Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / IDA Competition Spotlight - DECAdance Competition

Transcript

IDA Competition Spotlight - DECAdance Competition · 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?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  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.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Decad Dance Competition provides a totally unique competition and unconvention experience.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm making the impact.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Courtney sits down with Decadance Competition Owners to make it to run a meal to learn more about this incredible competition.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_05: Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_05: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I am flying solo this week because we are doing our very first IDA affiliated competition spotlight feature.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_05: Now we did these back in season one, and we had so many people come to us and say, that was so awesome to learn about a dance competition straight from the owners.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_05: And we work with over 15 different competitions at Impact Dance Adjudicators who support our service and use our judges at their events nationwide.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_05: So we figured it's time to bring back these competition features so we can get to know some of those amazing IDA affiliated competitions that we work with and support us.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_05: So we decided in season seven, it's time to bring that back because fun fact, we have brought on many new competitions at Impact Dance Adjudicators that we work with now since season one.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm so, so excited to get to know this competition owner even more for the next 45 minutes and share with you all what their competition is all about and what makes them unique in the industry.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_05: This owner has been working with IDA for the past four to five seasons, I would say.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_05: And it's been such a treat watching their grow throughout the years as well.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_05: They do some really, really fun stuff at their competition that is stepping up the game of the industry, I think.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_05: And that is one of the reasons why I love working with them.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_05: I'm very, very excited to welcome the owner of Decca Dance Competition.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_05: Please welcome Samantha O'Neill to the podcast.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome, Samantha.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, hello.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
• 2:34
  unknown: Yay.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think it is five years.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Holy cannoli.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's we've been around, we were kind of born at the same time, and it just, I'm so glad to see both of our growth, you know.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Great to kind of grow alongside a company that we started at the same time and making a difference, you know?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_05: And I was gonna say, so what year is this for DECA?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_05: What season are we about to head into?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: We're heading into season seven.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_05: Fabulous.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_05: So this was a pre-pandemic competition.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is like a couple days before the pandemic.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: No, we we started officially on paper in April of 2019.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: We had a very small, I'll call it a convention, but it was some dance classes and a pizza party for like 10 kids back in November of 2019.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then we had our first solos, duos, and trios event in Central Jersey, uh, January of 2020.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then that was supposed to be our like inaugural season.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then the world got shut down, and we waited until July.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I'm not going out like this.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Let's figure it out.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we were small, we nobody really knew who we were.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: We just wanted to have an event.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: So we put together a smorgasborg of emails um from Instagram and stuff like that.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I just sent out a big email and said that we had space available and people just wanted to compete.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't care what the rules were.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, as you mentioned, we do a lot of different things.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I anticipated a ton of pushback about all of that.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: And because of the timing of the way the world was, nobody cared.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Nobody even really knew what the differences were until like after the fact when we were reading awards.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, that kind of worked in our favor because people were like, oh, that that makes a lot of sense.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me more about that.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, like I said, it really just worked in our favor.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: And because we were small and because nobody really knew what was going on in the world, we filled up an event.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, the day after our event was over, the governor of New Jersey made it 25 people in a room.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: And my everybody started hearing about that we had an event inside.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: So my phone just rang off the hook, and people were like, Are you gonna do it again?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Oh my god, no.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, no, no, not now.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: We need some time, we need to regroup.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And now with 25 people, you know, we didn't do any lines or productions or anything like that, but it was just enough to get our feet wet, help people out.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we did it so cheap too.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: We did like$25 a dancer per dance just to like try and cover some costs.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: We had we're just trying to pay the judges, just trying to pay my staff, like just trying to make some things happen for people because they were out of work for so long.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_05: Well, good for you for making it happen.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, everybody was in that same situation, but especially for a brand new competition trying to break in and find their footing in the industry during a pandemic.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, props to you for powering through and look at you now.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, you have to be so proud of what you've accomplished in the past seven years of running DECA dance competition.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_05: And it's been such a treat working with you and seeing the growth of your competition.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_05: And I would love to dive into some of those things that you hinted at that are so unique and different at DECA.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_05: But before we do, I want you to share a little bit more about you.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_05: Maybe a little bit more about like your early life and dance life, where how you found dance, how long you've been dancing, your dance career, and then leading us into why you decided to start a dance competition.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, first and foremost, I have to say that we would not even have a season seven if it wasn't for my phenomenal team.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: They literally, seven years ago and even before that, were like, yeah, okay, we'll help you and we'll work for pizza.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I just was like, trust me, it'll work out.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Trust me, it'll work out.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: And now, you know, they trusted me and they used their expertise to help get us here too.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: So it, you know, it takes a village to raise a family, and it also takes a gigantic village and a very patient village to raise a dance competition.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I just have to say that because I would not be here without my amazing team, you guys included as well.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: So again, my name is Samantha O'Neill.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: I am from New Jersey.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: I grew up dancing in Edison.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: I started at the age of three, just like so, so many of us started competing as I got a little bit older.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: I was a dancer of size.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I was not your typical ballerina shape.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: So that had its own interesting hurdles in the mid to late 90s in the dance competition world.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: I was a jazz musical theater gal.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_04: We love it.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then I got more into tap.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: And once I graduated and started teaching a little bit more, I did start teaching very young at my home studio.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: I was really, really excited.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: I begged to teach.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I started out with four little kinder dancers and it just kind of grew from there.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I went to school at Stockton for uh theater and dance.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then I transferred over to Montclair for theater studies and a dance minor.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then I went on to get my master's in early childhood education.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of the things that we do at Deco, we try to keep a lot of that young mind at play uh kind of mentality.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what would benefit the young dancers from this perspective, as well as, you know, just being at a dance competition.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: I taught pre-K, I all the way up to second grade for gosh, I think like five years or six years.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: I had a very uh sudden loss in my life.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it led me to meet my now husband.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: And the first question that he asked me was, What lights your fire?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, God, that's such a weird question.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't even know you.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Why are you asking me this?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And inevitably, it's part of what brought us here.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, I really want to, I said, I have first I said I have to get back to you because I don't even know how to answer that.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then I thought about it and I said, you know, I really want to make a difference in the dance world.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, Well, how?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, I've always wanted to run a dance competition.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: He goes, Why?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, This is a very intense conversation for just meeting each other, but okay.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: And he just said, like, if you're gonna, if you're gonna do this, you gotta like throw yourself into it 100%.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And over the course of a few weeks, and he was him saying this, I heard quit your job and start a business that you know nothing about from the business end, but like you dance, so you'll figure it out.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's pretty much what happened.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: I quit my job, I started subbing, I built the first leg of DECA uh on bathroom duty in a public school.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you can't and as things kind of progressed, we got more people involved.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I had had a conversation probably in like 2015-ish with some friends of mine that said, you know, I want to start a dance competition.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: And they were like, Okay, let's do it.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, everybody's just so willing to jump into this, I gotta figure some things out.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: So fast forward a little bit and we started to make it happen.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: And there were certain people in my life where I was like, hey, if I was gonna start a dance competition, would you judge?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, if I was gonna start, you know, and that became the game.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And uh then we started after DECA started.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, my husband, well, my now husband and I got married.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: We have two babies that travel around with us.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are at a DECA event, the odds of you hanging out with my kids are very likely.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Maxine and Xander, uh, he just turned one and Max will be in uh October.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: And they love, well, Maxine loves it.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: Xander's like whatever.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: But she's very helpful.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: She loves seeing all the kids dance, she claps for everybody.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: She gets very upset when she can't go up on stage.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, now here we are, you know, season seven, lots of different things happening, lots of new new family and friends joining our family um here at DECA.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we are a family-run company.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, my mom sold merch, my dad sold merch in the the early days.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: My mom did all the catering.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, she and my stepdad would like fed the load-in staff and stuff like that.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And all my staff is married to each other or cousins, or you know, like we are really a true family-run company.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: We were all in each other's weddings and things like that, and our kids all play together.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's a really, it's a really great group of people who are all really passionate about dance.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I am very, very lucky to have them in my life, in my deca life and in my personal life.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_05: Wow, that is awesome.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_05: I'm so inspired.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_05: It's props again, props to you for like doing what like taking a risk and and challenging yourself by saying, I'm gonna quit my job and start a dance competition.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I mean, ignorance is bliss.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: Ignorance is bliss.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I really didn't know how hard it was.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: And when I met Steve, he was like, he made it look easy because he runs his own business as well.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he's an electrical contractor.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, Oh, you just do this.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Oh, all right, well, I could do that.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and like everything like because he made it look easy because he had done it for so long, and it's a completely different field that he knows about.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: That I was like, Yeah, I could do that, I guess.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: We'll figure it out.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: So trust me, we'll figure it out.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: And ignorance or bliss are like the three things I live by at this point.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, truly, the best way to learn is just getting thrown in to me.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody at and I I hate to even say this out loud, but like one of our one of our younger team members, I felt so bad.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: We were at an event, a bunch of crazy things happened at once.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I was we were on stage in the middle of awards, and I said, ask everybody the same question.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I passed them the mic, and I had to go off stage to like handle something with awards, something wasn't printing or like whatever the fact was.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And we didn't have enough staff at the time.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like, keep going.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: He was like, Oh yeah.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then I was like, after the fact, I was like, You did a great job.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, You've been a dancer, you've heard me do it a hundred times, you've answered these questions, like you're a personable kid, like you're fine, just go.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: And he was like, Oh, this is great.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: I could do this.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, see, now you're trained.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: We have two, but like, yeah, you know, awesome.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_05: Well, that is such a great uh story to and thank you for sharing how this all started and came to life for DECA dance competition.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_05: And with that, just so all of our listeners know, DECA has in their season seven, they have about 15 different regional events, a nationals event in Delaware.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_05: The primary region that you are tackling is around the tri-state, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_05: Where else do you go?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Massachusetts.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: This year we added Virginia.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: We do a lot of different Pennsylvania.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: We do Altoona, Lancaster, um, and then we also, I think you mentioned Maryland.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: Nationals is in Delaware.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So just kind of all over.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: We added New York this year.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be right in the White Plains area, so that's exciting.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so just gradually expanding to give everybody some more options, but not expanding so fast that bar heads explode.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: So just, you know, slow and steady kind of wins the race.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I feel.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that, you know, because we are a family-run company, like I said, you know, we're trying to balance, not going absolutely insane with, you know, 22 double weekends in a row.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we all have kids and um, we had a bunch of our own kids at nationals and babies, and you know, so just just really working hard to find balance, but continue to grow.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_05: I think that's so real and so important for for many listeners to really wrap their head around and understand because there's all different sizes of competitions out there.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that when you look and see a season schedule for a competition company, you also have to think about what type of business is this?
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_05: Is this a small homegrown family-oriented style competition, or is this a mega comp that has three events running every weekend?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_05: And you start to think about quality over quantity sometimes, I think.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_05: And, you know, as I've talked to other competition owners who have said, we like to keep it small and also think about the fact that there's only so many weekends after from between January and May.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_05: There's there's only so many.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_05: So, and so then you'd have to dip into double weekends.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_05: But some competition owners have straight up said, but I like to be present.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_05: I want to say hi to my customers in person.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_05: And if there's two happening at the same time, I can't be in two places at once.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: No, doubles is definitely something that's on our radar for the next season or two after this.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, we just are working on upgrading some of our venues that maybe didn't meet our expectations this year, building some new uh connections to people who can help us do those things without having to massively raise our prices or change some of the back end things.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, just keep it, keep it as affordable as we can.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, everything in the world is expensive right now.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we changed a little bit how we did some of our discounting, but we didn't raise our pricing.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that's something that, you know, we're happy that we were able to do.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, and we're always, you know, we're people.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: And coming from teaching dance and working with studio owners that of the studios that I taught at, one of our, I mean, some of our staff still works in competition studios and they go and compete.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Their kids go and compete and they're like, we have to do, you know, we have to be flexible, you know.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: So if you try to leave a deposit and you're like, oh,$500 is too much right now, it's our off season.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: We, you know, can we sell you$100?
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's we we are real, we get it, we have been in that position in one way or another.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: And like, we don't want you to have to stress and we want to help you as much as we can and just meet in the middle.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you need time, great, just make sure you show up.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's where deposits come from.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like people get burned and people don't show up, and then you're left with this event where you thought you had 500 entries or 600 entries and you have 125, and you have all this staff, you have all this over venue, you know, you've bought all this food, like, and then it's like, well, now what?
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and that's how people end up having to raise their prices later on because they're playing ketchup, and not just in the competition industry, just in general.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you're not wrong about that.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_05: And that this is something that we recently talked about in one of our live podcasts that we did over the summer at some of the dance teacher conferences.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_05: It's a ripple effect when a studio backs out of an event that they said that they were going to be attending.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_05: And it's really hard to pre-plan for the competition owners.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_05: And I even shared the perspective of, you know, we work together through you use IDA to staff your judges.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_05: Judges have been booked for five months and they think it's a three-day event.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_05: And then two weeks before, they find out it's only a one-day event.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_05: And that's not at fault to the competition, it's at fault to the studios who backed out last minute.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_05: And then that changes everyone for the weekend, you know, because judges thought they were making more money and now all of a sudden they're not.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_05: And I just don't know.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: Studios thought they had more competition.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And exactly.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's a it is definitely a ripple effect.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we try to be as transparent as possible.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, people ask, like, oh, you open your registration in June.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: Well, yes, we do.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: And originally I only did it because my son was due in August, and I was like, if I go early, I cannot be delivering a baby in the middle of registrations with a new staff member handling this.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: So no.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we opened up in June.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, like, I know it drives some people crazy, and I completely understand that.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: But by registering or by opening registration up in June, that allows us as a company to say, wow, okay, these three cities sold out really fast.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Let's see if we can get another venue close into all these, like in the middle of these three events, where anybody who couldn't register, we're still only in mid-July, end of July.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Let's open up another event, announce it August 1st, and then all those people who couldn't come to those events, now they have an option.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so it allows us to be able to accommodate as many people as possible because we do cap our events.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, our events are between four and 500.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: We don't start at two o'clock on a weekday and we don't have awards at midnight.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we do that because we cap our events.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so we need more of the capping, you know, because And you know what?
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think you you and I kind of talked about this previously.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you're signing up for a competition, ask that question, you know, hold hold your standard for what your expectations are as you're talking to competition owners and as you're talking to competition staff and say, hey, we have kids who do other sports, we can't be at awards till 11 o'clock.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Not knocking you if you do it 100%.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's some people want a mega competition and they want to dance at one o'clock in the morning, and that's fine.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like I did it, it was some of the greatest memories I have as a kid, you know, but that's not what everybody wants.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I think if people just start asking questions a little bit differently and kind of saying, well, hey, this is what I want in a dance competition, you know, when we go to trade shows, that's what what do you look for in a competition?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: And if they are rattling things off that we can fill those gaps or check those boxes, I'm like, okay, well, this is how we can do that.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: But if they say things that, you know, maybe we can't check that box, you know, we don't allow dancers to have three solos.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: But really, I know, yeah, we have a cap on uh two solos per dancer.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, love that.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_05: And everyone out there who's listening, we just did our solo episode of How Many Are Too Many.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_05: So that is so refreshing to hear.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, but if you do have a dancer with three solos, like we have options.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: You could bring one to solos, duos, and trios, you can bring the other two to us, or we can send you to a we can refer you to a competition that we trust and respect who takes three solos.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's special words at competitions for kids with three solos.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's just not what we do, right?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and with so many competitions in this industry, I mean, there's over 500 dance competitions and there's more popping up left and right every time you open your phone, like there is something for everyone.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: So just ask.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, ask and say, Hey, I saw that you're a new competition.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: These are my top three things.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Can you check those boxes?
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you can't check those three people, you know, that person's three boxes, someone else will.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: And someone else will take their spot.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's okay.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's really okay.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: So just I beg studio owners, please ask those questions so that your competition owners can better serve you.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I'm gonna get off on a tangent and I'm sorry, but I think if people ask more questions about the things that are really important to them, I think competitions would sell out differently.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think people Would have better experiences in general because if I say to you, well, what competition did you like?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you say X, Y, Z, but you're a studio with a hundred dancers and you're hip-hop heavy and that's a hip-hop competition, of course you're gonna have a great time.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: But if I'm a small studio of 25 kids and we're acro and contemporary heavy, we might not have the same experience because we're going in with the same expectation, knowing two totally different things.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I just want people to advocate for themselves and for their dance families what you want out of a competition experience to make sure that that's what you're going to get.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: And listen, things happen.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you and I were talking about event disasters previously.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and DECA has had its share, um, but we always do whatever we can to fix it, make it right, and learn from that mistake.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, yes, there's going to be things that go wrong at an event, speakers explode and like tech tables catch fire.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's literally a thousand scenarios that happen, but like at the end of the day, you at your core know that you're not going to be dancing at 1200 routines or you are going to be dancing at 1200 routines.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: There's no, there's no um confusion or mismanaged expectation.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, one of the things that we do is when we do have a little bit larger of an event that maybe is a little bit closer to the cap than we would like, we reach out early enough, we say, hey, we know you guys are really local to the area where the competition is going to be.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: We want to give you the option to compete a little earlier on Friday.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we don't want to start the entire event at three, but we know two other studios who are kind of local, they've opted to come a little early.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: So let's get some things done early so that, you know, we can still make those accommodations for the other studios, but the whole place doesn't have to be there at three, you know, or we say, hey, you know, we don't like to typically start before 8 a.m., but to accommodate, you know, a couple extra graduating seniors, we're gonna start at 7:45.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so things like that.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I think just being transparent about stuff is the best way to go.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: So that's my rant.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_05: It's a great rant.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_05: And it is it's so refreshing to hear how much you listen to your customers.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that is really important.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_05: And I can say and I can vouch and know that that is true.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_05: You implement the change.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that's what's so unique about DECA, which is what I want to get into.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_05: Because as you mentioned, there are 500 million competitions and new ones popping up every day.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_05: And every time I see new ones popping up, I always say, Well, what makes you different?
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_05: What makes you stand out?
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_05: And some of the things that stand out for me when I think of DECA dance competition are Omara sprung floors at the event, which we can talk about.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_05: You have a four-judge panel, and all of the judges specialize in different genres of dance that then deliver live feedback on the spot per the genre.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_05: So if there's a hip hop dance that's a solo that's taking place on stage, the genre specialty hip hop judge will deliver live feedback.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_05: So it is accurate and in real time, which is so unique.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_05: You also have a specials judge that monitors special awards and then a routine monitor, which I want to dive into that routine monitor as well, because that is just one of the best things that is so needed for our industry.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_05: So tell us more about all these unique features and any that I missed.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so um our Omar floor uh is one of the greatest things uh that we've been able to accomplish in our time as a competition.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: On day one, I talked to my acro judge and we had a conversation about how amazing it would be to have a sprung floor.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't really know what it was going to entail.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: And we were like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's expensive, like down the line.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: And then um in season four, flash forward, um, we were introduced to Anthony Licasio.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: And he was like, we had an amazing conversation online, and he's like, Well, I am friends with the owner of Amara Floors.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I could hook you guys up and we could make some magic happen.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, this is great.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: So, long story short, we did a trial event in season four where we did the sprung floor.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: We just did like a 16 by 20, I think it was, for tap solos, tap duos, and tap trios.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it went really well.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: I will never forget this one girl.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: She came off stage and I was like so excited.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: I said, How did you feel on the floor?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: She's like, I should have a jazz solo.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, What?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: What?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I've never heard myself that clear in my whole life.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like I missed so many sounds.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, okay.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's like instead of jumping ship and having a jazz solo, like now, now like hone in on that.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, get with your dance teacher and say, Okay, well, I noticed some things, you know, because just tapping on wood is different than tapping on Marley, and it's just a totally different experience, especially if you're not used to it.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's not better or worse, it's just a totally different experience.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: So when not used to that, that was something that I just thought was really sweet.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, spoken like a true teenager.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh my husband and I flew out to Flint, Michigan, and we went to the Omara shop.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: And when we walked in the door, all of the machinery and the big workspaces are on Omara floor.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, my from a contractor's perspective, my husband was like, Well, they practice what they preach and they use this every day.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: And he talked about how, you know, their injuries are down and all of these different things, and like it just made sense.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so EJ Omara at Omara Floors, like, he has been our guy.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: He's awesome over there, his team.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: They hooked us up with a beautiful floor, and it was great to be the first competition in the industry to really offer something like that for competition dancers at any level, you know, um, our debut dancers, our advanced dancers, everybody that was in tap on that solo duo trio floor got to experience it.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we didn't we tap we have tap mics and things like that, but being able to stand in the back of the room and not need a tap mic and still hear the sounds really clearly over the music was just it was a really cool experience.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's our Amara floor.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I have a quick question.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_04: Do you do you is it down the whole comp for everybody now?
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_04: So not just the tap anymore.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Nope, not just the the only reason why we did it that small section was just to trial it and see how it was before we made such a huge investment and just like see logistically what it was going to go into.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um floor is 40 by 32, I think, or 40 by 30, which is the average size of a competition stage.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: And our floor right now is birch, but we're actually going to swap over uh to a maple.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's a little bit harder and it'll last a little bit longer.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's something that we're still in the process of working out with Omara, but they are taking great care of us.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and like I said, we love them.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we're excited about that upgrade coming.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it's it's for everybody.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's it stays down, and that's it.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: Is it is too much to take up and down.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_05: A new dance season is here, and that means competition is coming up quick.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_05: And we have a great way to help you prep your performance before hitting the stage with IDA's online judges critiques.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_05: One of our professional pre-screen judges will provide you with a video critique similar to what you receive at competition.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_05: But we also take our critiques one step further with our best-selling feature, post-critique additional feedback.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_05: Your IDA judge will go back through your dance and pause the video to elaborate even more on specific directions and personalized requests.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_05: And exciting news for choreographers.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_05: Our popular choreography console critiques are back in action this season.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_05: Your specialty judge will focus on choreography specific feedback, covering everything from concept and costumes to transitions, style, and musicality.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_05: Enhance your creative vision and elevate your voice as a choreographer with guidance from a pro on technique, song choice, difficulty levels, and so much more.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_05: Starting at just$35, IDA's online judges critiques are a great tool to utilize at any point in the dance season.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_05: And we are one of the only online critique services in the industry that offers genre-specific judges and rush 24-hour delivery turnaround time.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_05: Are you ready to take your dance to the next level?
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_05: Click the link in our show notes or visit our website at Impact DanceAdjudicators.com slash online critique to submit your dance today.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_05: And I was gonna just also mention just the logistics, like you said.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, that is a huge investment, a huge expense, and also hauling that thing everywhere.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_05: You have to have extra room on your truck to be able to lay an extra floor down.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_05: It's not just rolling Marley out anymore.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_05: Now we're laying a floor.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_05: So to everyone out there who thinks this is easy peasy, this isn't.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_05: And that's why it's an expensive investment, which sounds like it's working out really well and protecting the dancers' bodies, their joints, and giving them a safe surface to perform on.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but also you're one of the only ones that's doing it.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_05: And maybe some people will catch on and and see how valuable this is for our dancers.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely valuable, but I will say it puts in full transparency, it's the reason why we can't be in certain venues.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's the reason why we can't be in schools.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_01: Really getting it down in time to still dance on Friday night.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like we can't get into certain schools early enough to get the floor down.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we've asked schools to let us in on Thursday and let us lay the floor and then come in for the rest of the setup on Friday.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like we've really been trying to be crafty with how we get the floor in.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's been events where you know they send us the layout of the stage and the dimensions, and it's right on paper, and then you get there, and then it's like one inch short, and you have to cut eight feet off the floor and reconfigure all the.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: Thank God for my husband, because he did all of that.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: We were uh a quick story.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_01: A couple years ago, we did a solos duos and trios event in New Jersey.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: We were supposed to be in a school.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: We got snowed out, we turned around, literally, like found a venue the day before.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, What are the odds that you have nothing going on here this weekend?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, Oh, we have a travel group in for breakfast in our smaller ballroom, but that's it.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Great, I'll be there in 20 minutes, and we are gonna have an event this weekend.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, Oh, okay.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: I pull in, he's like, Okay, well, let us know when your trucks are here.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_01: I said, No, no, he's at the door.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: I need someone to go unlock that.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: Everything in, and my husband goes to start laying the floor, and he's like, It's not gonna fit.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: I said, What do you mean it's not gonna fit?
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, I'll be right back.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: What do you mean you're gonna be right back?
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Called me, like, I have to do this and that and this, and I would and it worked and it was wonderful, but like we made it happen, you know?
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just it's one of those things where like, if we didn't have the floor, we wouldn't have to stress about it.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: We just cut the Marley or, you know, whatever.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it does put a hindrance on some of the venues that we can and can't use, which is a lot of the reason why we're in hotels because we have the ability to start on Thursday, get the stage up, get the floor up, get a lot of our setup up on Thursday, so that our tech side can come in, get all their stuff up, and then we're not having our staff work a massive eight-hour load-in plus a six-hour Friday night, and then two 12 or 13 hour days on top of that.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it kind of up a little bit in that way, too.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: So wow.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's our floor saga.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's wonderful and the kids love it, it makes a big difference.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of we have a very high heavy acro population at DECA.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's been great as well.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: Kids are like, oh, my rebound was extra high, you know.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not a massive, you know, bounce, it's just enough to kind of push back a little bit.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_05: Similar to what they're, I mean, a lot of people use sprung floors, everyone should have sprung floors in their studio, so it's very similar.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: And if anybody is interested, please reach out because they can connect you with EJ.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I know he's been installing a lot more studio floors with his team.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, like if anybody is curious about that, I can would be more than happy to connect you as well.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: We love that.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: And you said about the routine monitor.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: So the routine monitor.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us what is the routine monitor?
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: What do they do?
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_01: What does it mean?
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: Originally it's the routine monitor.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: I keep defaulting to that, but we've officially called it the deca distinctions judge or deca distinctions monitor.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's basically the fifth person on the panel to make sure that everybody's following the deck of rules.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: We have three skill-based levels.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: We have a list of abilities that go in each of those levels.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not just about the skills or the tricks, it's about the execution of those skills and tricks.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_01: So if you have, you know, a tuck, which is an advanced skill in a routine, but they're not rotating, they're not setting, they're, you know, kind of falling out of the landing, but like it's there, you know, they're getting around.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and it's advanced skill, but it's not executed in an advanced way.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: So there's still that room for mastery in that skill.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_01: So we we let it stay in the intermediate division.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: We break down turns and different things like that, and switch leaps and and things.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_01: And we have bumped or we have elevated a great deal of routines.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of times it's new studios who just say, like, oh, we have young dancers, they're in the debut division.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: We're like, Well, your six-year-old's pretty solid.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna elevate them to intermediate.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, oh my gosh.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we're so fortunate that I can honestly say that we've never had a studio just enter everything to win.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that was even before we had this fifth role.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm really happy about that.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: And we just send out an email that says, hey, entry number so and so is elevated to the next level.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: If it's debut to intermediate, now they're eligible for title.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_05: Because are they not when they're in debut?
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, they are not.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: So we don't do title for the debut division, we only keep title for intermediate and advanced.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's more about just, you know, figuring out how to live life with a solo, you know, and just taking some of that pressure off.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of like you graduate to the next level, you get more perks in that level.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_01: And in nationals, there's an added fee and things like that because of classes and different things.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_01: But for regionals, it's included in the intermediate and advanced level.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: We take the highest scoring solo from each genre, and then we pull the technique score.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: So your top 10 and your title lineup could be very similar, could be very different, could be exactly the same.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: It just depends on that technique score.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: But that routine monitor or deck of distinctions monitor is just responsible for making sure that everybody's as fair as possible.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: If we move something, there's no there's no penalty.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: We've had, I think, on two occasions where a studio owner really felt that they were not in the right, you know, they were in the right level and they did not want us to move them.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, okay, this is the option.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: You can move them and we'll let the judges score the way, because it was like a unanimous type of situation.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: I said, or they could take the two-point deduction or whatever point deduction was from from each judge.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: I don't remember exactly what it was.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_01: And she was like, okay.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, she got to make the decision, but you know, we gave that option to say, like, if you feel really strongly about this, we understand.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we're not trying to, you know, minimize how you feel about the situation, but you're coming to us to trust our judges to make these decisions.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: This is the rules.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: It is, you know.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: So again, it just goes back to like asking those questions when you come to a new competition.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then this person also does a lot with our specials, um, our specials uh that we give out for solos, duos, and trios, talking with the judges, making sure, you know, it's not just the it's not just this fifth person making all the decisions.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's it's a little bit more communication with the specials judge or the specialty judge in that area.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so if you know there's an acro routine or a jazz routine and the judge is like, hey, I think this should be the next level up, you know, the routine monitor can look at their notes and say, Well, yeah, you're right.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: This this was an advanced trick.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: This is, you know, and it's in between routines and and stuff like that.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: So what about genres?
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_05: Are they are they clocking like if a dance is meant, like if there's a if it's classified as a jazz dance, but it's actually a contemporary dance?
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_05: We have switched those around as well.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_05: And and who and the routine monitor or the deck of distinction judge will be flagging that, or is that like the jazz judge who's the specialty on the panel?
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's a combination.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's a combination.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I know they have lots of like little signs and post-its and things that they make so that it's easier to just say jazz question mark, and the routine monitor can thumbs up or thumbs down and an agreement.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's been a handful of things where like, hey, this could really be jazz, but it could really be musical theater.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: And we've like gone back to it on the break to just have like a full panel discussion where they're like, yeah, this really should be or this really shouldn't be, because you know, we just we want everybody to fall where it is and or where it really belongs.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not to undermine anything, it's just, you know, these people have different experiences and different levels of education, and it's just we all want to work together to make sure that every dancer is scored as fairly and appropriately as possible because of our specialty judge's technique score being weighted slightly higher.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: I see.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, cool.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's nice.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why we, you know, that's why we do all the extra things that we do to make sure that everything is the way that it is.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, that really makes sense to hear that the the specialty judge has a weighted technique score based on the genre that they're watching.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_05: And how and like that is that true, is that correct?
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the way I'm I've said from day one, like you wouldn't ask a foot doctor what's wrong with your eye.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, why would you ask a tap judge to like top to bottom critique an acro routine?
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not that they can't, because every, you know, we hire well-rounded judges.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_01: IDA hires well-rounded judges.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't think I've ever had a judge who said, I can't speak to that at all.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: There's always something that can be addressed.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: But in terms of that specialty, like you want the most accurate score, you want the most accurate critiques.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: So our accro judge is so anatomy driven that, you know, he his critiques are just so in-depth about different things when it comes to aggro.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like he could, he could completely tear apart the the way that you're setting and say, hey, if you just do this, it'll give you this.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, because that's his specialty.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas someone else who knows how to spot aggro isn't going to be able to give the same critique.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's always been my my silly little, you know, you don't go to the foot doctor to see what's wrong with your eye.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_05: I love that.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_05: And it's so, it's so important.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_05: And it's and it's refreshing to hear that it's reflected in the scoring because I think so many people question scoring and how does it work and how do and even on my end, I mean, people say all the time, and we've talked about it on the podcast a thousand times like, how can a judge be a special, a specialist in every style?
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, truly, they can't.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_05: Let's be real.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_05: Most judges are also teachers.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_05: And most of the time when they're teaching at a studio, they specialize in a few, a few genres, but they don't specialize in everything.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_05: But all of a sudden, now that we're in the judge's seat, I'm supposed to be an expert in every single style of dance.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_05: So it's refreshing to hear that your competition is taking the extra step, the extra time to not only cast panels with covering all of the specialties required, but then also having that reflected in the scoring and the critiques.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_05: And I don't think there's a lot of competitions that are doing that.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't know.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's just so many different elements to so many different competitions that to know what everybody offers is probably not possible.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_01: But just from, I mean, I never judged, but I know how much work goes into judging because I have friends that are judges and I hire judges and work with them.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, it's it's a it's not an easy job.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_01: And you're being asked to do all of these things and then on top of it, like know everything about everything.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's just an unrealistic expectation where when you break things up, like, yes, you should be able to speak to everything, you know.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when we brought in a new judge who was like, I don't teach acro, I'm like, okay, but can you talk about spine alignment?
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: Can you talk about hip alignment?
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like, can you talk about different things that could contribute to the betterment of this dancer's acro ability?
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_01: And she was like, Oh, absolutely.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, that's the difference.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so like, but she's a phenomenal tap judge.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas my acro judge talks a lot about weight shifting and stuff for tap because that's what he speaks to, right?
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, or performance qual, like you're covering more things by having those specialties in the long run.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_05: Now, my next question is still on the DECA distinction, Judge, and you kind of hinted at it, but I'm curious to know more.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_05: You said something about the deduction with that story that you gave.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_05: Now, are there other deductions at all on the oh on the from the decay?
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: We have um we had three lists when I started DECA.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: We had problems that we could solve easily.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: We had problems that we could solve but are gonna take some time, and then problems that I don't want to touch with a 10 foot pole.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_01: And going into season six last year, we got into that not touching it with a 10 foot pole territory.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that we really buckled down on was age appropriatenesslash oversexualization of dancers, which I know IDA spent a whole episode talking about.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: It was warranted, it was well needed.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we we shifted a lot from last season to this season.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now there's like flat deductions for different things in that oversexualization category.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_01: So wow, foul music, cursing is a set deduction.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: Mature content that is, you know, not suitable for 12-year-olds is a solid deduction.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: That way it's in inappropriate costuming and and and there's a difference between an inappropriate costume and a kid who grew four inches since the costume came in in December.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: So like we are very realistic.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: We understand that if your kid has a growth spurt, a$500 costume to buy twice isn't gonna happen.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so like we understand that like things ride up or things slip or move, like, but in in general, if we're looking at a whole piece and it's inappropriate on everybody, that's inappropriate costuming.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and our objective is really just to keep kids kids.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, on our website, it says under age appropriateness that dancers will dance to age appropriate music, doing age-appropriate movement in age-appropriate costumes to age appropriate music.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: And we've we've really, we've hit a lot this year.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: Not so much that it's like appalling, but just enough to for people to kind of say, like, oh, okay, I didn't know, or I didn't, I didn't think about it because of where we came from, where like anything goes, you know, not unintended.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: And like there's just there's no limit.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_01: And now I think with the way that the world is around us, it's a lot more eye-opening to maybe what's inappropriate.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: And and I know you guys have spoken about, you know, the hooting and hollering for like the most inappropriate part of a dance.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and and it's it's just take a step back and say, like, I don't want my kid doing that.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and it's it's not from a place of judgment, it's more of like this is the expectation that we have across our company, and that's why we have these deductions now.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_01: So if someone is like, oh, I'm not really a fan of this song for this age group, but it's a personal thing, it doesn't really check those boxes, right?
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: They can't kind of abuse that and say, like, well, personally, I don't, you can say, personally, I'm not a fan of this music choice, but it's not going to be a reflection of the score.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: So company standard wise, these are our expectations for what's appropriate versus, you know, everybody just coming in and having those different things.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's why you get so many weird point gaps in things is because there's no company standard.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: So when you come to DECA, you know that, you know, if it's cursing in music, if it's, you know, there's moaning in the back of the song or like, you know, whatever those inappropriate situations are, that that's going to be addressed and and you know, you know, going in.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that's refreshing to hear.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_05: I think a lot of competitions claim that they don't tolerate inappropriate whatever on stage, but is it actually being enforced?
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_05: Is the question.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that at least knowing and seeing that you are living up to what you're claiming as a company and investing in an additional person to sit on that judging panel.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, you already have four judges, and now you're actually adding a fifth auditor to the panel.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_05: That is a huge investment.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_05: That is extra travel, that is an extra hotel, that is extra food, that is extra pay.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_05: So many competitions aren't willing to go beyond the three judges.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_05: And that already says a lot to me as to what your priorities are and what really matters to you as a company and holding that integrity strong.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_05: Um, because even adding something like a deduction anywhere on a score sheet is a step in the right direction for our industry.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_05: Because, like you said, even some of the people who have experienced it potentially at a DECA event have just said, I'm sorry, I didn't know.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_05: Like, and then that's a learning experience, and then that's an educational experience for the teacher, the choreographer, the studio owner.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that's okay.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_05: Like we should all be okay with accepting a little bit of criticism here and there.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_05: Like that's why we're coming to a kids to do it.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_05: Right, exactly.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_01: We have to open ourselves up to it.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we've had really great situations where we've said, hey, you know, typically we withhold media of things that are deemed inappropriate.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll either give them photos or give them video, or, you know, like there was there was an instance in the past where we said, hey, we're gonna release your media.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_01: We just ask that you re-edit the music before you post the video if you're going to post it.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: Or we've removed some extra photos from the album before we release the media because we, you know, it's complimentary media.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_01: Our photographers and videographers are great, but what goes out is being represented by our company.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, even our social media, like we don't have certain things that we we we have certain things that we just won't allow out.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_01: So there's certain photos that get deleted.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, listen, things get missed, you know, we're not perfect.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_01: But generally speaking, you know, if a costume malfunctions or things like that, like we try to get rid of that to make sure that like nothing is getting out on the card that shouldn't.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_05: And and thinking about the extra step that needs to happen to make that possible.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, you would like essentially it's an extra step for photo or video to possibly screen some of these, some of these routines.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_05: And the studio put that upon themselves, unfortunately.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_05: Like obviously a costume malfunction might happen and no one can control that.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_05: But like if there is inappropriate movement, if there is an inappropriate song, if there is inappropriate costuming, that the studio made those choices and now you're making the job harder for everybody else involved to try to keep the kids safe at the end of the day.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and I think it's a great, I'm I'm glad sometimes that it happens because we've been able to have some conversations with people and they're like, oh, well, you know, like coming at it from that way, and and some of the IDA judges have said, I've listened to the critiques personally, and they say, you know, the movement itself isn't inappropriate, but the placement of the hand or how the hands go up the front of the thighs, like there's really specific feedback on what makes it go right a little bit in the seat.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we have a lot of men on our staff, you know, our sound, our tabulation, like, and the guys are like, I don't feel comfortable sometimes.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, okay, you have to let us know that so that we can better communicate that.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, and that's that's all that it is, you know, is we just it's a family-friendly event and we want people to not be uncomfortable watching anybody dance, not for any other reason, then it's a little, a little mature for that age bracket.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's not to shame, it's not to like shun or anything like that.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just an opportunity to say, hey, this is our expectation.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: And if you'd like to continue competing with us, these are the slight adjustments we should we suggest you make.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_04: That's wonderful.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it's been really well received overall.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, a couple of studios gave feedback and they were like, Oh, I never, you know, took that into consideration.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_01: Or these are some things to keep in mind for the future.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like, thank you.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's never meant to be negative, it's never meant to be like a nasty, we don't want you here type of thing.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like, it's just it's not like that.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's just we are out to make a difference in a different kind of way.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what we're doing.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: And again, there's hundreds of competitions, and I don't take it personally if you don't align with that.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like someone asked, like uh a couple of years ago, even like this judge was very conservative.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I understand, and that's kind of where the specific deductions came from.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like that way, if someone is a little bit more conservative or a little bit more um lax about what they feel is inappropriate, this kind of merges the two and kind of says, like, okay, this is what it is.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_01: If if you don't, you know, we've had studios read our rules and then turn around and say, Hey, can I send you a new edit of my music?
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_01: And we're like, absolutely.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, it's late, but we have a better, uh, we have a better cut, you know.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just it's just to make people think a little bit more about what they're putting out there.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I listen to the songs now that I listen to at 12 and 13 years old, and I was like, Yeah, I knew all of these words.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_01: Why did I have all of these words?
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so it's just maybe as adults we just look at it a little bit differently.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, definitely as adults, we look at it a little bit differently.
• 52:56
  SPEAKER_01: I know my perspective has changed since having children.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just, you know, we just we just want to do what's right and we just want to keep it, keep it PG.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's all I think that's fair to ask for a children's dance competition.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I will say there's not we're not inundated with all these crazy like things that you hear about online and in like I mean, we're the East Coast, so it's a little bit different, I feel, than like what kind of hits the stage in LA and things like that.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't know, because I don't live out there and I've never been to an LA dance competition, but like I just think I think it's a different animal.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, in general, I would say maybe 3% to 5% has kind of crossed a few lines here and there, but like it's not it's not this inundation of like inappropriateness.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think it's because we kind of say like up front, like age appropriateness is part of our score.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_01: So knowing that going in, you're like, oh, well, if I I did I did choreography on dancers that was more risque because I was 17 and I didn't know any better.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so it's like it's just part of a learning curve too.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like I watched some of the things I did, I'm like, oh God, why did I do that?
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_01: But now looking back, I'm not gonna put that choreography on a 17-year-old again.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_01: If I were to do it, it would do different, you know, and that's what this whole experience is about learning and growing and getting better than when, you know, being better in some capacity than when you walked out, walked in the door.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_05: And thinking about what you're doing for our industry by holding people somewhat accountable for just potentially honest mistakes and just lack of education on what is appropriate, maybe younger, newer choreographers who might have made those mistakes, you are already educating them before they can continue or before they have to wait eight years where they mature enough to realize that was a bad decision.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_05: You know, now we're educating in the process and helping maybe that light bulb click in their mind for next season.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_05: All right, well, remember that dance I did last year?
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_05: I, you know, I got a lot of feedback.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_05: It wasn't the most appropriate.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_05: So how where am I going to put this hand for this instead of for this move, even, you know, and just start thinking outside the box a little bit.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that that's what we need more of in our industry.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_05: But personally, I feel that of many, and I could be wrong, but I feel like a lot of P competitions are afraid to ruffle those feathers in the potential of losing business and losing customers.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_05: And I really respect the fact that you have been transparent from the start and said, listen, there's 500 other competitions.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_05: If you don't like what we're doing at Zecca, you can find another one.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, that's the sad, honest truth, but not everybody has that mindset mentality.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_05: So I applaud you for uh taking those risks as a business.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's one of those things too, where like, if we're not offering, if if people aren't offering different things, like where's the the varying values?
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's people who come to us and come to so like you're gonna get a different experience at DECA, you're gonna get a dear different experience at True Talent, you're gonna get a different experience at Streets, you're gonna get a you know, all of these different places, they all offer different things.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_01: And if we all offered the same stuff, you'd just go to the same event weekend after weekend after weekend.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, where's the flavor in that?
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, so that's why it all circles back to like ask the competition directors, like the specifics about what you expect because A, B, and C may not be the competitions that you need to be going to because they don't align with you, especially as a new as a new competition studio.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_01: Or we had a studio last season or the season before who's brand new.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_01: They were open like 50 years and they never did competition, and the kids were begging.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_01: So they came in, they put everything in debut because they were new to competition.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_01: It was debut for them.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_01: They had beautiful technique and beautiful musicality.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I went up to the studio director and I said, Hey, I just want to let you know.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because we were sending email after email after email up to her.
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I just want you to know, like, there's no penalty for this.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we really respect what you're doing.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_01: The judges are moving a lot of things from debut to advanced.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_01: So if you have any questions, like please let us know and we can help better explain.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_01: And she's like, No, no, no, like we don't know what we're doing with oh wow.
• 57:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because we're new to competition, like we don't we don't know, you know.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just those kinds of things.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, that was a really positive experience from our leveling, you know.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_01: So if you, like I said, there's a hundred options and there's something for everyone.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_01: There really is.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, you people, I know a lot of people that come to us, they do us one year and they do another competition another year and they alternate, and that's you know, that's great.
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's what works for them.
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_01: We we want people to be able to do that.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, by capping and by having certain things that we do, like it makes it so that people can do that.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_01: And and like I said, you can get a different experience in this.
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we go to like the park in the Meadowlands, the hilt, it used to be the hilt in Meadowland.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_01: Eight different competitions are there.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_01: You could go to one venue and have seven different experiences completely, like top to bottom.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's just ask your questions, do your research, and and see what what's a good fit for you.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think one of the we talked about the floor, talked about the routine monitor, talked about levels.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_01: Is that everything?
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_01: Talk about specialty judges, specialty judges.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's the bulk of things.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_05: And the final things to just tell the world is that not only do you have regional competitions plus your nationals in Delaware in 2026, but you also do in studio events as well.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_05: So if anyone out there is interested in having DECA come to you in studio in an intimate setting with classes and feedback sessions, that is an option.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_05: You also do conventions in the fall, which you can tell us about, and solo duo trio competitions, which you also hinted at.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_01: So um our solos, duos, trios event this year has sold out.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we are in the process of adding an additional uh New Jersey solos, duos, and trios event.
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great way to try out DECA.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great way for graduating seniors or even maybe super seniors from the season previously who maybe had an injury or didn't get to dance for whatever reason, have an opportunity to come and take the stage one more time.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: So we have our uh special mini mayhem event that we do specifically in New Jersey right now.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a big Halloween nerd.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I always have been.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_01: And right before Halloween or right after Halloween, depending on how the calendar falls, we always have our New Jersey mini mayhem event.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's shorter classes built for that nine and under division.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: If your dancers are 10 and they're brand new to the convention world or brand new to competition dance, it's also a great option for them to kind of get a piece of convention on a different scale that's maybe not so overwhelming.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_01: So you pay all this money to go to a convention, but you're seven and you're being, you know, out outdanced or, you know, beaten out of the front by a 12-year-old who, you know, is keeping up great, you know.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we we love our minis and petite, and we want to make sure that they get the love that they deserve in the convention space.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_01: So our mini mayhem is October 26th in Somerset, and we have a nice pizza party, and the kids can wear their costumes after the fact.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's really cute.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_01: They have a good time.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then with our unconvention series, we have a very unique lineup of classes.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_01: We offer your unconventional styles.
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_01: We have ballet with live accompaniment.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_01: We have a tap and rhythm class, which is with a live drummer.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not just learn a piece of choreography and spit it back.
• 1:00:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's talk playing with timing and musicality and rhythm and sounds and all the different things that kind of go into a tap class.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then we also offer styles like Latin, Bollywood, and umja dance is joining us again for a second full season of African dance with live drums.
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a really cool experience.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's great to see kids start the class like super hesitant in like the back of the room and they're like fighting for the back because they feel uncomfortable.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_01: And then like by the end of the class, everybody's just drowning in their own sweat and it's all smiles, and like they can't get to the front fast enough, and they're like cheering each other on.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just it's a really cool experience, and it it really helps get the it really helps get the dancers out of their comfort zone, you know.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's so many similarities between like ballet and Bollywood, but they're so different, you know, there's there's specific hoses and movements and things, but the the difference is like if you have a class of Bollywood dancers come and take ballet, they're like, oh my gosh, this is so hard, but it's so similar, you know, and then vice versa.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of where the whole theory for what we were going to offer in convention came from, is and just you know, adding the element of live music, you know, these dancers and everybody doesn't go on to become a professional dancer.
• 1:01:53
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're not dancing in college or if you're not doing community theater, like you don't get to dance with live musicians.
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_01: So just because you're not a professional dancer, you don't get that experience.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that's not cool.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you have to, so instead of trying to seek out independent opportunities to do those things, we decided to incorporate it um partially in honor of one of our judges, um, is Andrea Michaels.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_01: She was a musician, a performer, just a general powerhouse.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_01: And we thought it would be a great way to honor her at convention as well.
• 1:02:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we give the 110% award.
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_01: We've partnered with the Andrea Michaels Performing Arts Foundation to do certain things and support different dancers throughout the journey from competition to convention to solos to just extra feedback.
• 1:02:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm also happy to connect anybody who is interested in donating or partnering up with Andrea Michaels Performing Arts Foundation.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we also do a partnership with Relative Motion.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_01: They are, you know, anatomy driven.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_01: They do so much for the betterment of dancers' technique from a very unique point of view.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_01: And we love working with them.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_01: And we're always just trying to figure out new ways to bring those uh bring those teachers in.
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_01: We had uh Relative Motion at our nationals, doing classes for our teachers and parents, even.
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_01: So um just, you know, we talked about different partnerships and just always looking for companies that are about supporting the dancers the best way that they know how and going from there.
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_05: We hope you enjoyed our very first competition spotlight episode featuring Decca Dance Competition.
• 1:03:29
  SPEAKER_05: We'd like to send a huge thank you to Samantha for joining us on the podcast and for supporting IDA at the IDA affiliated competition using our Decad at your events.
• 1:03:39
  SPEAKER_05: If you'd like to learn more about Decadance and register for an upcoming event, visit their website at DeccaDanceCompetition.com and follow them on Instagram at DecadanceCom.
• 1:03:50
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• 1:04:03
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• 1:04:11
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• 1:04:18
  SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned for more great episodes of Making the Impact, including a day in the life of a Broadway performer, a throwback episode about musical theater entries at competition, and a leaps and jumps crash course.
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_05: We'll see you next week for some more great episodes.
• 1:04:31
  SPEAKER_05: Until then, keep dancing.