Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / A Day in the Life of a Competition Staff Member

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A Day in the Life of a Competition Staff Member · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_04: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_04: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_04: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
0:15
SPEAKER_04: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
0:26
SPEAKER_04: Our popular Day in the Life series continues this week with some of the unsung heroes of dance competitions.
0:31
SPEAKER_04: The staff keep the show running from before competitors arrive and are at the venue long after you leave.
0:36
SPEAKER_04: All for the love of dance.
0:38
SPEAKER_04: Today on Making the Impact, we're hearing from an MC and backstage manager and a tally manager from two IDA affiliated competitions.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Hello, dance world.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to our next episode of Making the Impact.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: And I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Miller.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: Hey Courtney, it's podcast day.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: Here we are.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: Here we are.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: It is competition season, and we are here today bringing you all another fabulous episode, A Day in the Lifestyle, which we love so much.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: I've been loving these type of episodes.
1:14
SPEAKER_04: I think they're my favorite.
1:15
SPEAKER_04: Like it's just cool to hear from people behind the scenes in different parts of the industry.
1:20
SPEAKER_04: And this part of the industry today that we're talking about, I'm really excited about because it's something that nobody really sees.
1:26
SPEAKER_04: It's the backstage staff.
1:27
SPEAKER_04: It's staff at a dance competition.
1:29
SPEAKER_04: And that's, you know, integral to making these things work.
1:32
SPEAKER_04: So I'm super stoked to hear from these two guests today.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: Yes, me too.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: And uh if any of our listeners out there have any more requests for future day in the life style episodes, different uh people in the industry in the biz that you want to hear from and get an inside look at into what their daily operations and life is like, then let us know.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: We would love to hear your recommendations.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: So before we jump into this week's episode, we have some recent Making the Impact Award winners to announce to y'all.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: And these are coming direct from IDA affiliated competitions in the 2026 season, where your IDA judges on the panel select one dance out of the entire weekend event that they want to recognize, maybe through their technique, their artistry, their choreography, their execution, their performance quality, or whatever it is, they want to recognize you because you made an impact at that competition event.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: And one of the perks of winning the award is a shout out right here, right now on the pod.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: So let's hear our first winner.
2:34
SPEAKER_04: From Oro Dance Competitions event in Green Bay, Wisconsin, congrats to New Attitudes Dance Company from New Holstein, Wisconsin, and Dancer Caitlin for their solo New York, New York.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: From Endless Talents' event in Spartanburg, South Carolina, congrats to Point of Grace Dance from Greenwood, South Carolina for their small group of boys.
2:54
SPEAKER_04: And from Axis Dance Competitions event in St.
2:56
SPEAKER_04: George, Utah.
2:57
SPEAKER_04: Uh congrats to Reach Dance Acro and Tumbling from St.
3:00
SPEAKER_04: George, Utah for their duo trio, Don't Speak.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: Congratulations to all of our recent Making the Impact Award winners.
3:07
SPEAKER_00: And if you are a recipient of the award, don't forget to scan the QR code on the back to register your award so we can give you that live shout out on the podcast.
3:18
SPEAKER_04: All right, friends.
3:19
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3:24
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3:26
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4:57
SPEAKER_00: All right, dance world.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: We are back here with another episode of A Day in the Life.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: And this time because it is officially competition season.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: And I know so many of you have been attending lots of competition events right here, right now.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: We want to get an inside look into all of the other people that make this event possible.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we think about the judges.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: You see the judges, you care so much about the judges.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: And we as judges Leslie and I, we run an entire organization all about the darn judges.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: But we as judges would not have a job if it wasn't for the actual competitions that employ us, that create events for us to come and judge.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: And it's not just about the owner of the competition.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: There are so many more hands on deck to run a successful event.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: Many jobs that you probably don't even know what that is.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: So we wanted to bring two new guests onto the podcast straight from IDA affiliated competitions that were hand selected and recommended by their bosses.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: So I I hit up all the IDA comps and I said, Hey, we're doing a day in the life episode of a dance competition staff member.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: Who on your team would you recommend?
6:11
SPEAKER_00: And they sent me some fantastic recommendations, and we selected these two guests who are here to join us on the podcast.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: So the very first guest that I'm excited to welcome is coming to us from Elevation on Tour and is their tally manager.
6:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm very excited to meet and welcome Haley Crocom to the podcast.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Haley.
6:32
SPEAKER_05: Hi, thank you for having me.
6:34
SPEAKER_05: Um, I'm excited to be here and just talk a little bit more about what it is to be an event staff uh and just talk about the day in life with it.
6:43
SPEAKER_05: Uh so yes, I work for Elevation on Tour.
6:46
SPEAKER_05: I've been with them, I think this is my sixth season, if I remember correctly.
6:50
SPEAKER_05: Uh I'm based in Houston.
6:52
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I went to Texas AM University, graduated back in 2018.
6:58
SPEAKER_05: And then I also just have my normal regular day job outside of competition season.
7:05
SPEAKER_05: So excited to talk more about that.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:07
SPEAKER_05: What's your normal regular day job?
7:09
SPEAKER_05: I'm curious.
7:09
SPEAKER_05: So I'm an underwriter.
7:11
SPEAKER_05: I know a lot of people don't know what that is.
7:13
SPEAKER_05: Um it's an insurance.
7:18
SPEAKER_05: Uh so I write specifically uh allied healthcare professional liability.
7:24
SPEAKER_05: So it's basically just assessing the risk to an inch to insure a company based on their assets and liabilities.
7:32
SPEAKER_05: So nothing related to dance.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: And I think you mentioned when you applied that you also do not come from a dance background whatsoever.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think that's what's gonna be so cool about this chat is to kind of learn like how you even found this world and how you got into this and why you you still are doing it for six years.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: Stick around.
7:58
SPEAKER_05: It's a lot of happy little things that just happened, and here I am.
8:03
SPEAKER_05: But I love that.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: Well, we'll definitely dive into that more, but we're really excited that Elevation recommended you and that you could join us here on the podcast.
8:11
SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: All right, our next special guest who is joining us is coming to us from True Dance Challenge, which we have been working with.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: They have full panels of IDA judges.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: We've been working with them for many years.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: We love, love, love true.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: And they are the MC, the judge coordinator, the backstage manager.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: They wear all of the hats.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: They've been running the ship for so many years.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: I'm very excited to welcome Kat Malone to the podcast.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Kat.
8:39
SPEAKER_01: Hi, thank you so much for having me.
8:41
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we've been working with IDA for several years, and we've been extremely happy every time we get I get an entire car full of IDA sketches.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: Shipped in from New York City.
8:53
SPEAKER_01: Exactly, right?
8:54
SPEAKER_01: I go pick them up, I bring them in, I shuttle them back and forth from the hotel.
8:58
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I am the uh MC and the backstage manager, and really any other things that uh Jen Langonsepen, who is the owner and uh founder of the competition, needs because she's my cousin.
9:11
SPEAKER_01: So I guess you know, I got the job through nepotism, maybe.
9:14
SPEAKER_01: But uh we both grew up as as dancers.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: And uh when she started this, she knows that she's a brilliant like business mind.
9:23
SPEAKER_01: She's fantastic, and she's an extremely talented dancer and choreographer.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: And she's just like a very she's like a a warm heart, you know.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: But she does not like to be the center of attention.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: So she was like, Let me call uh a cousin that I danced with who uh likes to be the center of attention.
9:42
SPEAKER_01: So she called me up and she was like, Will you MC and like you know do the announcements and all this?
9:46
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Yeah, sure, I'll I'll be there this weekend, and you know, cut to almost 20 years later, and it's now five or six weekends every year, and it's longer weekends and it's bigger and bigger competitions.
9:59
SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: And in my regular life, you know, I've I grew up in the dance competition world and I taught uh dance most of my life, and I danced professionally for a while, and I'm an actor and voice artist, and uh I manage a nonprofit theater and I work with nonprofits to bring uh performing arts education to uh low-income school districts.
10:22
SPEAKER_01: So that's what I do in my real life.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: I love to hear that.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it is, you know, I think that we will uh learn, and and I at least I have learned through my time in the dance competition space that a lot of the people that are behind the scenes are oftentimes connected family members, old students of the owners.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, there is some type of connection that got them to that role at the dance competition.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, you know, I know that you're you're in the fam cat, but like this is this is normal around here in dance competition world.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it's always about who do you know and the connections that we have.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I love I love hearing that.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: And thank you for all the work that you do at True and uh how you keep that event running smoothly and taking care of the judges and all of the aspects for the kids as well.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: It's my pleasure.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: Yay! Well, I can't wait to learn from y'all because I have never been on the other side of the table besides a judge.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Actually, one time I was an MC.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you knew that, Leslie.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: What, what a million years ago?
11:26
SPEAKER_00: A million years ago pre-IDA and I was asked to be an MC.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: Was somebody sick?
11:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, but I didn't like it.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: No offense, Kat.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: I know that's your role.
11:39
SPEAKER_03: It's not for everyone.
11:40
SPEAKER_03: It's hard.
11:40
SPEAKER_03: It was hard.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: It's exhausting.
11:42
SPEAKER_01: Yes, surely your voice is sore by the end of the day.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: Yes, like I'm backstage with like my portable nebulizer, uh-huh.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: Things lubricated, so much so that at one competition I started losing my voice throughout the day, and like people could hear it in the audience.
11:59
SPEAKER_01: And it was our home competition.
12:00
SPEAKER_01: Like we've expanded to other weekends, but this was like the one we've been doing the longest, and it's all the people we know the the the best.
12:07
SPEAKER_01: And all of a sudden, I somebody taps me on the shoulder and I turn around, and a little girl, still in like her tap costume, top hat, tap shoes, she drops a handful of um cough drops.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: And oh my gosh.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: And like her mom had like gone in her purse and sent her backstage to bring me cough drops.
12:26
SPEAKER_01: And then it was so cute that like when we did awards, I was like, and thank you to you know, the girl Reagan who brought me all these cough drops.
12:33
SPEAKER_01: I really appreciate it.
12:34
SPEAKER_01: You can see that it's been bad for me.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: You can hear.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: And uh then every year since that they appeared at our competition, she brings me a tiny little gift bag with cough drops.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, I'm so cute.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: That you guys take a photo every time you know.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: I have we take a selfie, and I've like I have a selfie of her like slowly growing until she's like a an inch taller than me.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
12:57
SPEAKER_04: Oh my gosh, that is so cute, right?
13:00
SPEAKER_00: I would love before we like jump into questions to go back to Haley and and learn how in the world you got into this world.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm still thinking about it.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: Like, how did you connect with Elevation on Tour?
13:13
SPEAKER_00: Writer, underwriter to Dan Huddy.
13:16
SPEAKER_05: How?
13:17
SPEAKER_05: Come on.
13:18
SPEAKER_05: No, so Kyla Drake Tuggle, uh, who is the director of events for Elevation on Tour, she is one of my best friends.
13:26
SPEAKER_05: We met back in college and post-college, we lived together.
13:30
SPEAKER_05: We lived together for many years before she decided to go off and get married.
13:35
SPEAKER_05: But I think it was back in 21, maybe.
13:39
SPEAKER_05: They were just short staffed for an event.
13:42
SPEAKER_05: And she was like, Hey, you want to come help out this weekend?
13:45
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, Yeah, absolutely.
13:47
SPEAKER_05: And six years later, I'm still helping out.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: But like, what did you think when you got there?
13:54
SPEAKER_00: Is my question.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: Cause like it is a whole new world.
13:57
SPEAKER_05: It's so interesting because my only exposure to it is like dance moms.
14:01
SPEAKER_05: That's every that's what everyone says.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
14:03
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, yeah, you know, I'm like, okay, dance competition, dance moms.
14:09
SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
14:10
SPEAKER_05: I thought I thought it was great.
14:11
SPEAKER_05: And I think like just from talking to other people who do have uh grew up as a dancer and dancing and competing, it's kind of like, yep, same thing over and over again.
14:21
SPEAKER_05: But for me, it was just like a whole new experience.
14:24
SPEAKER_05: And I think that it allowed me to almost enjoy it more as a non-dancer because it was a completely new experience and world.
14:31
SPEAKER_05: And it was like, I don't know, just not in my mind, I don't even think about the fact that these events would happen.
14:38
SPEAKER_04: Right, right.
14:39
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, I think it was just something that was very different from my life and what I knew.
14:44
SPEAKER_05: And I enjoyed doing it and I made a lot of great friends along the way.
14:49
SPEAKER_05: And now I'm I'm in it.
14:51
SPEAKER_05: So this is in it to win it.
14:53
SPEAKER_04: Are you there?
14:53
SPEAKER_04: Are you out every weekend or do you only do a few?
14:56
SPEAKER_05: I only do a few.
14:57
SPEAKER_05: I think uh as the years have gone on, I it was a little bit more like every single weekend it felt at least.
15:04
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
15:05
SPEAKER_05: Now that they are growing more, they are aware of like, hey, let's try and not push our staff too much.
15:12
SPEAKER_05: Right, right.
15:12
SPEAKER_05: You know, uh so now this season I'm just doing five events.
15:16
SPEAKER_05: Oh, nice.
15:17
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, it's still a good amount though.
15:18
SPEAKER_05: It is.
15:19
SPEAKER_05: I worked last weekend and like in this past weekend.
15:22
SPEAKER_05: So I've already done two.
15:24
SPEAKER_05: Very good.
15:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: And then Kat, have you started your season yet at this point?
15:29
SPEAKER_01: We start this coming weekend.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: So our first one is this weekend, and then pretty much every weekend after that until April.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: Nice.
15:38
SPEAKER_04: All right.
15:39
SPEAKER_04: All right.
15:39
SPEAKER_04: Well, now that we know so much more about our new friends, um, let's tell our friends out there in the world how this even happens.
15:47
SPEAKER_04: What, you know, you guys, dancers show up and parents show up and everything's set up if if you're abiding by the rules of not getting there too early.
15:55
SPEAKER_04: Because we'll kick you out if you're there too early.
15:57
SPEAKER_04: But everything is set up, the stage is set up, the dressing rooms are set up, everything is ready to go.
16:01
SPEAKER_04: But how do we get to that point?
16:02
SPEAKER_04: That is where you guys really come in.
16:04
SPEAKER_04: So give us sort of the rundown of like, you know, what does your Thursday look like?
16:08
SPEAKER_04: What does your Friday look like?
16:10
SPEAKER_04: Are you traveling?
16:10
SPEAKER_04: How are you getting places?
16:12
SPEAKER_04: And what happens when you first get to a venue?
16:15
SPEAKER_04: Anybody can go.
16:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I can start.
16:17
SPEAKER_05: It just obviously depends on the event and how big the event is.
16:20
SPEAKER_05: Like if it's a Saturday to Sunday event, maybe we get there on Friday.
16:26
SPEAKER_05: But essentially, I don't know where to start.
16:29
SPEAKER_05: So I'm like travel, uh, unloading, all the things.
16:35
SPEAKER_05: But depending on where it is, of course, like if it's local, like last weekend, for example, it was in Houston.
16:40
SPEAKER_05: So I just had to drive out to the venue in South Houston.
16:44
SPEAKER_05: And it depends on when you're able to get there.
16:46
SPEAKER_05: Of course, the management is there to start unloading everything.
16:51
SPEAKER_05: Um, but they're very flexible in regards to the actual event staff.
16:55
SPEAKER_05: Like, not that's not required for the event staff to be there for unloading.
16:59
SPEAKER_05: Just because it's a weekday, right?
17:01
SPEAKER_05: I mean, again, like for example, like I have a job.
17:04
SPEAKER_05: I can't always like take a day off just to go unload, right?
17:09
SPEAKER_00: Good point.
17:09
SPEAKER_05: So they'll be there unloading and then they're very flexible.
17:12
SPEAKER_05: It's more of like when you can get here, get here to unload.
17:15
SPEAKER_05: I will say most people, if they are able to get there, are there to help unload.
17:19
SPEAKER_05: Right.
17:20
SPEAKER_05: But it depends.
17:21
SPEAKER_05: Like if it's a if we start on a Friday, like maybe at 4 p.m., they might be getting there at 11 a.m.
17:26
SPEAKER_05: to start unloading.
17:27
SPEAKER_05: If it starts Saturday, they might be getting there Friday evening to unload.
17:31
SPEAKER_05: It just depends uh also with the communication with the venue and what they allow.
17:37
SPEAKER_05: But yeah, we unload, get everything set up, uh, including, you know, the stage, the tech, all the tally stuff, like unboxing all of the awards and everything.
17:50
SPEAKER_05: And then if the event doesn't start till the next morning, then once we're done setting up everything, we can go back to the hotel or wherever for the night and then come back first thing in the morning for when the dancing starts.
18:03
SPEAKER_05: Or if it starts the same day that we are unloading, we unload, get everything set up, and get into it straight away.
18:09
SPEAKER_05: Right.
18:09
SPEAKER_05: Here we go.
18:10
SPEAKER_05: So wow.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: I don't know, like Kat, if your experience is different with that, but a bit in in some ways, because I mean, you know, like a dance competition is a dance competition.
18:20
SPEAKER_01: Pretty much this the structure looks the same everywhere, right?
18:23
SPEAKER_01: But we are a smaller competition.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: And because it started as like a like a small family business that has grown into, you know, this much bigger thing, we've sort of had just a core, a core staff of four people.
18:38
SPEAKER_01: Jen Langenssephen, who is the owner and founder and my cousin and an all-around brilliant and talented lady, and then uh me and uh two other uh lovely women, Julie Rerig and uh Marissa Kavacki.
18:51
SPEAKER_01: And I affectionately nicknamed them the trophy trolls because they're the ones that sit backstage at the uh at the giant trophy table and organize them and put the pins on and the sashes and the things and the tiaras and organize the banners.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: And I'm and that that overwhelms me.
19:06
SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, nope, go see the trolls.
19:10
SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, you got the wrong pin?
19:11
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, go see the trophy trolls.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: Uh I I do the talking, but because it's just been the four of us and we've started out with you know smaller venues and have grown since then.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: We generally work with venues who we do the unloading ourselves.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: Like we go, it's the four of us with a with a cart and a hand truck, unloading everything, setting everything up.
19:32
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
19:32
SPEAKER_01: And after this long, we have it down to a science.
19:36
SPEAKER_01: We can get our entire competition.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: Like I hang the backdrop, uh, Julie and Marissa go and do the step and repeat.
19:42
SPEAKER_01: We run around and do all the signs, we uh set up uh the judges table.
19:46
SPEAKER_01: Uh we do all of that stuff pretty much ourselves.
19:50
SPEAKER_01: And then usually there's like our photographer and our videographer there setting up, you know, art of dance and um dance bugger there setting up their things, and we can get an entire unload and setup done at a venue in about an hour and a half because it was in the early days, it was much longer, and it was like, how does the poll fit in the thing for the step and repeat?
20:15
SPEAKER_01: But now it's like, no, wait a minute, we have it down to a science, and breakdown is even faster because Jen does the announcement of the awards, that's the part of the MC job that I don't do.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: So while she's announcing awards, I and the and the trophy trolls are handing out the awards.
20:33
SPEAKER_01: I take whatever, you know, other just that weekend staff we have and we run around and break everything down.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: So by the time the competition's over, we're out in like 35 minutes.
20:43
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
20:43
SPEAKER_01: Holy moly.
20:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:45
SPEAKER_01: And now that we work with some right.
20:47
SPEAKER_04: That's impressive.
20:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:48
SPEAKER_01: And now we we we make it a game, like we try to beat our record.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: Like I set a timer and I'm like, okay, ready?
20:54
SPEAKER_01: Last session just ended, go.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:57
SPEAKER_01: We all split up and run.
20:59
SPEAKER_01: But now we work with some much bigger venues, like the Zolner Arts Center in Bethlehem, which is just an an amazing and gorgeous venue.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: And because they're bigger and it's a college um or a university campus, they unload there and set up and everything.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I see.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
21:12
SPEAKER_01: But um, in terms of we do all the setting up of like our things, but they they'll hang the backdrop, they'll do things like that.
21:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, because they don't want us to touch their fancy stuff.
21:22
SPEAKER_01: Right.
21:22
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: It really depends on the fair.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: It really does.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: And then in terms of like when the judges arrive and the travel and all of that, when it's one of our like monster weekends, like we're Friday night, all day Saturday, all day Sunday.
21:35
SPEAKER_01: I will make sure all the judges got in on the Friday.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: I will uh take over communication with them.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: I will arrange, you know, uh travel and pickup, and I handle the coffee orders and things like that.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: And we have other people that do the dinner orders and the door dashing and all of that stuff.
21:51
SPEAKER_01: And then it's just a monster weekend of traveling to the venue, staying there all day long, traveling.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Home, sleeping for about six hours and then going right back.
22:03
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's it's it's a brutal weekend, but we have it down to a science.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like as you're saying that with like a small team that like has it down to a science, I just think about the fact that it's like, what if there's a weekend that you are sick or you can't be there?
22:18
SPEAKER_00: That's gonna throw off the whole flow of the whole thing.
22:21
SPEAKER_04: Science, the science is not working out.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: Honestly, it does.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: Right.
22:26
SPEAKER_01: And it's and fortunately, the the because Julie and Marissa are both former students of Gen's, that's how they became uh core staff members with us.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: And like you you were saying earlier, the other people that we hire are, you know, um to run the merch table and do social media.
22:43
SPEAKER_01: They're always former students.
22:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh, and sometimes like we did we were short staffed for our Pittsburgh trip uh last year in Newcastle.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: Um, so Marissa's mom came to do merch and things like that.
22:54
SPEAKER_01: So it's really just you know, grab people that you can.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: But with the four of us, we locked in pretty soon as like that core team.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: And it has been very hard over the years to make sure that I can do five or six weekends in a row of this, and and Julie and Marissa as well, because they did it all through college, right after college when they were getting married, and now that you know they're starting to build their own families, it's getting a little bit more difficult.
23:23
SPEAKER_01: But when we realize that the alchemy of that team really worked, and we love Jen so much, and we are very, very loyal and dedicated to true that the three of us will kind of move mountains to to be there for her on those weekends.
23:38
SPEAKER_01: And because she takes such good care of her staff and such good care of her judges and all of her customers, you know, she she pays well, she takes good care of us.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: It's a fun, fun weekend.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: And because we want to see her thrive, you know, in her business, we've really kind of done anything we can to be there.
23:57
SPEAKER_01: But when you pull one of the jangle blocks out, like Julie, Julie just had her first child um uh about a year and a half ago, and um that meant she was not as available, so then it became like three people doing setup sometimes.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then now she is um ready to have keep building her family, and she is not going to be able, and and she and Marissa have uh full-time nine to five jobs.
24:23
SPEAKER_01: So when I have to travel to Newcastle on a Friday to do setup, this year it's just gonna be me and Jen doing.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: I know Leslie can really.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna set the time, yeah.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure, my God.
24:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I want to know, Leslie, like what else you can add because you've been on both sides as a judge and staff member.
24:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so I worked as a director for Spirit of Dance Awards um for a several years and then also worked as a judge, continue to work as a judge for other competitions.
24:49
SPEAKER_04: And yeah, I mean, it it is really interesting when you have a group of people who know what they're doing and are willing to just do it, it's really easy.
24:57
SPEAKER_04: And when you have new people or people who are just sort of there because they somehow just showed up or like somebody said, Hey, can you come in today?
25:06
SPEAKER_04: And they don't, they're not family or they don't know you very well.
25:09
SPEAKER_04: It it can get a little bit tricky in that load-in because sometimes on Friday, you you're traveling on Friday, you're setting up on Friday, you're starting on Friday.
25:17
SPEAKER_04: Right.
25:17
SPEAKER_04: That Friday start is at four o'clock.
25:20
SPEAKER_04: The high school won't let you in until three o'clock.
25:23
SPEAKER_04: Right.
25:24
SPEAKER_04: Getting this done in an hour, if somebody is late.
25:28
SPEAKER_04: I travel from New Jersey to Connecticut.
25:30
SPEAKER_04: Well, that means my nine to five job is gonna have to take a little bit of a backseat that day for me to actually get there.
25:36
SPEAKER_04: You know, same with a lot of other people who do have nine to fives.
25:38
SPEAKER_04: Now, I I would say there's a lot of people in competition staff world who are are still gigging, you know, so they're not a nine to five person.
25:45
SPEAKER_04: So they're able to teach their classes all week, travel on a Thursday or Friday with no repercussions.
25:50
SPEAKER_04: Um, so that is a lot of people in my experience.
25:53
SPEAKER_04: But, you know, there are plenty of people who have to if if we're if we end on Sunday and loadout ended at 11 and you have a three-hour drive, you're probably gonna drive the three hours because you got to get back to work on Monday.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
26:04
SPEAKER_04: Um, so like that part, you know, everybody thinks like competition is so glamorous.
26:08
SPEAKER_04: Well, it can be sometimes if you're, you know, the judge.
26:12
SPEAKER_04: Right.
26:14
SPEAKER_04: And underpaid and underfed, you know, like it can be kind of glamorous.
26:17
SPEAKER_04: But the rest of it, it's like it's a lot of work, but it is really fun.
26:20
SPEAKER_04: Like you were saying, Kat, you because you're with people you like, you're doing something you love.
26:24
SPEAKER_04: And when when the well-oiled machine does its job, the director doesn't have to worry about anything.
26:29
SPEAKER_04: Like that was actually a very plushy, cushy job when it worked, when everything worked.
26:33
SPEAKER_04: And when the moments that it did not work, you're scrambling around, running and hoping for the best and you know, putting out fires right and left and talking to all the venues and shutting down the show for whatever reason.
26:44
SPEAKER_04: You know, but yeah, the moments when it all comes together with the right people, it's like, huh, what a nice weekend of dance.
26:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: I feel like the venues come into play a lot that a lot of people don't really understand the logistics of that.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: Um limitations.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: The limitations of venues because a lot of competitions will rent out performing arts venues or in schools, right?
27:05
SPEAKER_00: And then as you mentioned, cat uh Leslie or whoever mentioned it, um, that you can't get access into the theater until school is out.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: So, how are we supposed to set up this beautiful display with all of this uh this tech and all of these things?
27:18
SPEAKER_00: Like that takes time to get set up.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: So no matter what, it's like, okay, well, if the school won't let me in, then I can't even start my comp until six, right?
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Or whatever it is.
27:27
SPEAKER_00: Or like, why aren't why aren't we starting at three on a Friday?
27:29
SPEAKER_00: Well, we can't even get into the venue.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: Which is also why I think a lot of competitions and more so conventions have started opting into, well, let's let's uh eliminate the school restrictions and the venue restrictions because there's also even venues that are union, which is a whole nother layer of you have to hire their unionized staff to be the stage hands and do run the Don't touch my backdrop and all the things that we're saying.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: So, like a lot of people listening, there's so many more logistical things that exist with venues that actually make or break a competition weekend.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: And you might not even realize it until you get on site and you're like, oh shoot, we gotta figure out this obstacle as a staff as a staff.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: And do we come back here next season because of this or not?
28:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a lot of factors.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
28:19
SPEAKER_01: There have been venues that we have used, you know, once or twice or even a couple of times and and then not gone back to because those logistical concerns just became i insurmountable.
28:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
28:30
SPEAKER_01: Or just not worth the effort when there are other options available.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: Right.
28:35
SPEAKER_01: But we've been using there are a lot of beautiful uh venues in and around Bethlehem and Allentown, Pennsylvania.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: And we have found a lot of success using um like Scottish Rite cathedrals because they are set up as auditoriums, right?
28:48
SPEAKER_01: Wow, and those are always beautifully kept buildings, and a lot of parking and the lots of parking.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: And the one that we use in uh Allentown, we've used it for many, many years, and it's just it's usually just the the four of us and whoever we uh extra people we bring with us, and then it's just a two-person staff there that help us on the weekend.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: The the the gentleman that does the tech and the woman that does like the facilities management.
29:15
SPEAKER_01: And it's just us in there, and then we use the Scottish Right Cathedral when we go out to Newcastle as well, which is the very first time we toured that building.
29:23
SPEAKER_01: A very sweet old Mason took us on a tour of the building and he had a key ring that had like 700 keys on it on his belt.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, That's a sturdy belt, my friend.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: And he took us around the building and he was like, Guess how many doors there are in this building?
29:37
SPEAKER_01: Because it just went on forever.
29:38
SPEAKER_01: Like it is a giant, it's like a castle on a hill in Newcastle.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: And I went, 144.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, How'd you know that?
29:45
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Oh, come on, it's a Mason thing.
29:48
SPEAKER_01: They love their special numbers, right?
29:49
SPEAKER_01: But like the Scottish Yeah, I was like, the Scottish cathedrals are gorgeous venues that offer really great like tech for us.
29:56
SPEAKER_01: And then the Zolner Arts Center is just impeccable and gorgeous.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: And like you were saying about their their staff and the union, and you have to use my sound person, don't don't touch the backdrop, you know, those kinds of things.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: They also provide us with um, you know, their own backstage manager.
30:11
SPEAKER_01: And we've used them for so many years now that and because of how Jen runs her business and because of the kind of businesswoman she is, we have built fantastic relationships with these people.
30:22
SPEAKER_01: So not only do like our customers and like staff members want to work with Jen again, but the venues like to work with True.
30:31
SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
30:31
SPEAKER_01: And when and so it really does.
30:35
SPEAKER_01: And you know, like when you are good to the people at the venue, they will be very good to you.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: And Zolner has been amazing to us over the years.
30:43
SPEAKER_00: But this applies to the people attending the event as well.
30:46
SPEAKER_00: Yes, respect the venue.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: Because even if the competition has a really wonderful rapport with the actual venue, but if if the if all of the attendees trash the venue, then that venue is gonna be like, Oh, I'm not coming.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm not coming back here.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not gonna let you guys back here because all of your attendees trashed it.
31:07
SPEAKER_04: And respect your venue.
31:09
SPEAKER_04: Yes, respect.
31:10
SPEAKER_04: Haley, let's switch over.
31:12
SPEAKER_04: So I would love to hear about what your job is and how how your weekend goes.
31:18
SPEAKER_04: Tell us about Tally Manager.
31:20
SPEAKER_04: Fascinated.
31:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
31:21
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
31:22
SPEAKER_05: No, it's definitely.
31:23
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I was uh a tally assistant for a long time to Kyla, and then as they started to grow, I got to spread my wings and fly solo.
31:34
SPEAKER_05: But no, I mean, it is my day consists of just taking each session by session and preparing, like pulling the awards for each session and then you know, stickering, labeling, pinning all of the corresponding awards for that session.
31:52
SPEAKER_05: Also just making sure that we have the right number of placements out there for each session and trophies, like you have to go through the trophy order and the categories, say, okay, how much of each thing do I need for this session?
32:05
SPEAKER_05: And making sure that that's out there and ready to go.
32:08
unknown: Right.
32:09
SPEAKER_04: Because no, nothing is worse than when there's not the right stuff on stage for when you have to hand that out and it's going like lightning and you're like, this is not a high gold.
32:17
SPEAKER_04: Why is this a platinum?
32:18
SPEAKER_04: This is not right.
32:19
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
32:19
SPEAKER_05: Like, why do we have 14 trophies out here when I needed 16?
32:24
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
32:24
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's a lot.
32:26
SPEAKER_05: And I think it's also just knowing what each award corresponds.
32:31
SPEAKER_05: Like, oh, you for high point, you get this.
32:34
SPEAKER_05: Uh for adjudication, you get this, for overall, you get this.
32:37
SPEAKER_05: Um, so just knowing what each thing corresponds with.
32:40
SPEAKER_05: But yeah, I mean, most of my day is just pulling scores and labeling, stickering, penning the corresponding awards, getting them ready for the award ceremony, and then just making sure that we have the right number of everything needed out there.
32:54
SPEAKER_05: And then as we get closer to the end of the weekend, I'm also doing the final awards for overall for the entire weekend.
33:02
SPEAKER_05: But yeah, most of it is just session to session.
33:05
SPEAKER_05: And luckily, like Elevation uh and Kyla has like done a really good job with the tally system.
33:12
SPEAKER_05: Um, a lot of it is very straightforward and automated.
33:16
SPEAKER_05: There is not a lot of room for human error.
33:20
SPEAKER_05: And I think just over time, she knew that she had to make it an easier process because she's the one who kind of made it and would do it all herself.
33:28
SPEAKER_05: And then as she was like, I actually need more help and need more people who know how to do this, she's like, I have to make it easier.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
33:35
SPEAKER_05: So it really pushed her into getting it to be a more automated system, which has been great.
33:40
SPEAKER_02: But no, I love it.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: It keeps me busy.
33:42
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33:55
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34:03
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34:09
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34:16
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34:25
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34:32
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34:42
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34:52
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35:00
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35:09
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35:11
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35:26
SPEAKER_01: Does elevation as soon as you end a session of actual competition, do the awards start right then?
35:33
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
35:33
SPEAKER_05: So after each session, we do an award ceremony, right?
35:37
SPEAKER_05: So like we could have 10 sessions in a weekend.
35:40
SPEAKER_05: That's 10 award ceremonies.
35:42
SPEAKER_05: Yes, yeah.
35:43
SPEAKER_05: Oh, I I mean I like that.
35:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
35:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, just as quick, it gets done with.
35:48
SPEAKER_04: Those kids can go if they're finished.
35:49
SPEAKER_05: Close out those categories, right?
35:51
SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
35:52
SPEAKER_05: And then it do you guys use dance mug at elevation?
35:55
SPEAKER_05: No, we do for tallying and everything or tabulation.
35:58
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
35:58
SPEAKER_05: We do uh dance comp genie.
36:00
SPEAKER_05: Dance comp genie.
36:01
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
36:01
SPEAKER_04: So but it's a very similar structure in terms of like it, like you said, it closes the category, it's done.
36:07
SPEAKER_04: We can't tamper with that anymore.
36:08
SPEAKER_04: There's no chance of anything changing because we're done.
36:12
SPEAKER_04: It's finished.
36:12
SPEAKER_04: Right.
36:13
SPEAKER_04: And that's that's something I think is important for people to hear that like the system does it.
36:17
SPEAKER_04: It is no longer human beings, you know.
36:19
SPEAKER_04: Like you said, there's not a lot of room for human error because there's not humans.
36:23
SPEAKER_04: It's all it's not an algorithm, it's a computer.
36:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
36:26
SPEAKER_05: And I will say, like, in regards to like scheduling and everything, elevation, like the management team beforehand, they send out three different preliminary schedules just for the purpose of like if there are any changes that need to be made, let us know.
36:41
SPEAKER_05: Um there's always changes, right?
36:46
SPEAKER_05: So they send out three preliminary schedules before that schedule is finalized.
36:52
SPEAKER_05: And then once it's finalized, it we don't make any changes, but it just helps us again negate any issues uh that might happen on the actual event day.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: How far out are they sending that first preliminary?
37:03
SPEAKER_00: And is that only getting sent to the studio owners?
37:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it gets sent to the studio owners.
37:09
SPEAKER_05: I'm not exactly sure how far out they get sent.
37:12
SPEAKER_05: I would assume like a couple of weeks, like maybe the first one, like maybe three or four weeks out.
37:16
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, as it gets closer, they probably send them week before, two weeks before.
37:20
SPEAKER_04: And then when you guys, when y'all go out of order for whatever reason, costume change or thing that happened.
37:26
SPEAKER_04: Whatever reason.
37:27
SPEAKER_04: You know, there's a lot of reasons.
37:29
SPEAKER_04: Right.
37:29
SPEAKER_04: Whatever happened.
37:30
SPEAKER_04: How does has that like affected you before?
37:34
SPEAKER_04: And you know, how do you handle that in the moment of oop, this is 192, but we're actually on 300, you know what I mean?
37:41
SPEAKER_04: Like, did that affect you at all?
37:43
SPEAKER_05: I think a lot of it is just communication amongst each of the roles.
37:47
SPEAKER_05: So like we typically have a like stage group chat between the MC, stage manager, tally, and management.
37:55
SPEAKER_05: Just like we're all in constant communication, aware of what's going on.
37:58
SPEAKER_05: So, no, if a dancer needs to like go out of order for whatever reason, it doesn't affect me other than just when I know to wait for when they come back and then I'll see their score come through.
38:09
SPEAKER_05: So, no, I mean it's not really an issue, really.
38:13
SPEAKER_05: I think it would only be if they could no longer dance in their session.
38:18
SPEAKER_05: Um, but as long as they're still dancing in the session, then it's not a big deal.
38:21
SPEAKER_05: But yeah, just communication.
38:22
SPEAKER_05: Sometimes I might miss the text message that they need to wait for whatever reason, and I'll be sitting there waiting for the score to come through.
38:29
SPEAKER_05: And I'm like, wait, what happened?
38:30
SPEAKER_05: Where did I miss that score?
38:31
SPEAKER_05: Like, why haven't they gone yet?
38:33
SPEAKER_05: But no, it's it's really not normally a big issue for us.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: And my final question or another question for for you as a tabulator is I feel like that as a judge, looking at it from that side, I'm I'm hoping that the tabulator is monitoring what the scoring ranges look like between the three judges and making sure there's not someone who is like 10 points, 15 points separated.
38:59
SPEAKER_00: And if like I were that judge, I would want to know hey, like, uh, hey, Courtney, you're you're scoring really hard.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: Like you are 10 points blind.
39:08
SPEAKER_00: Like that, girl.
39:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like calm it down.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: We like come on, we need to find.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: And I know a lot of times a lot of tabulators will say, like, make sure we're all using the range.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: And as a judge, I think what's really, really hard that a lot of people don't realize is that we can't see each other's scores.
39:26
SPEAKER_00: We don't know what someone else scored.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: So, like, I might think this is a high gold, but they might think this is the platinum, and then the other one might thought it was the best thing they've ever seen all darn day.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: And then that's gonna naturally average the score to like plop right in the middle.
39:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
39:38
SPEAKER_00: And then sometimes all of the scores sound like you're getting the same adjudication.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: Because if the if the tabulator isn't monitoring how the judges are scoring, they're not telling us how to score.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: They're just making sure that it's living in a in the world where we're actually putting dances with enough enough range of adjudications.
39:58
SPEAKER_00: So not everyone's getting that middle adjudication, because then, you know, that's not really the point either, right?
40:03
SPEAKER_00: We need to have some variations in our final score.
40:06
SPEAKER_05: Right.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: So it's it's I I almost feel like you guys like act as a guide sometimes to just like make sure that like we're a cohesive panel.
40:14
SPEAKER_00: And if we need that little tap on the shoulder that's like, you're 10 points lower, like can we maybe be five points instead of 10?
40:21
SPEAKER_00: Like, let's figure that out.
40:22
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes you just don't know as a judge.
40:24
SPEAKER_00: You're like in your own world and doing it how you want to do it, but then you don't realize how this the final score is ending out.
40:32
SPEAKER_05: So we that's a really great point.
40:35
SPEAKER_05: So on the tabulation or tally side, we pull the score report so we're able to see all of the judges' scores, and it'll show us if there's a spread.
40:46
SPEAKER_05: And we can like, and so if it's like a big enough spread of concern, then we'll go in and look more into the scores and be like, oh, okay, like judge two maybe like needs to come down a little bit.
40:57
SPEAKER_05: And then we would just like voice that to management or whoever is wrangling the judges, I guess we'll say, or maybe even the MC, and just kind of like communicate that to them.
41:09
SPEAKER_05: Uh, but no, we definitely keep an eye on that, specifically at the start of a weekend because that's when you know you're not yet into the groove of it.
41:16
SPEAKER_05: So specifically for the first like 10, maybe 20 dances, like constantly just checking to see if there are any spreads, just so we can make sure we get all of the judges being cohesive, I guess.
41:28
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
41:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
41:29
SPEAKER_01: All relative to each other.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: Right.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: Right.
41:32
SPEAKER_01: Not like it's not like the competition is whispering in the ear of judges and panelists going, right?
41:37
SPEAKER_01: Hey, you need to be scoring that studio higher or these dancers higher.
41:41
SPEAKER_01: It's that it's it's a relative thing.
41:43
SPEAKER_01: Right.
41:44
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
41:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: Right, exactly.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: And most people are like, how did the judges score?
41:51
SPEAKER_00: Like so different.
41:51
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand.
41:52
SPEAKER_00: You know, and then there's those complaints afterwards, and it's like, okay, well, that's the the tabulator is also gonna catch the fact that, like, did you punch in a one instead of a two here or whatever, you know, those little type type of details because sometimes that does happen.
42:06
SPEAKER_00: Like, I know I've definitely typed something wrong once or twice in my lifetime.
42:10
SPEAKER_04: Or you didn't hit the scroll and it was a zero, and they're like, Well, that's not a thing we even let you do.
42:17
SPEAKER_05: So I mean, they walked on stage.
42:19
SPEAKER_05: Come on.
42:19
SPEAKER_05: Right.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: All right.
42:23
SPEAKER_00: So, Kat, more things that people don't know about part of your job that you would want to share with the world.
42:33
SPEAKER_00: Ah, well.
42:35
SPEAKER_01: I I think uh generally speaking, for MCs at competitions, when people think of a competition MC, they think about them giving out the awards, right?
42:45
SPEAKER_01: Like that's their big moment.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: That's the big, you know, they get the the crowd hype and do all of that stuff.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: And because we do it slightly differently, so that we can fit more dances into a a given day so that everybody gets uh breaks scheduled.
42:58
SPEAKER_01: So Jen is sitting at the table managing, like checking scores, making sure they're all going before they get sent backstage to uh Julia Marissa and making sure they're all within the same relative metric.
43:09
SPEAKER_01: And while she's doing that, I making morning announcements and announcing every dance and running the competition.
43:17
SPEAKER_01: And when people do have to go out of order, or they show up with the giant props backstage, and you know, and there's or my favorites are we, you know, we all we like we call it feather Mageddon and stuff like that.
43:31
SPEAKER_01: Like when they come out in the costumes and everywhere, and we're all back there with the brooms, like we just ready to go to wait a minute between just a whole lot of tape.
43:41
SPEAKER_01: Right, exactly.
43:42
SPEAKER_01: And now that the scattering rose petals thing has become Oh, it's back.
43:45
SPEAKER_01: Why is it back?
43:47
SPEAKER_01: I was like, why?
43:47
SPEAKER_01: Why dog why?
43:48
SPEAKER_00: Why does it saw it last weekend?
43:49
SPEAKER_00: I saw it this weekend.
43:51
SPEAKER_01: And we have made it like such a joke with with the studios that know us, like they'll come backstage and they'll like come up to me and they'll show me like a bag of rose petals.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: It's us.
44:01
SPEAKER_01: And then they and then they point and they're like, I have like 10 people here ready to come.
44:06
SPEAKER_01: Okay, you bet.
44:07
SPEAKER_01: You know, but we're prepared with all that stuff.
44:09
SPEAKER_01: But because of the way Jen schedules the day, she'll do awards while I'm taking uh a break with the judges, and then we can come back and start the session while everybody else takes a break.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: So in order to do it that way, I don't do uh awards for um our competition.
44:24
SPEAKER_01: I think so.
44:25
SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah, and because Jen, because of how many dances are in a session and because of how many scores need to be announced, and then overall scores and then categories and then and then special awards and all that stuff, it you have to fly through it, right?
44:38
SPEAKER_01: So what I do is the announcing dances, taking care of the things that go out of order, managing backstage, making sure dancers are backstage, ready to go so that we can keep the session moving.
44:49
SPEAKER_01: And I run it like a Swiss watch.
44:52
SPEAKER_01: Like if we are starting on time, we are starting on time.
44:56
SPEAKER_01: I and I they make fun of me because I'm an analog girl.
45:00
SPEAKER_01: I still keep an actual pen and paper list.
45:02
SPEAKER_01: We've switched to the iPad and I use the iPad, but I don't know if I I use both, right?
45:08
SPEAKER_01: So when we start even like a minute late, I put like a little mad face and I can't wait until we get back on track.
45:14
SPEAKER_01: And then I like to like earn time so that we end early.
45:18
SPEAKER_01: And we end early very often because I'm just unyielding on when we can start sessions.
45:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
45:25
SPEAKER_01: So that that is a huge part of what I do.
45:29
SPEAKER_01: And the reason that I think so many of our the venues, our studios, the dancers, and the judges really appreciate coming to true is because Jen meticulously schedules that day and then she hands the ball to me, and I'm like, nope, I got you.
45:46
SPEAKER_01: I will make sure this day stays on track.
45:48
SPEAKER_01: And we do, we make sure of it and we build in extra time, you know, for for people, if judges need an extra break or something like that.
45:56
SPEAKER_01: But the things that people probably don't realize a lot about it is that when we have one of these competition weekends where we fit, you know, hundreds and hundreds of dances into like a three-day span, and they don't realize all of the ingredients that go into that, all of the organizing that has to happen beforehand, all of the travel arrangements, all of the setup that has to happen and how quickly and under such special circumstances.
46:23
SPEAKER_01: And then um the day of, it's just like a Swiss watch.
46:28
SPEAKER_01: Like everyone needs to be on fire, everyone needs to be clicking, you can't pull any of the Jenga blocks because things will start to crumble.
46:35
SPEAKER_01: And um, because we have such a good team in place that we we are able to do it that quickly and efficiently.
46:41
SPEAKER_01: But one of the things about my competition, the competition we have with Jen is that because she doesn't really like to be like the on stage person, she tends to rely on me a lot when things go wrong or when things are awkward or things, because she is an incredibly professional woman and she's a great businesswoman and and she can you know handle any conflict or confrontation or issue that arises.
47:06
SPEAKER_01: But when it's something where you have to talk to a whole group of people, like please stop trashing the venue.
47:11
SPEAKER_01: Like who raised you?
47:12
SPEAKER_01: Don't leave trash on the ground in the auditorium, please.
47:16
SPEAKER_01: Or again, you're walking in front of the camera when when someone else's child put your camera down, right?
47:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean that I repeat it all day, all every day.
47:28
SPEAKER_00: All day and she no one listens to that one.
47:30
SPEAKER_01: And and it's staggering to me because it's like, and my line that I use in the in the morning, I get up on stage and I do, you know, the this is how it'll work.
47:39
SPEAKER_01: Come check in five numbers before you're scheduled to perform, please no food or drink in the auditorium, blah blah blah blah blah, all the venue rules.
47:45
SPEAKER_01: And then I go, okay, now I got two of my best people on it.
47:48
SPEAKER_01: I got dance bug, I got art of dance.
47:51
SPEAKER_01: Tim takes amazing photos, dance bug is on it.
47:54
SPEAKER_01: They are going to take better photos and videos than you ever could with your iPad waving in the air.
48:00
SPEAKER_01: So we got you covered.
48:02
SPEAKER_01: Just sit back, relax, we'll handle it.
48:04
SPEAKER_01: And then over the course of the day, you have to find ways to not be like, hey, everybody, put your phones down.
48:12
SPEAKER_01: Because then it's just it's tense and awkward and weird.
48:14
SPEAKER_01: And I think Jen knows that she can rely on me to make it funny, make it a joke, make it, you know, because there's a lot of managing the of the of the client base you have to do when you're the MC.
48:27
SPEAKER_01: Because if there's an issue or something happens, or when a dancer like falls on stage, or they're or um we get a runner, yeah you know, like when they they they're they blank and bolt off stage and everything, we tend to be very flexible about things like that, but it it requires some finesse and some coverage.
48:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
48:44
SPEAKER_01: And um, once at a venue, uh they sent us a um a dance bug guy who I don't think was very familiar with the equipment that he was using, and it caused us.
48:54
SPEAKER_04: We got that guy once too.
48:56
SPEAKER_04: I'm still right, yeah, exactly.
48:58
SPEAKER_01: I'm still traumatized by it, and they make fun of me for it because we literally started an hour and 10 minutes late.
49:06
SPEAKER_01: And it it broke my brain.
49:08
SPEAKER_01: Sure, and and Jen just sent me a text message after about 15 minutes that just said, Can you entertain question mark?
49:18
SPEAKER_01: What do you want me to do?
49:20
SPEAKER_01: I was like, uh juggle.
49:22
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I can.
49:23
SPEAKER_01: I got it.
49:23
SPEAKER_01: So usually before awards, I handle I do like the dance-offs and the throwing of the stars and you know, like that kind of fun stuff and birthdays and you know, special things.
49:33
SPEAKER_01: And because we do a lot of special awards and stuff, we we like to point out special fun things.
49:38
SPEAKER_01: So whenever I see something special backstage that happens, like once a girl forgot her tap shoes, and I looked around and there was a tap group that was that had just gone.
49:48
SPEAKER_01: And um, I looked at like similar size feet and I was like, Hey, can I ask you a question?
49:53
SPEAKER_01: Um, I was like, What size shoes are you wearing?
49:55
SPEAKER_01: And this girl in bare feet is like standing behind me, like, and the girl was like, Oh, uh, you know, whatever, I'm a size seven.
50:01
SPEAKER_01: Do you need my shoes?
50:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
50:03
SPEAKER_01: Hands them to her, and she goes on stage.
50:05
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, that's the kind of stuff that we want to highlight.
50:07
SPEAKER_01: So, like when I go out on stage, I always say to the parents, you know, they are a credit to you because what people don't get to see when they're when they're out there and not backstage is that the kids are so supportive to each other.
50:18
SPEAKER_01: Like other studios are cheering on other studios performing and in the same category.
50:23
SPEAKER_01: And those kids were in the same category, right?
50:25
SPEAKER_01: And they were competing against each other.
50:27
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, she did not hesitate to just go, you want to borrow my shoes.
50:30
SPEAKER_01: And so I I shout that out right before awards and say, These are these kids are a credit to you guys and everything.
50:36
SPEAKER_01: And then on the day that you know, Jen was like, Can you just entertain these people?
50:39
SPEAKER_01: I did a a dance off, you know, I did some fun come up and show us your best moves.
50:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
50:44
SPEAKER_01: And then I think I swear to God, I resorted to doing like a tight 10 on rock and rolls or something.
50:49
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
50:50
SPEAKER_01: I just started, I just started improving some stuff about, you know, it's like in the dance world, kids, you know.
50:56
SPEAKER_01: So whatever.
50:57
SPEAKER_01: But she relies on me for that kind of stuff.
50:59
SPEAKER_01: So I think uh the the only difference between me and other MCs is that um I can handle those things for Jen when she really doesn't prefer it.
51:09
SPEAKER_01: But I mean, other than that, it's a pretty, pretty typical MC job, just like everybody else.
51:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but I will say that those MC roles are all different at every single competition.
51:19
SPEAKER_04: Right.
51:19
SPEAKER_04: They a lot of them have to play the music.
51:21
SPEAKER_04: A lot of them, you know, know how to set up the music.
51:24
SPEAKER_00: A lot of them have to put the filler music on in between.
51:27
SPEAKER_00: A lot of them uh, you know, that aspect, plus doing the award ceremonies, plus announcing all the dances throughout the day, plus checking people in backstage.
51:35
SPEAKER_00: Like a lot of them wear more hats than people think, and you might just see like, oh, that's the normal role.
51:42
SPEAKER_00: But then there's other competitions that are like, you have this one duty and that is your duty, and we have five other people to handle the other responsibilities of that.
51:50
SPEAKER_00: So and that's something I've dealt with because at IDA, we do occasionally provide hosts or MCs, but it's a very different job that's staffed for because for judges, the job is pretty much the same across the board at every competition you go to.
52:05
SPEAKER_00: It's just learning what their scoring brackets are, learning what their expectations are.
52:09
SPEAKER_00: You're still critiquing, you're still scoring.
52:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's that's the role of the judge.
52:14
SPEAKER_00: But for an emcee or host, every competition has a different expectation.
52:18
SPEAKER_00: Some are gonna make you like 100%, they want you to be that type of improv host personality where you can go up on stage in the fly if there's something that happens and figure it out.
52:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm paying you to figure it out.
52:31
SPEAKER_00: You know, like do you have experience doing that?
52:34
SPEAKER_00: If there's people that are shy on the mic or don't know how or never stood on a stage before, it's gonna be not as uh strong of an experience.
52:42
SPEAKER_00: Even like, no offense, but like I've definitely been at competitions as a judge where it's some random like family member or grandpa that's like the announcer at the award ceremony and they don't know a thing about dance and they just have a nice, calm speaking voice where I can read and do number five, platinum.
53:01
SPEAKER_00: And it's just as boring as can be.
53:03
SPEAKER_00: And you're just like, okay, well, the point of like a host at awards in particular is to just like make it an experience and to like get everybody excited and amped up and like making it personable for the kids.
53:16
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes if you don't have like a strong like host on stage, it kind of completely changes the whole vibe of the event.
53:24
SPEAKER_00: So that's like another letter.
53:25
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely does.
53:26
SPEAKER_00: Or I'm good at an announcing voice too, like on your end, like announcing, like like articulating, knowing how to pronounce things clearly, being very in uh being confident with the names if you say names.
53:37
SPEAKER_01: That is that's one of my superpowers.
53:40
SPEAKER_01: The French names, right?
53:41
SPEAKER_01: Right.
53:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm like a linguistical person, like that's what my my degree is in, and I've always been a huge fan of language, and I'm a voice artist and an actor.
53:51
SPEAKER_01: And so I I I am confident I I have a good solid I have a lovely speaking voice, if you will.
53:58
SPEAKER_01: And Jen can't stand the pronunciation thing.
54:02
SPEAKER_01: So, like when there's some you know French ballet number, she's like, What is this?
54:05
SPEAKER_01: What does this mean?
54:06
SPEAKER_01: And I go, Okay, I got it.
54:08
SPEAKER_01: And so I I have all of those, and they're always like, How do you know what that is?
54:12
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, No, you just gotta, you just gotta think of the root language.
54:14
SPEAKER_01: And is it a romance language or is it a you know what I mean?
54:17
SPEAKER_01: So Jen thinks one of my superpowers is uh being able to pronounce things.
54:21
SPEAKER_01: And it you're right, like if it's somebody that's like uh wah, wah, wah, it really changes the entire vibe of the competition.
54:27
SPEAKER_01: Your job is the hype man, yeah.
54:29
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
54:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you keep the energy up, you set the tone, and you are generally the face of the competition.
54:36
SPEAKER_01: Because it's like people walk, Jen and I will be standing together somewhere, and people walk up to me to ask me things, or and I'm like, nope.
54:45
SPEAKER_01: Not me, right, right, not my role.
54:47
SPEAKER_01: I just I just do the talkie talk.
54:48
SPEAKER_01: I I hold the mic and and manage things backstage and make sure uh the judges don't wander.
54:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know.
54:54
SPEAKER_01: But other than that, no, you want you want the business lady right here.
54:58
SPEAKER_01: And there have been times where like I've been out, I was out at a a restaurant once, and the waitress was standing at my table and she goes, Are you the the the lady from True Dance Challenge?
55:07
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I am the lady from True Dance Challenge.
55:10
SPEAKER_01: And she was like, Oh yeah, my mom's studio goes there, and I was there the other, you know what I mean?
55:15
SPEAKER_01: So like they'll recognize you.
55:16
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have that, like make it fun, make it a party vibe, because those weekends are long.
55:23
SPEAKER_01: Yes, they are.
55:24
SPEAKER_01: And as much as you love dance, and as much as I love watching dances, your brain starts to go numb after the 20th lyrical number in a row.
55:32
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
55:33
SPEAKER_01: Like you're like right, and so the judges have to stay fresh, and they do, and they're really great and professional about that, but you have to stay fresh and excited, so you have to constantly remind yourself before every dance, this is their three minutes.
55:50
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
55:51
SPEAKER_01: Like this is this is my 18 hours, but this is their three minutes.
55:55
SPEAKER_01: So you give and if and if you can maintain that energy, it's an exhausting and draining weekend, but if you can give that energy to them, those are life memories for these kids.
56:06
SPEAKER_01: That's what's so important to to Jen and and why she created true is because we I remember competitions, everyone, I guess not Haley, but everyone competed in, right?
56:16
SPEAKER_01: As kids, yeah.
56:17
SPEAKER_01: You know, like I remember when they were scoring on paper too.
56:21
SPEAKER_01: I remember when studios were not cheering for each other.
56:24
SPEAKER_01: Right.
56:24
SPEAKER_01: And when when it was poisonous backstage, and when it was miserable, and when it was disorganized and and just not a great scene.
56:32
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of a lot of uh competitions and organizations and like things like IDA have really worked over the years to to make it a much better and brighter vibe because now it's about the artists and the community and stuff and not the the competition and the pettiness.
56:48
SPEAKER_01: So we just want it to be a celebration of the next generation of artists and not you know a miserable day.
56:54
SPEAKER_01: So if you want like the the parents and families and friends sitting out there to be in it with you for the long haul, you gotta you gotta put on a show.
57:01
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
57:03
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
57:04
SPEAKER_00: I have a few more questions before we wrap up.
57:07
SPEAKER_00: And one of the questions that I would like to ask is Is there any advice that you would give the studio owners out there as we're wrapping up and continuing through competition season or future competition seasons from your perspective or from your roles behind the scenes to help make the event run smoother more efficiently, um, to keep things uh organized, things that you wish that studios would do on an event that you could want to recommend?
57:36
SPEAKER_05: I think just from a staff perspective, like whenever they send out those preliminary schedules, just to make sure that we are double and triple checking them whenever they come out, just so that we can avoid any of those mistakes happening at the event.
57:52
SPEAKER_05: And then also just asking them to help us to keep their dancers on time.
57:58
SPEAKER_05: I mean, in order for us to run an event smoothly and efficiently and to stay on time, uh, we do need that help from them with making sure that their dancers are checking in for their dance on time so that we can just continue with our day as planned.
58:16
SPEAKER_05: So I think those would just be my two little things.
58:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I mean, the one thing that comes to mind when you're talking about staying on time and how the studio owners can help, practice a quick change.
58:25
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
58:26
SPEAKER_04: Right.
58:26
SPEAKER_04: Because maybe you know, everybody thinks a quick change, four numbers.
58:30
SPEAKER_04: It's that's not a quick change, but they think it's a quick change.
58:32
SPEAKER_04: Right.
58:32
SPEAKER_04: Right.
58:33
SPEAKER_04: So practice that, time it out because that is typically what once you get to the end of the day, or like it gets to be production numbers, or you know, people where this number is after this number, if it's not a lot of studios at a competition.
58:46
SPEAKER_04: So you kind of have groups that are getting backed up a little bit in terms of who's in them.
58:50
SPEAKER_04: You just you have to practice that quick change.
58:52
SPEAKER_04: You have to think, am I am I gonna layer my tights?
58:55
SPEAKER_04: Maybe I could put a bodysuit on instead of having it stripped down naked and I could do it in this tent over here.
59:00
SPEAKER_04: Like, because that is typically what what takes a lot of time is oh, I'm not my dancer's not ready yet.
59:05
SPEAKER_00: Well, you could you could have got a schedule, you could have, you could have requested a few more numbers in between if that was going to be an issue ahead of time.
59:15
SPEAKER_00: And obviously that's happened.
59:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes a strap breaks in, oh my gosh, how do I fix this?
59:19
SPEAKER_00: And I need more time.
59:20
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that happens.
59:21
SPEAKER_00: But if we're just we're just chilling, taking our grand old time and oh the uh we can go later.
59:27
SPEAKER_00: Like if the if the assumption can't go think that we can skip and we can go later, that's not that's not correct.
59:34
SPEAKER_00: We can't have that work money and they're gonna just let me go when I'm ready.
59:39
SPEAKER_00: Uh uh-uh.
59:40
SPEAKER_00: No, there is a schedule for a reason, and we have to honor that schedule unless there's a true emergency that prevents you.
59:47
SPEAKER_00: But I've all I've even heard of the whole, oh, they're just out there running their dance still.
59:53
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're supposed to be on the stage, but they're just having a full-blown rehearsal outside.
59:57
SPEAKER_00: We have to wait for them.
59:57
SPEAKER_00: We gotta skip over numbers.
59:59
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_00: To me, when especially when the judge finds that out, I'm sorry, but I'm walking into that dance a little bitter when I before I've even scored you.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_00: And I know that might sound unfair, but you should have been on time and not rehearsing your dance.
1:00:13
SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm sorry about it.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_00: So just like so absolutely that's that's how I feel about it.
1:00:18
SPEAKER_00: But good advice, Haley.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I absolutely agree.
1:00:21
SPEAKER_01: Anything else?
1:00:22
SPEAKER_01: There are about like skipping dances and and things like that.
1:00:26
SPEAKER_01: We since we prioritize the experience for for kids, if it's a she's freaking out, she needs a second, she's crying, she's upset, you know, whatever it is, that's okay.
1:00:36
SPEAKER_01: We can work with you a little bit.
1:00:37
SPEAKER_01: We we want you to be at your best when you perform.
1:00:40
SPEAKER_01: Or if you've run off and or panicked or something happened and you want to start again, you need to start again.
1:00:46
SPEAKER_01: We are always very flexible about that because this is what you came here for.
1:00:49
SPEAKER_01: It's not, you know, it's not about, oh, well, nope, that was it.
1:00:52
SPEAKER_01: That was your one chance.
1:00:53
SPEAKER_01: That's not how the professionals do it, you know.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_01: It's like, no, you came here to to get professional critique so you can improve as an artist.
1:00:59
SPEAKER_01: So we're we want you to have your three minutes, you know.
1:01:02
SPEAKER_01: So we will be flexible about skipping, but it it changes everything for everyone.
1:01:09
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
1:01:09
SPEAKER_01: Uh it changes everything for the judges because they have to skip around on the iPad when they're already doing so much, so tight, so scheduled.
1:01:16
SPEAKER_01: And then the tabulators and the people that organize the awards and all that stuff.
1:01:20
SPEAKER_01: And then because of the rest of the day's schedule, if you skip something, that person probably has another dance coming up, and now their change for their next one is going to be tighter.
1:01:30
SPEAKER_01: So the ripple effects are just insane.
1:01:32
SPEAKER_01: So, yes, absolutely telling teaching your students as a studio owner to prioritize the professionalism of being a competitive dancer, of being on time and not needing to be gotten is the other thing.
1:01:47
SPEAKER_01: Don't make us chase you.
1:01:49
SPEAKER_01: Um, because I have I I announce all day, every day, check in five numbers before you're scheduled to perform.
1:01:55
SPEAKER_01: And the more information you can give us, and the sooner, the better.
1:02:00
SPEAKER_01: So if you tell me, listen, she is a quick change and I will try to have her here five numbers ahead, but I don't think I can.
1:02:06
SPEAKER_01: It might be three.
1:02:07
SPEAKER_01: I go, got it.
1:02:08
SPEAKER_01: Because then I know right and I can't.
1:02:10
SPEAKER_01: We're at least prepared for that.
1:02:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:02:12
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
1:02:13
SPEAKER_01: Then it's like, okay, well, now if I have to change a mic battery, I know that would be a good time to do it.
1:02:18
SPEAKER_01: You know, like I can, I can plan, I can schedule.
1:02:21
SPEAKER_01: And that information thing applies to everything else with studio owners.
1:02:24
SPEAKER_01: If you have a giant prop setup that's gonna take 45 seconds to a minute, we need a I know that sounds absurd.
1:02:32
SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, we have a minute to set up.
1:02:33
SPEAKER_01: It's like, no, you no, we don't.
1:02:35
SPEAKER_00: No, especially if you didn't tell anybody.
1:02:37
SPEAKER_01: And that's the thing.
1:02:38
SPEAKER_01: We can, right, but we don't if you don't tell us.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
1:02:42
SPEAKER_01: So telling us when there are rose petals, telling us when there are props, telling us when there's like a giant piece of like furniture that you're setting up or bringing in.
1:02:51
SPEAKER_01: The sooner you tell us, the better.
1:02:53
SPEAKER_01: And I cannot stress this enough, but we're not joking when we say that you need to have a backup recording of your music.
1:03:04
SPEAKER_01: Things go wrong all the time.
1:03:05
SPEAKER_01: And it might be on your end, it might be on our end, it might be on the sound system itself, it might just be the music gods are not smiling down on you right now.
1:03:13
SPEAKER_01: Either way, when we quickly say, All right, bring your backup music, and you're going, oh wait, mom has it on her phone, and then I have to download the music file, and I have to change it to the computer, and then it's like, no, no, no.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_01: And bring your backup music, bring it on a thumb drive, and bring it with the correct adapter.
1:03:33
SPEAKER_01: So, like every studio owner should have a USB and a USB-C in their pocket for that.
1:03:39
SPEAKER_01: And we can plug into your phone, we can plug into your iPad, we can you can email it to us, but have every track prepared and have them prepared in order so that all you have to do is go, oh, she's number blah, blah, blah.
1:03:50
SPEAKER_01: Boom, there's the backup music, and then we've only lost one or two numbers, you know.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_01: And more than anything, it's you set the tone.
1:03:58
SPEAKER_01: The studio owners set the tone and the teachers set the tone for their studio.
1:04:02
SPEAKER_01: So the reason that I'm seeing lots of, yay, you nailed it, you crushed it, coming from studios in the same categories as each other is because studio owners are starting to make that a big priority.
1:04:13
SPEAKER_01: Like we're not, we're not there to crush, we're not there to make them bleed and take home all the all the gold.
1:04:18
SPEAKER_01: It's not like that anymore.
1:04:20
SPEAKER_01: It's it's like, no, we're there to to cheer everybody on and celebrate everybody.
1:04:24
SPEAKER_01: And because we love to work with the studios that have that kind of energy, when one doesn't, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
1:04:32
SPEAKER_01: That's true.
1:04:32
SPEAKER_01: And it really sets a terrible vibe for the rest of the day.
1:04:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:04:37
SPEAKER_01: So when you're the studio owner, you set the tone.
1:04:41
SPEAKER_01: You need to be professional, you need to be kind and patient with the staff.
1:04:45
SPEAKER_01: You need to tell your people that are leaving water bottles and and recording on their phones, put it down.
1:04:51
SPEAKER_01: Right.
1:04:51
SPEAKER_01: That no, I made an agreement with this competition and with this venue.
1:04:54
SPEAKER_01: Put your phone down.
1:04:56
SPEAKER_01: Right.
1:04:56
SPEAKER_01: It's not, it's not allowed.
1:04:58
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, they can they can the more they can do to help us be prepared to help them and to set the tone to be professional and kind and patient with their students and their the parents, that's that's gold for us.
1:05:12
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
1:05:12
SPEAKER_00: I completely agree.
1:05:14
SPEAKER_00: Y'all, this was uh such an informative chat, and I hope it was an eye-opening chat for all of our listeners out there and even maybe for people who are interested in working for a dance competition to really see like the ins and outs of what actually goes on behind the scenes from different roles on the job during those long weekends where they also we don't even talk about loading out of the weekend briefly, but like that's a whole nother layer of it.
1:05:39
SPEAKER_00: And then most of the time they're not even traveling home till Monday morning, sometimes sacrificing their nine to five job if they have it to take a day off, a vacation day.
1:05:48
SPEAKER_00: So we can work and bring these competition events to your students out there.
1:05:52
SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of sacrifice that is happening on all ends of the table for a lot of people involved in these competitions, but we do it because we love it.
1:06:00
SPEAKER_00: And we love seeing your dancers on stage.
1:06:02
SPEAKER_00: To our guests, Haley and Kat, we loved having you both on the podcast.
1:06:05
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing all of your experiences on the job.
1:06:08
SPEAKER_00: I hope you have an amazing competition season.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_00: And I I would love for my final question to lead us out of the episode to be if anyone is interested in in being a staff member at a dance competition one day, what advice would you give to them?
1:06:23
SPEAKER_00: What have you learned in your your experiences, like how you got the job, knowing the right people, any advice, what qualities a competition might be looking for in their staff members?
1:06:34
SPEAKER_00: Let's start with Haley.
1:06:35
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:06:36
SPEAKER_05: So I think first and foremost, just bring the energy and the caffeine.
1:06:42
SPEAKER_05: I mean, these are long days and it's not for everyone.
1:06:47
SPEAKER_05: I think something like we kind of touched on is they're long days and it's not always the most glamorous.
1:06:54
SPEAKER_05: But I think that if you just come with a great attitude and a strong work ethic and the eagerness to learn, like there is no stopping you.
1:07:04
SPEAKER_05: It's also just so rewarding just seeing the competition company just like grow over time as well.
1:07:13
SPEAKER_05: I mean, the the women that put this together on the management side, they put so much into it before we ever even walk through the doors.
1:07:23
SPEAKER_05: And they are just a group of boss women who are great at what they do.
1:07:28
SPEAKER_05: They wear a lot of hats and they wear them well.
1:07:31
SPEAKER_05: And so I think overall it's just a sense of pride and just admiration to see it all come to fruition.
1:07:39
SPEAKER_05: And then, of course, just the friendships that I've made along the way.
1:07:42
SPEAKER_05: They are some of my now closest friends in my personal life.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_05: But I love it.
1:07:47
SPEAKER_05: But yes, if you are interested in doing it, I definitely recommend it.
1:07:52
SPEAKER_05: Just know it's not for everyone.
1:07:54
SPEAKER_05: You know, it takes it's a lot, but it's it's great and totally worth it.
1:08:00
SPEAKER_01: I will, I absolutely echo what Haley says in that it's not for everybody, but you know it will be for you if you are someone that is you you know how to take initiative because if there's a job that needs doing, you you do it.
1:08:16
SPEAKER_01: If you if you can anticipate a need, that's a fantastic, fantastic thing.
1:08:21
SPEAKER_01: But more than anything, you need to be prepared because it is a long haul weekend.
1:08:29
SPEAKER_01: And you need to know that like you need to, you need to pack your bag properly.
1:08:34
SPEAKER_01: You need to have the cough drops and the water bottle and the, you know, I have my my little thing with like tea bags and and sugars and everything has to be mobile, everything has to be uh transient, you know what I mean?
1:08:46
SPEAKER_01: Like you're you're not gonna be able to like, oh, I just need like 15 minutes to run to the break room.
1:08:50
SPEAKER_01: Nope.
1:08:51
SPEAKER_01: Like your bathroom breaks are scheduled that day and you can't walk away sometimes from what you are doing.
1:08:58
SPEAKER_01: So knowing ahead of time that you need to be very prepared for the day is fantastic, and the more prepared you can be, the better.
1:09:06
SPEAKER_01: But also, I would say don't be don't be nervous if it's not a world that you've not been in before, because just like Haley, you don't need to have any experience with dance to be a part of it.
1:09:16
SPEAKER_01: These are very teachable things that like jobs that you can be taught to do, and you will find some joy and a lot of fun in that because these are life memories for these kids, and there are some beautiful things to see, beautiful experiences to be had.
1:09:31
SPEAKER_01: And I also want to echo what she said about it being like these boss women that run these businesses, like disproportionately.
1:09:38
SPEAKER_01: So I'm not saying that there aren't some amazing men out there in the business, um, and as judges and and dancers themselves, but that this this business is predominantly women, and the women that run these competitions and the work they do all year long before competition season is staggering.
1:09:57
SPEAKER_01: And Jen is one of those.
1:09:59
SPEAKER_01: If you are, if you want to be like in the trenches with women and working a long day and just being there for each other, anticipating needs and defaulting to generosity because it's not a that's not my job sort of environment.
1:10:16
SPEAKER_01: It's a oh, you need a hand, I got it.
1:10:19
SPEAKER_01: You need to help help staying on schedule, I got it.
1:10:21
SPEAKER_01: There, like we are the four of us.
1:10:23
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we'll go like the rest of the year without like seeing each other.
1:10:27
SPEAKER_01: And then we come back on on day one of competition, and it's like boom, we are we are a solid unit again.
1:10:33
SPEAKER_01: And when you spend that much time together, you know, in the trenches doing all this stuff, all these crazy weekends together.
1:10:39
SPEAKER_01: You build those wonderful relationships, like Haley was saying, and it's it's fun, it's a joyous environment, and it's something that we need right now more than anything else in the world.
1:10:49
SPEAKER_01: We need artists, we need art, we need it to be celebrated because it's um it's not a lot right now.
1:10:57
SPEAKER_01: It's not celebrated, it's not supported.
1:10:58
SPEAKER_01: And I also think people should really recognize what a privilege it is because the competitive dance world is expensive.
1:11:05
SPEAKER_01: Being a dancer is expensive.
1:11:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, and not everybody has that opportunity.
1:11:11
SPEAKER_01: So, really just appreciating that and knowing what a privilege it is and what a beautiful and necessary experience it is.
1:11:18
SPEAKER_01: If if those things sound good to you, then you are the ideal candidate for working a dance competition weekend.
1:11:28
SPEAKER_00: We hope you've enjoyed our latest day in the life episode of a dance competition staff member.
1:11:34
SPEAKER_00: Special shout out to our guests, Haley and Kat for joining us on this chat.
1:11:38
SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow them on Instagram.
1:11:40
SPEAKER_00: You can find Haley at HaleyCrocom and Kat at KatMillerMalone.
1:11:47
SPEAKER_04: Don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
1:11:53
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1:11:59
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1:12:08
SPEAKER_04: Join now at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com/slash Platinum Premium or click the link in our show notes.
1:12:14
SPEAKER_00: Be sure to check out IDA affiliated competition, Just Dance Invitational.
1:12:20
SPEAKER_00: Are you looking for a dance competition that features free workshop classes, free photo video, cash prizes, and a full panel of IDA judges at every event?
1:12:28
SPEAKER_00: Well, look no further.
1:12:30
SPEAKER_00: Just Dance Invitational is hosting multiple events in the West Coast region this season.
1:12:35
SPEAKER_00: By supporting these young artists, their goal is to create an atmosphere that allows for empowerment, self-expression, and growth.
1:12:42
SPEAKER_00: Registration is now open on their website at JustDanceInvitational.com.
1:12:48
SPEAKER_04: Coming up soon on Making the Impact, tune in for a throwback episode on the open category and an episode on diversity and competitive dance.
1:12:57
SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned for some more great episodes on Making the Impact.
1:13:01
SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next week.