk About It Journal, Young Art, and Francisco Gella Danceworks.
57:57
SPEAKER_01: We are so grateful for all of your support for so many seasons and making our podcast possible.
58:02
SPEAKER_01: And to all of our Platinum Premium subscribers who are tuning into this episode right now, we have over 70 subscribers who help support our podcast every single month.
58:10
SPEAKER_01: You are the diehards out there.
58:12
SPEAKER_01: We love you.
58:12
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
58:13
SPEAKER_01: We have a Zoom talk back coming up soon after the new year for exclusive to our Platinum Premium subscribers, where they get to sit in and chat with me one-on-one, meet other members, and chat dance some more.
58:26
SPEAKER_01: So if you want to be a part of our Platinum Premium subscription and take advantage of that off offer, then uh join now on our website at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com slash podcast and learn more at Platinum Premium.
58:38
SPEAKER_01: Final little shout out is it's online critique season, y'all.
58:42
SPEAKER_01: So if you haven't gotten into it, we do online critiques over here at Impact Dance Adjudicators where you can send your video into us and an IDA judge will critique your dance just like you get a competition.
58:52
SPEAKER_01: But we also have uh an exclusive bonus opportunity, which is additional feedback.
58:57
SPEAKER_01: And you can request 10 to 15 minutes of post-critique additional feedback that you wouldn't be able to get at a regular dance competition.
59:03
SPEAKER_01: If you want to get an inside look, another view from a judge on what your dance how your dance is looking before you hit the stage this season, send it our way at impactdanceadjudicators.com slash one line critiques.
59:16
SPEAKER_01: We are hard at work doing tons of critiques right now to head into the competition season, and our judges love it.
59:21
SPEAKER_01: So send away.
59:22
SPEAKER_01: All right, y'all.
59:23
SPEAKER_01: That's a wrap on this episode.
59:25
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for tuning in.
59:26
SPEAKER_01: We'll see you next time and have a happy holiday.