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Transcript

Season One - Wrap Up! · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_08: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_08: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_08: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_08: Each week, we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_08: After 35 episodes, 48 guests, and hundreds of your questions, season one of Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast, is coming to a close.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_08: We're excited to take a look back at this first season and hear from our IBA judges one last time with some words of wisdom as we head into the summer.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_05: Hi everyone, I'm Courtney Ortiz, and welcome to the final episode of season one of Making the Impact.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_05: I am here, like always, with my co-host Leslie Mueller.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_05: Hi everybody, Courtney! I can't believe this is the last episode! I know.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_05: It's really crazy.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_05: I can't believe we did it, but we are here, and it is June during this episode release.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_05: And um we started this back in October and and it's been crazy.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_05: October 2019.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_05: It seems like so long ago.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_05: It really does.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_05: But uh, we're very excited to have this final episode wrap up for all of you listeners, and thank you to everyone who's been enjoying the podcast since our launch back in October.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_05: This was definitely uh a very crazy idea that we came up with very quickly.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_08: So quickly.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_08: I think everything, everything you do, Courtney, sometimes happens quickly, but then it like gets put together in such an innovative way.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_08: I think the speed actually is beneficial with some of some of your ideas that have come to fruition recently.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_05: That is true.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_05: That is very, very true, especially for this year in general, not this year.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_05: It's been a lot of fun ideas that we've come up with that we make happen very quick.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_08: And so this idea happened in August of 2019.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_08: Yes.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_08: We had a meeting, probably like, I don't know, six-hour, seven-hour meeting in September.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_08: And then we launched our first episode in the middle of October.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_05: It's it's crazy, but we are here, we did it, we had 35 different types of episodes this season.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_05: We've interviewed tons of judges, so shout out to all of you IDA judges who have joined us on the pod.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_05: We've also had the opportunity to talk with some uh dance competition directors and interview them and learn about their side of the industry, which has been really exciting.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_05: And we've even done some QA episodes where I answer questions for all of the listeners.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_05: So uh we've had a blast and we're sad that season one is over, but we are excited to reminisce today on how fabulous season one was.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, and like you said, we have had so many unique and different guests and different opportunities to learn about kind of all sides of the industry.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_08: Um, our topics ranged anywhere from, you know, age range expectations to costuming to different styles of dance.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_08: Um, and so I just think I'm really proud of us.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_08: Me too.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_08: Go IDA.
• 3:08
  unknown: Yay!
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_05: And we couldn't have made this possible without so many people behind the scenes that have supported the podcast from the very initial idea to help produce the podcast, to uh help fund the podcast.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_05: So we have a handful of people that we'd love to give a little shout out to and thank for this entire first season.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_05: So we'd love to give a shout out to our podcast editor, Usama, and our podcast manager Marissa, who is also an IDA judge and one of our admins.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_05: We could definitely not have done it without either of you.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_05: You guys have worked so hard and have listened to every single episode.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you, thank you.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_05: Shout out to my boyfriend Jake, who is our audio tech and has helped us with all of our equipment and our sound levels and some of the back-end production.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_05: So definitely couldn't have done it without you, Jake, either.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_05: Squadcast, we love Squadcast for all of our remote interviews and Airtable for all of our organizational skills.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_05: And of course, again, we need to say thank you to the IDA roster because we have had such a blast getting to know you even more for all of our interviews, and we're excited to have even more of the roster on episodes next season in season two.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_05: But thank you for promoting, thank you for being our guests, and thank you for sharing your knowledge to the dance world on all of our hot topics.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_05: Our season sponsor, Level Up Dance Applies, thank you so much.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_05: We love you, and it's been a blast working with you and all of our affiliated IDA competitions.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_05: We have worked with you guys for the past six years with IDA and we've ventured into the podcast land.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_05: Some of you have even jumped on board for interviews with us on the podcast where we got to get to know you even more and you could share your competition companies with the world and even donated some gifts for some Instagram contests.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_05: So we really, really miss you guys.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_05: We can't wait for the season to get back up and running.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_05: And we just want to say that we support you, we love you, and thank you for everything that you do in the industry.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_05: Some other really exciting stuff about season one is that we hit 20,000 downloads since we launched in October, which is unbelievable.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_05: I'm still shocked at that number.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_05: It's it's so exciting to see.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_05: And uh, we couldn't have done that without all of you fans.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you to everyone who's been subscribing and listening on all of the podcast platforms.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_05: We're out everywhere.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_05: We're on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_05: There's tons of other ones too that we're on.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_05: We're everywhere.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_08: They're they're everywhere.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_08: It's we're everywhere.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_08: And, you know, the 20,000, over 20,000 now.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_08: That's a lot of people.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_08: You know, that's like an individual download for 20,000 people.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_08: 20,000.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_08: I can't even fathom what 20,000 people looks like.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_08: So just thanks.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_08: Everybody from around the world.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, we've not only been successful in the states and in Canada, but you know, we've reached around the world with success on the Apple Podcast performing arts charts.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_08: Um, we have been 28th at one point in the United States.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_08: We have been 21st in Canada's performing arts chart, and seventh on Australia's charts.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_08: So thanks everybody from around the world.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks to all of our international listeners.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_05: We love you.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_05: And it's so exciting to see those rankings come in for the podcast charts.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_05: So it feels like we're doing something right.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_05: People are listening.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_08: People are listening and people are are leaving reviews and and ratings.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_08: And, you know, it's it's just been like I think I've said before, like I love watching them come in.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_08: I look I check my little podcast app every day.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_08: I'm like, is there a new review?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_08: Ooh, and I get so excited because it's just, you know, it's it's very humbling and gratifying to know that you're doing something right.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_08: And that's that's what we're here to do.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_08: Like we've said, you know, from the very beginning, we want to be here to educate and inform and inspire.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_08: And, you know, I think this first season it has proven that we've done that.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_05: I I absolutely agree.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_05: And we've we've really loved the support from from everyone.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_05: We've gotten some really awesome questions that have come in for our QA episodes from all over the world, and it's just exciting to see those as well, so we can interact a little bit more with you guys.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_05: And another exciting thing that we did this season was we launched a live QA episode, which was our most recent episode, and we actually went, me and Leslie, from our homes remotely at this time, went live on Facebook.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_05: And the cool thing about that was that you could see us for the first time instead of just hear us in your ears, but we also were able to answer questions in real time from anyone that was viewing our live event.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_05: So uh we're very excited to have offered that, and we are hoping to incorporate that more into the podcast next season.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_05: So be in the lookout for more live podcast episodes coming your way in season two.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_08: And since we have a bit more time on our hands right now, we have been hard at work brainstorming for an exciting season two, as well as some fun episodes for the summer.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_08: Um, we're definitely going to incorporate some more live stream QA's, like Courtney said, but we want to know what you want to hear.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_08: If you have any ideas for episode topics that you'd like us to cover next season, we would love your suggestions.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_08: So shoot us an email at podcast at impactdanceadjudicators.com and we will put it in the suggestion box.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_05: So for our very last episode of season one, we wanted to bring back some of your favorite IDA judges who were guests on the season, as well as a few that you haven't heard from yet, and share some thoughts as we head into the summer, which this year looks a little bit different than last summer, but that's all good.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_05: And um, we've really had a ton of guests.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_05: Like we said in our intro, we have had 48 guests this season.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_05: So we have some encouraging words from a handful of our IDA judges from the roster.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_05: So let's hear from our very first judge.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_17: Hello, this is Ashley Marinelli.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_17: I want to remind young dancers that they are the artists of the future, that they get to decide what's cool and what's not, and that they get to create what future art looks like.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_17: Which means that they should take risks and not necessarily do what other people are doing because they are our way forward, and that's a really cool thing.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_17: Um, I encourage them to change the things about the dance world that they don't like.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_17: Because after all, IDA came about because we saw things in the dance world that we thought could use improvement, and it exists now, and that's so awesome.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_17: And we all have to be the change that we wish to see in the world.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_17: So keep going forward and don't discount your weird ideas or your ideas that seem off the grid or out there, because that's how any profession moves forward.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_05: Well, Ashley, that was so inspiring and so true.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_05: And Ashley, if you remember, all the way back from the very first episode, listeners, Ashley Marinelli was on episode one, What Dance Competitions Taught Me, which feels like a century ago.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, so long ago.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_05: That was a whole that was a million years ago.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_05: It was very long ago, but we love Ashley, and she is she's been a part of the IDA roster since the very beginning, and her words of encouragement in her in her voice message is just it's really inspiring, and it's exciting to hear that she, you know, relates kind of setting the trend and starting something new to IDA as well.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_05: Like she was pretty much there from the creation.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_05: Um, she's been a supporter from the very beginning, she's been a blog writer from the very start.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_05: She she loves a blog, and we love her blogs, so go read them.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_05: I think that her advice to the dancers out there, it's just so, so, so true.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, and Ashley herself, and I know she'll listen to this, so hey Ashley.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_08: Ashley is an innovator, and Ashley is somebody who looks at a situation and looks at a problem and tries to solve it in an interesting way.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_08: You know, she's an excellent performer in her own right, but she is also a choreographer, she's a writer, a teacher.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_08: She's just got uh her sh her feet are in a lot of different ponds, if you will.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_08: And and I think that's why that's why we love her on on the roster and as a supporter is because she kind of can take a situation and see the other side of it in a really interesting way.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_08: So that advice just makes total sense coming from her.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_08: Um and I think that's a really good thing to think about, especially right now, just when everything is changing and you know, we have the ability to look at something a different way, like dance classes, like you know, performance opportunities, like how do we shift the narrative.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_08: So I do Ashley, that's excellent, excellent advice.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, thank you, Ashley, and thank you for being on the pod this season.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_05: And if you didn't have a chance to listen to us from the very beginning, or maybe you're new to the podcast and you haven't made it back to episode one of the podcast, what Dance Competitions taught me, that was a really exciting episode because we actually all just kind of reminisced of our days back in the competition world when we were young.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_05: And we also had Troy Haywood as a guest on that episode.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_05: So let's listen to a clip from episode one.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_18: I was gonna say the same thing.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_18: You just have to go into it with the proper mindset and and focusing not on just that one event, and if it's not life or death, this is a dance competition.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_18: It's uh like this is something that we love to do.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_18: If we love to do it, it's going to continue to be there for us.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_18: It and even if we aren't the best at it, it's okay because the our love and our passion is going to continue to take us to where we want to go.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_08: I just love that statement from Troy.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_08: We loved having him as a guest on this first podcast.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_08: And Troy, I haven't met you in person yet because we did this on video, but the memories of, you know, not being the best at what you do, but loving it.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_08: You know, there's so many of us that either, you know, went into a dance competition at one point or another and just sort of knew that like this might be a rough one, you know, and but I'm doing it because I love it.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_08: And I think that has to be in the back of your mind at all times, um, even when the going gets tough, you know, so to speak.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_05: I I agree.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_05: And I I I specifically remember this episode just being really fun to do, and I'm really glad that we kind of kicked off the entire podcast with an episode like this, with just reflecting.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and it's kind of interesting that we're doing that.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_05: Now uh for our final episode, we're reflecting back onto the season.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_05: But that first episode, it it was just really interesting as well for me as a host to sit back and listen to other people's experiences as a child in the competitive dance world and how they interpreted it and and what they made of it, and then also looking at both Ashley and Troy and how successful um they've been in their professional dance careers and where they're at now.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_05: It was just really inspiring.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_05: So um, if you haven't had a chance to check out episode one, what dance competitions taught me, go ahead over and listen to the full episode now.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_05: It's really great.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_05: Our next IDA Judge is coming from our most popular episode of the entire season, Lyrical versus Contemporary, episode four.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_05: Let's listen to what Christina has to say.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_06: Hi everyone, Christina Pichaddo here from San Diego, California.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_06: You can find me on this season's podcast, Lyrical versus Contemporary, separating the styles.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_06: The majority of dance competition routines we see as judges fall into these two categories.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_06: So I urge you to go listen to it if you haven't already.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_06: It really is an informative podcast to listen to along with all the podcasts from this season.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_06: The best advice I can give during this time is continuing to work on your technique.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_06: Do not lose everything you have worked so hard for.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_06: But on the flip side of that, also recognize sometimes as dancers we do get burnt out.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_06: Sometimes, unfortunately, we have injuries and we have to take time off.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_06: So don't feel like you have to take 10 classes a day.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_06: Do what you were doing before.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_06: There are so many wonderful free classes online, and I encourage you to take those, but I also encourage you to keep up with your dance teacher at your studio and keep working with them because they're the ones that are going to be there for you when the studio is reopened.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_06: During this time, maybe you're someone who's really, really good at ballet and you want to take this time to work on venture into some other styles, but also don't feel like you have to master anything else.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_06: My best advice to you is if there's one correction your teacher's been giving you all year, or maybe for the past two years, we all know it.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_06: We're tired of hearing that correction, and I'm sure your teachers are tired of giving it to you.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_06: But work on that.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_06: Come out of this quarantine working on that and master that.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_06: Stay safe, stay healthy, keep dancing.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_05: Alright, so you just heard from IDA judge Christina Fuchetto, who is coming from San Diego right now, and she had some great advice to all of the dancers out there, especially during this difficult time while we are in the COVID-19 pandemic, and some helpful tips as to how to be training in this time, which a lot of her advice from Christina are things that we discussed actually on our episode uh virtual dance classes.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, I think uh Christina is still teaching right now.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_08: Uh, she's doing Zoom classes, I know.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_08: So, you know, she's got a firsthand knowledge of what it's like to be on that side of the table.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_08: And I think her piece of advice about, you know, finding the balance in this time is really important because I think there's there's kind of two sides of the coin.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_08: You've got your people who feel like they have to do everything because we have all this time and you'd be wasting this time to not do everything.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_08: And then you have your people who are like, oh my gosh, that is so overwhelming.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_08: I I can't do that.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_08: And you know, there's a balance, there's a happy medium that you can find.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_08: And I think the advice that she had of do what you would normally do, except do it at home, is you know, like maybe add your second, you know, ballet class a day or whatever you want to do, just do something extra.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_08: But don't feel like you have to, you know, conquer the world with dance classes right now.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_08: That's not the time.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, I agree.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_05: And I couldn't agree more with her advice as to making sure that you stick with your home studio and your home teacher.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_05: Amen.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_05: Um, while you are in this uh situation of dancing at home, if you still are.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_05: I know that like at this time it's June, and uh in certain parts of the world in our country, um many studios are slowly starting to reopen and socially distancing, but at the same time, I'm sure that you guys are so excited to get back into the space and get back to the studio.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_05: And it's not like that here in New York for us, unfortunately.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, we're still not at that point in time.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_05: But for all the dancers that are going back to the studios, I am so happy for you.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_05: And I really hope that throughout this entire pandemic and while you have been um taking classes online virtually, that you've really stuck with your studio because that is the the main thing.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_05: I think that we can sometimes feel a little bit overwhelmed with how many opportunities are happening right now on the internet and a lot of free classes, a lot of low-cost classes, a lot of classes from uh celebrity dance teachers that you might not have an opportunity to always work with.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_05: But the the real truth of it is is that your studio is who's going to be there for you at the end of the day, and that might be a one and done class that you take, and that's great, but you have to make sure that you're still regularly training with your dance studio.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_05: So um, I really, really loved that um advice from Christina, and I think that everything that she had to say was so spot on, especially at this time right now.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, and you know, as she mentioned in the beginning of her little voice note, we see lyrical and contemporary so much.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_08: So if you are training right now in different ways, like she said, you know, branch out.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_08: Maybe try the hip-hop class, maybe try the tap class, maybe try, you know, Bollywood.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_08: Just branch out a little bit because, you know, as judges and as we'll discuss in a minute, you know, lyrical and contemporary is it's the hot thing right now.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_08: It may not be the hot thing forever though, so diversify.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_05: Totally.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_05: And we talked about that so much on the lyrical versus contemporary episode, which I think it was the most successful episode of the season because there is still and there may always be, regardless if we tried to uh really separate those styles in our podcast.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_05: I think that everyone's still always gonna be questioning what is the difference.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_05: I um especially a lot of I feel like a lot of dance parents specifically are always like, I don't get it, it looks the same.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_05: Whereas dance teachers should, I'm saying the word should, should know the difference.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, we talked about this on the pod, but sometimes I'm not sure if the dance teachers really know the difference either because when they classify a dance in a specific genre at competition and they are the ones registering the dancers and select lyrical for that dance, and I'm watching a contemporary dance, that makes me question if the teachers are clear as to how the styles are really different.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_08: Exactly.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_08: And you know, with with over 1,500 downloads, people are interested.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_08: Right, you know, and people continue to be interested.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_08: And like you said, I don't know that there will ever be a clear-cut definition.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_08: And I understand that, like you said, dance parents are kind of the ones that are more confused.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_08: And I think it's because there is no clear-cut definition.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_08: You know, you that we live in a world where black and white feels very safe and you just want to know like what is and what isn't.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_08: And unfortunately, with like so many things, lyrical and contemporary, we we haven't figured out that strict line yet.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_08: Right.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_08: Um, and maybe that's a good thing.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_08: Maybe it's good that everything is just kind of fusion.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_08: I don't know.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_05: I love a fusion.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm not I'm never mad at a fusion, and I think that a lot of a lot of people have also said, like, why don't we just eliminate like the genres at competition?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_05: Like, who cares?
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_05: Why does it have to be like decided on?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_05: And why can't we just enter a mishmash of whatever we want?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that the industry is slowly going that way in that direction.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, that's definitely a possibility down the road.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_05: But as for right now, I think that all judges, at least, I I I could be speaking for myself only, but I I'm I'm thinking that I'm speaking for a lot of judges, that uh we have a definition in our head and an expectation in our head when we're sitting down and watching dances at a competition as to what we expect the Urkle is and what we expect contemporary to be.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_08: We could talk about this all day long.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_08: Um and we probably will do an episode in season two, like a continuation of this conversation with different people, because I there's just too much to talk about.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_08: But um, let's just leave you with a little snippet from that episode from IDA judge Matty Kurtz.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_02: Song choice.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think people are like, I put on Feline Dion, therefore I am doing lyrical.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_02: And while I would argue that you probably are if you're dancing to that music, it's so important to take a step back and look at what you're actually like what is the movement vocabulary fully, not like throwing the PKR basket.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: But are you focusing on technique that's born out of ballet or are you focusing on technique that's born out of floor work and releasing and contracting and being driven by your pelvis through the space or whatever it may be.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: I think so often it just turns into like, well, this song had lyrics.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: Isn't that lyrical?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: And that's just one can be one component if it's a component of it.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_05: Well, Maddie, you will always hit the nail on the head with everything that you have to say.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_05: And especially we just we definitely wanted to include this uh clip from the episode mainly because not only that you say fabulous things, but you mention the love that you have for Celine Dion.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_05: If anyone knows Maddie, everyone should know that she loves Celine Dion so much.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_05: So much.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_05: So we're happy to include Celine Dion into the podcast again for you, Maddie.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_05: And Celine Dion's a perfect example of stereotypical competition lyrical dance song is.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it is and should be.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_08: You know, I will never hate a Celine Dion selection.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_08: You can always count on a Celine Dion song to just take you through a good lyrical dance.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_05: And everyone everybody knows like there are so many other judges that I've met that have said the same exact thing that like, oh yeah, give me a Celine Dion song any day.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_05: But again, I think what Maddie said is so real.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_05: You can't just rely on the music as being the lyrical or the contemporary because you do kind of get into that stereotypical well I'm using Celine Dion, so it's going to be a lyrical dance, but if the movement isn't lyrical based then it's not a lyrical dance.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_05: And I I I don't know I there's a there's a checklist for me when it comes to what makes lyrical and what makes contemporary and can you do a contemporary dance to a Celine Dion song?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_05: Can you do a lyrical dance to a non-Celene song that you know feels more contemporary in the song you know you would initially say oh that goes that would be a contemporary dance.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_05: You know sometimes we classify songs as a genre and you don't have to necessarily do that.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_05: It really I think we have to take a step back and make sure that the movement like Maddie said is very much structured around the genre that you're submitting and that's what I look for.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_05: I think that maybe we kind of get into that like song choice dilemma.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_05: A little bit too much yeah.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_08: Well and you know Celine Dion if you're listening we we all love you and you have inspired so many dancers over the years.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_08: So thank you for your service.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_05: So enough about lyrical versus contemporary let's hear from our next IDA judge.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_13: Hey everyone it's Miranda Speda from Buffalo New York I was on episode seven of Making the Impact podcast.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_13: So during this time just remember to focus on what you can control which for all of us is our mindset and our outlook.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_13: Whenever this is all over we want to come out stronger and every little day we take those small steps and those small victories to keep us focused and aligned on our goals.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_13: Keep strong, keep dancing keep the faith and as my dance studio Tanawanda Dance Art says let's keep having high hopes.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_05: You just heard from Miranda Spada from our episode 7 Age Range Expectations episode and I was actually flying solo without my co-host on that episode so sad.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_05: But we had some really great guests on board.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_05: That episode included Miranda Jessica Ollinick and Emily Branagan.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_05: So I had a lovely time chatting with these ladies and we really kind of dug deep about what we are looking for in each specific age range not regarding levels but what age range at competition and what we're looking for dancers to be able to be achieving in partic in particular styles and genres uh based on their age.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_05: So it was a really great discussion and Miranda loved her advice.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_05: Everyone has all of the judges have been bringing such beautiful advice to the pod today.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah and she's Miranda's been a part of IDA for quite some time um has done a couple blogs for us so we just really appreciate you know her taking the time and giving that advice to just you know like she said keep your keep your mindset positive.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_08: There's there is so little we can control right now especially if you're a dance student and you know maybe you've had your studio taken away and your school is taken away and everything is on Zoom and it's so frustrating and I can, you know, I can definitely get behind that.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_08: But you know it's the little things like keep you know positive in one aspect of your life if you can if that's dance class like get get in there and do the best you can because we're all that's what we all have to do now is just do the best you can and that's the best you can do, you know?
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_05: Totally let's take a little listen to a clip from our age range expectations episode.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_11: I usually kind of use that junior those junior years to really work on and refine those the plastic and those triples and those techniques but they will not be seen on stage.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_11: Yes.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_11: It's in the classroom and they're gonna get great needed correction um but unless someone's like you know delivering it pretty good clear then it won't it won't be seen on stage until they're ready.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_05: So you just heard from IDA judge Jessica and that little bit of advice that came from that episode is so important and I think applies to not only just when it comes to age range expectations but also dance at competition in general is to make sure that we are presenting our best self on stage and regardless of what level you are as a dancer we want to make sure that we're presenting ourselves as best as we possibly can.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_05: So like Jessica mentioned for her junior dancers if they're not nailing their that double pirouette it's not going on stage competition.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that a lot of teachers feel that they need to make the the trick difficulty harder especially depending on what level you are if you're a teen dancer compared to a junior dancer that you should have a triple over a double or things like that.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_05: And it really doesn't matter uh we just want to make sure that as judges we want to see you succeed and pull off those technical elements successfully and not be falling out of them and you know we're we're looking for technique so I think that's really what um Jessica was was getting across in in that clip and I think it's a really important one.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah I'm bummed I missed that episode.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_08: I know it's a good conversation.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_05: It was such a good conversation we had we had a really nice discussion about we really broke it down to like each age range from eight to 15 and over and said what do we look for as a judge and we talked about specific genres as well but we really kind of clarified that because I think that with the whole level system in the in the industry it makes it hard to kind of figure out well what should my 10 year old be doing?
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_05: Where where should my 10 year old be as far as skills and technique.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_08: Right.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_08: Well and it's hard you know thinking as as we've said before on this podcast you know being a parent and maybe not knowing what the answer to that question is.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_08: You know you can't go to a dance competition be unaware of what you're watching in terms of what level and what the training is.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_08: So if you see or watching YouTube for that matter or Instagram you know if you see a 10 year old doing these amazing things and you automatically think well why can't my 10 year old do that?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_08: I should change studios because clearly she's not getting the training well no you don't know what that training looks like for that particular 10 year old you know in j I think that that does get to be very challenging um in this day and age where we have where everybody has so much access right to to people dancing and to people doing you know crazy crazy amazing things technically the general level of what a 10 year old should be physically expected to be able to do has been lost.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_09: Right.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_08: You know and I think as as teachers we are it's incumbent upon us to make that decision to say no this is realistically what we should expect.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_05: Completely agree and another fabulous discussion so definitely go check out episode seven age range expectations and thank you to Miranda for sending in your audio clip.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_05: Next up let's hear from IDA judge Bo coming to us from our Valentine's Day episode back in February.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Courtney hey Leslie hey listeners my name is Bo Hutchings I'm a musical theater dancer actor from New York City and I'm currently quarantining in Michigan where I'm from with my family.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: You may remember me as a guest on the podcast back in February on Valentine's Day for the episode Competition Kindness where we spoke about the etiquette of competition season both on stage and offstage and I wanted to add to that conversation and say that along with being kind to everybody else around you, be kind to yourself and you know that especially applies right now where our lives may look a little bit different than they did just a few months ago.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: So feel free to just be as you are during your day and take as much time to do as much or as little as you need to do in a day and to structure your day to make sure that you're really taking care of yourself and staying happy.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's what is the most important thing right now.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: So do all your conditioning and your training and everything and stay on top of it but also take time to just be, you know?
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: So feel free to just you know really take care of yourself right now.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: Very important.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: All right thanks so much guys thanks so much everybody hope everyone's well bye-bye.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_08: Thank you Bo for chiming in all the way from Michigan.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_08: New York misses you I think the running theme right now of of our advice from judges is take care of yourself.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah and don't try to do too much don't you know don't try to overachieve in this moment because there's just too much unknown there's too much going on.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_08: You know yes if you're gonna if you plan to continue dancing like I hope most of you do um in any capacity in the next year at least you got to keep up your training.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_08: You can't, you know, just sit back and pretend like this is a vacation um you know having had surgery last year things atrophy so quickly when you're not using them.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_08: And that goes for just stopping ballet class at any given time.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_08: Not to mention you know being in a boot or being in crutches and truly not being able to function day to day.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_08: But you know even even giving up on that ballet class a week because you're tired or because you you know don't like Zoom, it's gonna affect your technique and it's gonna affect what your body can do when you come back full force.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_08: Um so yes, you know be kind to yourself but also recognize that being kind to yourself means staying disciplined in some ways.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah I I absolutely agree and it seems like that all of the judges are kind of on the same page as far as those things that you just mentioned Leslie and Bo's advice is so sweet Bo.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_05: You're just so the sweetest.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_05: You can hear the joy and the passion in his voice even just over you know an audio message.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_05: And I can tell that like you are just the kindest person Bo even though we've never met at that we've met briefly in person.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_05: But you know that's the interesting thing about the podcast is that we have judges located around the country right now Bo was coming in from Michigan and when we do our interviews a lot of them are done remotely.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_05: So um a lot of these judges I get to only meet virtually which is the life we're living right now.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_08: We were virtual before it was COVID 19.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_10: Yes we were so it's just it's it's very very um inspiring to hear from Bo and what he said in in his voice memo now but also even in the episode about competition kindness and etiquette was so wonderful and I'd love to uh take a little peek back at that episode and let's go back and listen to a clip from uh one of our other guests on that episode Kelsey Nelson etiquette just it values everybody's efforts going from you know respecting the performers when they're on stage the staff backstage working the events your teachers the judges fellow competitors parents it just if you have proper etiquette and a respectful it's valuing everybody's time and energy and then it allows the event to really make a bigger impact on people rather than just necessarily like going and trying to win an award.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_10: If you have etiquette and respect who knows you could make new friends you could make new relationships with people that long term could really impact you if you just take the time to like invest in others and you know take a step back sometimes and see the bigger picture of what you're a part of and have value for that.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_10: I think that's really important.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_05: Beautifully said by Kelsey Nelson which is so wonderful to hear her again.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_05: We actually just had her on a recent podcast episode called Cross Training During Quarantine and she was I think she might have been one of our only IDA judges who made an appearance twice on season one.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_08: I think you're right yeah um I went to college with Kelsey and Kelsey has always been uh one of those people who's not afraid to do everything and kind of jump in and just volunteer her time and I think that you know just the way she was speaking in that clip from that etiquette episode, you know, that's always how I've known her is to be helpful and to be just you know ready to jump in and do whatever you need.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_08: And so hence she was available to be on two of our episodes even though she's a mom and she's a teacher and she's you know has her own uh platform for conditioning and training and everything.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_08: Something that we always reiterate on the podcast is how small the stance world is.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_08: And you really can't afford to not be kind and to have respect for other people because the minute you turn around and you're nasty about somebody, somebody around you knows that person.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_08: And you know there's the rumor mill is is big and the community is small.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_08: Right.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_08: So you know the nicer you can be and the more open you can be to other people's gifts and the what other people bring to the table starting from such a young age I think is is what we were trying to get at in that episode.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah I think that episode was such a great discussion and we intentionally really sit around Valentine's Day because you know Valentine's Day is about love and support and being kind and in that episode we definitely focused a little bit more on being kind while at competition or in the competitive dance world but I think this applies to kindness in the dance studio aspect as well to your school teachers at school to you know your parents at home I think that we just have to really make sure that we are always approaching um with that kind energy and making sure that we don't burn any bridges in this industry pretty much like what Leslie said because it's a very very small industry and all all eyes are on you.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_05: I remember both saying that in another clip on the episode that uh you have to make sure that you're always staying present even when you're on stage and uh because all eyes are in you when you're on a stage no matter if you're at awards or if you're in the middle of your solo or how you're behaving backstage too is important.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_05: So there's a lot of really helpful tips on um just etiquette in general for dancers that uh I think that episode was a fantastic one.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_05: So go check it out.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_14: Episode number 15 competition kindness let's hear from our next IDA judge hi dancers this is IDA Judge Alex from episode 24 about musical theater I just wanted to congratulate all my senior dancers for making it to the end of this stage of your career.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_14: So know that you are going to be training your whole lives especially if you become dancers and even though perhaps this year didn't end the way you hoped it would and let's be honest it didn't end the way any of us hoped it would, please know that this is just one step in your long journey as artists and even as people if you choose not to study dance, the things that you have learned as a dancer are going to stay with you for the rest of your life.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_14: Your discipline, your understanding of balance and symmetry.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_14: Anything that you have learned as a dancer is applicable in the real world and I hope that you take the lessons you've learned from this and you go forth and you expand and grow as the brilliant artists who are know that this is just the beginning and even though this isn't what you hoped it would be, there are brighter days ahead.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_05: Great work and congratulations so that was IDA Judge Alex and she had beautiful advice to the senior dancers out there.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_08: All of our seniors we love you seniors we you know we did our episode uh featuring three amazing seniors and then we featured three more amazing seniors on our blog recently so if you haven't checked those that episode and that blog out um just to hear some inspiring stories from our senior dancers do that.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_08: Alex I just want to thank you for that amazing sort of tribute to them because I you know being adults and having it's been so long since we graduated from anything um you know it's it's it can be a little tough to remember how big these moments felt at the time like your last recital, your last competition, your last prom, you know, all those things that all these kids are missing out on.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_08: And I think that is a hard thing at that time to see the bigger picture of this is just the end of a chapter.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_09: Right.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_08: And we will move forward.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_08: And I think one of the I've heard people say this multiple times and it's the phrase that I love right now is that dancers are the most flexible people that we know.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_08: We're flexible physically but we're flexible in that we can change at a moment's notice.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_08: We can pivot in a moment's notice um you know so many dance iterations of of how to change um Shang Ma pivot like you know we we but we're versatile and that's what I think is gonna get our community through this is that we are so adaptable and that is something as you know graduating senior you know embrace that realize that that's a strength and that's a superpower.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_08: So I just I love that she brought all those things up.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_05: Me too Alex thank you that was that was so beautiful and I hope that there are some seniors out there that are listening to those beautiful words from you and some great encouragement uh to look into their future and all of the seniors we love you and please go listen to our senior feature episode we were really excited to make that possible and thanks to all of the seniors who applied to our Instagram contest to be considered for that episode feature it was really fun to chat with some dancers on the podcast uh that are you know currently competing and currently uh training at their studio so it was a it was a really great one.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_05: So Alex is coming to us from the musical theater episode number 24 and I have to say that the musical theater episode was probably one of my favorite episodes of the entire season and I think the reason for that is because we had a fantastic panel on that discussion which included Max Vassipoli, Jesse Miller and Alex Frolinger and Leslie and myself as well.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_05: But w the discussion was just so necessary and so needed in the competition industry and to lip sync or not to lip sync is the biggest debate in the musical theater category at competition.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_05: So we really um dove in and dug deep on so many hot topics relating to that specific genre and it's just a really great lesson.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_05: It was one of my favorites so let's take a little listen to a clip from that episode.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_12: Musical theater dance is difficult because you're really trying to add in production value without having it there.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_12: You don't have the right you don't have the you know you don't have the costuming you don't have sets that move and things like that.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_12: So you have to rely on other things and when we're relying on those things as well and we're already uncomfortable it becomes one of those things where we're just taken out of it right away and there's so many other things that might have served your students better than putting them in this role that they they're not eligible to play yet.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_08: Um so you just heard from Max from episode 24 about musical theater and you know we kind of went a lot of different directions that in that episode because that it's a heated topic.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_08: There's a lot to talk about in musical theater.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_08: But I think we were talking mostly about appropriateness of the piece that you're giving your students in terms of age and maturity level and everything.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_08: And so I think he had a really good point with you know we're already trying to condense a whole character and a whole storyline into a three minute number with one person with no set with no background with no lights with no context besides song and person on stage.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_08: Right.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_08: And so it it can be a little challenging.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_08: I mean I do like I think we mentioned this in the episode you know musical theater is not the category to just throw in there because you want another dance or because you're not sure what to do with the student.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_08: Musical theater is arguably maybe aside from like ballet, classical ballet, like one of the hardest uh genres to enter because it does encompass so much more than just dancing.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah I mean some of the things that musical theater involves outside of just dancing is acting and character development and making sure that you really understand who that character is and are able to tell that story through the eyes of that character.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_05: It's a lot harder than you think it's not just about technique and tricks when it comes to musical theater.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_05: There are many dances that competition that we feel shouldn't have tricks in them to be in the musical theater category.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_05: You should be able to just become that character and if there is some some tricks and some flash that's fine.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_05: But I think that majority of the judges are really looking for you to dive deep into that storytelling in a different way and that's really what separates the musical theater category from the jazz category and not just doing trick trick trick and all of that.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_05: We're looking for the style we're looking for the technique and then we are adding that next layer of where is that storytelling?
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_05: Who are you as a character when it comes to appropriateness, which is a a topic that actually we will be doing in season two.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_05: That was kind of the discussion like you said Lizzie that we were we were talking about with with Max's clip was just kind of making sure that what we are giving our dancers in that specific musical theater category is appropriate for their age because there's not a ton of kids musicals out there.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_05: But there are many more adult style musicals that maybe the context of that song might not be the most appropriate for a 15 year old to be doing.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_08: So I think that's really what we're conversely I'm not gonna give a fifteen year old it's a hard knock life.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_08: Exactly either you know So there's like the appropriateness can go both ways.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_08: You know, we don't often see it in that opposite way of playing too young.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_08: But that is still a good point to bring up.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, absolutely.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_05: That is a one of my favorite episodes.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_05: I personally thought that discussion was so fantastic.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_05: So if you are curious if you should be lip syncing or not at competition, then go check out episode 24, Musical Theater at Competition, to listen to such a fabulous discussion on that genre in full detail.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_05: And stay tuned for season two where we will dive deep into age appropriateness, which we're very excited about.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_05: And finally, let's hear from our very last IDA judge.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_07: Hi everyone, it's Julia Galloway from Miami, Florida.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_07: Uh, you might have heard me on episode 19 of Making the Impact, where we spoke about COVID-19.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_07: I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you so much for putting your heart and soul into the performances that you have sent to us this season.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_07: It has been such a light in my life, uh personally being able to watch you guys dance.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_07: I just wanted to remind you that the impact that you've made on us does not stop here.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_07: It will only get bigger and brighter and more amazing.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_07: So please keep dancing, keep smiling, and we're sending all the love we have your way.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_08: So that was Julia from our COVID-19 episode.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_08: Julia, thank you for those just such heartfelt words.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_08: And she's totally right, Courtney.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_08: We were uh able to put on a couple of virtual events this season, kind of just as a response to what has happened in the past couple of months, and Julia was able to judge for us for our showdown for one of our events.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_08: And we are just also thankful to everybody who's participated in our virtual competitions and the solo events and the group events, because, you know, as judges, we're missing out too.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_08: You know, we were supposed to be out every weekend and seeing you guys and judging and doing what we love as well.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_08: And when that all got shut down, you know, everybody in the industry was a little wrecked.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_08: You know, so that those events uh that we were able to put on with everybody's support and everybody's excitement, you know, really brought us some joy as well.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_05: It's been a blast making the virtual event a reality.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_05: And um, like we kind of talked about at the very beginning of this episode and about how quickly the podcast came about, the same thing for the virtual competition.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_05: We had an idea, we pulled it together in a few days' time, and then launched the thing.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_05: And and here we are.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_05: And it's it's really been so inspiring for me to sit on the back end.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm not judging during the virtual event, but I am doing a lot of things on the back end, and I get to watch a lot of these videos that are submitted, and it's so cool to see videos from around the world, not just the country.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_05: I think that's what's been the coolest thing is really connecting dancers globally through an online platform and allowing the judges to have even more opportunity to share their knowledge and their expertise with dancers from around the world that you would never have a chance to do at a regional event in the United States.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_05: So it's been really, really exciting to see that.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_05: It's been um the response has been awesome, and we're very grateful for all of the IDA judges who have been on the roster, who have participated in the virtual competition, who will be participating in future virtual competitions that we uh try to run.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_05: And we obviously couldn't do without the judges.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_05: You make the competition.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_05: There is no competition without you.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for providing fabulous feedback and positive critiques and encouraging words and going above and beyond with everything that you've done in the virtual.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_05: So to all of our IDA judges out there, we love you.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_05: And thank you, Julia, again for those kind words.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_05: I know that when you maybe have heard Julia previously, we were doing an episode on COVID-19.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_08: And it's very the very first week or two that this all came about.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it was about a week after kind of the world shut down, pretty much, and uh we are kind of reflecting and discussing on what that meant for us and um what we kind of predicted the future holds and how we are going to navigate through this difficult time.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that it was a it was a really good discussion on kind of navigating the unknown of what COVID-19 was.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, and it at that time, you know, everywhere in the country was was reacting so differently.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_08: And Julia's in Florida, we were in New York, um, our other guest, Dion, was in Michigan.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_08: And so, you know, we just kind of it was so nice to connect with people and just sort of get a feel for what they were going through and what their, you know, particular situation was.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_08: Um, and so we can hear from Dion from a little bit of that episode.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: But with the dance community, I think if we all come together, like once we're like past this and we're starting to go on an upswing instead of a downswing, we can be like, okay, well, let's offer we all usually have like July and August off, you know, or people start competition for the next season during that time.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we do borrow from that and we extend some of the regionals.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe nationals are a little bit longer.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_01: I know some people can't go to nationals because of finances, but maybe they hold like a national for Michigan, a national for New York.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I I mean, there are creative ideas that I think we can come together, but hopefully it just isn't take too long that people will spend the money for that.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's my concern is that people have the money to spend for those luxury items, that they're not gonna freak out and then everything's gonna crash.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_05: Wow, that's really interesting to hear this clip because this clip came from, like we said, right about a week after uh the world kind of went upside down.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, I think our episode launched on March 17th around that time, and Deanne was kind of predicting the future essentially with what she thinks, you know, how the industry is going to look in the future.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_05: And it's it's really impressive uh with her prediction because now here we are, it's now June, and three months later, uh she's right.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_05: You know, she she really uh hit the nail on the head with how the industry's moving.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_05: And of course, we're still not in the clear with the pandemic.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_05: And uh, we briefly said before that a lot of states are slowly opening up, maybe studios are slowly opening, but as far as our competition industry, which we miss so much, it seems like that's the direction that everyone is choosing to go.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_05: Is people want the competitions, we want to go back to them, and a lot of the companies are choosing to try to hold these events in the summer to make up for some of our regional events that we lost and maybe extending some into the fall that we normally would never do.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_05: But it's also interesting to see what every how every studio is handling this.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_05: And at this point, a lot of studios have said that, you know, we're doing recital and then that's it, and we're starting a new season fresh.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_05: But then other studios are like, no, we worked so hard on these entries and these and these routines.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_05: We want to make sure that these hit the stage.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_05: We're gonna take advantage of these summer opportunities, we're gonna go to some of the fall competitions, and then we're gonna start our new season.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_05: So of course, uh the timeline of events is a little bit different uh this year than what we're used to.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_05: But I think that Dion did a great prediction as to um what was what was ahead for us.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_08: And that's it's kind of exactly what is happening.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_08: We still have those questions of we're still only in June.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_08: You know, nationals a lot of times aren't even until July.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_08: Right.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_08: So we do have we still have some time to make some more predictions and to to watch and see what's gonna happen.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_08: You know, my hope truly, I think like most people is like, let's let's redo some of those events, let's reschedule, let's get get into the fall and you know, maybe we can we can salvage the 2020 season.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_08: Um, you know, and and I understand not maybe wanting to scrap everything just starting over and just never mind, we didn't that year didn't happen, right?
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_08: Moving on.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_08: But I think that is also why, you know, IDA's virtual competition was one of the first ones to pop up when all this happened, and we realized maybe maybe nobody's gonna get to go to a competition this year.
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_08: Right.
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_08: Here's an opportunity.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_08: And so now, you know, moving into the summer, so many competitions have have started doing virtual events, and I don't expect that to stop anytime soon.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_08: And that just may be the wave of the future.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_08: We'll have to wait and see.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_05: I think that it it definitely c could be the wave of the future, and I think that this is, you know, new territory for everyone.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_05: And I I will say that we at IDA we did decide to launch a virtual event, and we're not saying that this is a replacement for a live event.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_05: And I just want to kind of reiterate that because I've said that many times before, and I think that's a lot of um what some people, you know, parents or teachers or studio owners or even dancers have said is well, it's not the same.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_05: It's not a live event.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_05: I'm sending in a pre-recorded video, you know, things like that.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_05: That is so true.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that we all have to kind of approach these virtual events if you're choosing to partake in them more as an I I mean, at least how we're approaching IDAs.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_05: I can't speak for everyone, but more as an educational opportunity.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, we agree this is not the same thing as a live event, and and there is nothing that is going to be close to a live event with a virtual.
• 53:13
  SPEAKER_05: But the great thing about it is that that we are really trying to approach it in an educational uh perspective where you can really get quality feedback and even more in-depth critiques and even more specialized judging panels that cater to your specific genre.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, I think that there's really um exciting things that can be done virtually that can't necessarily be done in a live event.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_05: And I will say that performing live in person at a live competition will never ever be the same as doing a virtual event.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_05: But I think that with how the times are right now, this may be the only option until we all can really regroup, until we can get into the to the studio again, until we can do the partnering that was choreographed into our routine again.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and not only do solos, you know, those times are still tentative right now.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_05: And I think that, you know, all of the competitions in the industry who are providing these virtual opportunities are trying just to create something for us, you know, like anything.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_05: We we're so eager and we're so hungry to continue dancing.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_05: So I really think that that's what we're all trying to do is just to keep everybody dancing and uh doing what they love.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_05: And if it has to be done virtually and if it has to be done on a video in your living room, then that's what it is right now.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_05: But there's still ways to grow as as artists and dancers, and there's still ways to continue to inspire.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_05: Like I said, I'm beyond inspired by the virtual competition because I've gotten to watch so many dancers from around the world, and everyone is phenomenal, and everyone has been just I can see the love of dance through the computer screen, which is is beautiful to see, and especially during these dark times right now and these hard times.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_08: And I mean, shout out to everybody who's submitted something from their living room or from their basement or from wherever they could find to dance, and it makes me think of like when you s when you walk across a sidewalk and you see a plant growing out of a crack in the sidewalk.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_08: You know, living things want to thrive and they will figure out a way to do it.
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_08: And that's just like dancers.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_08: If you want to dance, you will figure out a way to do it.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_08: Your mom will move the couch, your dad will build you a bar.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_08: Yes, something will make it work.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_08: And I think, you know, I am so grateful that so many people did get to go to competition and have produced videos to send us.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_08: That's amazing.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_08: But also, it's amazing that somebody's mom, you know, shoved the couch out of the way and said, We're gonna videotape this for you.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_08: Right.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_08: We're gonna do the best we can to give you this opportunity.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you to all of the dancers who have inspired us, and we hope that we're inspiring you with the virtual competition experience, and we hope that you um have enjoyed that, and I hope everyone's staying safe and healthy during this time.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_08: So, thank you again to all of our judges that were able to send in a few little bits of encouragement here that you've heard from already.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_08: Um, we, like we said earlier, we've had you know a 35-episode first season.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_08: We were able to hear from so many of our judges, but our roster with IDA is over 150 people.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_08: We had so much interest from all of our judges this season that we just didn't have time to have them all on.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_08: Um so we have a few more words of encouragement from some of the guests that you haven't heard from yet, um that you will be hopefully hearing from this coming season.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_08: So let's hear from them.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_03: Hello everyone.
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_03: This is Jacqueline Nowicki, aka Jackie Nowicki from Chicago, Illinois.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I just wanted to say that even though times are uncertain and possibly scary right now, um, remember that the most challenging times of our lives are also the most impactful.
• 56:43
  SPEAKER_03: They're when we find who we really are, they're when we discover new truths about ourselves, they're when we connect to our emotional and spiritual beings more than we ever have.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_03: Even though things are different and they have changed, so have you.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_03: So allow yourself to experience those changes, allow yourself to ride the wave and let it affect your dancing, let it affect your choreography, let your studio change as a teacher change.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_03: Don't fight the change, be part of the change.
• 57:19
  SPEAKER_03: Let your body, your mind, your soul, your spirit, your outcome, your outlook on life, and dance in general change.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um, because those those changes, those challenges that we face are what make us who we are.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_03: Keep trucking, you guys.
• 57:36
  SPEAKER_03: Love you.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_16: Hi, everybody.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_16: This is Lisa Carlin coming to you from Astoria, Queens, New York City.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_16: And I just wanted to give my love and light to everybody in our community, all of my talented dancers, teachers, parents, and my fellow judges.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_16: It's really hard to not be with everyone this competition season.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_16: I keep thinking of everybody, especially when some music comes on the radio or when I'm working out.
• 58:03
  SPEAKER_16: If there's any music that I'm used to hearing in competition, ugh, it just makes my heart ache and miss everybody sharing their talents together.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_16: And I'm hoping we can come back to dance together soon.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_16: I'm hoping we can do it safely.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_16: I'm hoping each one of you gets to go back to school in the fall.
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_16: I know how much you miss your friends and your communities.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_16: And just know that here in New York City, I'm thinking of each one of you and missing your talents and hoping you can all keep your heads and hearts up while we make our way through this fight.
• 58:37
  SPEAKER_16: We're gonna get there, but we have to be patient, we have to be strong, and we have to stay together, even though we're apart.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_16: Sending my love from New York City.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_04: Hi, dancers.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_04: This is IDA Judge Mickey Weiner.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_04: I know times are tough right now, but dancers are among the most resilient group of individuals I know.
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_04: You don't need a ton of space to stay in shape.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_04: I've been doing my plas and tomdues and releves every day at my kitchen counter.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_04: So carve out a little area for yourself and do what you need to do.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_04: And if you just need to dance it out, put on some music, find some space in your backyard, on your rooftop, in your living room, and just have yourself a dance party.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_04: I know for me, just dancing it out helps keep my spirit alive.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_04: And I know it's tough not to get to be in dance class with your friends, not to get to go perform on stage at competition or end-of-the-year recitals, but stay strong.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_04: We've got this.
• 59:35
  SPEAKER_04: So do what you need to do at home to stay in shape and to keep that joy alive inside your soul.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_04: And we'll see you guys back soon.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_04: We totally will.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_15: Hey dancers, this is IDA Judge Rachel Perlman from New York City.
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_15: I just want to encourage you to remember that dance is the gift we have, even when things may seem strange and different.
• 59:55
  SPEAKER_15: You can always turn to dance to help express yourself emotionally and artistically with whatever feelings are going on inside you.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_15: Even if it's only in your living room or your backyard, dance is something that can't be taken away from you.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_15: It's always within you.
• 1:00:10
  SPEAKER_15: Stay healthy, stay safe, and keep dancing.
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_19: Hey, this is Stephen Cardona.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_19: I am coming to you from episode number 22, Levels at Competition.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_19: And I just wanted to say, dancers and teachers, I have seen all of your Instagrams, your TikToks, your Zooms, and just finding ways to dance.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_19: And I've noticed that your passion is not thwarted, but it's fueled by your need to express yourself in beautiful and uplifting ways.
• 1:00:38
  SPEAKER_19: Thank you so much for making the impact.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_19: And thank you for showing the world what we do.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_05: Alright, y'all, well, that's a wrap on season one of Making the Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_05: If you missed an episode, you can always go back and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify to stay up to date.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_05: And we'll be back later this summer with a few special episodes before we start season two in the fall, so don't miss out.
• 1:01:04
  SPEAKER_05: Make sure you subscribe now.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_08: As we gear up for season two of Making the Impact, we want to hear from you.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_08: Is there a subject you want to hear us discuss on the podcast?
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_08: Any questions we haven't answered yet?
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_08: Submit your questions to us on your website at www.impactdanceadjudicators.com slash podcast via audio or text and send your episode request to our email.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_08: That way we can put together a season two just for you.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_05: Hey to all my dancers out there.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_05: Be sure to stay connected with us on social media as we will be launching an exciting Instagram contest to look for the new face of our podcast graphic for season two.
• 1:01:38
  SPEAKER_05: Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay connected and learn how you can submit your photo to be considered.
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks so much for tuning in to our entire season one of Making the Impact.
• 1:01:49
  SPEAKER_05: We hope that you stay safe and healthy throughout the summer, and we'll see you at season two.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_05: Keep dancing.