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Mastering Competition Etiquette: From Dressing Rooms to Backstage · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_05: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_05: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_05: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_05: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_05: Dance competitions happen primarily on stages, but there's a whole world that exists backstage and in the dressing room.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_05: Today on Making the Impact, we're talking about the etiquette and respect that's required in these spaces with two IDA judges and dance educators.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_03: Hey dance world, welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_03: What's up, Courtney?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_03: It's podcast day.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_03: It's podcast day, and also your birthday just happened.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_05: It did! Oh, I'm a I am a number that I will not disclose, but most people who know me know that number because I've been talking about it for like 10 years.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_05: But yeah, so we just got back from Puerto Rico.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_05: I always go on a trip for my birthday, but this is the first time I've gone somewhere tropical because I was like, it's the winter, it's terrible, we have to go somewhere nice.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_05: So really sad to be back in the cold here in New Jersey, but it was a very worthwhile trip.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_05: And yeah, cheers to a new year ahead.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yay! Happy birthday, and I hope you had a magical time in Puerto Rico.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_03: Sounds lovely.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_03: I would love to be there right now because darn it's cold in New York.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_05: Ugh, hateful.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_05: But you know, it's getting close.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_05: We see the light of day.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_05: Spring is on the way.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_05: So we just gotta get through this next like two months.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, and I know we will because competition season is here, and we've been talking about how we've been waiting for competition season.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_03: I know a lot of people have already started competing, but I definitely consider like February is competition season.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, 100%.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like we have we are in it, and this week's episode, we intentionally put right here on this stage.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_03: At the top of the season specifically, because we're talking about etiquette today at competition in your dressing room, backstage at the event, even a little bit of audience etiquette.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_03: This is for the parents, the studio owners, the teachers, and the dancers.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_03: Y'all all need to be listening.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_03: So before you head to your first competition of the season, give this episode a listen, share it with your friends, and before we jump into this wonderful episode, let's hear from our sponsors.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_03: Ready to take your competition dance to the next level?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: Looking for a fresh set of eyes to critique your solo?
• 2:37
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• 2:41
  SPEAKER_03: Simply send us a video of your dance, whether it's from an in-studio rehearsal or an on-stage performance, and our judges will take it from there.
• 2:48
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• 2:55
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• 2:58
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• 3:09
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• 3:15
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• 3:24
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• 3:28
  SPEAKER_03: Visit our website to learn more and submit your dance now at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com slash online critiques.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_03: Get ready to wow the judges at your next competition after using IDA's online judges critiques.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_03: We can't wait to see your dance.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_03: Alright, dance world.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_03: We're heading in to this week's episode, and we're back again to talk all about etiquette.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_03: And this one is for the parents and the dancers, y'all.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: And honestly, probably some of the studios and studio owners, let's be real, because there's a lot of abusing of the dressing room spaces happening at competition.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_03: They look like a bomb went off by the time y'all left that competition weekend.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_03: There's glitter, there's bobby pins, there's food leftovers just hanging around, no one's cleaning up their mess, and that is unacceptable.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: We have to fix this problem in our industry.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_03: And not only in the dressing rooms, but also what's the etiquette supposed to look like backstage?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_03: What's the etiquette supposed to look like in the audience?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_03: We've talked about this many times on making the impact, but we need to keep on talking about it.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_03: So here we are again with two new guests on this topic to cover their thoughts and share their experiences.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_03: They are also two IDA judges on our roster and longtime dance teachers.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_03: The very first guest that I'm excited to welcome back to our podcast.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_03: She's been here for many episodes, y'all.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_03: You may remember her from season four, episode 115, making the transition to a new age division, season two, episode 32, how to execute unique choreography concepts, and season one, episode seven, age range expectations.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: I'm very excited to welcome back the one, the only Miranda Spada to the podcast.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Miranda.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_04: It's so nice to be back.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_04: I always love my time with you guys and always love listening to all the cool ideas that you bring up.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_04: And I think it's super important to just continue the conversation with all these topics.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yay! And Miranda, you're you're like a full-time dance teacher.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: Like you eat, sleep, breathe, dance.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_03: You are at the studio every single day.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_03: I knew that you would have a lot of opinions and advice to share on this topic of being in and out of dressing rooms at competition and in and out of the audience.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I feel like I always like to say if I'm not like at a dance competition with my own students, I'm judging a dance competition.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_04: So just living and breathing in that environment, especially growing up in it as well.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_04: Um, you have a lot of tips and tricks that you've learned to just kind of present your best self every time.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, absolutely.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_03: Well, uh, thanks for coming back on the pod.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_03: And since it's been two seasons since we've had you, if you could refresh everyone's memory on a little bit more about you.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_04: Sure, absolutely.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_04: So I currently live in Buffalo, New York.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_04: We are getting snowed in as we speak.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, we've been lucky and haven't had where I'm from, like specifically in Buffalo.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_04: We haven't had a ton of snow, but we're getting it today.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_04: And I am the competition director at a studio here in Buffalo, and I run my own mentorship program for dancers.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_04: And I also do all the judging things, but I am the director and creator of the first AMP ambassador program for AMP dance competition.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_04: We just ran it out this season, so we're really excited about it.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_04: And then I just do lots of different certifications and continually like try to immerse myself in the education of dance.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yay! I love that.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_03: And you contribute so much to our dance world.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you so much for being here and joining us.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you again.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_03: I appreciate it.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_03: Our next special guest is a brand new judge to the IDA roster this season.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_03: We're so happy to welcome her to our roster of fantastic adjudicators.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: And she has been a dance teacher for over 15 years, and she is here to share her perspective for the first time on the podcast.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_03: I'm very excited to welcome Kiri Kowalik to the podcast.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Kiri.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, thanks so much.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to be here and to talk about all this fun etiquette stuff.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be a good time.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, it is.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna have a blast.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_03: So Kiri, if you could share more about you, where you're from, where you grew up, what your early dance training, and um where you're at now.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'd love to.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I live in Manchester, New Hampshire.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I grew up actually as a gymnast.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that was kind of my first love, and then I switched into dance in high school and haven't really looked back.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up competing with New Hampshire School of Ballet, and then I did a bunch of dancing in college and have actually have my PhD in global studies, and then also teach dance at a local dance studio, Miss Kelsey's, and at our local palace theater.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I also am really involved with our community here as well.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'm really excited to be here and excited to be a part of the IDA family.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_03: We're so thrilled to have you and uh New Hampshire and the Palace Theater.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_03: Definitely I've heard a lot about the Palace Theater.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_03: I also just like I have to ask just because she's an OG IDA judge, but do you know Christina Balinski?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: She's in like a New Hampshire scene.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_03: Amazing.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we actually danced together at New Hampshire School of Ballet for a little while.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_04: After you did that, I think I judged with Christina over the summer.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_04: So she's a wonderful human.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: She is a wonderful human.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: We love to bring it up.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Christina, we love you.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: We love you.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_03: Amazing.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, y'all, again, to our listeners, it's a very small dance world.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_03: Keep remembering.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_03: We're we're ready.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_03: Let's jump into this etiquette chat.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_05: Awesome.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_05: All right.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I think uh listeners, we have these guests are really going to be able to school us because not only do we have dance teachers, but we have dance educators and people who are in like theater spaces, in which there's a lot of etiquette involved in that too.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_05: So if any of your dancers are looking to be in theater as they grow up, bing, bing, bing, here we go.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_05: This all applies.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_05: So I think why don't we start with let's go like dancer, parent, general audience?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_05: Because all of us have different etiquette rules and expectations.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_05: But you know, we're always here for the dancers and we are all dancers.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_05: So let's start there.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_05: And this is kind of a weird question, but where are they even supposed to learn dressing room etiquette?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_05: Is that something that you expect kids to come in understanding or knowing, maybe from their parents or from somewhere else, or is that a teacher's responsibility or a studio owner's responsibility?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I feel like when you talk about like just theater etiquette and dressing room etiquette in itself, I feel like there's gotta be this blending of where you get your information from, because obviously, as a parent, unless you're involved in that growing up, you don't have the experience.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_04: But a lot of it is to me just being a good human and just being like a polite human and just understanding, like reading the room, being like a very positive social person, understanding boundaries, understanding, you know, what is safe and what is healthy, what is right, what is wrong.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_04: A lot of that I think can stem from, you know, guidance from parents.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_04: But I do think there has to be like, you know, this blend.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_04: They always like to say it takes a village.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_04: So I do think there is, you know, aspects of teaching etiquette that can come from your know your dance teachers and your studio owners, and then also from just your experience with your parents.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, agreed.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: I also think, you know, sometimes there's a lot of that information comes from the studio, from the teachers.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's up to kind of parents to reinforce it while you're at the events.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I totally agree.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: It definitely comes down to like being aware of your surroundings and those good human things.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes it gets really tricky when we're at events and we're so into like the stress of what's happening that we forget we're not the only ones there.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's more even just that like being aware of your surroundings and real remembering that, you know, everybody is sharing this space is really, which is another one of those, like it's an important human thing, right?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: We all we're not the only ones here.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: So trying to go back to that.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_04: You're right.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_04: I think I think a big part of it when you do go to these experiences, depending on what venue you're in and how much space you have, you know, you do tend to get very absorbed in like your own experience, um, you know, which is fine.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_04: You know, you you tend to have to kind of go into your own personal space of, you know, this day's about me and it's about being prepared and what I need to do.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_04: And you kind of then forget that this is an event for many people.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_04: And I do think that there is an easy way to lose focus of that because you're right.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_04: It does set it does tend to a lot of things come down from just the stress of the environment and and remembering that you're not the only one in this position.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_05: Like everybody there is really literally doing the same thing.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_05: We all have to change our costume.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_05: We all have to put our hair together, we all have to get to the next number, you know, and to remember that, yeah, it's not just you, it's your team, it's that other team over there.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_03: Mm-hmm.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_03: And like that is where things come into play when it the studio needs to take charge a bit in the sense of how are they be how is the studio and all of the dancers representing that name of the studio amongst others?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_03: You could very easily have a bad reputation just based on your uh etiquette inside of a dressing room.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_03: If you're not courteous, if you're not sharing the space properly, if you're taking over a whole wing of the dressing room that's not designated for you, or you're not sharing, or things like that.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_03: That can just uh send the wrong message out about your studio.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_03: You're you guys aren't friendly and you're uh all about yourself.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_03: All you care about is you.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like you don't want that kind of reputation.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and and a studio owner, who knows?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_03: I know a lot of studio owners that don't even go into the dressing room.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_03: They just trust to the dancers and say, good luck and have fun.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_03: They don't want to deal with the drama, so they're trusting you as a dancer to make sure that you're uh upholding their reputation strong and proud.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: And also to the dance parents, too, because you can't be having like dance mama drama in the dance room causing fights and stuff because then other people are watching that go down.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_03: And that's not a good look for your studio either.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: As you mentioned, right, there is that the dance studio world is small.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: The dance world is huge, but it's also really small.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: So any reputation that you start, even backstage, is almost more important than what you're doing on stage because people aren't gonna work with you if you're not courteous to other people.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: So it even goes deeper than just I'm stressed, so I'm not gonna act however I want backstage.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: It goes deeper than that.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_04: Totally.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_04: And I remember growing up, you know, competing.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_04: Very rarely were there as much people involved in the backstage process and the dressing room process as there are now.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_04: It was more, it was a different time, I feel like, you know, it was more you're kind of on your own.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_04: We were told to be, you know, very independent.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_04: And I feel like nowadays, I go into dressing rooms and I just see like a circle of moms just sitting there chatting.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_04: And I love that it's a social time for them because I do think it's important that you build that kind of community within your dance moms and your dance parents.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_04: But I feel like just being aware of where that can happen, I think is important.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_04: And just sort of trusting that your dancers can start to develop this independence and also trust like the dance teachers that like they have it under control.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_04: You know, they're gonna look out for your kid and make sure they get to where they need to be and that they're warmed up properly.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_04: Because I do think sometimes the more people that are in the pot and in the dressing room, it just tends to just boil over.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_04: And that's when, you know, things become way bigger than what they needed to be.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_03: Something I want to mention, and I'm not in dressing rooms frequently.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: This is just what I hear about.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_03: And so please share this with me.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_05: Confirm or deny.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_03: I've heard about people just taking over spaces.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I think that some competitions will designate specific areas for studios.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know if everyone does that, or if it's just a free-for-all, like you claim a certain spot, but then people aren't courteous to the spot that they are given, or maybe the competitions aren't giving each studio equal amount of spot, or can being considerate of if it's a larger studio versus a smaller studio, who gets more space, and then people just invade other people's spaces.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_03: Like that type of stuff is just crazy to me.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm trying to think of like how can the competitions do better, but then also like, and especially I guess maybe even the question is as teachers, like, what do you wish would be happening like on the competitions end to make that easier and then allow everyone to like respect each other's space in the room?
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I do find that like, because I I feel like throughout the season, you get all the different experiences.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_04: We've been in situations where they are assigned dressing rooms.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_04: And depending on what event we're going to, sometimes we just take solo, sometimes we take our full team.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_04: And sometimes those dressing rooms, because we only have a few, we're put in like a little closet, which is totally fine.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_04: Like we understand that we don't probably have as many people as a full studio bringing it, but also makes our experience a little different.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_04: Ah.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_04: And we've been at situations where it's been very open-ended and you just kind of claim a space.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_04: We actually had an altercation within parents, like it was like seven in the morning when everybody's already over it.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_04: And we just had a studio come in and it was a very open, like open dressing room policy.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_04: You just kind of found the space.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_04: Well, they just like took over everything, including already where we had already had some of our stuff set up and we were all over the place.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_04: And I had to go into the dance, the dance parents, because they were being very rude and just the language that they were using.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_04: And I had to say, like, you know, we're at a we're at a kids' event.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we're at a kids' event, you know, this is about like having fun.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_04: Like, you know, at our studio, we teach kids how to share.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_04: You know, like we we're all we need to do is just go in.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_04: We just need to find a place to change, and then we will be well out of your way.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_04: It just was crazy to me that it was just like that, like territorial, you know, and it really just made me just kind of feel also for the competition staff because they knew that it was crazy and they're trying to appease everybody.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's not always their fault.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_04: They're trying to book great venues, and the venue was gorgeous, but did it have the best dressing room set up?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_04: Not really.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_04: So you kind of have to, you know, are you are you ever gonna find the perfect venue?
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_04: Probably not.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's really crazy how it varies across competitions.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, sometimes some spaces, it's not even across competitions, across spaces.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Some spaces you're you have every single studio from the whole competition in a big gym.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I think those ones are the easiest for like navigating space as studios who our studio that I go with and represent is really small.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have a big competition team.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes when we're in those smaller controlled spaces, we experience that all the time where the big studio comes over and they take over, you know, in the majority of the space and we get a little tiny space.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: But it's really it's yeah, it's hard because we are a small school, we don't need as much space.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's trying to find that navigation.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, we've also been in school hallways.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: That that was a new one for us last year, which was fine.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: For the most part, it was pretty it was nice.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: We had a lot of space, but there really wasn't any kind of closed door opportunity for anybody who wants to change or anything like that.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we found we were sharing with another studio and there they just left food everywhere.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's just one of those things that the space can really change that.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're in a big open gym and somebody's being disrespectful over there, it's you can kind of just avoid it.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: But in those smaller spaces, it's it's a little bit harder in those scenarios.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_05: That's true.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_05: The venue space thing is, you know, being on the other end of having to assign those spaces, you know, at least from my experience, if there was a scenario where we had to assign spaces, we would try our best to, you know, look at, okay, well, how many kids do the do these studios have?
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_05: But the problem with that is on Friday, the biggest studio in the competition has two kids.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_05: But then on Saturday and Sunday, they have four 495 kids, whatever it is.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_05: So like, and then you don't want to mess with people's schedule or their understanding of where they're supposed to be.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_05: Like it the logistics are really crazy.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_05: But the the other crazy thing I wanted to mention is everybody's perception and feeling of what kind of space they need is very different because, you know, I've seen studios with a bunch of kids be very, very well, like do very well with a very small space.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_05: They're very set up, they have everything like laid out.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_05: They under somebody has taught them how to set their costumes up and stack them in in the order that they're dancing in.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_05: They have they've figured it out and they only need this small space.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_05: And then another studio will come in who has no concept of personal space with less kids and demand more space because they just haven't figured out how to organize themselves.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_05: And so that's the hard part too.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_05: That like, you know, we can have this conversation of sort of what is what's your best case scenario of how to set yourself up for success in the dressing room, literally physically.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_05: Where are you putting your stuff?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_05: Are you bringing the entire dream duffel?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_05: Are you laying your shoes out underneath the chair?
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_05: Do you even need a chair?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_05: Like all those kind of things go into being able to set yourself up for success for the day and be respectful of other people.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_04: I think it comes down too to like how each dancer approaches just the idea of the competition experience.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_04: Like I'll give you a perfect example, like myself growing up.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_04: When I got to the venue, my hair was done, my makeup was done because all my one objective was I wanted to get, I wanted to put my stuff down, and I wanted to start to warm up and review and rehearse and go over everything.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_04: Some kids, they like to go and be part of this experience of let's do all our makeup together.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_04: And I don't think one is better than the other because you you do want competition to be an experience that kids enjoy going to.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_04: We don't always have to view competition as this cutthroat place where all you need to do is go in there and you have this laser focus.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_04: So that's not always everybody's goal.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_04: But I think that you will start to find, you know, you see some kids that have their eight million different warm-up pieces.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_04: And then you have kids that are just kind of in a circle with their blankets and they're putting their makeup on together and talking.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that's also where you sometimes can find where it's hard to find what works because I only needed the dressing room for one thing.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_04: I needed to change and do my touch-ups.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_04: So I was in there very little and didn't take up a lot of space.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_04: Other kids are using it as sort of like a social thing.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_04: Mm-hmm.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I definitely agree.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely become that backstage is definitely become more the dressing room has become more of like a hangout for a lot of students, especially those students that maybe are in two dances or just hanging out, staying to watch and support their friends.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think when I was growing up, when we didn't have Dream Duffels, we carried our little garment bags in.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: So if you weren't organized with everything in the order you were dancing, you were you were not making it because every it was like the camping pop up tense, the camping pop up tense.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, like some dancers don't have a lot of dances.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if I wasn't dancing, I was in the audience watching, but that doesn't seem to Be as often of a choice now.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that's another thing that's changed and evolved over time in the dressing rooms and stuff as well.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_03: Ooh, let's talk about those tents because um they are a whole camping safari in those dressing rooms.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_04: You can't see anything.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_04: I like one at one competition.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_04: I literally had to go through and open the flaps just to find where my students were.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, are you in this kit?
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_04: Are you in this tent?
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_04: Are you in this tent?
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_04: And and they're just chilling in there.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_04: Like they're in there.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_04: They have no cares in the world.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_04: Which I, you know, in hindsight, I'd rather them be cool, calm, collected than freaking out.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_04: But I like had to take a second.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_04: I'm like, this is absurd.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_05: Like this is crazy.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and it takes up a lot of room.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_05: And that's where it's sort of like the etiquette of that in general.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_05: So sure, do we want to be safe and not have any concerns about impropriety and we want to change in a tent?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, great.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_05: So if we didn't like if that makes you feel good, great.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_05: But what happens when every single person in the room decides they need a tent?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_05: Physically, we can't handle that.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_05: So then it kind of comes into what are the safety rules in the dressing room to accommodate, like to make sure that this is a space where we all feel safe.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_05: And clearly people bought those tents because they didn't feel safe.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_05: So is there like, are there any specific safety rules in dressing rooms that y'all have encountered that maybe are surprising to maybe lay people who don't do activities like this?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_05: Like, is there anything that you've encountered that you're like, oh, this is a good idea, this is new?
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think, you know, it's really funny because one of our dance dads came up to me last year and was like, you know, there was this day that you we were at the first competition, his daughter was new to it, and he was like, and you've stopped me from going in the dressing room.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I had no idea I wasn't allowed to go in there.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like some of those things that are so like normal for us that, you know, a lot of people don't think about.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: But he was also like, that was when I really knew you were gonna take care of my kid because like I knew that it was safe in the dressing room because you weren't letting anybody in there that like, you know, you weren't supposed to.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Specifically in regards to like that safety with the the tents and stuff.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think you know, we try as our studio, like a bunch of them have them, those tents, but we try to, you know, they coordinate and only set up one and everybody shares, you know, maybe two, you know, for everybody.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: All 30 kids just use the same ones.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's one way that you can keep everybody safe and also like, you know, be courteous of the space around you.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's they do take up so much space and can get a little crazy.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, there's so many rules though that I think people just don't even realize, like photos and stuff.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_04: I was just a really big one for me was like taking pictures in the dressing room because you have no idea who's in the background and if they're undressing, if they're getting ready.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_04: Like that was a big one for us, I would say, over the last like year and a half is that we've told our parents and our students, like, refrain from taking pictures in the dressing room at all.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_04: You know, save your pictures for, you know, where you know you're in a public space and everybody's decent and dressed.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_04: Um, that's been something that we've implemented, not just at competitions, but at our recitals as well.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_04: Because it's not by any fault of the kids.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_04: They're just taking pictures and being in the moment.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_04: They don't think to check around.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just important, you know, to to really just protect all the kids, not just the ones from your studio.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's important for all of the competition staff to do a thorough check for every dressing room to make sure that there are uh all the windows are covered properly, all of the cameras are off or covered properly.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_03: I think that even if it's possible to somehow get a way to tell the world that the covers are uh that the cameras are covered, because some people will just see the camera in the corner and be like, is that camera on?
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_03: And they don't know.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_03: And then that's why they bring the tent, versus if there's actually something physical over the camera that they know, okay.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I know that's like probably really harder said than done to like get somebody up there to cover it for the s the ease of everyone, but or maybe there's an a nice announcement, or even just a paper that's posted that says uh the rules and the etiquette of the this dressing room space and to be courteous and all of those things, I think that competitions could have those reminders more present out and about for people to read.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_03: So even out inside the dressing room and outside the dressing room, like no men in the female dressing room or whatever it is, how many tents is a studio allowed per studio?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_03: Like those things need to be discussed.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_03: And the tenth thing, like I understand if people need to do a tent change because they're self-conscious, they don't want to get undressed around others.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I absolutely understand and respect that.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_03: I do also believe it is part of the gig a little bit as a dancer, unfortunately.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_03: So you have to eventually get comfortable with it.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_03: No one's watching you, like you just gotta do your thing, everyone's changing too.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_03: Like, we have to keep that in mind.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_03: But I think that having the option of it is if it's there as a safety net.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_03: And if you need it, great, go in there.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_03: But I think it's one per studio maximum.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_03: Every dancer cannot bring a darn tent because they're too big and too spacious.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_03: And I even think that it wouldn't be a bad idea if like the competitions even just set up, maybe had their own tents and had four tents per dressing room.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_03: It said, okay, these are these are free to use however you want.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_03: Like if it's open, it's a go.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_03: If it's closed, don't go in there.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_03: Like be courteous of each other, teamwork that aspect because it is hard to s to like haul that darn tent to as well if you actually feel like you need it.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_03: And like, do we need it?
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, maybe I think it I think it should be something the competitions just easily pop up for everybody and let them utilize.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: And then we can ban tents from everybody for bringing them because then it's in it we have controlled because we have the tents.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great idea.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's also money that parents feel like they're saving too.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 27:39
  unknown: Yeah.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: But there's also, you know, like I feel like when we were growing up, I just wore my tan Leo if I was like uncomfortable, like under my costumes, easy.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, you're covered all the time.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we do for a lot of like professional shows and stuff too.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's a different world though, because there were like tights back in the day.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_03: So now it's just like and then there's like a lot of studios that like, and this is an issue, but like a lot of studios don't even let their kids wear undergarments at all under anything, like even under their leotard, which is an issue.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_03: Like, please wear a seamless panty that's your skin tone under your costume because I don't need to see what's about to pop out under your leotard or under the stage lights.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: Hello, like make sure that we're being appropriate.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: But like when you are on like there is a very rare scenario where I when we dress in like professional shows, where I am completely naked.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_03: Like that is a very, very rare scenario.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_03: I always have an undergarment of some type on underneath.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_03: So when I am dressing quickly, yeah, I'm still like, you know, I I have I have the goods covered, but I'm putting my costume on.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: And like you said, for children to have on a tan leotard, if that is possible with their costuming and that makes them feel comfortable and for quick changes or whatever, then like make it happen.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_04: I completely agree.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_04: Definitely 100%.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_04: I do think a lot of it depends on, you know, what the studio allows as far as their costuming and, you know, just also I think a lot too, just teaching body positivity and uh, you know, confidence.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_04: Because even in schools, you know, you have locker room situations and, you know, there's just it's it's just something, you know, that I feel like we live in this generation and this world where everybody's focused on what people look like nowadays versus, you know, we just have so much interfaces now than we did growing up that I think it's just, you know, you have to navigate it a little bit differently.
• 29:27
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• 29:30
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• 29:39
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• 29:43
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• 29:49
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• 30:00
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• 30:06
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• 30:30
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• 30:33
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• 30:35
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• 30:48
  SPEAKER_03: One of the things I want to mention that you hinted at Leslie when it comes to like what all do we need to bring into these dressing rooms?
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: And are we bringing the dream duvel?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_03: Are we bringing the rolling rack?
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_03: Like, are we bringing all of our costumes for the weekend, even though you're only competing four out of those ten that day?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_03: And I do think that we need to bring as little as possible.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_03: Your caboodle, your makeup bag, your dream devil if it fits, and only the costumes that you need for that day, um, with all of your accessories and things.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_03: And then I do think that from like a professional uh setting of advice that I've learned through my professional career as a quick changer in shows, uh having a chair and laying your costumes onto the chair with the shoe appropriate shoes under the chair and the accessories on top.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_03: You put your accessories on, then you layer the costume on, and then mom can be getting the next costume pre-set and ready while the dancer is out.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_03: Like I think some type of system like that would be really beneficial because that's kind of how it works in the professional world.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_03: And why not start practicing that type of etiquette backstage right off the bat?
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_03: So if that's helpful for anyone that they want to be like, oh, that sounds like a good idea, I'm gonna try that.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: Go for it.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and it it really is.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, it it's it it's not a stretch to consider that etiquette because that means you're respectful of other people's space.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_05: You're putting your stuff in your space.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_05: My space is not your space, my stuff is not gonna go into your space.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_05: And that is respectful and you know, understanding that we are all working within the same constraints.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_05: So if your stuff's everywhere, well, that's not that's not good etiquette.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it also like going on that, right?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you have your stuff everywhere, you're gonna lose things, and then that's more work that you have to do later to try to find it, or and then more stress, and then all of that.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that like, you know, my kids sometimes they show up and I'm like, why do you have your tap shoes?
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: You don't even have a tap competition dance this year.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Then they're out, they're not even just like in their bag, they're out.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why are they out?
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: What are like you we don't tap on this floor anyway, like you know, so then things get lost and only bring what you need.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a good habit in general because nobody wants to buy new tap shoes just because you lost them at a competition that you didn't even need them at, you know.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, I I like what you said.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_04: I do think that's important, you know, bring what you need.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_04: And I think um, you know, I remember this pre-competition ritual where like the night before you would really just kind of separate everything and just take what you need.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_04: And it happened every competition because maybe some competitions you're competing certain dances with certain shoes and others you're not.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that nowadays people just kind of bring everything.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_04: And I do think it's important to be prepared to an extent, you know, you never know when you're gonna need something, but it's maybe it's in the car.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_04: You have your other stuff in the car.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly, a hundred percent.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_04: So I do agree with that.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_04: I think we need to be more proactive about you know, teaching the students just bring what you need.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and especially when everybody these days has a thousand dances, you know, like we only had I maybe had five dances back in the day.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_05: So you have five costumes and you probably have three pairs of shoes.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_05: But it's it's in the double digits now for most kids, and you that really is hard to, you know, keep it all organized and everything.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_05: So the pre-preparation, the pre-comp ritual, as you say, is is probably a good idea, you know, for many reasons.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_03: Something else I want to mention really fast is let's talk about people using dressing room space for rehearsal space.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_03: Ooh, yeah, that because uh that is not it, y'all.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_03: Like that it a dressing room is meant for changing your costume.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_03: If you have invaded a space to run a full-blown rehearsal, then your dance isn't ready for competition if you need to have a full-blown rehearsal at the competition.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_03: You can be able you can find a nice private space that is out the way.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_03: And I would say you it probably doesn't need to be in the dressing room.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_03: If you're limited on space in the venue, then sorry about it, you don't get to have a full-blown rehearsal today at this, at this event.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_03: That doesn't mean that you take over because I've seen this happen and like I'm trying, like I've actually seen it happen where people just invade the hallway in the in the venue, and the studio has the boom box, they're doing full formation changes, lifts, everything.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm trying to go to the bathroom in the hallway at the high school.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's I like that is also backstage etiquette and like event etiquette that I just think that it's like we talked about at the beginning of this chat, it's not just about you at this event.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_03: Like there's a lot of other studios that are there, and I think that just immediately screams that you don't care about others and that you just are a selfish studio when you pull pull things like that.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, like I completely agree on all of that.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think like for younger dancers, it's important to run it backstage.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um like I have my little nuggets that they're they dance one dance and they're, you know, but like you can sit, you can sit down and just do the arms.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Do your arms, right?
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_02: There's creative ways to do this.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and there's always some sort of space, like you don't have to do everything.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just like I've seen I've had dancers trying to get for a quick change, and they've been literally pushed by other dancers who are practicing in the hallway.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_04: So no matter how fast you are, yeah.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_04: This can be sort of where like the dance teacher comes in as well.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_04: You just sort of have to also prepare, especially younger dancers for these types of situations.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_04: But the big one for us is like we get to a venue and the kids just start freaking out about what line do they go on and what wing do they go on.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_04: And that just ends up like taking up a lot of space backstage that I know is in the way of other people.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_04: So just like, you know, preparing your students the week before, the month before, whatever it is to be like, this is how this is going to run.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_04: We may not get a chance to go through it, which is why we're doing extra work now.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_04: Or, you know, you know what I mean?
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_04: Like there's, I think we need to also better prepare kids because I think to us, we just we're so used to it that we forget what it's like.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I never competed that young, you know.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_04: Back in the day, you weren't competing at four years old.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_04: You weren't competing at six years old.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_04: And these kids have no idea and they're so inexperienced that I think we tend to forget that.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_04: So kind of understanding and letting them know that, hey, this might not work.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_04: We might not be able to do this kind of situation.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_04: If there's, you know, flips and tricks and lifts involved.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_04: You might have to say, you know, I'm going to go, you know, to the venue ahead of time.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_04: I'm going to find an area that's safe for us, and then I'll communicate where that area is and we'll designate a time that we're going to meet.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_04: We do that a lot of times for like our big production numbers.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_04: We're going to say, you know, here's our time that we're going to meet.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_04: This is a nice open area where we're not going to be in anybody's way.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_04: We're going to, you know, mark through it for 15 minutes and then we're going to move on so that it's not taking up a day.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_04: It's not taking other people's space, things like that.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_05: And it's not, it's not wasting the competition's time by asking to run all your pieces on stage in the break.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_05: And that is also a studio etiquette thing that, like, again, I get it.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_05: If you're little biddies, like, of course I'm going to let you walk your little bitties on stage.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_05: Here's where the do you see the center?
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_05: Is this the yes?
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_05: We're going to come out.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_05: Fine.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_05: No worries.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_05: But like, what not everybody needs to do that.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_05: Every, certainly every age group does not need to do that.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_05: Every routine doesn't need to do that.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_05: And that's where it gets to be like, okay, now you're being disrespectful of everyone's time.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I mean, like, like what you mentioned, I totally am sure, and I don't am not backstage with dancers often.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_03: I can definitely see see them f probably feeling panicked and frustrated with understanding wings and entrances and exits and uh where center.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_03: That's always a question.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_03: Where's center?
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_03: And then uh meanwhile, every uh FYI, every competition in existence, you must mark center stage for your dancers.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_03: If you do not, I do not consider you legitimate competition.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_03: I am sorry.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_03: If if you do not mark center stage, then you have never once performed a day in your life uh on a stage because it is unacceptable to think that people are supposed to find center on their own and they shouldn't have to guide off of uh a camera, an exit sign in the back, or where the cameraman's sitting, or the logo backdrop.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_03: Like, no, that's ridiculous.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_03: Every professional has an X on zero or a zero on zero using a number line.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_03: So like they have to, I think they need to mark center stage, center, center, upstage, center, downstage, stage, and outstage, center.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_03: All those need to be marked at a minimum.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_05: And then there can be even-cause nobody can complain that the little bitty did not know where center was because if there's three of them, surely you can all see them.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_03: But with that, I think that like I can tell that there are day there are a lot of studios that don't like I I I've said this before on the podcast.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_03: I go to studios and in every every single dance studio room, center's not marked.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, that's I'm trying to choreograph and I'm like, where is center?
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_03: And they're like, well, center is this.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, okay, no, that's a good point.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_03: So this is like why we need as teachers and studios need to set up the dancers for success so it's an easy transition to a competition stage.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_03: If you're not even teaching them where center is in your studio, how in the world do you think they're gonna find it on a stage that's foreign to them?
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_03: Like it needs to be a seamless transition.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_03: And same thing with wings, that needs to be discussed in cleaning rehearsals.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_03: You can get some uh spike tape, mark it on your floor, and say, this is wing one, this is wing two, this is wing three.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_03: Teach them that uh as a part of their choreography so it's a seamless transition, and you just have to show them what's what when you get there, but it's already part of the choreography in their brain.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: For my little littles, sometimes I even set up chairs like in the studio and be like, this is so that they have like a visual in the way rather than just a spot on the line that really, I don't know, that seems to help them or maths.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's that's really smart.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, just something, a little pathway kind of.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, something that looks like a wing so that they kind of get it.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because the f the like, I don't understand what that is.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm sure you're saying wing and they're thinking like a bird and quite really yeah.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_05: Well, since we're in the backstage land right now, let's talk about backstage etiquette because that is something that is just, I don't think anybody is teaching anything.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_05: And even as a competition staff member, the constant, I need you out of the wings.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_05: I need you out of the wings, I need you out of the wings is just like exhausting.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_05: So can we talk about some backstage etiquette, why it's important, um, just little tips and tricks that you guys can think of that you teach your kids that can help the greater out there.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_04: I think for me, the biggest one as a judge and then as a dance instructor is there's nothing more distracting sitting at the judge's panel than watching kids just sit in the wings, little kids, because they want to watch and they're actually more focused on watching you and like your reaction.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_04: And it is just so distracting.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_04: And, you know, you have so much experience learning how to block it out, but it just really is distracting.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_04: So I feel like I always tell my students, you know, that that tried and true rule, if you can see them, they can see you.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_04: And just really trying to teach them and understand like the importance of it and kind of just, you know, remind them that you don't want to do this to impact another's performance because you wouldn't want that to happen to you as well.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_04: It just, yeah, I would say the winks and just being in the wing is like a huge issue for sure.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I also think, you know, me as a teacher, like I try to let my students know that I know you want your friends back there to support you, but there's limited space.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: And you can pick, like usually we tell the students you can pick one teacher and one friend, or sometimes in smaller spaces it's one teacher, and you know, that's what the audience is for.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: They're there, they're there to support you and cheer you on.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: But I see like whole teams backstage in the wings watching, and it it just takes up space.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes there's productions, people are running and trying to get to their spots and have to push people out of the way from the wings.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I love they like I'm I tell the students all the time like I love that you want to support your friends.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to support them too, but we also like it's not all like going back to the beginning, right?
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's not all about us.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: We have to be, you know, respectful of everybody's space.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it gets crazy back there.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I know.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_05: Especially they're all every place you go is probably new to you.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, every now and then there'll be a studio who goes to a venue and it's like, oh, this is my recital venue.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, so then you know that there's a piece of the floor that's uneven over here and you know to step over it, but a lot of people don't, you know, and if you're running like a bat out of wherever back behind the, you know, scrim to get to the other side of the stage and you trip over that, well, that's why you weren't supposed to be running.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_05: You know, like there's little things that are not only just etiquette, don't run backstage, but it's safety.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_05: Don't run backstage because you're gonna trip over this piece of floor that, you know, we've spike taped, we've put a light on, but you're still gonna run and you're still gonna trip over it.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_05: So it's things like that where it's like as backstage staff, you can give the information, but it's sort of the home training that's going to actually allow that correct behavior to happen.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_05: Because I can't reinforce it any more than I can.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_05: You know, what am I supposed to do as your backstage manager?
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_05: And I can't do anything else besides tell you don't run back here.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_04: I think it's a it's like a respecting authority as well.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I feel like that, you know, growing up, if I was told by a backstage manager that I was doing something wrong, I would have been horrified.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_04: Mortified, yeah.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_04: I would have been like immediately like upset that I had done something that maybe put the studio and myself and my dance teacher in a bad light.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_04: Nowadays, these kids just kind of look at you and they like who are you a hundred percent, one hundred percent, and they're more of this mentality that well, I'm here, this is my thing, versus understanding that well, this is our event, you know, and just it just again going back to that like sharing space, and it's just like sometimes I'm just floored by the just the attitude and the audacity, and just like the way that these kids stand up to adults.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_04: I'm like, what is going on?
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_05: I think one of the things that as you get older as you know, a human being, it's like I remember being that that sort of wanting to be defiant and want and not understanding why a rule was a rule and wanting to challenge that rule.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_05: But now as an adult and somebody who's like been in charge of big events like this, the rules are literally there to keep you safe.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_05: If there's a rule, there's a reason.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_05: It's because at this point somebody did something and we noticed it was bad.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_05: It's a rule because it had to be a rule.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_05: So nobody is trying to say, we don't want you to support your friends.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_05: You can't be in the wings.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_05: I don't want you to support your friends.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_05: No.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_05: It's because you're in the way.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_05: It's probably dangerous.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_05: You don't know what's about to happen in this giant production number you've never seen before.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_05: Somebody's gonna run, run you over, you know, and it's just not respectful to the judges trying to do their job and to be distracting.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_05: Like nothing, nothing anybody at a competition, I hope, or a theater performance or Broadway or whatever.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_05: Nobody's mandating these things to make your experience bad or to make you have a not a good time.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_05: It is for safety reasons, it is for etiquette, just propriety reasons, you know.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_04: And I think it's also I think distracting for when you're on stage as well.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, you have to respect the people that are on stage and you hope that the people on stage are so immersed in their experience that nothing else is, you know, catching their attention.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_04: But yeah, I would imagine it'd be a little distracting if I was on stage and there's, you know, a group of 10 people making a TikTok in the wings.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_04: You know, or it's just you also want to respect that.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_04: And it should be a sacred place.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_04: It should be a place that, you know, you really treat with a lot of respect.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_04: So I think that that's all encompassing backstage, dressing room, on stage.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_04: I think we've just lost the idea that it's a privilege to be on stage.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_04: And it's and you know, think about when we first went back after COVID.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we were we were like, Oh, we're never gonna take granted for this again, you know.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that we've lost that idea of it is a privilege and a responsibility to be in a theater and to be on stage and to be able to present your work.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_04: So I think we we've lost that a little bit.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_04: And and I think as a dance teacher myself, I think I can even do a better job at, you know, reminding them of that because I think we're just so used to it.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_04: Back in the day, I did like maybe two competitions.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_04: Now I'm at like 10 competitions a year and you start to lose that because you're so used to it.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_04: So I think it's important as a reminder for everyone, myself included, that it's a privilege.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's a privilege and a responsibility.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_03: The dancers who are like the teens and the seniors and the older level dancers need to make sure that they are setting the right example for the younger students at the studio as well when it comes to etiquette backstage.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_03: Because you as a dancer are the you are representing your studio.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_03: It's not just about you anymore.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_03: It is about how is how are you coming across to it to everyone else?
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_03: Are you are you bad mouthing people?
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_03: Are you not getting out of people's way?
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_03: Are you not cheering and supporting other studios but your own?
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_03: Like that all is a reflection and is going to fall back on, oh, well, they're from, look at where their jackets, oh, they're from that studio.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_03: And then you don't know how that is impacting the reputation of your home studio.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_03: And you don't want that.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_03: And again, like, I don't know where some of these kids are learning that.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_03: It could be stemming from the SO, the studio owner from the top.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_03: Like they could be that cutthroat and not care and not reprimand and don't care because they are only about themselves.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_03: But at the end of the day, like, you don't want to be that studio that no one wants to compete alongside anymore.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I've heard of horror stories where not only did the competitions lose clients because of the one particular studio that was hard to work with for everyone else's experience.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_03: Like other studios have said, I'm not coming back next year if that studio is here because it's real, y'all.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_03: That is real, y'all.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_03: That is so real.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not just about the money or the client loss.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's about like, is it worth and like, you know, in the scenario, who knows what the scenario is, but like maybe that's the studio that's bringing trillions and millions of dollars.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_03: So the competition's like, well, we can't lose them, but we're gonna lose six other studios if we don't lose them.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_03: So we have to say bye-bye to you because you aren't following the rules, you aren't respecting our venue, you aren't team players, you're not fun to work with.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_03: Go find another competition that will allow this because it's just not fair to the experience of everyone.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_03: It's and it's not a cheap experience either.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like it is an expensive experience for people to be a part of.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't know, I mean, it's a it's a reflection of everyone, like at that point.
• 48:51
  SPEAKER_03: And people are gonna point fingers at the competitions because they're the ones that are like, well, you let them in here and you didn't reprimand them and you didn't disqualify them or whatever.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just it's a fine line to figure out for these competitions, but I've absolutely heard of stories like that, and you don't want to be that studio.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_03: Oh gosh.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I've I've heard too, you know, there are some comps that actually have like I've been to a comp where they had ropes outside of the backstage area.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_00: It was a really, really tiny venue, and they stopped.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: They were like, Oh, you're not until this number.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, only you and that many people can go back.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: But it's a lot for comps to have that, you know, set up and like staffed to be able to control that.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I can totally get that.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_00: But that competition was really nice.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like the backstage was empty, there was lots of space.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, like I said, it's kind of it's hard for all comps to to do that.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that one we haven't gone back to it since, but that year was like right after COVID.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know if they only did it because of the COVID, but oh I see, yeah.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_00: But it's such a great opportunity.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like I felt like it was so structured because then the rules were clear about who was allowed backstage.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe we just need clearer expectations.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like maybe it should come from the competitions of what the expectations should be.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it, you know, because clearly I think it's it's hard.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_00: Studios are trying, the parents are trying, dancers are trying, but maybe it's not even so much about like lack of following the rules, but maybe it's lack of understanding of like what the rules are too.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's lots of possibilities.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's a really great point.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_03: I think that the competitions can lay those rules out.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_03: Have and again, I think there should be more postage and signage around maybe there needs to be more announcements happening that like no one listens to, but at least you're saying it.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_03: You know, maybe there if you have like mega screens on your at your event, maybe there is text that's moving through those mega screens in between on Judges Breaks that are like etiquette reminders, audience reminders.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like, why not?
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_03: Let's continue to educate everyone that's attending this event, whether they're reading it or not, or listening or not, at least at least it's getting put out there.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_03: There can be a whole etiquette page in your program that's gonna cost 50 cents extra for you to put in there.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_03: And maybe it will help enforce some rules that a lot of these competitions have listed on their website, but no one follows, and then no one's enforcing.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_03: I'm just gonna go.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_04: I think maybe another idea, I I'm just kind of thinking and reflecting on like our own experiences.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like at every event there is some sort of the backstage winner, the dressing room winner.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_04: Sure.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_04: And I wonder if we just kind of put a little bit more emphasis on that because I feel like, and I it could just be our experiences, but I feel like sometimes those awards are just given to a studio that maybe did not quite get a lot of recognition.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_04: And I wonder if maybe we really just start putting more emphasis on like what do you actually get?
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I hate to even put like a prize connection with it, but maybe that's what it takes for people to start really taking it seriously.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_04: You know, if you do get scholarships, if you do get some sort of, you know, versus like just a piece of paper or a bowl of candy, you know, what if we just put more importance on what those winners mean that people might want to start paying more attention to how they are acting?
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_04: I I don't know.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I I feel like we live in this world of like, you need recognition and you need validation and you need awards, you know, but maybe we need to use that to our advantage for things like this to start making people really pay more attention to it.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_03: No, I agree.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_03: Incentives.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_03: We love an incentive.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_03: Everyone does.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_03: And maybe I like the dressing room award incentive and uh and recognition.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_03: And maybe that is like announced post-event, like after they have uh loaded out, so they can actually make sure that they didn't just take the check and run and left the dressing room a disaster, but they actually go to the stations or know, you know, if there was a dressing room monitor that was observing the etiquette throughout the event and wrote down studios and followed up and made sure that they left the venue looking good.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_03: Because I think that is a big issue with the dressing room etiquette, is just how people choose to leave everything once they pack up and go.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_03: And you have to remember that, like, yes, the competitions are paying for these venues, but they're also paying for the the crew and the custodial staff to clean these venues when you leave.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of these venues are schools that have like students coming in next the next day and they're gonna find fake eyelashes stuck to their shoe and like you know, chips all over the place because you didn't or like Ryan Stones like everywhere.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I mean, it's just crazy to think that you can't clean up your mess.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_03: And you like obviously a vacuum cleaner is gonna pick up a lot of stuff, but you can't just expect that.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_03: If there are like crumbs on the ground, like pick it up, bring a bring a dustbuster.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_03: I don't care.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you have like I don't know.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's just like disrespectful to leave a space like that.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm sure the studio owners feel it when it's at their venue for recital.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they see the aftermath of a recital disaster, but when they're at competition, they don't have the same respect to the competition staff that they just are like, well, that's your mess.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_03: Sorry about it.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_03: Bye, we're out of here.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_03: We have a five-hour drive.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_04: When you're trying to think of as a dance parent, like, what can my, what can I bring to this?
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like, you know, if you were someone that grew up in a household that you were expected to take care of your belongings.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_04: And if you like, I remember going over to kids' houses and I was, you know, taught that when you left, you always asked, is there something I can do to help clean up?
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_04: You know, like those are things that I think we we kind of miss nowadays.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_04: So that can be like a great thing where dance parents can come into play, you know, teaching your kid what it means to like leave it better than you found it, just that it's just natural for them to want to say, when I'm packing up, I'm looking around for what I'm responsible for.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_04: But also, like, I feel like I have a tough time with my own students, even if it's not yours.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_04: If you're seeing something, just throw it away.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_04: We do that at the studio a lot.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_04: Like we have kids that just walk by things at the studio and I and I'll I'll look at them and I'll say, you know, pick up that thing.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_04: And they're like, well, it's not mine.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_04: You know, but I'm like, but it still needs to be picked up.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_04: Like just be the bigger person and just do it, you know?
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that that also can be a big factor in, you know, community.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_04: Let's bring community together back at these things instead of it just being about, well, this is mine, this is my studios.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_04: That was not my studio space, you know, and just making it more about a community.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's rough because it's also like even not even at the end, like during the competition.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like kids, like you said, like kids are running around, they're trying to get to their next dance, they're trying to do all of these things, and then like somebody left like nacho cheese, like out on the middle of the floor, and somebody steps in it in their shoes.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's new shoes that they have to buy.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_00: They can't go on, like they can't go on stage with like that all over their ballet shoes or whatever.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it even goes beyond just at the end, but like if you spill something, yes, clean it up.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's yes, you know, yes, it will take a few minutes, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's somebody's gonna have to clean it up at the end of the day, and if it's yours, you should it's you should be taking ownership and responsibility for it.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it's easier said than done, reminded.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_05: And that's why we have the rules, no food in the dressing room.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_05: Like it's just the rules are there for a reason.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_03: Y'all, it's crazy.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_03: There's probably so many more things that we could continue to talk about, invent about, and and we haven't really ever discussed the dressing room etiquette or really like dived into the backstage etiquette like we did.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm really glad that we were able to make this uh episode discussion possible and hopefully it's educational for a lot of dancers out there, for a lot of parents out there, and also for a lot of studios.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_03: And please, to the studios, give a listen and share away.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_03: Post it in your email newsletter, send it out to whoever needs to listen before your first competition of the season or midseason if you discover it then, because it's really important refresher and reminder.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_03: Share it every single year or take notes after while you're listening so you can relay all of this information straight from your judges and backstage staff and other teachers.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_03: This is straight from us, y'all.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_03: So I hope that all of our listeners enjoyed this chat too.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_03: Miranda and Kiri, thank you so much for being here and joining us.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_03: It was a fabulous discussion and we love having you both on the podcast.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much for having us.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_04: I appreciate it.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yay! All right, well, that being said, we always do have our guests lead us out with one final thought on the topic today.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_03: So if there's anything we missed, if there's anything that's eating you alive that you have to say on the pod that you have to get out there, now is your chance.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_03: One final thought when it comes to etiquette at competition, backstage, or in the dressing rooms.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_04: I would just say remember, it's just more about you.
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_04: It's more about your studio.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_04: I think if we can all just remember and keep that sort of in our mind as we're approaching the weekend and being willing to share and work together with other studios, I think it's just going to create a better experience overall.
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_04: So I think that's a great thing to kind of lead with.
• 58:03
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely agree.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's all about just being respectful of everyone around you.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing we didn't talk about that's probably important to mention is like having positive attitudes and being very kind to your parents, your teachers, your studio, director, everybody, all of the competition staff that are giving up their weekends to be there so you get this opportunity.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's more not just about being respectful to those in the backstage area or the dressing area, but you know, being grateful and positive about all of the people that are there.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're all just trying to have a good time.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_03: We hope you enjoyed our latest episode all about etiquette at competition.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_03: Huge shout out to our IDA judges and special guests, Miranda and Kiri for joining us on this chat.
• 58:51
  SPEAKER_03: Don't forget to follow them on Instagram.
• 58:53
  SPEAKER_03: You can find Miranda at Miranda Rose Beta and Kiri at AnnKiri.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_05: Don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
• 59:05
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• 59:11
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• 59:19
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• 59:24
  SPEAKER_03: Be sure to check out IDA affiliated competition, Just Dance Invitational.
• 59:29
  SPEAKER_03: Are you looking for a dance competition that features free workshop classes, free photo and video, cash prizes, and full panels of IDA judges at every event?
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_03: Well, look no further than Just Dance Invitational.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_03: Just Dance Invitational will be hosting a variety of regional events in their 2025 season, and you can find them in a city near you.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_03: Their mission is to invest in the future of our dancers.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_03: By supporting these young artists, their goal is to create an atmosphere that allows for empowerment, self-expression, and growth.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_03: Registration is now open for their 2025 season.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_03: Visit their website to learn more at JustDanceInvitational.com.
• 1:00:05
  SPEAKER_03: And we hope to see you at an upcoming event.
• 1:00:08
  SPEAKER_05: Season six is on a roll with some great episodes coming your way, including being a dance teacher with a child on the team, stage entrances and exits, and sacrifices we make for a professional performing career.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_03: Wishing you a wonderful competition season.
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_03: We'll see you next week for some more episodes.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_03: Until then, keep dancing.