Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Studio Spotlight - Stacey's Studio of Dance Education

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Studio Spotlight - Stacey's Studio of Dance Education · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_01: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_01: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
0:16
SPEAKER_01: 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_01: We're excited to kick off Making the Impact season 8 with our fan favorite contest winner from this summer.
0:33
SPEAKER_01: Stacy's Studio of Dance Education, located in Duluth, Minnesota, celebrates their 41st season this year with owner Stacey Denvario at the helm.
0:41
SPEAKER_01: She's joined today by choreographer Brooke McIver, whose piece Somebody to Love captured the judge's hearts at IDA affiliated competition gems, as well as all the fans who voted during our contest this summer.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: Let's get to know Stacy and Brooke and find out what makes Stacy's studio of dance education stand out from the rest.
1:02
SPEAKER_04: Hey everyone, it's Courtney Ortiz, the host on Making the Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
1:07
SPEAKER_04: And I am so excited to be here with my fabulous co-host.
1:10
SPEAKER_04: Hey guys, it's Leslie.
1:12
SPEAKER_04: What's up, Courtney?
1:13
SPEAKER_04: How are you?
1:13
SPEAKER_04: I am so good, and I am so happy to be here for season eight of Making the Impact.
1:18
SPEAKER_04: Can you believe it?
1:19
SPEAKER_04: I can't.
1:19
SPEAKER_04: And you know what?
1:20
SPEAKER_01: The other thing I can't believe is that now our viewers are going to get to see us almost live and in person, right here, every time we create an episode of Making the Impact, because now we have video.
1:30
SPEAKER_04: The video has arrived, everybody.
1:31
SPEAKER_04: I know that it's been highly anticipated, and you get to know us even more on the screen.
1:38
SPEAKER_04: A lot of people have always said to me, I've heard your voice a million times, but I've never known what you look like.
1:43
SPEAKER_04: And now everybody will get to see us in the real, straight from our home offices and oftentimes featuring our lovely cat babies.
1:50
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes, you can't see her now, but Charlotte's in my lap and she will make an appearance, as will Courtney's cats, Gatsby and Chico.
1:56
SPEAKER_01: So any of our cat lovers out there, we have little friends for you.
1:59
SPEAKER_01: So get excited.
2:01
SPEAKER_04: We are so happy to be back for season eight of Making the Impact Podcast, and we have some fabulous episodes in store for all of you that I cannot wait to dive into so soon.
2:11
SPEAKER_01: Me too, Court.
2:12
SPEAKER_01: But before we get into today's episode, which is one of my favorite episodes of the season, which is the Making the Impact uh fan favorite award winner episode, where we feature the winning studio of that award, we have some sponsors to tell you about.
2:27
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2:32
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3:31
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3:38
SPEAKER_04: All right, dance world.
3:40
SPEAKER_04: We are here back for our very first episode of season eight on making the impact.
3:44
SPEAKER_04: And we are so thrilled to sit down with a brand new studio to us today from our fan favorite contest with our Making the Impact Judges Choice Award winners from the 2026 regional season.
3:57
SPEAKER_04: So I'm sure you've heard about our Making the Impact Awards that we give out at IDA affiliated competition events throughout the season.
4:04
SPEAKER_04: And this studio was not only a recipient of that award at Gems Dance Competition in Duluth, Minnesota, but they also then participated in our fan favorite contest that we held in June 2026, where all of the studios who won an award could participate and have votes go to them to select one winner who would be featured on our podcast.
4:26
SPEAKER_04: And that interview is happening right here, right now.
4:30
SPEAKER_04: I am very excited to welcome the owner and choreographer of the award-winning piece from Stacy's Studio of Dance Education in Duluth, Minnesota.
4:41
SPEAKER_04: Please welcome Stacy and Brooke to the podcast.
4:44
SPEAKER_04: Welcome, y'all.
4:46
SPEAKER_04: Welcome.
4:46
SPEAKER_04: Thanks for having us.
4:48
SPEAKER_04: You're so welcome.
4:49
SPEAKER_04: And Brooke, I know you were the choreographer of this piece.
4:52
SPEAKER_04: And Stacy, you are the studio owner at Stacy's.
4:55
SPEAKER_04: Is that correct?
4:56
SPEAKER_05: Correct.
4:57
SPEAKER_04: Amazing.
4:58
SPEAKER_04: Well, we are so excited to uh welcome you to the podcast and get to know your studio even more.
5:05
SPEAKER_04: And before we kind of step into the interview about the studio itself, which has been around for you're you're about to head into your 41st season.
5:14
SPEAKER_04: Is that true?
5:14
SPEAKER_04: 44, yes.
5:16
SPEAKER_04: And Stacy, you have been the studio owner the entire time for 41 years.
5:21
SPEAKER_04: Is that true?
5:21
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: We start our 41st season, September 14th.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: Nice.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: Well, what what a great kickoff then with this episode, just to lead you into that next season.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: Wow, 41 years.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: Well, tell us a little bit about your studio, how you came to own it.
5:36
SPEAKER_01: Did you always want to be a studio owner?
5:37
SPEAKER_01: And just a little bit about what you guys do there.
5:39
SPEAKER_05: So, yes, I've been the owner for all 41 years.
5:42
SPEAKER_05: I opened the studio when I was in college.
5:45
SPEAKER_05: When I was growing up, there were two other dance studios in our town that had been here forever.
5:52
SPEAKER_05: And when I graduated from high school, I went and spent the summer in California training and studying and just realized how much more was out there in the world that I wanted to bring back to Duluth.
6:05
SPEAKER_05: So I was already enrolled in college and I opened up a studio in the night when I wasn't in college classes.
6:16
SPEAKER_05: And my goal was to start with 50 students to pay the rent.
6:20
SPEAKER_05: And I had 50 students that first year and paid the rent.
6:24
SPEAKER_05: And it's just grown ever since then.
6:27
SPEAKER_05: And it's been a I've been very blessed.
6:29
SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: I mean, what what a what a great goal and what a honestly, I mean, I don't know how it was 41 years ago, but 50 students, like that's a big goal.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: That's a lot of kids.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: And you made it in in the first year.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: So so I'm 41.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: Hold on, hold on.
6:45
SPEAKER_01: We gotta do the math.
6:46
SPEAKER_01: I'm 41.
6:46
SPEAKER_01: I was born in 1985.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: So you started the school in 1985.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: Is that correct?
6:50
SPEAKER_05: Uh no, I started the school in 1987, January of 1987.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: So back in the 80s, that's amazing.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: And you said at the time there were only two other studios really in the area.
7:03
SPEAKER_05: Right.
7:03
SPEAKER_05: And they had been around forever.
7:06
SPEAKER_05: And um, older teachers and they weren't so excited about a new young teacher coming into town, but it turned out to be okay.
7:13
SPEAKER_04: And curious to know if those studios are still around.
7:16
SPEAKER_05: Neither one of them are around anymore.
7:18
SPEAKER_04: So you've you're holding strong 41 years.
7:20
SPEAKER_04: Let's go.
7:21
SPEAKER_05: Holding strong, but we are also very lucky in Duluth now to have many new young studios that have come into town.
7:28
SPEAKER_05: And I think that the more studios, you know, the better it is for all of us because it pushes us all to work harder and do better.
7:34
SPEAKER_05: And it provides more opportunities and different options for dancers that are lift looking for different kinds of things.
7:41
SPEAKER_05: So while I was a trailblazer in uh, you know, letting people know that they could do this, it's it's been a fun ride.
7:49
SPEAKER_04: Love it.
7:50
SPEAKER_04: And Brooke, I know that based on your bio, that you grew up training at the studio and are now a teacher and choreographer at the studio.
7:59
SPEAKER_04: Can you tell us a little bit more about your journey um in dance and if you always knew you wanted to become a teacher and choreographer, whether it was at Stacy's or freelance?
8:08
SPEAKER_04: Tell us more about you.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I grew up mostly in Duluth.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: I lived a few other places around the country, but mostly Duluth.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: And I think I knew like pretty early on that I wanted to be a dance teacher.
8:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm a lefty for everything.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: And growing up, I would always do like solos, and so many times I would do like write skills that I maybe wasn't as good at.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: And I always thought, like, uh, if I'm a teacher, I'm gonna make sure like my kids, I really cater to each student.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: So I think once I got to like high school, I I kind of realized, like, okay, kind of want to do this.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: I had planned to move away for college, and last minute, Stacy kind of knew I was wanting to teach.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: I got a call from Stacy asked if I wanted to come teach at the studio.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: I transferred schools last minute, came back to go to school in Duluth and taught, and pretty much never looked back.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: So this will be my sixth season teaching, which is crazy.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, mostly trained at Stacy's.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: I did the high school dance team route, and then I also danced for UMD dance team.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: And I my first year was actually the first time in program history that they had won at UDA Nationals in Wolf and Jazz.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: So it was a super exciting way to kick into dance team at a college level.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, yeah, I've just loved both the studio and the dance team side of things.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, crazy.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: It's been six years.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: So nice.
9:38
SPEAKER_01: Well, and it looks like Stacy, you you grow them up and keep them there and allow them to flourish.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: Do you have other students that teach for you as well?
9:45
SPEAKER_01: Or former students?
9:46
SPEAKER_05: That's one of the cool things about our studio.
9:48
SPEAKER_05: Most of our staff are former students.
9:51
SPEAKER_05: I mean, our TAP specialist, I've known her since she was a little girl.
9:55
SPEAKER_05: And so it's kind of fun because we have traditions like a goodbye song and a birthday song.
10:01
SPEAKER_05: And because those dancers grew up learning that, that's something that we continue to do in all of our classes today, which really unites us as a family and holds us together with more than just dancing on a stage, but with, you know, connections that we carry on.
10:17
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: I love just those little rituals that are special to everyone there that you can keep keep going.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's wonderful.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, congratulations on six years for you, Brooke.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
10:29
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and what a way to kick off this one is with the win of a fan favorite, not only just the judge's choice, but then the fan favorite, because we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the fan favorite contest.
10:42
SPEAKER_04: That's how we determine who gets the interview.
10:44
SPEAKER_04: But uh, were you really excited when you found out that you want your choreography won the Judge's Choice Award at GEMS?
10:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was amazing.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: It was honestly such a shock.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: We I am like very meticulous about my choreography.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm constantly changing it every week.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: And so I think we finished the dance maybe like three weeks before we competed.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: So we like no time to clean.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: No time.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: So we kind of just like threw it out there and we're like, you know what?
11:16
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna see what happens, like, no expectations.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: And then that was actually our very first competition that that happened.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: So really, yeah, it was a surreal feeling.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: We kind of had no idea how it was gonna play out, ended up doing really well, and yeah, it was a great way to kick off the season.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: I think I don't know who was more excited between me or the kids, but but we were definitely celebrating that night.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: We were so excited.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: So nice.
11:43
SPEAKER_01: And were you were there like when the win happened?
11:45
SPEAKER_01: You were there to be able to go up or like witness it.
11:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's so cool.
11:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we love giving this award.
11:54
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
11:55
SPEAKER_04: It's amazing.
11:56
SPEAKER_04: We love to see it.
11:57
SPEAKER_04: And we want to give a shout out to Gems Dance Competition.
12:00
SPEAKER_04: We love you, Gems.
12:01
SPEAKER_04: Thank you for all the support.
12:02
SPEAKER_04: We've been working with them since their very first season.
12:05
SPEAKER_04: So it's been a nice long journey with gems, and they're also local to Midwest and Minnesota region as well as a dance competition organization.
12:14
SPEAKER_04: So if anyone is looking for a new comp to try, give Gems a try because we love them and support them.
12:21
SPEAKER_04: Great.
12:21
SPEAKER_04: Well, I would love to dive into even more questions to like get to know your studio even more.
12:26
SPEAKER_04: So we obviously know you're based in Minnesota, 41 years.
12:30
SPEAKER_04: Brooke, you grew up at the studio.
12:32
SPEAKER_04: Stacey, you've been killing it uh since the beginning.
12:36
SPEAKER_04: And I'm curious to know how many students do you have now in 2026?
12:41
SPEAKER_04: You started with 50.
12:43
SPEAKER_04: And how how much have you grown to?
12:45
SPEAKER_04: And a little bit more about um your different programs that you offer at the studio.
12:49
SPEAKER_05: So we have 225 to 230 students every season.
12:55
SPEAKER_05: Um, and it looks like we're gonna maybe be maybe up just a little bit this year.
13:00
SPEAKER_05: In all honesty, I am a mom first.
13:03
SPEAKER_05: I am a mom of two now grown daughters.
13:06
SPEAKER_05: Um, so the studio at our house wasn't seen as my profession.
13:11
SPEAKER_05: It was seen as my passion.
13:14
SPEAKER_05: Um so I don't necessarily advertise or run big campaigns to try to get more students.
13:21
SPEAKER_05: I want to know every student that I have and know every family that I have.
13:25
SPEAKER_05: And I still to this date all of our littles that come through the door.
13:29
SPEAKER_05: So I get to know them and get to love them and get to make them love dance.
13:35
SPEAKER_05: And then hopefully they follow the path into the competition route if they want to.
13:40
SPEAKER_05: So I think that's something that kind of sets us apart from some of the new studios out there, also, is that many students advertise as a competition studio and say, come to our studio to be a competitive dancer, which obviously our dancers don't like when I say we're not a competition studio because clearly we are, and clearly they have done really well.
14:00
SPEAKER_05: But to me, it's more important to have kids love dance first and then let the decision to become a competition dancer come from them, not driven from me.
14:10
SPEAKER_05: I want it to come from them and their heart.
14:12
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, I mean, I would say I'm good with the number of students we have at this point in my life.
14:17
SPEAKER_05: I don't want to be bigger.
14:18
SPEAKER_05: I just want to keep getting better.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: Ooh, I love that.
14:21
SPEAKER_01: That's that's amazing.
14:23
SPEAKER_01: And I mean, it's it's my mom owns a studio.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: It's a task to to learn and know everyone and keep up.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the fact that you want to still do that is is amazing.
14:32
SPEAKER_01: And that's just a testament to why I think, you know, it feels like you've been around for so long.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: You know, people want to bring their kids back to you, and now, you know, you're Miss Stacy to their kids too.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: I think that's really cool.
14:42
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I feel like that, you know, obviously what you were saying about not pressuring dancers to feel obligated to go right into competition, you know, I think a lot of studios have different mindsets and approaches to how they want to structure their studio philosophy.
14:59
SPEAKER_04: And uh, as we've seen and as you've seen, you know, since running a studio for 40 years, you know, competitions were not that big back in the late 80s or the early 90s, and they've grown in popularity in the past 15 to 20 years in particular, and you've witnessed it all.
15:16
SPEAKER_04: So I'm curious to know when in your time of studio ownership did you start introducing your dancers to competition?
15:26
SPEAKER_04: Did you were you the one that was curious about it, or were your dancers asking for it, or did you feel like it was something that you had to introduce to keep up with everyone else?
15:37
SPEAKER_04: I'm I'm curious to know your reasoning behind, you know, joining competitions.
15:42
SPEAKER_05: Gosh, I can't even remember for sure off the top of my head what date we started, but it was in the beginning.
15:48
SPEAKER_05: And what we always did was went to workshops.
15:50
SPEAKER_05: I felt like workshops were very important.
15:52
SPEAKER_05: And then workshops started adding the competition piece.
15:57
SPEAKER_05: So, like you'd go to the workshop during the day and then you'd compete at night.
16:01
SPEAKER_05: And so once they did that, of course, I saw that.
16:03
SPEAKER_05: My dancers saw that.
16:05
SPEAKER_05: So, of course, we wanted to do it.
16:06
SPEAKER_05: We started out small.
16:07
SPEAKER_05: I remember we had our very first one competition team with five dancers on our team, and then it's just grown to that.
16:16
SPEAKER_05: I think there's huge positives to competition, right?
16:19
SPEAKER_05: It holds your dancers accountable, it pushes them harder, they become part of a team and that team that's so important.
16:28
SPEAKER_05: It as you see other dancers, you want to be like other dancers, and then the feedback from the judges.
16:34
SPEAKER_05: That's one of my favorite parts about the competition is to get the feedback from the judges and then take it back to our studio and and utilize the feedback that they give us.
16:45
SPEAKER_05: It also has provided so many opportunities for our dancers.
16:48
SPEAKER_05: We've had dancers that have won scholarships to different workshops because of the competition judges that have recognized them.
16:58
SPEAKER_05: We've had dancers that will be performing at the Disneyland parade in October thanks to a scholarship that we won at a competition.
17:07
SPEAKER_05: Um, so there's definitely so many positives to competition that I wouldn't I'm grateful that our studio started that, started doing that.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
17:19
SPEAKER_01: Brooke, and you do you teach only for the competitive team or do you teach other divisions of the studio as well?
17:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so last season I did mostly competitive, but we introduced advanced rec this past season.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: So it was recreation, but it was more on a more competition level for kids that maybe wanted to do competition, but weren't a hundred percent for the competition dancers that wanted an extra push.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: So they just did one competition rather than all, and then the recital.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so that was a really cool addition that we added.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: But mostly competition.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: My youngest team, I think, was like most seven, seven to eight.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: And then my oldest team are seniors, juniors in high school.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: So nice.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: All of them.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, yeah.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: I like that the concept of sort of like a middle team of, you know, we we kind of want to do this, we're not quite sure yet.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: We might graduate up next season.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: So is that kind of what you've got?
18:19
SPEAKER_01: You've got your your bigger competitive team, your newer team, and then recreational students.
18:24
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think it's a a great segue into, you know, introducing them, like you said, Leslie, and then hoping that maybe, okay, you got a little taste of what this could be.
18:33
SPEAKER_04: Like, do you want to join the team next season?
18:35
SPEAKER_04: Maybe you can audition, whatever, whatever it is that they need to go through for the process to be accepted onto the official competition team.
18:43
SPEAKER_04: But what is the youngest dancer that is participating in your competition team?
18:48
SPEAKER_04: Let's talk about like the big team versus the the middle team.
18:51
SPEAKER_04: How young do they start?
18:52
SPEAKER_05: So we start them at our studio at six years old.
18:55
SPEAKER_05: They can try out, and that's just been recently that we've added dancers that young, but we've had to do that now to keep up with everyone else.
19:05
SPEAKER_05: So, um, but they sure have fun.
19:07
SPEAKER_05: I mean, they just like they bring the fun to competition, and then the older kids bring the pressure to competition.
19:16
SPEAKER_05: So it's been a fun addition.
19:18
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
19:19
SPEAKER_04: I love that.
19:20
SPEAKER_04: And how many dancers?
19:22
SPEAKER_04: Now we know we have you have around like 230, maybe a little bit more students entirely at the studio.
19:29
SPEAKER_04: How many are on the actual competition team?
19:32
SPEAKER_04: And um what does that look like in comparison to your rec program?
19:36
SPEAKER_04: Is the competition team larger?
19:37
SPEAKER_04: I'm just curious to know like where the demand is these days.
19:42
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so um we've already had our auditions for our teams this year.
19:45
SPEAKER_05: We do those at the end of the last year's season.
19:48
SPEAKER_05: And so this year we're at 112 competition dancers.
19:52
SPEAKER_05: Oh.
19:53
SPEAKER_05: Wow, that's a lot.
19:54
SPEAKER_05: It is a lot.
19:55
SPEAKER_05: So, I mean, pretty much half and half.
19:57
SPEAKER_05: Mm-hmm.
19:58
SPEAKER_05: You know, half rec, half comp.
20:00
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: And what does your competition season look like?
20:02
SPEAKER_01: Do you guys do a convention season early and then segue into competitions?
20:07
SPEAKER_01: What's what does that all look like for y'all?
20:09
SPEAKER_05: We start with our first convention in September.
20:12
SPEAKER_05: So right away when the kids hit back, we start with a convention.
20:15
SPEAKER_05: Then we have an in-studio workshop scheduled where we bring in instructors, instructors scheduled for January.
20:24
SPEAKER_05: And then we like to try to take our kids to other compet other workshops throughout the season, but our competition season basically starts in February and goes through nationals in June.
20:36
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
20:37
SPEAKER_04: And how many comps are you attending each season?
20:39
SPEAKER_04: Regional, are you always going to a nationals?
20:42
SPEAKER_05: Um, we do three required competitions a season.
20:47
SPEAKER_05: And then with the opportunity to add two other ones for, you know, groups that want to do that or solos or duos that want to do that.
20:56
SPEAKER_05: And then we require a nationals every other year, but nationals every year are optional for those kids that want to do it.
21:05
SPEAKER_05: So what we'll do is we'll send out a survey to a team and say, do you want to do nationals?
21:10
SPEAKER_05: And if the team has 10 kids on it and eight of them want to do it, we'll do it.
21:14
SPEAKER_05: Less than that, we'll say, okay, this team's not doing it this year.
21:17
SPEAKER_05: But every other year it is required for all teams to do it.
21:20
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
21:21
SPEAKER_01: And when you when you do an optional year and you have a portion of the group that wants to, are we just having blocking rehearsals to change formations and do whatever you need to do?
21:30
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's where Brooke takes over.
21:32
SPEAKER_05: Oh, that's your job.
21:34
SPEAKER_05: She has the hard part of switching up the good dance at the last minute.
21:38
SPEAKER_05: Right.
21:38
SPEAKER_05: It's like, oh, how do I make this lift work?
21:41
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's that that sounds stressful.
21:46
SPEAKER_04: Um I think that what you described sounds like a very perfect competition expectation for your dancers.
21:53
SPEAKER_04: I think that three events a season is like the perfect amount, an op uh a few.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: Optionals to give them some, you know, potential to do a little bit more if they want, and then the alternating nationals.
22:06
SPEAKER_04: I I think that's a beautiful schedule for your dancers, and they're super lucky to have that because I've heard of some studios doing six, seven regionals a season, and maybe not nationals, or maybe yes, nationals, or maybe nationals is only for solos, or whatever it may be.
22:24
SPEAKER_04: But you know, that that expense adds up very quickly when you are doing that many uh events a season.
22:32
SPEAKER_04: And I'm also curious to go back and talk about what's happening in those months between September as your first convention and January with your first in-studio.
22:43
SPEAKER_04: From September to December, what is the focus at the studio?
22:48
SPEAKER_04: Are you in training mode?
22:49
SPEAKER_04: Are you in rehearsal choreography prep?
22:51
SPEAKER_04: Do you do a holiday show?
22:53
SPEAKER_04: Tell us more about that time period.
22:55
SPEAKER_05: So that's an interesting thing that Brooke and I were just talking about how some studios already have their choreography done for the year, and we don't.
23:03
SPEAKER_05: Um, because in that time frame, September through December, that's when we're working on technique.
23:09
SPEAKER_05: We're getting to learn the kids, getting to learn what their skills are, getting to learn where we can push them.
23:14
SPEAKER_05: What styles do they like?
23:16
SPEAKER_05: What styles do they excel in?
23:18
SPEAKER_05: What music do they feel?
23:19
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I think that's one of the cool things about Brooks choreography is she makes sure the dancers feel the music as much as she feels the music, right?
23:27
SPEAKER_05: And then if they feel it, that leads to better choreography.
23:31
SPEAKER_05: Um, so we don't, we don't start our dancers right away.
23:35
SPEAKER_05: Now, some of my teachers wish we did because they're feeling the pressure from all these other dancers that already have their dances done and are working on them.
23:43
SPEAKER_05: But again, uh, you know, while the competition piece is important, pushing them to be better dancers is most important to me.
23:51
SPEAKER_05: And it's not just about learning one dance that they do all year.
23:54
SPEAKER_05: We do a um local holiday Christmas parade every year in November.
24:01
SPEAKER_05: So um all of our competition dancers perform in that parade where they dance down the street.
24:06
SPEAKER_05: So they learn a routine for that.
24:09
SPEAKER_05: Um, we do have a holiday party in December, which is a fun performance.
24:14
SPEAKER_05: Um, it gets the rest of our studio a chance to dance with the competition dancers and everyone be united as a studio.
24:23
SPEAKER_05: So, yeah, September to December is busy for us before we plow into that competition season, which hits December and then has to be ready by February.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: Whew, yeah.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, I think the key seems like if you've got dancers who are continually working on their technique and learning learning how to execute things properly, you have a ready group of people to then be thrown choreography, you know?
24:50
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's like I I love that structure because it makes sense.
24:54
SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, we've learned all these things, and now here we're gonna put them all together into a dance.
24:58
SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile, if you haven't learned all the things and you're trying to do both at the same time, you know, I think that seems messy and challenging.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: Right.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: I feel like as like a teacher, I I think a lot of times we'll come with not obviously all of it choreographed at once, but like I'll come with a lot of the technical aspects in mind, like prior to the start.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: So then between September and then I think I've usually been starting my dances about mid-October.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, so between September to mid-October, I have those few technical skills that I know will be in the routine.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: So then, yeah, like like you were saying, once you get to choreographing, it's pretty seamless of just putting the puzzle pieces together.
25:37
SPEAKER_00: You don't, you're not trying to remember choreography and then try to learn these skills on top of it.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: You kind of have that little head start, which is nice.
25:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
25:47
SPEAKER_04: I think that um it is really important for the training aspect to take place in those fall months, like we were just saying.
25:56
SPEAKER_04: But I think that based on what I hear happening in the industry, that's not really the case with a lot of studios.
26:03
SPEAKER_04: And instead, we're replacing those technical uh classes with rehearsals instead.
26:10
SPEAKER_04: And um, you know, I and I think that's why we see like very polished routines at competition.
26:17
SPEAKER_04: But if you take them out of that context and out of that dance, uh, are the dancers just as polished in a class setting in a technical, uh in the in their technical execution uh within the foundations of that class.
26:30
SPEAKER_04: So um it is it is quite interesting, and I applaud you guys for um feeling like we're starting a little bit later.
26:37
SPEAKER_04: This is our philosophy, this is what we do.
26:39
SPEAKER_04: We're gonna emphasize training first in the fall.
26:41
SPEAKER_04: Um, that's how I grew up as well.
26:43
SPEAKER_04: We didn't even touch a competition dance until after the new year, and we just kind of whipped them together and hoped for the best.
26:49
SPEAKER_04: And our season started a little later when I was younger.
26:51
SPEAKER_04: Sorry.
26:52
SPEAKER_04: Cat, say hey to Chico.
26:54
SPEAKER_04: Um Bye-bye, Chico.
26:56
SPEAKER_04: Um, we started a little bit later when we were competing, like in March, but it was kind of on purpose because we would spend January and February learning everything.
27:06
SPEAKER_04: And um, now there's also, I think, the other layer of the industry pressure.
27:12
SPEAKER_04: A lot of events are starting earlier and earlier and earlier.
27:15
SPEAKER_04: So then a lot of people are feeling obligated to, well, I guess I gotta start my choreography sooner.
27:20
SPEAKER_04: And I guess I have to put, you know, the training on the back burner because I have to get we we're doing a competition in in February or January.
27:28
SPEAKER_04: So it makes it a little bit more difficult.
27:30
SPEAKER_05: Um, we deal with many of our high school dancers are on the local high school dance teams, and their competition, you know, their season usually ends in February.
27:41
SPEAKER_05: And we want to allow our kids to be a part of their high school school teams also.
27:46
SPEAKER_05: We don't want them to have to make the choice, studio or high school.
27:50
SPEAKER_05: And so that's another reason why we kind of allow them time to finish that season and participate in that season also.
27:58
SPEAKER_05: Another piece is we, I'm very proud that we do all our choreography in-house.
28:04
SPEAKER_05: Um, and so our our choreographers can work with the kids and change the choreography and work with them on a different pace also since it's in-house now.
28:15
SPEAKER_05: Um, I love those dances that you can see that have hired out these amazing choreographers.
28:20
SPEAKER_05: But as a studio owner, it has been amazing to see Brooke and my other staff their choreography skills grow over the year.
28:28
SPEAKER_05: And one of the questions you asked her, does she freelance out?
28:31
SPEAKER_05: Well, she hasn't, but I've been trying to encourage her to like, Brooke, you've got the skills now to do this.
28:36
SPEAKER_05: You can, you can take yourself to the next step.
28:40
SPEAKER_05: And I think that's something that our studio has provided too, the opportunity to allow our students to become choreographers, to grow.
28:48
SPEAKER_05: This year, one of our dancers is an amazing tapper, and he's gonna work with the younger dancer and choreograph their tap piece so he can start to gain those still skills too as a choreographer.
28:58
SPEAKER_05: So that's why I say we're Stacey's studio of dance education.
29:02
SPEAKER_05: We're not, we're, we're trying to teach how to bring our dancers into the industry.
29:07
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
29:08
SPEAKER_01: That's so much.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: I mean, and there's so many comps out there now that do have a whole category for student choreography.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: You know, so that's just amazing that you you have some kids who want to learn that skill and you know that you're allowing them to do that.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, probably with some little, you know, coaching here and there and supervision.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we all need that sort of oversight to help us learn as we as we begin that process.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's really exciting.
29:37
SPEAKER_04: Have you ever been rehearsing a routine and thought, I just wish I could ask a competition judge what they think of this before we compete?
29:44
SPEAKER_04: Well, now you can.
29:46
SPEAKER_04: With IDA's online judges critiques, you can send your routine directly to one of IDA's real pre-screened in-demand adjudicators and get that unbiased outside perspective before you ever step foot on the competition stage.
29:59
SPEAKER_04: Request a genre-specific judge, send along any personalized questions or areas you want them to focus on, and get detailed, actionable corrections you can actually take back into rehearsal.
30:10
SPEAKER_04: And this isn't just an audio file.
30:12
SPEAKER_04: You'll see your judge right on the screen alongside your routine, talking you through their feedback.
30:17
SPEAKER_04: Submission is super easy, turnaround is fast, and for all of those, oh no, we compete this weekend moments.
30:23
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30:25
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30:33
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30:38
SPEAKER_04: Submit on our website now at Impact Danceadjudicators.com slash online critiques.
30:49
SPEAKER_04: Something I want to say really fast before you move on, Leslie, is I wanna say thank you, Stacy, for um it giving your your old students, Brooke is now your teacher who grew up at your studio, but not restricting her from her potential as an artist and a creator because there's a lot of studios who homegrown dancers who turn into amazing choreographers and then hold them hostage almost to the studio and feel like that, you know, oh well, I trained you and you work for me, and you can't go freelance because you're so good that I want you to myself.
31:26
SPEAKER_04: And I love what you just said about encouraging Brooke to spread your wings and fly, and that you're on board with that.
31:34
SPEAKER_04: I think that says a lot about what you do at your studio and how you look at your not only your students, but your teachers and uh this as a career.
31:43
SPEAKER_04: Because as we know, um a lot of stance studios will uh put put their teachers on as employees.
31:51
SPEAKER_04: But if there's extra opportunities for creative choreographers to branch outside, um, maybe you as the the choreographer want to, but sometimes there's rules and restrictions that won't let you based on your employer.
32:03
SPEAKER_04: So it sounds like that that's something that you want for Brooke, Stacey.
32:08
SPEAKER_04: And I just wanted to say thank you for that because I think that's really special.
32:11
SPEAKER_04: And Brooke, you're in such good hands.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: Yes, for sure.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: I am.
32:16
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that makes me happy.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: Well, as let's talk more about the we always like to hear about your your schedule of classes and expectations specifically for your competitive team.
32:27
SPEAKER_01: Like what let's talk about your like highest level high school kids.
32:31
SPEAKER_01: What what does their week look like?
32:32
SPEAKER_01: What are your expectations for their classload?
32:35
SPEAKER_05: So that's kind of a hard piece.
32:37
SPEAKER_05: No one at our studio dances more than, would you say, seven hours a week, even if they're doing solos and duos.
32:43
SPEAKER_05: And yet we have really strong, clearly, when you looked at the dance that won strong, talented dancers.
32:50
SPEAKER_05: So that's always a debate at our studio, especially with competitions that have different levels.
32:54
SPEAKER_05: What level do we place them in?
32:56
SPEAKER_05: And we tend to place them in the highest level because that's what challenges them and pushes them.
33:02
SPEAKER_05: But then it's hard because they really aren't dancing nearly as much as many other studios.
33:08
SPEAKER_05: The other thing is we try to do very little dance over the summer at our studio.
33:13
SPEAKER_05: I think kids need a chance to be kids in the summer.
33:16
SPEAKER_05: They need to play tennis, hit a golf ball, run on the soccer field.
33:20
SPEAKER_05: Our choreographers need a chance to take a break, to create, you create better when you're in a better place and you're not hurrying into the classroom.
33:29
SPEAKER_05: I mean, even professional athletes have seasons, and now we have these dancers dancing year round, and we're seeing more injuries.
33:37
SPEAKER_05: So our studio is kind of a little backwards.
33:40
SPEAKER_05: Most of our competition, like our the line that Brooke teaches, they do an hour ballet class, they do an hour and a half technique class, and they do an hour competition a week.
33:50
SPEAKER_05: So that's the requirement.
33:52
SPEAKER_05: Hour and a half comp.
33:53
SPEAKER_05: An hour and a half comp, right?
33:54
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
33:55
SPEAKER_05: And an hour technique.
33:56
SPEAKER_04: And that's like rehearsal for the for the dance.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:59
SPEAKER_00: So it's like split like 40.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: It's supposed to be like sp split 45.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: They have two routines, but depending on the day, sometimes it's like one dance might need the whole hour and a half or, you know, whatnot.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's it's go by it goes by quick.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: And would you say that group of students, do they also participate in dance team or other things?
34:20
SPEAKER_01: Or do they are they are they like showing up to other classes during the week at your studio just because they want to?
34:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say most most are on the a local high school dance team.
34:31
SPEAKER_00: Some are involved in the local plays.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: And then I would say almost all of them do at least one solo or duet we're seeing this year.
34:41
SPEAKER_00: A lot of people want to do two solos or two duets or duet and trio.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: So we're seeing a lot more.
34:46
SPEAKER_00: So typically Sundays are the days I know I'm here all day doing solos and duos and trios.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: So I feel most kids are probably here, yeah, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and then helper teaching too.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: Some of them helper teach.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we do have helper teachers, so a lot of them like to help.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: So I would say they're here like three to four times a week.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: Just our most advanced, yeah, our oldest.
35:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: So you're you're packing it in, you're packing in a lot of work into those limited hours, and it feels like it's like paying off.
35:21
SPEAKER_01: Because again, I like I said, I watched the video and I was like, oh yeah, this is great.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: So like that's really a testimony to like what happens within that hour and a half of class.
35:29
SPEAKER_01: It's like people are paying attention, people are absorbing, people are coming back the next time, having, you know, moved up a little bit in in their facility.
35:38
SPEAKER_01: So that's really cool.
35:38
SPEAKER_04: So my question is to to see if I'm understanding correctly.
35:42
SPEAKER_04: So the dancers that like if we're talking about the dance that won, right?
35:47
SPEAKER_04: And that that batch of students, um, they are in two different routines that are in that genre.
35:55
SPEAKER_04: And are are these uh these what you mentioned about like the the two competition rehearsal uh hour and a half, is that per genre?
36:03
SPEAKER_04: Or is that just a genre that you guys select?
36:06
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, so each it could it be like a jazz and a contemporary and a lyrical and a tap, and is it based on like what they train in?
36:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so all of our older lines do two routines and then they'll have one teacher for both routines.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of up to that teacher to decide the genres.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: So for that team, they had jazz and contemporary.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: So in that hour and a half, we worked on both the jazz and the contemporary routines.
36:32
SPEAKER_04: Got it.
36:33
SPEAKER_04: Okay, that makes that makes sense.
36:34
SPEAKER_04: I was thinking genres and I'm like, but what about tap?
36:37
SPEAKER_04: But what about hip hop?
36:38
SPEAKER_04: So are like, are the other styles, uh jazz and not contemporary jazz were the one this year that were selected, but are there other genres that they can participate in?
36:47
SPEAKER_05: So we do.
36:48
SPEAKER_05: Some kids take a tap class, and then that would be an additional hour weekly where they actually take their tap class.
36:54
SPEAKER_05: And some kids only do tap.
36:56
SPEAKER_05: So those kids that only do tap at our studio are only an hour and a half a week because they only come for the ballet, is a required class.
37:04
SPEAKER_05: And then our little kids, our little seven and eight-year-olds, they do a combination class, which is a half an hour of ballet and a half an hour of tap every week.
37:13
SPEAKER_05: And then they do an hour competition class.
37:16
SPEAKER_05: So they're only here two hours a week, our little kids.
37:19
SPEAKER_04: Mm-hmm.
37:20
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
37:20
SPEAKER_04: So more more questions.
37:22
SPEAKER_04: Cause I I like dissecting this a bit because everyone structures their decisions on like how many dances they bring to competition and who's in what dance is very different.
37:31
SPEAKER_04: Um, so it's essentially based on the size of that class is the amount of dancers in those competition routines.
37:38
SPEAKER_04: Is that correct?
37:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
37:40
SPEAKER_04: And then is there a potential for um them to be in small groups if they want?
37:45
SPEAKER_04: Is that like an extra audition w outside of those two dances that they would be in based on their class?
37:51
SPEAKER_04: Does that make sense?
37:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that's kind of what we started with the advanced rec last year.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: So we just had we just had one, we just like tried it out first year.
38:00
SPEAKER_00: So we had one, it was an advanced jazz small group.
38:04
SPEAKER_00: So for those kids, most were on competition, so then that was an extra small group.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, so if they do tap, they'll compete.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: Tap their two group routines, and then we also had that advanced rec, and then this year we just added hip hop team that's not really age specific, more so just a larger group.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: So we'll have a hip hop team this year that will compete as well.
38:33
SPEAKER_05: Nice.
38:34
SPEAKER_05: Got it.
38:35
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and then we do unfollowing.
38:36
SPEAKER_05: I like it.
38:37
SPEAKER_05: We allow like duos and trios.
38:40
SPEAKER_05: So they you know, they kind of we let them kind of pick who they want to dance with, and then as long as we feel they're good fits, they have those options also.
38:49
SPEAKER_04: Do you um select the genre or are they requesting the genre?
38:53
SPEAKER_00: They can request, but we'll have the final say.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: So if we think that something will suit them better, then we'll have them do the better suit.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, kids get to choose their first choice and then we'll go from there.
39:06
SPEAKER_04: Right.
39:07
SPEAKER_04: And then solos, how do you how do you determine who gets one?
39:10
SPEAKER_04: Does anyone who wants one get one?
39:12
SPEAKER_04: Or is there an audition?
39:15
SPEAKER_05: I I'd like your advice on that.
39:18
SPEAKER_05: Um, because what I've noticed in the past few years is the competitions used to be, you know, two days of groups and then one day of solos.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: Right.
39:27
SPEAKER_05: Now we're getting to nationals and it's four days of solos, duos, and maybe two days of groups if we're lucky.
39:35
SPEAKER_05: And I just think that being in the group is just so important to dance with your group.
39:40
SPEAKER_05: Um, so at our studio, you cannot do a solo if you haven't at least done competition for a year.
39:46
SPEAKER_05: So you have to have at least been with your group for a year.
39:49
SPEAKER_05: Um, you have to be on a group to do a solo.
39:53
SPEAKER_05: And then anyone can apply to do a solo, but it has to be teacher approval that we let them do a solo.
40:01
SPEAKER_05: Um, but so here's a story.
40:05
SPEAKER_05: I have a dancer who every year we put her out, she's graduated now and and she knows this story.
40:12
SPEAKER_05: We've shared it.
40:13
SPEAKER_05: So um, but every time she would go on the stage, I would absolutely cringe.
40:17
SPEAKER_05: And every time we she went on the stage, she would get nothing better than a high silver or a gold or whatever that competition did.
40:25
SPEAKER_05: And as you're sitting out there as a teacher and a staff and all the people in the audience, and you hear your studio getting the lowest score, right?
40:33
SPEAKER_05: And all your competitive studios getting the highest score.
40:37
SPEAKER_05: But nobody knew the story about that dancer.
40:40
SPEAKER_05: She did not like school.
40:42
SPEAKER_05: She had a huge anxiety, a hard time going to school every day.
40:46
SPEAKER_05: And she said to me, Miss Stacy, that two minutes that I'm on the competition stage, those are the best moments of my life.
40:53
SPEAKER_05: And so every time I put her on that stage while I cringed, I also, it brought me the biggest joy of any dance I put on that stage.
41:04
SPEAKER_05: Because maybe that's what got her through that junior and senior year of high school.
41:09
SPEAKER_05: And that's the other thing that I'm proud of at our studio, that we don't just put our best dancers on the stage.
41:17
SPEAKER_05: That if they're willing to work hard, they're willing to show up, they're willing to get better, there is a place for them to grow and to get better and to do what they love to do.
41:28
SPEAKER_05: But from a judge's perspective, I'd love your input on are we doing the right thing or the wrong thing with that?
41:34
SPEAKER_01: Well, that I mean, that part sounds like the right thing because, you know, that's what dance is for.
41:38
SPEAKER_01: Dance is to communicate, to feel good about ourselves, to enjoy ourselves.
41:42
SPEAKER_01: And if that was something that, you know, benefited her life, then 100%, yes, get that girl on stage.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: And and probably is gonna affect her life for for years and years and years.
41:53
SPEAKER_01: Like that's that's a a story that she can tell.
41:55
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, you know, Miss Stacey let me do this and it got me through.
41:59
SPEAKER_01: I think that's that is the hard part of our job as judges, is we do not have that backstory.
42:04
SPEAKER_01: All I know is you showed up, you're 17, and I had to give you a high silver because of all the things that I saw.
42:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't know anything else, you know.
42:12
SPEAKER_01: And so I but I do try to approach every dance with the understanding that if this was my student, how would I want to hear them be talked about?
42:20
SPEAKER_01: So I speak to that student as if they were mine.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: And it's not, you know, berating them or making them feel bad or making them feel like they have, you know, so, so, so, so, so much work to do.
42:31
SPEAKER_01: It's finding the good things that they are doing and suggesting a couple things to work on.
42:36
SPEAKER_01: So, I hope you've you were able to at least have that experience with that dancer, you know, with some judges in the past that, you know, there was some something helpful there.
42:43
SPEAKER_05: We've never had a bad experience with competition judges.
42:47
SPEAKER_05: Good.
42:48
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we've been very lucky.
42:51
SPEAKER_05: Well, you know, and I I take that part very seriously too.
42:56
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
42:57
SPEAKER_04: I mean, there's a lot of factors that go into making those selections each season for studios.
43:02
SPEAKER_04: Um, and oftentimes I feel like it just comes down to what fits best in our schedule and not all always about doing the best research that you can to see how this competition is going to represent uh and honor what they claim they're advertising, um, because everyone's gonna say that they have qualified judges and are gonna enforce the rules and you know, but then you get there and you realize that that's not always the case.
43:28
SPEAKER_04: So um it sounds like that you're, you know, putting in the work to research and prioritize different aspects of different uh competition companies that are holding true to their word, which is very important.
43:41
SPEAKER_04: Um, I feel like my answer to the how to determine solos and like how how do I feel as a judge watching multi days of solo competition.
43:50
SPEAKER_04: Um, and I'm I'm kind of thinking of like personal advice for your studio now knowing more about it and knowing that you have 120 competition dancers.
44:00
SPEAKER_04: On your team, you know, like I don't necessarily think that 120 dancers need a solo personally.
44:05
SPEAKER_04: That's just me.
44:05
SPEAKER_04: That's a lot, right?
44:07
SPEAKER_04: And then, you know, looking looking at the ratio and how many groups we have, you probably have at least maybe 15, 20, 25 groups between all the different ages.
44:16
SPEAKER_04: I could be wrong about that, um, including duo trios, but then you look at the ratio and it's predominantly solos at that point.
44:23
SPEAKER_04: And it's like, okay, well, this is why our days are that long.
44:27
SPEAKER_04: It's because my team's really big and they all deserve a solo.
44:30
SPEAKER_04: But I think there needs to sometimes be more restrictions.
44:34
SPEAKER_04: Like I think this is advice to like a lot of studios, because obviously, like giving dancer solos are going to like help boost their confidence, help them work through different um things in their training that they might are might be missing in a group setting, more individualized attention, more specialized critiques straight for them.
44:52
SPEAKER_04: There's so many perks to it, but there's also dancers who aren't ready for solos, who aren't mature enough for solos, who aren't going to come remembering the corrections, applying the feedback.
45:02
SPEAKER_04: Maybe they will, it'll be better suited for them to stay in a group setting for a little bit longer until they can prove themselves to you as teachers and as the studio that I'm ready for this and I take this seriously.
45:13
SPEAKER_04: And it's not just a free-be-handed to me because mommy daddy can afford to pay for it because a solo is a luxury and an expense to put into your training.
45:22
SPEAKER_04: So I don't think they should always be handed out like candy, but I think that it is hard when you have so many dancers that you want to give that chance to.
45:30
SPEAKER_04: But um, and of course, then there's gonna be the toxicity of parents being like, well, why did this dancer get it when my dancer's equally as talented and they work just as hard?
45:40
SPEAKER_04: And you're like, no, they're doing cartwheels the whole time in class.
45:42
SPEAKER_04: Like, I'm sorry, but you know, like always that works.
45:45
SPEAKER_04: It's hard to explain it.
45:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
45:47
SPEAKER_04: So that would that would be my take on it.
45:49
SPEAKER_04: And like, I I've heard different things from different um studios on like, oh, they have to be at least this, this old.
45:55
SPEAKER_04: Like you said, you have you at least have competed at least one year and you have to be in the groups.
46:00
SPEAKER_04: And I think it's very important that they stay in their group settings.
46:03
SPEAKER_04: Um, they have to be, they have to have good attendance, they have to show up.
46:06
SPEAKER_04: You know, those things are of checking off the list of are you ready for a solo?
46:11
SPEAKER_04: Um, and then also the determining of when the second solo is necessary or needed.
46:16
SPEAKER_04: Maybe they have to be uh in the teen division or older to get two solos or something like that, or score a certain thing and make progress.
46:23
SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
46:23
SPEAKER_04: I think everyone kind of does it differently, but I think there could be ways where we could limit the solo amounts that we see at competition because they are kind of like taking over a bit.
46:34
SPEAKER_04: And I miss those don't group routines.
46:36
SPEAKER_04: I love a group dance.
46:37
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
46:38
SPEAKER_05: Me too.
46:39
SPEAKER_05: Well, and some of that is competition driven, right?
46:41
SPEAKER_05: Because in order to get the titles or to get some of those special things, you do need to be doing more than one dance or more than two dances.
46:48
SPEAKER_05: But I am gonna stick true to my philosophy that you have to earn it, you have to be ready for it.
46:54
SPEAKER_05: And you know, I don't think anyone should be winning a title their first year of dance, you know?
47:00
SPEAKER_05: You gotta earn it.
47:02
SPEAKER_05: You gotta work towards it.
47:03
SPEAKER_03: Mm-hmm.
47:04
SPEAKER_04: Completely agree.
47:05
SPEAKER_04: Um, so Leslie, how are you feeling?
47:09
SPEAKER_04: We're nearing the end of our episode, but are there any other questions that you want to tackle?
47:14
SPEAKER_04: And I would love to chit-chat about the dance itself as well for with Brooke.
47:18
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I think I think that's where we jump to, because I feel like we have we have traveled through 41 years of, you know, wonderful training, great technique, building up your students to now become your faculty.
47:29
SPEAKER_01: I think that's like I'm just bowing down to you because that's a lot, that's a lot of hard, hard work that you've put into this place of dance education.
47:38
SPEAKER_01: And I love that you put it that way as well.
47:40
SPEAKER_01: Because I I just think that's what we do.
47:42
SPEAKER_01: That's what most dance teachers strive to do is educate.
47:44
SPEAKER_01: And the fact that it's it's it's in the title of your business, and it just goes to show that it's it's working out because you've got a wonderful great educator here.
47:53
SPEAKER_01: Um, and now I want to hear about this dance.
47:55
SPEAKER_01: Tell us more about your inspiration, why you chose to do this song, why this group of kids, why now, and why you think you won.
48:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
48:04
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I had this song, It's Somebody to Love by Queen.
48:08
SPEAKER_00: But I had this song in my dance playlist since I probably first started teaching.
48:14
SPEAKER_00: But I always knew I wanted it to be like high schoolers as our oldest line as possible.
48:19
SPEAKER_00: I always envisioned it as a as a large group.
48:22
SPEAKER_00: And so I just felt like last season, this was my this past season was my second year with them.
48:28
SPEAKER_00: And so majority were between ninth to eleventh grade.
48:32
SPEAKER_00: And we actually we had some seniors, so nine through twelve.
48:35
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, okay, I I had 16 dancers.
48:37
SPEAKER_00: I was like, this is perfect.
48:39
SPEAKER_00: I was just obsessed with the song.
48:42
SPEAKER_00: It's one of those songs where you just listen to it and I can visualize the whole thing.
48:46
SPEAKER_00: Just I can hear all the backbeats and hear where every someone's going here, there, someone's going there.
48:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, I kind of had had this song on my radar for a long time.
48:57
SPEAKER_00: And then also I just felt the messaging was really fitting.
49:02
SPEAKER_00: We had so this team the year before was only 12, and we actually had three competition lines combine into one this season.
49:11
SPEAKER_00: So that 12 dancers turned into 16.
49:15
SPEAKER_00: And so we had four new dancers.
49:18
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we had five because we we had one move away.
49:20
SPEAKER_00: So we had five new dancers, and we were all kind of nervous.
49:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't know, like, I'm nervous people are gonna be clicky, or are they all gonna get along?
49:30
SPEAKER_00: And I think the song's messages about just trying to find somebody to love and trying to find that special bond, and they came together so beautifully this year.
49:40
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't have asked for it to be any better.
49:43
SPEAKER_00: Like, there was no clicks, there's little to no drama, like everyone was just kind and friendly to each other, which made the dance ten times more enjoyable, and they also could relate to it, and which was amazing because you know, sometimes you love a song, but when the kids can't relate to it, it's hard to get that vision across.
50:03
SPEAKER_00: So I think just the mix of me loving the song and then they loved the song and they knew it and they could connect to it as well is what really brought it all together.
50:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm really big on transitions and visuals.
50:18
SPEAKER_00: So for me, like I will do whatever I can to not walk to a formation.
50:22
SPEAKER_00: Like I always want to be dancing from head to toe.
50:26
SPEAKER_00: And I think this song just had so many of those cool moments, like in the music where you can just you can hear the transitions.
50:33
SPEAKER_00: And I think for this dance is why it did so successful.
50:37
SPEAKER_00: Was I had a lot of judges make comments about like they're just everything is flowing from one into the other, which is what I hoped to accomplish.
50:48
SPEAKER_00: Just making sure that like a lot of times I think you'll see a dance where you'll do a really cool technical skill and then it's like okay, super cool moment, and walk, walk, walk, right?
50:58
SPEAKER_00: Another cool moment, or a formation where someone is going like everyone's going this way, and two other people are going this way, like just trying to make it as cohesive and visually pleasing as possible is I I think what really helped this dance succeed, which I wouldn't have been able to make that happen if it wasn't for the dancers.
51:18
SPEAKER_00: So I'm so grateful for them and they really pulled it off and worked their butts off.
51:23
SPEAKER_00: So it was great.
51:24
SPEAKER_00: Can you address that you have a male in the dance too?
51:27
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
51:28
SPEAKER_00: And we have a male dancer, and I think some people with male dancers, they get nervous, they don't want it to be the spotlight on the boy, or they don't want it to.
51:39
SPEAKER_00: So I made sure this year I was like, we are doing the exact same costume.
51:44
SPEAKER_00: I don't care.
51:45
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna find a costume and everyone is gonna wear it because so many people are just quick to come to judgment.
51:52
SPEAKER_00: He's a super talented dancer, he's one of the most talented dancers we've ever had come through our doors, which also puts a target on his back, too, because it's like people just think this boy dancer, he's gonna be the star of the show, the center.
52:07
SPEAKER_00: So we made sure this year that everyone dressed the same and it just it truly made it so cohesive.
52:13
SPEAKER_00: A lot of judges were like, oh my gosh, I didn't even realize, like, thank you.
52:16
SPEAKER_00: I got a lot, we got a lot of compliments on the costumes this year, which was super exciting because I it also just looked better to everyone was actually nice.
52:25
SPEAKER_01: Well, and it's nice to feel validated, I'm sure, that like you made this decision and somebody said, I liked that decision.
52:31
SPEAKER_01: You know, like you made all these decisions about what to do.
52:34
SPEAKER_01: And and that's gotta feel so good to just be, you know, like, okay, that was right because somebody liked it.
52:40
SPEAKER_01: Somebody called it out, somebody noticed what I chose to do here.
52:43
SPEAKER_01: So that's really cool.
52:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I thought it was like to me, it seemed like such a nitpicky detail.
52:48
SPEAKER_00: I was like, uh, people are gonna think I'm being over the top.
52:51
SPEAKER_00: But I think every competition, like at least one judge, if not more, had made a comment like, I really appreciate how the male dancer is dressed cohesively or dressed the um, yeah, we do our best to try to highlight all of our dancers.
53:05
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I think that's what just helped it all really come together.
53:09
SPEAKER_04: I I love a gender-neutral costuming.
53:12
SPEAKER_04: I think that it it it just says so much about the thought process that went behind the the full picture.
53:18
SPEAKER_04: And like you said, um, you know, sometimes in choreography there's typically a a male if if there is a male identifying dancer in the routine, they're oftentimes featured in some way or they're the strongest dancer, or we're gonna put them always in center.
53:34
SPEAKER_04: But then if you costume them in neutral with everyone, then guess what?
53:38
SPEAKER_04: We're all dancers together and they can be placed anywhere.
53:41
SPEAKER_04: And it's not always about, you know, the singling out this one individual.
53:47
SPEAKER_04: And then there is the potential to have more opportunity for different features.
53:52
SPEAKER_04: Because when you're visually watching something, if there's one dancer that's automatically in a different type of costume, your eye's gonna go to them.
53:58
SPEAKER_04: Like it's just like how it is.
54:00
SPEAKER_04: So if there's a way to costume dancers where you as the creator is thinking, well, my my goal is not to have it to go to this dancer just because they're they are male presenting.
54:11
SPEAKER_04: That's not that's not my goal.
54:13
SPEAKER_04: My goal is for all dancers to feel the same on stage, um, unless, you know, it was part of the story and there was a a feature needed and we costume differently, you know?
54:23
SPEAKER_04: So I I always, as a judge, when I notice it, and that's the first thing we see.
54:28
SPEAKER_04: You walk out on stage, we're looking at your costume.
54:30
SPEAKER_04: You haven't even danced yet, we're getting a feel, an idea, we're taking in the costume.
54:34
SPEAKER_04: So I appreciate those uh those details.
54:38
SPEAKER_04: And I always thank the teachers for that.
54:39
SPEAKER_04: So I'm glad that other judges recognized it too.
54:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
54:42
SPEAKER_00: And it I've even noticed too, I think it's really cool.
54:45
SPEAKER_00: I feel like I was looking at all the costume books are starting to come out, and I feel like growing up, like, and some are still like this and whatnot, but you'll see like this huge catalog, and then it's like men's and it's one page and that's it, and it's black, white, or gray.
55:00
SPEAKER_00: Like it like neutrals.
55:02
SPEAKER_00: Um and so just to even like find because we don't really do a lot of like custom costumes we're just getting from different websites and whatnot.
55:10
SPEAKER_00: So it's so nice even to just see that that like there's more emphasis on both.
55:16
SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, just more options for male dancers when it comes to costumes, because I feel like growing up, like it would just be one page and then here's 150 other pages of everything else.
55:28
SPEAKER_01: Those poor boys in the black pants and the vest.
55:31
SPEAKER_01: It's like maybe you might get that vest in four colors, but yep.
55:35
SPEAKER_04: Yep, and they keep coming back out and they just swap out the vest, you know, just the color palette of the vest.
55:40
SPEAKER_04: Same jazz black black jazz pants for every every costume.
55:44
SPEAKER_04: I feel for the boys sometimes.
55:46
SPEAKER_04: So um amazing, Brooke.
55:48
SPEAKER_04: That's so awesome.
55:49
SPEAKER_04: Well, congratulations on winning our award and all of the recognition you received at your piece this year.
55:53
SPEAKER_04: I'm sure it's gonna be hard to top, but I'm I'm sure you can do it.
55:57
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, she has an idea.
55:59
SPEAKER_04: Ooh, okay.
56:00
SPEAKER_00: I do have an idea.
56:02
SPEAKER_00: I have one song.
56:03
SPEAKER_00: I I've been listening to it every day.
56:05
SPEAKER_00: So constantly on the feet.
56:08
SPEAKER_00: So we're ready.
56:08
SPEAKER_00: We're ready to go.
56:09
SPEAKER_04: Amazing.
56:10
SPEAKER_04: We'll have to check in with our gems judges and see how they enjoy it this season.
56:14
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
56:15
SPEAKER_04: Awesome.
56:16
SPEAKER_04: Well, um, before we lead out with our episode, I would love to know what the future holds for Stacy's studio.
56:23
SPEAKER_04: What's coming soon?
56:25
SPEAKER_04: What do you see?
56:26
SPEAKER_04: Are you gonna make it to your 50?
56:29
SPEAKER_04: Um, what are your what are your plans for the future with the studio?
56:33
SPEAKER_05: Well, I think if you made it to 40, you've gotta make it to 50, right?
56:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
56:37
SPEAKER_05: You know?
56:38
SPEAKER_05: And um people ask me if I'm a better teacher now or when I was younger.
56:42
SPEAKER_05: And I say, when I was younger, my life was the studio.
56:46
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I wasn't married and I didn't have kids, and so I went to my dancers' birthday parties, and I was here every weekend changing bulletin boards and cleaning.
56:55
SPEAKER_05: And so, in that instance, I was better then.
56:58
SPEAKER_05: Um, now the studio tends to get a little dirty and I don't make it to every birthday party.
57:04
SPEAKER_05: But the wisdom I've gained from 40 years, um, I just feel like I'm a better teacher.
57:09
SPEAKER_05: I feel like I understand things better.
57:11
SPEAKER_05: There's reasons behind what I do.
57:13
SPEAKER_05: So I feel like that wisdom makes me better in that way now.
57:17
SPEAKER_05: And then I feel like I've been so blessed to have these amazing young teachers that have grown up with me.
57:23
SPEAKER_05: And then we bring in from others to other places too, you know, like when college kids come to our town and we So I feel like we're in a really good place because we have the wisdom of 40 years and we have the youth and on-trend of of the younger generation.
57:38
SPEAKER_05: So I'm excited what our studio has to look forward to in the next 10 years.
57:42
SPEAKER_05: I still absolutely love it and could not imagine um my life without it.
57:49
SPEAKER_05: I mean, the day after the recital, I told my husband I was bored, and he's like, We've got to be kidding.
57:54
SPEAKER_05: We haven't even cleaned up from this recital.
57:56
SPEAKER_05: So um my famous words that I I don't know if they're famous, but I always say smile and dance.
58:02
SPEAKER_05: Um and I started saying those words 41 years ago just because it was cute, smile and dance.
58:08
SPEAKER_05: And now I think those words are super important because I think life is better when you're dancing.
58:13
SPEAKER_05: Think of all the places we dance.
58:16
SPEAKER_05: And I think if you're smiling and if you take the time to look at your students and if they're smiling, it means they're having fun.
58:22
SPEAKER_05: It means they're learning, it means they're understanding.
58:25
SPEAKER_05: It means for those moments that they're at the studio, they are feeling good.
58:30
SPEAKER_05: So I'm gonna continue for the next 10 years to just smile and dance.
58:36
SPEAKER_05: And, you know, who knows?
58:37
SPEAKER_05: Maybe Brooke will decide to take it over someday.
58:40
SPEAKER_05: Or one of our other amazing staff teachers.
58:46
SPEAKER_04: Thanks for tuning in to our first episode of season eight, featuring Stacy Studio of Dance education and the studio spotlight.
58:54
SPEAKER_04: Shout out to Brooke and Stacy for joining us on this channel.
58:57
SPEAKER_04: Be sure to follow them on social media at Stacy Studio of Dance.
59:02
SPEAKER_04: And to learn more about Stacy Studio, visit their website at Stacy Studioofdance.net.
59:10
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59:14
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59:16
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59:20
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59:26
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59:35
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59:42
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59:48
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59:53
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1:00:02
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1:00:12
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1:00:17
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1:00:24
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1:00:35
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1:00:41
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1:00:51
SPEAKER_01: Stay tuned for more great episodes in Season 8, including a live recording from Dance Teacher Web, an episode honoring our teachers, and a throwback episode.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_04: Thanks for listening and watching season eight of Making the Impact.
1:01:04
SPEAKER_04: Stay tuned for some more fabulous episodes this season.
1:01:07
SPEAKER_04: We'll see you then.