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

Transcript

IDA Competition Spotlight - Uproar Dance Competition · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Up Borough Dance Competition in its fourth season strives to bring the best of the industry to each weekend event, creating an experience that is more valuable than the trophy.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Today I'm making the impact.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: Courtney sits down with Updoro Dance Competition to hear about the unique aspects of their events.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Dance World, welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I am flying solo today because we are doing our very next competition spotlight feature episode over here on the podcast.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Fun fact if you didn't know, if you're new around here, I am the owner of Impact Dance Adjudicators, which is a staffing service in the United States that provides judges, pre-screen judges, and background check judges to dance competitions around the country.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: And this season we wanted to bring back our competition spotlight features that we introduced back in season one, where we sit down with competition owners and learn all about what it takes to run a dance competition and why they started a dance competition.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: So many people love getting an inside scoop and getting to know the owners back in season one.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: And we have so many new competitions that we now work with at IDA who use our judges at their events that we wanted to bring some more new faces and new guests onto the podcast so you can learn about their competition and maybe register for an upcoming event.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: And over here in Making the Impact Land, we are gearing up for the competition season, y'all.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: There is it's coming up quick.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we have uh our Making the Impact Awards that we'll be also giving out at all IDA affiliated competition events.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll be hearing uh many more competitions that we work with when the competition season starts up.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Typically in January, is when you'll start hearing those awards coming in on the podcast with a little shout-out, which is one of the perks of winning our award.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: But as we head into this episode, I am so excited to welcome two brand new guests to the podcast, two brand new podcast it premier podcast guests.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: They've never been on a podcast before.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: We always love being a first over here on making the impact.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: And they are the owners of Uproar Dance Competition.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm thrilled to welcome Ryland Early and Danielle Beaman.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, y'all.
• 2:39
  unknown: Hi.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, Feline.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having us.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad that y'all could fit this into your schedule as I know you're gearing up for the season ahead and have so many moving parts.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Technically, it's the off-season right now of competition, but I'm sure you're just as busy as when it's the go season of competition.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_04: Busier, right?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like the off-season's actually harder.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Once we get into the season, we're just rolling.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know, just a routine, it's easy to do.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas in the off-season, we're always like, oh, I forgot about this part, or we need to order awards.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's always something.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_05: Designing new awards, doing all the things.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's like complete turnover all over again, having a touch base with all the different vendors and getting the events scheduled, and then also marketing and getting the studios on board to attend your events.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just like so many logistics, I'm sure, that go into it.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_05: And making sure that it's always fresh for the kids, you know.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_05: We always want to offer something new and exciting every year, and making sure that we are continuously like updating and staying true with our brand, but making sure that it's exciting every year, you know.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_05: Gotta make the kids happy.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_05: That'd be cool.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: And UpROAR is like a newer competition in the industry.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: How long have y'all been around now?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I started up for in, I mean, officially 2019 when I started really planning everything, but um, we were supposed to start in spring of 2020.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Luckily enough, the venues that I was working with were super nice about it.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we were able to push everything to 2021.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: We did a virtual comp that year, which went really well, and then we actually started our events in 2021.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: I am sure that there are possibly people listening, other competition owners listening out there, who were in the same exact boat as you.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, every competition in the industry, even if they had been around for 30 years, all had to cancel their events in 2020.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: So, listeners, if you were around in in the competition industry back then, you all we all remember it.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: It was a hard time for us all in the dance world, whether we were on stage as performers, as dance studios, as dance competitions.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm sure there were many competitions who were like, my premier year is 2020, and maybe got like an event in before COVID hit.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I honestly feel lucky that we were starting that year.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like it made it easier to drop off, you know, and like not be involved, not try to do a studio blog season.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: And that's true.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have some friends that own competitions that, you know, they were being held to deposits and fees and everything.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I felt very lucky that you know we were able to push everything financially to a year later.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_05: And honestly, our virtual season was kind of cool, especially because it was that new era of everybody figuring out virtual teaching and dancing and how that was gonna happen.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_05: It was actually kind of a cool opportunity.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_05: We had a few kids I remember who said that they normally wouldn't be able to afford to attend an in-person competition and that they were able to attend our virtual because they could do it from home.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_05: And that was really cool for us.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what do we have?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: We had studios in Wisconsin, Hawaii, uh-huh.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Hawaii swept, they want a bunch of stuff.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, Colorado.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Colorado, California.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like we brought a lot of people from around the country together, and you know, during that time, that's all that really mattered was like feeling connected to other people in the dance community.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and seeing people like really dance like their maximum capacity, dance their heart out in whatever space they had, not just for like the performance value of it, but more for the love of the art, which we're gonna talk about a lot.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_05: You're gonna hear us repeat like broken record.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_05: It was it was cool, it was inspiring, especially in the time like Revin was saying when we really needed that.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, totally.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody was, you know, we were relying on those virtual comps.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's what was really cool to kind of like unite people from around the world and around the country who you may not ever have seen at competition before, may not have ever seen at nationals before, and get like an inside glimpse into what's going on on this side of the country and compete against compete, quote unquote, virtually against others who you really never get to.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that was what was really cool about the virtual comps.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I would love for you to share a little bit more about you.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: So if you could give me the rundown, you can each take a turn.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, maybe Ryland goes first and just give a little rundown on where you grew up, your dance history and training, and then maybe why and how y'all got connected into creating uproar.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, um, I started dancing at like eight.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: I started with musical theater.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually at a Wesley School for the Performing Arts in Daily City, California, and I started with their character dance program.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: We were doing Russian character dance and taking it to different competitions and stomping on the stage and using machetes to get spurs and our belts.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was wild.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And we were super good at it, so we were doing really well, but that was my like comp kid experience, the weirdest thing ever, right?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't think I've ever seen that ever in my all of my years of comp dance.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, I think we were the only ones to do it, honestly.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: So in Eastern Europe, you get into character dance if you love ballet and you don't physically have the ability to do it.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_04: Oh.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: So my teachers kind of did the opposite with me, and they said, You're supposed to be a ballet dancer, go and do this.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not excited about that, but eventually fell in love.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: I trained at Houston Ballet for the end of my training.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: I danced with Ballet West, Phoenix Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theater.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, had about a 14-year career, including nine months off because I blew my knee out.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Towards the end of my career, once I moved here to Colorado, I started teaching for Michelle Latimer Dance Academy and I was running her ballet program.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that's actually, I don't even know the official first time Danielle and I met, but Danielle is an alum from that studio.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: So we started doing projects together.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: I had a contemporary company at one point that Danielle was an integral part of.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, from there we just started talking.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: She's really good at social media, so I asked her to join in as social media.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think she's done pretty much every role in the company by now.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: She's done, you know, just merch desk, but then now she's running event, she's our social media director.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we're excited to be here.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: All right, Danielle.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me more about you.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: You're from Colorado.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_05: Rylan said, I'm from Colorado.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_05: I grew up dancing at Michelle Ladmer Dance Academy, which is where uh we think we met.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_05: I think.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_05: Um, yeah.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_05: So I grew up dancing, I started at like three, as everyone does, you know, doing like a good ballet tap combo.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_05: And around six, I was like, I don't like the structure.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_05: This is so serious, and I want to be wild.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_05: And my parents put me in kind of similar to Ryland, put me in like a musical theater situation.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_05: And it was at it was kind of like an after school program.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_05: I was still going to dance, and halfway through the year, kind of same with you, and I never even knew that about you.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_05: The director was like, You shouldn't be here.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_05: You need to be training seriously.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: And oh, they saw your potential.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and they were like, You can do musical theater in a different realm.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_05: Like, this is more of like a recreational gig kind of thing.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_05: So um I decided to change my focus back to all training in all various styles, and that led me into the competition space.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_05: So around seven, I started competing.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_05: I did my first solo to Shaka Lacka Baby from Bombay Dreams, if anyone on Broadway.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Never forget your first solo.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, where with like the seven, eight count leg holes, like really.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_05: But anyway, so I that was my transition into the competition world, and I was, you know, what you would consider your very serious, dedicated competition kid.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_05: I was at a competition every weekend, I did all the summer intensives, like yada yada, you name it.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_05: And most people from the studio that I grew up at just moved to LA and start working professionally in a commercial realm, but I was really, really in love with LA and really knew that I had more to learn and that my potential technically could grow, and I wanted to go to college, and nobody really had done that from my studio, so I was kind of the first person to go to college.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_05: That's crazy.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, literally everybody from the opposite everywhere else.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_05: And I didn't even really not as a dig, but I didn't even really grow up like knowing that it was an option to go to college for dance.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_05: I was actually heavily influenced by a choreographer, I'm sure you know, Jason Parsons, who ended up choreographing our first duet together.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_05: He's one of my biggest inspirations as a child, and he really encouraged me to take a college route because I went to common art mutual passion over the summer, which is now kind of like camp protege, if you will.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_05: And that encouraged me to find like an educational aspect to dance.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_05: So I went to college for dance, got my DFA, um, and the day I graduated got hired for my first contemporary company.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_05: And then that led to many other companies in commercial work.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_05: I've kind of done it all ballet, jazz, modern, commercial, kind of across the board.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_05: Rylan and I have danced together.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_05: I've done touring and all the fun things, a lot of great things.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_05: And then in college I got exposed to Latin ballroom.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_05: So my later in life endeavor, I still performed.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_05: I just actually did my first performance back since having a baby in three weeks.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh congrats.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_05: Oh my gosh! So that was big.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_05: Um, I still perform professionally in the contemporary realm, but now I compete in Latin ballroom as well.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_05: So that's I just did a lot of speaking, but I've done it all and I appreciate all forms of dance.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_05: I find that there is such a valuable component to the educational side of dance, which is something that we really focus on in our competition, and we'll get to that, I'm sure.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_05: But yeah, I love I love good, good trained dancers and good partner.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's why Danielle and I are such a good fit.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, besides the fact that we work together in a partnering aspect, like nothing's harder than that, you know.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So that's nice and easy now.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like we don't have to carry each other or sweat on each other and like that.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm bossy.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_05: Well, yeah, that's okay.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: We're also little, so it's easy enough.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: I can handle that.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: But basically, like her background is so many different things.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I was so extremely specialized that I feel really lucky to have her on board to speak to all the other genres that I may be very opinionated about.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't actually have a reason for that.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that sounds like a really perfect fit to go into business together and create this competition to learn from one another, from what you've learned from in the industry, from your professional careers, and then kind of coming together to now tackle a whole new side of the industry, which is the competitive dance world, which is very different from the professional world, from the ballet world.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I have two more questions uh for you, Danielle.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Number one, where did you go to college?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_05: I went to University of Iowa for their job-free program.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's no longer that type of program.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say, I haven't heard of that.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's no longer that type of program.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_05: I listen, let me tell you, coming from Colorado, I'd never met a single person who went to school in Iowa.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_05: And I was dead set on going to um U of A.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_05: And it was my first choice.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_05: Actually, my first choice was Chapman, and I committed early decision, got into the dance department, did not get in academically.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_05: So that was that was out of the question.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_05: So my second choice was the University of Arizona.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_05: Got in there, was ready to just say that's that.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_05: But my mom and dad really, really wanted me to look at at least five schools.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_05: The University of Iowa was my next audition, and I like fought my mom.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_05: Like I was like, I'm not, I'm not going to Iowa.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_05: That is so, you know, which listen, let me tell you, I was actually very pretty.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_05: I got there and I saw the campus and I was in love.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_05: It was so like stately and beautiful and very like college, if you will, and did the audition and didn't realize that it was a job free-based program.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_05: I didn't even really understand.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_05: I hadn't taken the time and the care to invest myself actually and getting to know the program because I was so dead set on not going there.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and the faculty lineup was insane.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_05: They had told us at the audition that they were gonna bring in Bot Sheba for the season as like our guest, our resident guest.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_05: And I was like, okay, say no more.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_05: And yeah, and I ended up getting um a really generous scholarship um through the dance department to go there.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_05: That matters.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and it it made a huge difference in my college experience because of that.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_05: I don't have debt, and that's something that I'm forever grateful for and like could not have done it without.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_05: So I ended up going there and it really, I mean, everything happens for a reason, but it really was such like a catalyst for the way that my life turned out, and I'm very, very fortunate.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_04: And I might expand.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's it it really was was the best the best program for me.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_05: And because of the experience I had, I actually now run a college prep business for young dancers looking to go to universities for dance specifically.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_05: And nice, yeah, and we have a scholarship opportunity within Uproar for seniors to work with me for free.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Love that.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to ask because you like glossed over it in your like rundown, and I was like, hmm, people want to know where people end up because we have a lot of dance parents that listen to our podcast.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: And the dance parents are the ones that want their kids to go to college, but just don't even know where to begin and what is legitimate and is pace the only option.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I think even just hearing your story of I was dead set on on um University of was it Arizona, I'm assuming.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like University of Arizona, but then I went and saw this other campus and it really changed my mind.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then I got a scholarship for that school, and then that put me, like made sure I wasn't in debt.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, oh yeah, there are other factors.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: If for even for the dancers out there listening, if you are stubborn and stuck on I need to go to one school, explore the options because something else might change your mind and might spark your interest and also financially help you way more than that dream school might.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because do you really want to be in debt the rest of your life?
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: Probably not.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_05: No, and to your point, exactly.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_05: I think that for parents, it's a very, especially if they did not dance, it is a very daunting process to apply for not just college, because you apply academically like everyone else, and then you put yourself in front of a panel, and your whole life essentially is like on the line, you know, because it's like you this is your future, and it's very daunting, it's very emotional.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_05: And just because I didn't have anybody to like role model my experience from, it was me and my mom.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_05: We were like, We're we're gonna figure it out, I guess.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_05: And so now I really have like such a passion for helping young dancers figure that out, and and also knowing, right, that like just because something's trendy or you are obsessed with a certain person who goes there doesn't mean that going to a different university can't lead you to the same path.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_05: I've worked everywhere, New York, Chicago, Denver, LA, Europe.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_05: I've done all the things, and I didn't need to go where I thought was my end-all be-all, which is my right.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and also I feel like I mean, for my generation at least, there are like three options for dancing.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And everything else was wordless.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: And now you're seeing more and more.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: I have two friends that I danced with in ballet that are running, you know, at the dance program for high-level universities.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: And one of them never had a dance program before.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's starting to build.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say now there's you know 10 to 12 good universities the kids can choose from.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: So it's definitely expanding and it's definitely getting to be a better option.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to help out with that as well.
• 19:18
  unknown: Yeah.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this is amazing.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to learn more about Uproar.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, one of the things that I'm curious for y'all to answer before we dive more into Uproar is I feel like many listeners might be thinking, after hearing about both y'all's background, hmm, this sounds like, you know, she really loves contemporary and he really loves ballet and comes from a ballet world.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, what kind of competition is Uproar?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Is it a ballet competition or is it an everything competition?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_05: Great question.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I mean, we pride ourselves in being an everything competition.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think in a way that leans into offering more ballet, showing more ballet, tap.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's some stuff out there that technically is super important and is less of a priority for a lot of studios, a lot of kids nowadays.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we're trying to really bring that back because we've noticed in our years of teaching that there are certain gaps in very talented dancers training.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: So while we do have specific backgrounds, we definitely care a lot about all of the different styles, making sure that everyone's feeling appreciated and we it's funny because I actually enjoy watching other types of dance more than ballet, just because I was a ballet dancer, so I'm horribly critical.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I always enjoy sitting in the audience during our competition weekends and seeing what everyone, you know, shows up with.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I think yeah, we're definitely in all-around everything competition.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_05: I think um specifically because I grew up that way and I was required to do everything, right?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_05: You know, as a kid, it's like when you sign up for your competitive team, you're usually required to do every single style.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_05: I have such a love for everything, like Rylan's saying, like, even though we didn't do it, it's so amazing to be able to watch studios who are so good at all these different styles, and to be able to be like, oh, every year XYZ studio, we're excited to see their hip hop.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and even though it might not be our specialties right now, like in later in life, I think we all have our whole staff has such an appreciation for all styles.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_05: And we're always like encouraging people to bring things that maybe they wouldn't bring somewhere else because they're worried about how it will work, but that's not what it's about for us.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_05: Like, we want the love of dance, we want you to put what you feel good about on stage, we want your dancers to feel good, and like come and come and dance, give, get what you want to give.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_05: Sometimes we've had some like almost like movie type musical theater, full on like acting, word spoken word.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_05: We've had some we've had some crazy penny wise, penny wise, we've had some crazy stuff on stage and We love it.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_05: We're like, bring it, do all of it.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_05: And like specifically, some studios, you know, throughout the United States do clogging.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_05: I think it's very rare, but we just had a clog.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_05: Like, bring it.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_05: We love it.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_05: Point work to clogging to ballroom.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_05: Bring bring all your shoes.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_05: Bring them.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Realistically, our partnership with you and IDA makes that possible.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, I mean, we've had enough conversations where I'm like, I cannot have anyone for hip hop this weekend.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's fallen through.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: So-and-so got booked.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you guys are spectacular.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Courtney always somehow comes through and finds us someone.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like anything that we're lacking in connections in the industry or when people fall through, if there's an issue, we always have you.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's always super appreciated.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Aw, thanks.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we that's one of the reasons why we started IDA.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: When I I I just saw a gap in the industry, especially for the competition organizations, that it's like, how are we finding our judges?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: How are we finding qualified judges?
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Is it always just, hey, a friend's available and like you don't know anything about them, but they can sit in that seat?
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, yes, and they might be available, but are they the right fit?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: Are they the right perfect perfect person to round this panel out?
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because, like you were saying, if you do need a judge that if you have clients that are coming that have hip-hop, a lot of hip-hop, good hip-hop.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: And in a perfect world, the competitions would say, Hey, I would love to have find a hip-hop judge, at least one hip-hop judge that can give like solid critiques, whatever it may be.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: So that's where we come in and we try to customize the panel to suit the needs of your clients and you as a client to me, the competition.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: So and y'all, we've been working together since like year one of Uproar.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually today before this um recording.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: I was trying to figure out where I learned about you.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I was gonna ask that question because I have no idea, honestly.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: I honestly have no idea either.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_05: Maybe through maybe through social media, just seeing because I think when did you start?
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_05: What year?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: 2015.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_05: So I think we must have seen it over the years from another competition of like advertising that they used your judges.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_05: And because Ryland and I have this conversation all the time.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_05: Like, we have to have a panel that can judge, like, TAF is so hard, I feel like, to have a good tap judge.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_05: Like, geez, just so hard.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_05: And so, you know, we always talk about that.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_05: Like, we want to have a panel that actually is giving fair and honest feedback.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_05: Our biggest pet peeve is when from teaching for the many, many years that we've both been teaching, to play a critique tape from someone else.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_05: Wow, that just aged me to say critique tape, but you know what I mean.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_05: To play a critique and have silence.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_05: And have, oh nice, fun, good.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we wanted technical critique, and I think somewhere along the way we saw something of yours advertised.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, or maybe we went to an event uh studio we worked for, and they were advertising that you know we used to.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I mean, in the back of my head, it's literally you were like the second person I contacted on this journey.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if that's what it is, but that's how I worked.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's interesting.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like through the years, a lot of brand new competitions come to IDA right away.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, I've heard about you, I've learned about you, I want to start off with a bang and have qualified judges sitting in the panel.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I respect it so much.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it's something that I really love because then I can grow.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: IDA and the judges can grow with the organization, which is exactly what we have done.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, for us, it was definitely, you know, such a big point of your guarantee if someone books a job and they disappear for the weekend, you know, you're gonna find someone.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: I know I don't think you've had to do it for us, but I know like sometimes it's just you.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you change your plans, and all of a sudden you've got to go to North Carolina because you're for the weekend.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, let's jump in.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that was the biggest selling point for us is that you know, finding qualified judges is hard, and then finding reliable people is hard.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have a service that provides that for you, you know, the the betting process that you have, and even just how you personally keep track of who we like to use, who didn't quite fit in with us, you know.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like I feel like every year you have the suggestions that always make sense, and you have such a versatile roster that it makes it really easy to staff for different events.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: And like Danielle said, all of a sudden one place has clogging and a lot of taps, so we know to like keep an eye out for that.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, that's that's a hard one.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's actually a question we ask new judges and our entire roster.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: Does anyone have any clogging experience?
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: Because it comes up.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like there are events that we staff where the competition's like, does anybody know clogging?
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because we have some entries.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a hand, like I would say five maximum judges on the roster out of 150 would feel confident critiquing clogging and may maybe not special specialize in it, but feel confident enough to provide some critiques that feel valuable.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: But then it's a matter of are those five people even available for that specific weekend and interested?
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Because all the judges are contractors, they're kind of freelancers doing their own thing.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: They might be booked out somewhere else or at a comp with their own kids that weekend.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: So so many factors go into the staffing of judges, judges no one's bringing clogging to a comp if it's mediocre.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: Nah, like they're killing it if they're bringing it, so then you have to have like the best critiques possible because they know what they're doing.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: Well, y'all, I would love to know.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, FYI, for all of our listeners out there, the events this season, you have four events this season, and they're not just competitions, they're also conventions, and that's kind of new for y'all this year.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: Is that true?
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so last year we experimented, we had a fall convention in Phoenix and then a separate competition the way we've been doing it.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then we also uh debuted in Des Moines, Iowa.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: We hadn't been there before.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: We had a really beautiful space, and so we ran a competition, convention, combined event in the hotel, and it was great.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: We loved it, it went super well.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: I legit had, I think, 10 days of experience on my staff for that weekend for front of house, back of house because Danielle was on maternity leave.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: One of my directors works for another event, so she was gone on that too.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: My stage manager, who it was the first event she's ever missed.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: She had a prior commitment to someone that's family, and so it was really interesting to not only be able to do a new form of event, but to be able to plug and play people and realize that you know we have a system that's set up that we can bring random people in for a weekend and they do a great job.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and all of our staff, like we kind of talked about this before, like we most I would say 97% of our staff are ex-dancers and have had or or are still dancers.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's just business partners that aren't really dancing.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, business partners or like technical, like you're saying back to house.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_05: But it is so amazing.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_05: I think there's something to be said about once you're a dancer, you're always a dancer and you're always like ready to perform, you know.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_05: And a high stress situation seems to always work very well for people who have specifically a competitive dance background.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_05: So I think our weekend in Iowa, it ran so great because Allie and all these people who are on our team who have had that competitive background were able to jump in and be like, I know this, I know how to run this, I did this, I grew up here, I lived here, you know, and it it was amazing.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_05: And that really just showed us that the the want, obviously, we all know that, right?
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_05: The want for more convention is always there for that competition convention combined situation.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_05: But it showed us that we're capable of creating an experience that's you unique enough for people to really want it, which is something that we're really trying to hone in.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: And at this point, you know, speaking to my background, I guess, we every single city we've been to has had a ballet-only studio show up.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a weird like vibes thing because it's we're not advertising ourselves as that.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: There isn't a bunch of like bio stuff about me on the website and my background.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: But every teacher I've talked to just said like it seemed like we would have a good experience for them.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: So we have kids in Iowa that are ballet kids only taking our contemporary and our ballroom classes, like literally why we started this is just to expose kids to more dance, and maybe you're finding something that you're actually called to.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you'll enjoy something you never would have tried before.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: Dancers, parents, teachers, studio owners.
• 31:03
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• 31:14
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• 31:25
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• 31:29
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• 31:36
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• 31:43
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• 31:54
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• 32:08
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• 32:10
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• 32:13
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• 32:26
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• 32:28
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• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of, as we know, there's so many dance conventions out there, but it it's interesting for me to kind of witness and having been there with y'all from the start, seeing how Uproad launched, like and you're growing each year and you're gaining more events each year, but this year we're making the transition from being just a competition to a convention competition.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I guess my question, because I'm also curious too, since I haven't started staffing yet, but we, you know, but we will be very shortly for the season.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: How how is your schedule looking for the weekend event?
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: Is the are the classes the priority and that's what matters more, and then competition is a bonus, or is the competition more of the priority and it's and the classes are the bonus?
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_05: That's a good question.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's such a good question.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's funny because as you say that, I think about different events that obviously you know promote one over the other.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is gonna be such a cliche answer, but we're trying to keep it even.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know that we will always succeed at that, yeah, but that's our goal.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and yeah, it's our goal because kind of what we said earlier, and I knew that we'd get back here, and I'm so happy we are that we're here now, is that we want both sides of it to be educational.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_05: And I really something that we're very passionate about is coming back to dance as an art form, right?
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_05: We're right now, I feel like it's just very into competition in general because it's trendy, right?
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_05: And social media has risen dance to a whole different level and it's a different playing field.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_05: And I can't imagine I sometimes for my students, I'm like, I feel for you.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_05: Like I, this is a dog eat dog kind of situation, and you're it's you're a kid, right?
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_05: This is meant to be about learning.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_05: This is meant to be about sure, seeing how you stack up against other people, that's the competitive aspect of it, but not that the end-all be-all is what did you win?
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_05: What did you walk away with?
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_05: Well, more so did you walk away feeling proud, learning something, meeting someone new, making a future connection that will help your career as you get older in this world.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_05: Like, so I think when we say we want to make it even, we want to put an emphasis on like it's not just about winning, it's about learning, it's about community, it's about coming together, it's about dancing because it's what you love, first and foremost.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_05: And then sure, see how you stack up amongst people that you can admire and inspire to be like and help promote each other instead of make it this like, well, who is the overall winner and you know, is this so-and-so, blah, blah, blah, of the weekend.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_05: Which, sure, that has its own place and it's great.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I just think that we our our hope is that we can inspire young dancers to really believe in themselves first and let dance take them where they want because truly there is a spot for everybody at dance.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_05: There really is.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: Ooh, that was so good.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, so inspiring.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: Motivational speaker over here.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_05: I, you know, I work with children.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing we've really tried to keep to is that I feel like during COVID, the dance community came together a lot.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: You had studios staying for another studio's like block of competition, you had studios cheering each other on a lot.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so we always encourage that.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: We've had times that our stage manager is like, I can't hear backstage because kids are cheering so much for another studio, and that's exactly what we want.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is a big group experience.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: If these kids end up making it, they're gonna be working alongside everyone that they're competing with.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, no matter what, there's always that sense of community.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: You're always gonna run into someone that knew you or is heard of you.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we just want to, you know, make that a part of it, make it a big community event and make everyone come together, you know, hopefully they leave with some new friendships.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and make sure everyone feels special and seen.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_05: I think like it's so important, especially the way that we run our conventions and competitions.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_05: While we would never turn anyone away, we do try to keep our events on the more medium size.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_05: So we don't have a ballroom full of five other people.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_05: We want kids to be able to have space to be seen, to feel seen, to get individual feedback from teachers.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_05: Um, I think that's why for Arizona being our first convention, it was like such a beautiful experience because every ballroom, while it was we had a ton of kids, it was enough of a teacher-to-kid ratio that classes could have an aspect of individual feedback.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_05: And there were moments that we have that our videographer captured of each teacher coming up and giving a kid an individual correction and that kid like lighting up and being so excited to be noticed, and not just in an audition setting.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that that's really important for us too, is like while yes, we do give away scholarships and we have that component of our events and we give away awards, obviously, a competition.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_05: Like to have a moment to feel important in a room full of people where it's not a make it or break it, it's not about competition, it's about like everybody being like, Wow, you're amazing.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_05: That was so inspiring, is so unique, I think, for us and special for us, and something that we want to give everybody that you come away from the weekend feeling like you were there, you were noticed, you were seen and you're valuable, and you go home learning something new, like Rylan said, having a new friend, whatever it may be, but that it's not just a you're in, you're out, you were in a city of a thousand kids, and the top ten are the only people who were noticed.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of that comes from both Danielle and I have taught at the highest level studios, but I mean, obviously, also started our teaching careers at a random dolly dinkle.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: So we've seen all the different levels of it.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: We've, you know, absolutely loved kids and cared for them who are showing up and not getting any attention at a weekend.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: And we've also had students that are out there and killing it now that they've graduated.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we really understand the large spectrum of what there is for dancers out there.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: And like Danielle said, we want everyone to feel cared for, seen, you know, no matter who you are, you have something valuable to bring to the table.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and like knowing that even if you are this not as well-known studio, you can still have kids that are just as talented as these massive studios that are so well known and they're famous on TikTok and Instagram and whatever, like you can still have these kids who have so much potential and so much to give and are hungry to give that.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_05: They just need the opportunity to be seen in the correct venue.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I was gonna piggyback on that because that's kind of the point of our uh regional championship.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: So because we're not huge, we're not doing a nationals yet, and our first season we only did two events.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: So we wanted to have something special because there's no the going to Vegas at the end of the year.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we introduced the regional championship, and part of that is trying to help keep dancers with the people that made them great.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: So if you win a regional championship, that means that you're the highest scoring solo of the weekend.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_05: Regardless of age.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: None of that.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's just the absolute highest scoring solo of the weekend, and you receive a$1,000 scholarship.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: But the catch is that the scholarship goes to your studio and it goes towards your training or costumes or whatever you know.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: You currently go to your studio because we all know that's a lot of money.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you bounce studios to somewhere else, the studio is going to keep that money because they're the ones that train you in the first place.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to encourage kids to stay where they grew up.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've seen so many times that kids think the grass is a greener on the other side.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: It happened to me as a child.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_00: You go to another studio, and all of a sudden you go from being number one to number seven.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it's confusing, and you don't understand why that's happening.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times it would be better maybe to just stay with the folks that made you that.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they they understand your weaknesses, they understand your personality, and so we're really trying to encourage, you know, keeping the studios, you know, having the talented dancers that they grew up with.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and while we could yeah, and while we thought about when we were like discussing our awards that we were gonna give out, while we thought about like giving that thousand dollars towards like competition fees, that's really not our goal, right?
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_05: Like our goal is not, yeah, we obviously as a business, right?
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_05: We want you to come back, right?
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_05: We we want you, but our goal is that you continue to train so next year when you come back, you're even better, you're even more confident, you're even more solidified in your technique that we get to watch you grow.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_05: I think because we have, like Brad was saying, both taught at so many different studios, we've seen like progressions of students grow in competitions, and that it is really cool when a competition is able to say to somebody, I watched you dance since you were seven, and today you're 18, and your growth is phenomenal, and like the interest that that makes for a kid, we have that happen in Arizona.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_05: There's a girl who we've watched for the past since we started, and she has blossomed so beautifully and so like she's in the like genuinely, yeah, she's a real artist, and to be able to know that we're like a part of her journey and that we could inspire her in the tiniest way or impact her training at her studio and give back to them a little, you know, that's like why we do what we do.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, that's the biggest perk of it.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have a friend of mine who I remember when she was pregnant with this kid, and her daughter did her first solo ever at an uproar event.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, that's amazing.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and mom was so nervous, she owns a studio, she's like, I've never been this nervous for anything in the kill.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: She was amazing, but like to be involved in that, to be, I have so many core memories from competition weekends in my childhood.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think proportionately, that's the most positive memories I have out of anything from being a kid, from my dance training, all of it.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and probably the most time you spent doing anything.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_05: You know, you're there every weekend, right?
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: All the time.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, to know that in 15 years someone's gonna remember, you know, the random weekend they had in 2026 at an uproar event.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's, you know, that's the world to us.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it it means so much.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm just gonna share this because it happened to me yesterday and I still kind of just like shook by it.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_01: But I was teaching at Steps on Broadway in New York City, and I went to the gift shop and the per there at Steps on Broadway and all the major um dance studios for professionals in New York and LA, they often have like work study options for people to work for limited pay to get discounts on classes so they can keep training.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure that's what that's what the situation was here, but this dancer was working behind behind the counter and they were like, You look so familiar.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: Did you ever teach at a dance convention in Buffalo, New York in 2019?
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like so specific.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm thinking back, and they did say what what convention.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I immediately was like, actually, yeah, I I did.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: I I remember, and they were like, I knew it was you.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, like you were the first class of the weekend, and it was my first time at a dance convention.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: I was a kid.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: And you pulled me out in that class.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_01: You like told me to come out in a select group or solo or whatever.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, oh my God, that's crazy.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: You remember that?
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: And the dancer was like, because of you pulling me out in that class, that confirmed and inspired me to pursue a professional career.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, see, did that make you feel like so?
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_01: I was just like, oh my God, like so emotional in that moment with this, with this now adult who is 20 years old going to college at SUNY Purchase and hope to be a contemporary dancer.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: And took my musical theater class.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know what I mean?
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's just, it's, it's so, so special to those moments do matter and um they happen more than we think.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like that one thing that can change and shift a dancer's perspective and motivation at at these events that might not just come from these can these things can happen inside of your studio space as well.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: But a lot of times it comes from being seen from someone outside of your studio.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think that conventions and competitions can create those those opportunities and moments for a lot of dancers around the country and the world.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it's super special.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: Our first convention that we had last year in Phoenix, everyone on staff was either like an old friend of mine or Danielle's, or through you.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it was amazing to see like we didn't tell the teachers to do this.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: All the teachers would stay and like talk to students after their class.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: Just spend a little time.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: If someone came up to them and had a question, like you're not just grabbing your bag and stomping out of the room.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: You're taking that extra bit of time to they're gonna remember you in 15 years, you know, like that little bit of extra care we think goes a really long way.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_01: It says a lot about the teachers too, who you're hiring.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, are they just like taking a paycheck or and going up to their room and kicking their feet up, or are they like invested in the kids that they're teaching and like want to be surrounded by that community and that environment throughout the weekend as well?
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, and I love that you guys are offering the classes now.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, because of that, and you were kind of in the whole like levels talk at a point earlier, I'm curious to know for all of our listeners out there, do y'all offer levels at uproar for competition?
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously age divisions, but because a lot of now that you are doing convention as well, a lot of convention competitions don't have levels, they're like a no-level zone.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: But since you were a competition first, do y'all still have levels and are you continuing on with that?
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, yes, we do have levels.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_05: We have three levels technically, and we will like a novice, uh intermediate and advanced kind of.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_05: We we don't have fun level names for them, but we will definitely continue that because I think, in our opinion, and I feel like this aligns with your judges that you hire for us really nicely, there it's very unfair to judge somebody who's danced for two years in the same way as you judge somebody who's danced for 12, right?
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_05: Like it's just not fair.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_05: Now, that doesn't mean that somebody who's danced for two years isn't a natural-born prodigy and and completely sweeps, like you know, good for them.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_05: That's their calling, that's what they're meant to do, right?
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_05: But it it's not fair to judge somebody that way.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_05: So we do offer levels.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_05: Our convention classes, obviously, we don't really can't really provide levels, there's just like not enough time or space ever to do that.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_05: But because our classes are smaller, I would say that if a teacher sees, you know, a group of kids or a kid struggling to pick something up, we have assistants in all of our classes, and those assistants go and help and help, you know, say, maybe you've never seen this step, or maybe you just need a little extra time picking up the choreography.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_05: Let me run it with you.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_05: Our assistants are amazing.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_05: We have a bunch of um young, budding professional dancers who are our assistants that are in each class, and they are eager and ready and very they're all from different universities and all do different things professionally now, and they are ready to help.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_05: So that's kind of our level situation in classes, but competitively, yes, we will, I think, always do that.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know, the way we set our levels is based on number of hours trained during the week, right?
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because I I was super lucky to be a boy in dance, and I got a bunch of scholarships.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_00: If I had been a girl who wanted to dance, my family couldn't have afforded it, right?
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not to do it at the high level that I did.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: So there are definitely some kids out there, their family can afford for you know three hours of training.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're not any less deserving of stage time and recognition and being able to enjoy the weekend.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like if you run a competition without levels, you're only catering to the top level of dancer who know they're amazing anyway.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you can cater to when you have levels anyway, but then you're forgetting about the kids that you know might not make it unless they get that one opportunity.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they might care about it so much but not have the support at home.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we really, in our attempts to help the dance world, I think that's part of it too, is bringing in everybody that has an interest.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: Love to hear it.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's amazing.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I think that there are um so many opportunities now to allow dancers uh who train only a few hours a week to high-level, advanced, super advanced level dancers.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's something for everyone in our competition and convention industry now.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that that is really special that you're gonna continue on with the levels because also a lot of your clients and your studio customers who have been attending Upro events previously are used to that unexpected and love that.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_01: So to continue on with that and then have the added bonus of a lot of new classes to introduce.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_01: Now, would you also um share if your judges at the competition who are supplied by impact dance adjudicators, are those people also teaching the classes at convention, or are you bringing in separate judges and separate teachers?
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we have a little bit of both.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um we are using a lot of your judges as teachers this year.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um we did that last year and they all did a great job.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so fun to meet people through you that you know we have two degrees of separation with in some other way.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: The dance community is so small somehow.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then so, yeah, the majority of them are either gonna be staffed through you or people that we've known for years because we want to make sure we have that continuity who we have on staff, you know, the positive mentality that we want to bring across.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_00: And everyone that you've provided us has done a good job of that.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: So we're glad to have that partnership keep going.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and we do try it.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, every weekend obviously, as you know, is a little bit different, even though the process is streamlined, it's never exactly a curb and coffee.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_05: We do try when we can.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_05: I think this answers your question to have judges maybe not always teaching.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_05: So there is some separation, but a lot of times that that's super hard to have worked out because I I do I can respect and understand like maybe not having a preconceived notion of a dater, right?
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_05: And seeing them on stage as a blank slate for the first time.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_05: But then on the other side, I can also see having a teacher see a kid in class and see potential and see them on stage and actually maybe be able to judge them more efficiently, right?
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_05: By being like, I know you're you're capable of XYZ because I thought and maybe this moment is not your moment and that's okay.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_05: You're having an off day.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_05: So we I I I um I think we try to be able to do both, but it does depend on the weekend.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I as someone who teaches on convention and judges on convention, I I think it's really special that I get to witness dancers in their element in what they've been training and rehearsing in, where they're they're comfortable on stage in the style that suits them, um, in their solo or their group dances with their studio, and then get to work with them and kind of dissect and investigate their training even more in a class setting.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's exp it's special and exciting to get to see dancers more than once in two different ways throughout the weekend and not just in the judge's seat the whole time.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's really special that you have that crossover.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of companies that will just have judges on one side and teachers on the other, or there are a lot of companies that blend it and everybody's got to do everything, you know?
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's a lot of companies that have convention teachers that want nothing to do with judging.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, no, don't make me judge.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not good at it.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to do it, you know.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it is, it does say a lot about finding people that want that want to sit in the chair for the judge's seat because that's sometimes it's hard to find.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_01: Granted, you are using IDA, so everybody wants to.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_01: We're all they're all over here judges first and teachers often, as everybody's a teacher these days.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_01: But like, you know what I'm saying?
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think that it makes it kind of like a special treat for the kids to be like, sometimes as judges, you kind of um get this kids kids think we're like the scary mean person behind the table.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like they don't get to really like get to know us, see our personality, like so being able to get to know them in a class setting, even for the kids, I think can ease their mind like, oh, that teacher was so fun today in class.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to perform for them tonight at competition.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_05: Totally.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and probably for a lot of kids, I would imagine too, it makes the critique make more sense and be more impactful.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_05: Because you're not like, oh, this is a scary or mean right person.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_05: If they're giving a critique, it's meant to help you, and you know that.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so I have a few more questions before we wrap up.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_01: And one of my final questions is what do you feel makes Uproar unique in the competition industry compared to other competitions?
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_01: Now I know you've talked a lot about this, but is there anything that we missed?
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think that the regional championship scholarship is a huge, huge perk.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_01: But are there any other things that you really feel sets you apart from the rest?
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think our main thing for that is learning over winning.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that we want it to be educational, and that's I honestly didn't start up or with the plan of doing convention at all.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was going to be a competition straight through and through, and it just kind of happened because it made sense.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and I think because it's really through our general idea of wanting it to be good experience, educational, you know, that dance is an art form.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, part of what's so hard about competition dance is being an art form is subjective.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_00: Danielle and I have very different opinions on dance.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: And we've like had arguments about choreographers, right?
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, they're trash, and Danielle loves them.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's the point of it, right?
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: But then it makes it so hard to judge.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's like ice skating in the Olympics, right?
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_00: Track and field, you just oh, you came in first, you were the fastest.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's easy.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_00: But anything like dance, I feel like we need to have that little bit of separation too, so that we can step away, remember it's an art form, remember that you know, we want to perform, we want to enjoy ourselves.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I think in as we've said before, like really um stressing that it's about the experience of being on stage, and this kind of leads into something also sets us apart is we really do have like state-of-the-art production.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_05: Our stage manager is she is a godsend, she is the most incredibly talented, wonderful human, and she's done everything from like college performances to large, large, large performances.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_05: Her lighting, her music, her just direction in general.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, she's incredible.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_05: Ryland will have a lot to say about her, but I I think that something that really sets us apart is that mixed in with this concept of like it's about the experience creates what I would consider to be like a little bit more of a professional experience of a competition rather than just a show up, compete, get an award, each ice cream goes.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_05: It's like you you show up and you feel valued.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_05: We want every we we really try to get to know all of our studios too.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_05: Like we want to have a relationship with you.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_05: We want you to come back, we want to know your kids.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_05: We like we were talking about the dancer from Phoenix.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_05: We want to watch people grow, we want to be able to provide you with an experience that you feel is valuable as a studio owner, as a parent, that you're not like, what is this?
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_05: You know, jump together situation.
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_05: We have nice lighting, we have a beautiful backdrop.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_05: We try for majority of our competitions.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_05: Sometimes again, it doesn't work out with the weekend, the venue, etc.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_05: We try to have it be on an actual stage.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_05: So you are performing on a stage.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_05: You know what it's like to be backstage, not in a you know, so-and-so room, whatever we try our best, it doesn't always work out that way, but that you have a high quality production, that you are, you know, having everything basically that we talked about, this full experience, and that it's more of a takeaway than just another competition weekend.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_05: I know you want to talk about Melissa, but our last thing is for teachers.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_05: I gotta give a shout-out to the teachers.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_05: We, when Rylan decided that he wanted to start Up Roar, we were talking about various things that we thought would be cool.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_05: And originally it was it was for the dads, but we then we were like, no, the teachers need it.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_05: We have a teacher's oasis.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_05: And our teachers oasis is a private space where teachers can go to collect themselves, debrief, take a moment.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_05: It is stocked with snacks, drinks, massagers, chargers, first aid, deodorant, everything you could need.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_05: It's like a safe space for teachers to decompress.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_05: Also, in our hopes that we build community, that you're not just like passing each other in the hall and like, you know, wishing each other good luck, but maybe not really caring.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_05: That you get a place to be non-biased.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_05: It's not about your kids, it's not about how the day is gone.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_05: You come in, you can relax, get to know each other.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_05: That's a little something special fun perk, I think, that we have that as a teacher I really appreciate.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_05: I think there are so many weekends where I like have to sit on the floor of a hallway by myself and like cry for a minute.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_05: Tired, and I would prefer to have a lot of people.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_00: Do that with other people who are dying as well, right?
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, um, you know, so originally it was like a let's have a space for dads to watch football on Sundays so they want to come to the competition, and then we're like, okay, that's that's too that's too extreme.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_04: But eventually not a bad idea.
• 58:37
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, eventually there will be a football room with a golf simulator.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's it could be like a screen with football and all of the different teams that are playing, and then a separate screen that's live streaming the comp.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then it scrolls on the bottom of all the football screens what routine is currently on, so they don't miss their kids' routine.
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just the name of their child.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, not just the number.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's no good.
• 59:02
  SPEAKER_01: This is kind of genius.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna lie.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_05: I know because watch somebody who has the means to do this right now take this idea from us.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_05: We'll come and we will hunt you down.
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_05: This is our idea.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: Don't do it, y'all.
• 59:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uproar, you heard it first.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uproar had it first, and it's coming soon to an uproar event.
• 59:19
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe not this season, but soon.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 2027.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna back up a little bit to talk about Melissa because she really is the heart and soul of Uproar.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like I mentioned last year in Des Moines was the first event she missed.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_00: I, as the like original founder and owner, had missed an event before Melissa.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_00: But I knew her from my ballot career.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_00: We toured Poland together.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's actually part of why I knew she could handle this, was because we did a show where whatever reason the computer wouldn't, her computer wouldn't plug into the computer at the venue.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody that worked at the venue spoke English, and she had to live light a whole 90-minute show through a translator.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, wow.
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it was perfect.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like my parts relied on a lot of light, and they were always there.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_00: So as soon as she did that, I was like, Oh, you can totally handle like anything comp dance is gonna throw at you.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, easy crazy.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_00: So an opera was just an idea.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_00: I called her, I'm like, hey, how are you doing?
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're old friends.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Do you want to do you know, work for me, do a dance competition?
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, Oh, like dance mobs?
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Yeah, no way.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_00: She said some things that like I can't repeat on here, right?
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, Okay, I'm gonna do that.
• 1:00:36
  SPEAKER_00: COVID happened, we went through the virtual year.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_00: I just decided to hit her up again, but I told her I had a better idea of what I wanted.
• 1:00:44
  SPEAKER_00: And part of that, like Danielle said, is the more professional experience.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like one thing that comp kids are really lacking is understanding of backstage etiquette.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, for sure.
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know how to respect the stage crew, the production managers, staying out of people's way, just all of that.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that's and I know so many dancers that are amazing dancers and they get into the professional world and they they're thrown off by that because they weren't raised with it.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 1:01:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, like we have Melissa's manifesto every year that's different things that we want to fix.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_00: We have lots of signs that go up.
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_00: We pride ourselves in making sure there's you know good respect backstage, we're only doing two numbers deep.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone has to check in with Melissa when they check in with her.
• 1:01:27
  SPEAKER_00: She goes, What's your primary color of your costumes?
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because she wants to adjust the lighting for each routine.
• 1:01:33
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
• 1:01:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, she's just she really brings it full circle to us wanting it to be artistry, wanting it to be something more than your average competition because like she didn't even want to be involved in competition dance, and she loves it now.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like she's absolutely upset, and you know, studios know her, the kids know her, and so it's definitely to the lifer now.
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 1:01:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, you've created something so special for her to want to be a part of, you know, and like really gave her the a place to shine um in her element through uproar and what you can bring to the table, even that little detail, which I love.
• 1:02:10
  SPEAKER_01: So many comps are are paying attention to those details of like, let's change the lighting or the mood on stage, let's change the background image or whatever it may be.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's so darn cool.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_01: I I love it.
• 1:02:21
  SPEAKER_01: It just adds a little personalization to each dance and um makes it extra special besides it just being, you know.
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, let's be real, everyone wants something for the social media these days.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it just adds that little touch that feels like, oh, you thought about me, my dance that's on stage right now.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I love that you can incorporate that into uh your events.
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it sounds like you have such a great team that really loves this and uh loves to be a part of it.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you have four events this season: Kansas City, Des Moines, Oklahoma City, Phoenix.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_01: Did I miss any?
• 1:02:54
  SPEAKER_04: No, that's right.
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, as we mentioned for all of our listeners out there, four events, they're all competitions with conventions.
• 1:03:01
  SPEAKER_01: So you get some classes attached to the experience if you want to come to an uproar event.
• 1:03:07
  SPEAKER_01: There are levels at their event.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_01: They also give away a regional championship scholarship of$1,000 going back right into your studio dance training, which is so unique and so cool, state-of-the-art design and lighting, as well as a teacher's oasis.
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_01: So many perks over here at Uproar, and full panels of IDA judges at their events.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_01: And to lead us out with this episode, I would love for you to share where you think Uproar will be in the next five years.
• 1:03:35
  SPEAKER_01: What is the future of Uproar looking like?
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so our goal in the next five years is to hit 20 events.
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um we're kind of taking the West Coast, Midwest first, um, but eventually we want to get over to the East Coast.
• 1:03:48
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about nationals and where we want to have those.
• 1:03:51
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, in the next five years, we're looking to expand a lot and just bring what we're doing to the whole country.
• 1:03:56
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 1:03:57
  SPEAKER_05: Really spreading it, making sure that the kids always remain the focus of what we're doing and the reason of the love of dance.
• 1:04:05
  SPEAKER_05: And for our expansion, I want to do like a little shameless plug.
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_05: Something that I didn't mention earlier is we do have a lot of ambassador opportunities.
• 1:04:14
  SPEAKER_05: It's something that we started in the early days, and I love it because we get to have the kids be somewhat more involved.
• 1:04:22
  SPEAKER_05: So every year, check out our socials.
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_05: We always kind of run like an ambassador search, if you will.
• 1:04:28
  SPEAKER_05: And if Uproar is a competition that you are already coming to or you now want to come to, DM us.
• 1:04:35
  SPEAKER_05: Let us know if you think you'd be a good fit to be an ambassador.
• 1:04:37
  SPEAKER_05: We look for kids who represent our studio, show respect for everybody, are proficient in multiple genres, and just love to dance, want to perform, want to get to know people.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_05: We have had like various kids be ambassadors that have been ambassadors with us since the beginning and have gone on to do incredible things.
• 1:04:58
  SPEAKER_05: We've had one of our faculty members competed at Uproar and now works for us.
• 1:05:03
  SPEAKER_05: So weaving in those connections, building the competition bigger.
• 1:05:07
  SPEAKER_05: We want to reach as many people as possible.
• 1:05:09
  SPEAKER_05: So if you want to be involved, shoot us a DM.
• 1:05:13
  SPEAKER_01: We hope you enjoyed our latest IDA affiliated competition feature with Uproar Dance Competition.
• 1:05:20
  SPEAKER_01: Huge shout out to Ryland and Danielle for joining us on this chat.
• 1:05:24
  SPEAKER_01: Be sure to follow their competition on Instagram at Dance Uproar.
• 1:05:28
  SPEAKER_01: And to learn more about Uproar Dance Competition and conventions and find out when they're coming to a city near you, visit their website at DanceUproar.com.
• 1:05:38
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• 1:05:45
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• 1:05:51
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• 1:05:59
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• 1:06:06
  SPEAKER_01: Be sure to check out IDA affiliated competition, Uproar Dance Competition.
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uproar Dance Competition and Convention is an exciting, high-energy dance experience built on decades of experience within competition dances.
• 1:06:20
  SPEAKER_01: They believe the weekend experience matters far more than the trophy.
• 1:06:23
  SPEAKER_01: Their conventions offer educational opportunities with top industry professionals, while their competition provides an encouraging environment, scholarship opportunities, and regional recognition.
• 1:06:34
  SPEAKER_01: Roar with Updoar in 2026 in Kansas City, Des Moines, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_01: Learn more about Uproar Dance competitions and conventions on their website at danceuproar.com and register now for an upcoming event.
• 1:06:49
  SPEAKER_02: Coming up next on Making the Impact, an episode about fundraising for dance, another throwback episode, and why Lyrical deserves a spot in your weekly training.
• 1:06:58
  SPEAKER_02: See you next week for some more great episodes.