Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Investing in the Future of Dance - Interview with Just Dance Invitational

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Investing in the Future of Dance - Interview with Just Dance Invitational · 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.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: On this special interview episode, Courtney is joined by Sandra Toy, owner of Just Dance Invitational, whose mission is to invest in the future of dancers.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned to hear what sets Just Dance Invitational apart from the rest.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Hi everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I am here today for another awesome interview with a competition director.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: Today I will be sitting down and chatting with the owner of Just Dance Invitational, Sandra Troy.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: Just Dance is an IDA affiliated competition who uses full panels of IDA judges at all of their events, and they are located out on the West Coast, which is so exciting.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: And we have been working with Sandra for the past four years to supply judges to her events.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm so excited to get to know her background a bit today and share with all of you about her fantastic competition.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: So before we get into the interview, I just want to give a shout out to all of our listeners and say thank you for tuning in and subscribing to the podcast.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: We couldn't do it without you, and so grateful for all the feedback and the reviews that you are leaving.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: So that being said, if you haven't left us a review on Apple Podcasts, head over there now, leave us your thoughts.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: We'd love to hear from you.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: Also, don't forget, we have the monthly QA with Courtney episodes, and I want to hear from you.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_02: You can send me your questions straight on our website or head to our show notes where you can click the link and send us an audio or text question.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: And you have an option to remain completely anonymous, or you can share your name and your studio and your location, and I'll give you a shout-out live on the air.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: So send those questions in.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: We can't wait to hear from you.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: And a quick query from one of our sponsors.
• 2:02
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• 2:11
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• 2:14
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• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: So let's jump right in.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited, like I said, to be here with Sandra, and she is the owner of Just Dance Invitational.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: And to kick things off, Sandra, if you can just, you know, tell the listeners a little bit about you, your dance background, your business background, and a little bit about Just Dance.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, first, thank you so much for having me here.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm really excited.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: So my name is Sandra, and I'm the owner and director of Just Dance Invitational.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: I was a competitive dancer growing up, um, originally from Bakersfield, California, where I trained with Georgia Peck, whose daughter is Tyler Peck, principal dancer for New York City Ballet.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Name dropping here.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: After high school, I went to UC Riverside, where I majored in dance.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: And at the same time, I taught at local dance studios and auditioned for like various professional dance jobs.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: When I was about nine or 10 years old, maybe younger, I distinctly remember being at a dance competition and looking around and seeing all the lights, hearing the music, and just like I even remember the feelings of anxiety and excitement before going on stage and thinking that, you know, time truly felt like it stood still while I was there.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember at that moment, I said to myself, like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I didn't know if that meant like I wanted to start a dance competition or if I wanted to be a judge or an MC or the person handing out trophies.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: I just knew that whatever it was, that this is something that I wanted to do forever.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so after college, I had to go into the real world and I had$40,000 in student loan debt.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so I got hired two weeks after I graduated and I worked in the corporate world.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: I loved it and then I hated it.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then four years into it, I had the courage to start just dance invitational.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: I was still working at my corporate job for like two more years while doing JDI on the side.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I finally quit and did it completely full time.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I knew that this is something that I always wanted to do, and I just felt like I needed to take the risk and just go for it.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel like I'm kind of curious to hear like how you made it work in the sense of growing your competition because you said you're now you're going into your fifth season.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: Is that true?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Correct.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: So you're going into your fifth season, and you said that you were working, you know, a full-time job with your passion project of just dance invitational on the side for the first two years until you were really, I guess, financially able to step away and make this your full-time commitment.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: So that being said, how did you do it?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: Especially in the sense of competition being like only from January until June, sometimes July, depending if you have a nationals, which I don't think you guys have a nationals event.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: No, um, we don't.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_02: You guys like have, you know, just during the competition season.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_02: So, in a way, I'm thinking of it as like, how can you survive with a business model that only has six, seven events in the season, and then for the rest of the year?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: I am just curious because I struggle with that too.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: With my business IDA, it is very seasonal, obviously.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's no, we only kind of make money during the competition season itself.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I guess a lot of dance teachers can compare to uh that because a lot of dance teachers struggle with how do we keep revenue going during the summer months when we're kind of off season.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: So this is even harder to do because it's a very limited time frame.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_02: So, how did you make it work and how did you grow the business?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, so everything you said is totally accurate, and so that was the biggest struggle was like, how am I going to, you know, survive financially?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: My biggest thing of like quitting my corporate job was that I just wanted to go back fully into the dance industry.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so I knew that during the times where it's not competition season, um, there won't be any revenue coming in.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so I started some programs.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: We started our uh ambassador and teaching assistant program.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: The assistant and ambassador programs, what is that?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_02: And is that how is that linked to just stance and how can be people become an ambassador?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I think that this is kind of like a two-part question or answer.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: It answers why we exist and also what makes us a little bit different.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: And the assistant ambassador program kind of ties into that.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: So when I started my dance competition, I knew that I wanted to change the dance competition world in a way, and specifically that kind of getting a rid, or not kind of totally getting rid of trophies.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, specifically, we have we actually do not give away any trophies at our dance competition.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that was deliberate.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason why was that we find way more value in providing dancers with other things, and those things are we give away cash scholarships.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, depending on how many entries we have, we've given away up to$750 to one soloist.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we give cash scholarships, we offer free workshop classes, and then we also give away free professional headshots, which is Oh yeah, yeah.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so I know for me personally, I mean, some people will be like, why the headshots?
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I know for me personally growing up, I grew up in a single family household.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, dance is a luxury, and you know, and I was it was hard for our family, for my mom to put me in dance, but she knew how much I loved it and how much I wanted to do it, that she sacrificed a lot so that I could do it.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: And us living in Bakersfield were pretty close to LA-ish.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so a lot of the parents would take a group of kids to LA over the weekend for auditions, and they all had headshots, and our student owner even like put up headshots on the wall, and I never got to experience that.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it was it was because my mom just couldn't afford headshots and they're very expensive.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so I wanted to create a space where dancers, no matter what economical background you have or you're from, that you would still have the opportunity.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: You can still take master classes from leading dance professionals, you can still get free headshots, you can, you know, work your butt off and get first place and get hard like cash dollars, you know?
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's some like a trophy is great, but a trophy probably costs the competition like$2.50.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: But you and it and it and it leaves you with nothing.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's why I was like, I want to create something where there people can really walk away with something that means more than just merely a trophy.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's why I started it.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's kind of what we've been doing for the past few years.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'm like, okay, well, let's take this another step.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when we started our assistant and ambassador program.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, we do the free workshop classes, and so we thought it would be a great opportunity for dancers that um are 12 years old and up to apply to become assistants for these instructors.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so, and then, but then we also want to give opportunity for those that aren't selected.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so we allow them to be an abat an ambassador and represent us.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: They have to go through an application process where they have to agree that they're going to be a kind and respectful person in the dance community that, like, you know, that's very important to us because they're representing just dance invitational.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, and then they also get cool swag, which is fun.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: That is so great.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: I love everything that I'm hearing.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I unfortunately, even though I am the owner of IDA and I'm an IDA judge, I haven't had the opportunity to come and judge at one of your events, mainly because they all take place on the West Coast and I'm located in New York City.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: But just hearing about all of the opportunity that these dancers are getting when registering for your event makes it very unique and very special and different.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_02: And it sounds like it's really coming from a more of an educational background and a learning experience, where you know, even the headshots thing, I mean, that is huge.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_02: I I don't think I know of any other competition in the industry that offers free headshots at an event.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe the option to buy, you know, get your photos done or something, but you know, that is huge.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: And especially in the, like you said, you never know who can or can't afford headshots.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, why not take a free one?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's that's huge.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_02: And the whole, you know, current generation that we're in and how we live on social media on Instagram and Facebook, and dancers have, you know, nine-year-old dancers have Instagrams that their moms run and like a photo that they can post to advertise themselves as a dancer on their Instagram.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_02: Totally.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: I think everything about it is awesome.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's really great that you offer the free classes because it does take a step back out of the competition element and allows them to just train.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: And that's an important part of our job as dancers is to train and take in more knowledge and the whole trophy thing.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I love that.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: I and the cash awards, I mean, not enough competitions these days are giving out true hard-earned cash.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: Like I remember back when I was a competitive dancer growing up, and I would win like first place at regionals and I would get like$100 cash.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_02: That was like I didn't have a job, I was 10.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I would like I earned that cash award.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: I got first place and I'm gonna go buy whatever I want with my hundred dollars.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: And regardless if you know, your pa the parents keep it, I mean, a large chunk of change, like$750 potentially, or however much, even it's in the hundreds, like that's a large amount of money that those dancers can put to going to like a summer intensive that they may not have been able to afford.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, going to another convention event that they're gonna train at, you know, putting it towards their training, um, that's huge.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's wonderful.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I can't applaud you enough with everything that you're doing.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm not gonna lie, it's definitely been a challenge because it's very different from what parents and dancers and studio owners are used to.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: They're used to the the adjudicated awards and pretty much everyone walking away with a trophy or a medal.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really hard because dance competitions are really expensive.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: We totally understand that.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: But so then that's why it was like, okay, fine, not every single person will walk away with a cash prize, but every single person can walk away with a free class headshots.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I think you get your money's worth if you take advantage of all the things that we offer.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: But it's, I think at the end of the day, it's still really hard for some people to process like, wait, my kid isn't going to get that plastic trophy that they got at the last competition last weekend.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I need that.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I need to take a photo and I need to post it on my Instagram, and I need, you know, grandma and everyone to see.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so, yeah, and so that's why it's it's been hard.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, whenever I um have my awards at every competition, I always say, I hope you guys read our website and read who or what we're about and you know why we exist.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And and the ones that do get it, it's it's a really good feeling because afterwards they'll be like, we loved it.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: And their kid didn't get anything, but they still say that like they loved it and they love how much of a teaching opportunity and it is for their kids.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm like, oh, that's the kind of people that I I want here.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: I have to admit, Justin's invitational is not for everyone, and that's fine.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the ones that understand it and enjoy it, it makes it like it makes all the stress and hard work really worth it because that's why I do what I do.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, absolutely.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: And it's it's really awesome for me to learn even more about the backgrounds of all of the competition owners that I work with on a business level because I'm just so inspired even more now, just hearing, you know, your story and how Just Dance started and what you offer, and knowing like this is why I work with you.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: I support how educational you're going, your approach is to the competitive world.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_02: And not everybody's going that route, which is okay, you know.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: Like you said, some people want to go the huge competitions with the big trophies and all this and that and the glitz and glam.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: And then there's, you know, some studios who will want this educational side of it.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that, you know, you are offering the free headshots, you are offering the possibility of winning cash awards, you're not giving away trophies that are just going to collect dust on the mantle.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: And then you're also using IDA judges who are going to be bringing that quality feedback.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that that's something that is also getting kind of lost in the industry is people don't really, you know, aren't really looking that at the critiques as an opportunity to grow.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's training in itself.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: That's to me, when I was growing up, that was the whole point of competition.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, of course, yes, it's a competition.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: You're people, someone's gonna win first, someone's gonna win 10th, whatever it is.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: But at the end of the day, you should be taking those critiques back in, going to the classroom, applying the feedback, listening to what the judges have to say, and that's valuable information and that will help you grow as a dancer.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: So I I feel like that it really comes back around to the critiques.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: And it sounds to me that you are providing in every opportunity for these dancers to walk away from just dance, growing as an artist in one way or another.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 16:16
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• 16:24
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• 16:28
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• 16:46
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• 16:50
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• 16:55
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• 16:59
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• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: We kind of covered a lot of things that I wanted to talk about.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: We we know how you started just dance.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_02: It's your passion.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: You've been successful, you've had four successful seasons, the masterclasses, the headshots, all of the things.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just kind of curious.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: I know that you touched on this and you can tell me your thoughts on this.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: You touched on the fact that you want to kind of change the industry.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: And how do you feel like the industry as a competition coming from the now looking at it from a competition owner and director side?
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: Do you feel like the competition industry has changed dramatically in like the past 10 years or even back when you were a competitive dancer?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what are your thoughts on the way it's evolving?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I think it has definitely changed.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a huge factor or reason for that is social media.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I kind of want to say for the worse, we live in a world where there's a need for instant gratification.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people need something now, and if they don't have it now, you know, they'll throw a fit.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't, I don't know.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like these kids live in a world of instant gratification.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I think once they become adults, it's going to be a rude awakening for them.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so that is that makes me sad to think about.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I think for the better, the amount of exposure these kids have, it's turning them into incredibly talented kids.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, when I was because of social media, when I was younger, I didn't know all the cool trends besides like actually going to the competitions and seeing them.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: But kids nowadays can see it, you know, in front of them.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: And if they're not able to be there, they can see it on the internet, which is, you know, and I feel like it drives kids and um and inspires them, which I think is great.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: I completely agree.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, yes, we we are living in that instant gratification generation that, you know, they want to hear first place platinum every single time, and you are fantastic.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: And then, like you mentioned, I mean, walking into the real world, or regardless of if they pursue dance or if they don't, it's going to be the same thing.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: There's always going to be that rejection.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: You might not get that instant gratification right away.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm also a little concerned for this generation.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_02: I want to make sure that they are going to be set up for success once they are stepping their feet into the adult world.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: So, but like you said, I I agree the competition industry is booming and it's nonstop.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's there's like I think 150 plus competitions in just the United States alone.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_02: And when I was growing up, there was like maybe 30, like, and that's I feel like that's a lot.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's so many to pick from now.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: So that also makes you know how people decide to go to what event.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's what makes your event special is because it is different, and it's not the same as every other competition that we know of.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: It's offering different opportunities for these dancers to grow.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really, really interesting to hear.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm kind of just curious, just because we were talking about the scholarship opportunity and the cash awards that you give out at your events.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: Do you know of any like success stories of that too?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: Have they used it?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, actually.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I at my first competition in San Diego, um, we had a first place soloist, and her mom emailed me over or last March.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: She emailed me just out of the blue, and she said, Um, can I read it?
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: I actually have the email up.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: She said, You might remember, actually, I won't say her name at all.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: You might remember her name.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: She has an audition for San Francisco Ballet coming up.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: She lives in NYC now and attends the School of American Ballet.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: She's graduating this year and will be auditioning for a job in a ballet company.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: You inspired her so much at your first event in San Diego.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I was that made me feel really good.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then another moment was uh another first place soloist a couple years ago, she got a$500 cash award.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, and I emailed the mom to, you know, what address to send the check, she emailed me back that this check is going to be her first deposit in her college savings account.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, that's amazing.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: And it literally gave me chills because I was like, wow, like I'm contributing to her like college education.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and that's why that's why I started it.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: It was I wanted to give opportunities like that.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so it just it really it made me feel so good.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I was and just kind of reassured me of like, you know, why we do what we do.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: I love every single second of that.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, like, like we talked about, it's it's a large chunk of money.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: $500, like that's a lot of money.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: And that can get you started in, you know, whatever direction you want to go.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_02: And you're supporting them if they want to continue their dance, like the San Francisco Ballet girl who's auditioning and at SAB and living her life as a Trina, or this other dancer who you're not even sure if she's gonna go to college for dance.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't matter.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: You're starting her college process and helping her towards that goal of college.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's really exciting.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: So congrats on all of that.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: That's so wonderful to hear.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: I do want to mention that another thing that kind of makes us a little bit different, we only have two levels.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a pre-competitive and then we have a competitive level.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: And it is broken down by like how many hours, but really what it is is the competitive level, they're eligible for the cash prices, and the pre-competitive is not.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: So if I guess for someone who, you know, is kind of cheating the system, if and they're all they care about is just getting that first place recognition and they should be in the competitive level, um, you know, they'll get that first place recognition.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: But we're hoping that the truly competitive kids that are doing it because you know they want to compete, that they'll go into the appropriate level, and their advantage is that they get to walk away with that cash prize.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_02: I support that in a thousand ways.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: And there there will be a podcast episode coming up about levels at competition, which is like the hottest topic in the world.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: And like, first off, I love that there's only two levels.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: Second, I love the incentive to be in the higher level.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel like that more competitions need to do that.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_02: So the abusing of the levels doesn't happen anymore.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because if everybody gets the same award, regardless of what level you're in, then people will continue to just kind of place them wherever they want so they can try to get that first place win.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, if you know, like, hey, you're not gonna get that cash or you're not gonna get that giant trophy unless you're in the highest level, because that's where you actually belong as a dancer.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: Don't be afraid to go into the highest level and compete against people who you, you know, are training alongside and are at the level as uh as you.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: That's why there's levels.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's so funny though, because I do remember when I competed, there weren't levels, it was pretty much it was all just one, but then I get it, you know, there's our rec dancers, and so that's why, and I want to be able to accommodate those, which is why I have the pre-competitive level.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm gonna separate it out, I need to create like a true incentive for those.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the cash prize is one.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I mean, I would definitely want the cash prize, absolutely.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: And just curious how the cash prizes work since I'm a little unclear how many people can get the cash prize.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: Is it always whoever wins first place?
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: So if it's like in the solos, in the teens, like is it based back, is it broken down like that, or is there more like just one big cash prize?
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, so we give away a lot of money in each competition.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, small and large groups are eligible as well as solos, duos, and trios.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: So in each age level.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: So okay.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so like every mini age level, a small group, large group, duo trio, um, solo, each of those divisions are eligible for a cash prize when if they are first.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's awesome.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the only like stipulation is that there has to be a minimum of five entries.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: So if it's only like two in the duo trio, then unfortunately you wouldn't be eligible just because there's only two solos walk away with five hundred dollars, duos, trios, small groups, and large groups.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, first place walks away with 250.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: And second and third place, they don't get a cash scholarship, but they do get an award certificate that they can use at next year's competition.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so there's still an incentive, um, even if you don't get first.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I think that's a great way for the dancers to come back in and also next season get to have another experience at Just Dance and learn from a new master teacher and try to get that cash prize and get another new photo.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: It sounds like you're doing amazing things, and I am so excited to be a part of your journey with Just Dance Invitational and supplying you with the judges.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: We have three IDA judges on every event this season.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, which is exciting.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and we already finished staffing, so all the judges are scheduled, and we are they're just sitting back waiting for the season to start.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: So am I.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for chatting with me today, Sandra.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: And do you have any like final thoughts that you'd like to share about just dance?
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: So, as you know, we're going into our fifth season, and so we've expanded our tour list and uh we've added Denver and Boise, and then we will be back in San Mateo, Santa Clarita, Phoenix, and Seattle.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, hopefully we see you at a city near you.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: We hope you enjoyed this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to our special guest, competition owner and director, Sandra Choi of Just Dance Invitational.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_02: If you want to learn more about Just Dance, head to their website now at Just DanceInvitational.com to see when they're coming to a city near you.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have a question you've been dying to ask a judge?
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now's your chance to send us your questions.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: We might answer them on the show and give you a shout-out.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Submit your questions to us on our website at www.impactdanceeducators.com slash podcast via audio or text.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can choose to remain anonymous, or Courtney will give you a shout-out.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_02: Competition season is right around the corner.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: And if you want your dance critiques before you hit the stage this season, check out IDA's online judges critiques.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_02: Submit your video on our website now and receive personalized feedback straight from an IDA judge.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: You even have the option to request for additional feedback, where your judge will go into even more detailed post-critique to help take your dance to the next level.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_02: Critiques start at only$30, and we are happy to offer all podcast listeners a special promo.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: Use the code Podcast10 in all caps at checkout to receive 10% off your very first online critique.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_02: Head to our website now at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com slash online critiques to submit your video now.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_02: We can't wait to see your dance.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: If you've been enjoying our episodes on Making the Impact, head over to Apple PodcastNow and leave us a review.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: We love hearing from all of you listeners and we may even share your review live on the air.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Coming up in the next few weeks, we've got Why Technique Will Never Go Out of Style, a special QA with Courtney, December edition, and taking critical feedback from your judges.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: As always, stay tuned for new episodes coming out every Monday.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: We're so glad you joined us for this episode of Making the Impact.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for tuning in.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: Till next time, keep dancing.