Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / All About Solos - How Many Are Too Many?

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All About Solos - How Many Are Too Many? · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance, from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest division of dance competitions, the solo division.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Coming to competition as a soloist with as many as five routines is not unheard of.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: But how many solos are too many?
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm making the impact.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Two IDA judges and dance educators join us for a discussion of the pros and cons of competing solos.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_04: Hello everyone.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_04: Welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_04: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, Courtney.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, listeners.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: We are back.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're so excited.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_04: Thrilled to be back, season seven, and it's gonna be a great one.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_04: I hope you're enjoying some of our latest episodes.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_04: We just released our Dance Future Web episode as well as our first studio spotlight.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_04: So if you haven't given a listen, press back on your player because you missed them.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: You missed them.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: You can't miss out.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that Dance Future Web episode, man, that was so much fun.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: I had such a great time at that chat.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: So many people showed up.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks, new listeners, if you came to that event and didn't know who we were.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now you do.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_04: And we have some really great episodes in store for you coming up soon on the podcast.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_04: But today we are talking all about solos.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_04: And I know this is a very, very popular topic in the dance competition world because everybody loves a solo these days at competition.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_04: We judge so many of them every single season.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_04: And we have some spectacular guests who are about to join us on this chat.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_04: But before we jump in, let's hear from our sponsors.
• 2:02
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• 2:06
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• 2:12
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• 2:20
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• 2:26
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• 2:28
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• 2:32
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• 2:39
  SPEAKER_04: Danceworld, we are back in action over here at Making the Impact.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_04: And boy do we have an exciting episode for you.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_04: We're talking about the solos.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_04: And as we know, solos are so extremely popular these days at dance competitions.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, it seems like every dancer has a solo these days.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_04: And are they something that is a privilege to obtain at the studios?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_04: Or are they handed out like candy?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_04: And how many solos or are too many solos for a child?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_04: Because I know I have sat down at competition and judged a day's worth of solos.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_04: So we're gonna talk all about that today, right here, right now, on one of our very first episodes of season seven on making the impact.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_04: And we have a full IDA judge guest panel today on the podcast.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_04: I'm excited to welcome these spectacular judges here to share their knowledge and perspective.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_04: The first guest that I'm excited to welcome to the podcast for the very first time is a newer IDA judge to our roster as of last season.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_04: We love having her here joining us.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_04: She is from the Atlanta area, and I'm excited to get to know her some more right here, right now.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_04: I'm excited to welcome Lex Doroy to the pod.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_04: Welcome, Lex.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so excited for you having me.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I'm excited to share the knowledge and also get feedback from you guys as well.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_04: Yay! We're thrilled to have you here on the podcast officially.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_04: And if you wouldn't mind sharing with the world more about you, where you grew up, a little bit about your early dance training, any career credits that you'd like to share, and what you're currently working on right now.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_03: I grew up in the Seattle, Washington area, uh, started dance quite a bit later.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_03: So I'd say between 11 and 12, I kind of did a deep dive and took a random pop-up hip-hop class at a local studio of mine and just delve right in, right?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_03: So I trained in all of the foundational and fundamental styles of genres uh from jazz, ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, and all the above.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, so then after that, I decided LA was my jam.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: I loved everything about it.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_03: I liked the street lifestyle, but I also was able to really indulge musically as well.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_03: So jumped right on in at 18, moved across and uh started working, started pursuing dance.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_03: I was able to kind of work underneath some really phenomenal educators, Dana Foglia, Trisha Miranda, Cameron Lee.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_03: And they kind of took me into their wings where I was long-term able to assist them down the line for different commercial projects and jobs and uh just even assisting class.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: So that really developed my support and foundation as both a mover but also an educator, learned a lot that way.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_03: And now have kind of migrated over to Atlanta, which is where I'm based out now.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_03: So I do a lot of uh competitive environments ranging from choreography to also judging.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_03: But a couple of highlights that I've done throughout my years, I've been a part of the Descendants franchise for quite some time.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_03: So I was able to choreograph and assist on Descendants Dance Party Remix, which was on Disney, and then the newest franchise film, Disney Plus Rise of Red.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_03: So that was the most recent project that we did together a couple years back.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_03: And then I was able to dance for Paula Abdul.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_03: That was a really phenomenal, like light goal artist that I have loved being a part of.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: She's phenomenal everywhere from her caliber to her energy in the performance area uh to the rehearsal time and the process.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_03: It was just phenomenal.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm really great to find a full level of education and be able to kind of bring that to you guys.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_04: Wow, what a journey you've had in your dance career and you are still going strong.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_04: So uh thrilled to have you on the roster at IDA.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_04: So, everyone out there listening, you may have Lex on a judging panel this season at an IDA affiliated competition.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_04: And thank you so much for being here on the pod.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_04: All right, our next special guest is another IDA judge who has been on the roster for the past few years and she just wears all the hats.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_04: Y'all, she does it all.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_04: And she and I have to remind everybody that she was also on a previous episode of season five, episode 169, A Day in the Life at a Dance Competition.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_04: I'm thrilled to welcome back Amy Tooley to the podcast.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_04: Welcome, Amy.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, guys.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so thrilled to be back and getting ready to start season three on IDA panel.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_04: And I know we we keep you busy over here.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_04: You do you wear the judge hat.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_04: Sometimes you wear the MC host hats.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_04: You really do it all.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I love it.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_02: That's just that's my personality is what else can I learn and what else can I help with?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: And how can I get my hands into all the different aspects of the dance industry?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that comes naturally.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up in Fredericksburg and started my dance career around eight.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, a little bit later.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: Not not quite as late as like, but a little bit later.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: You see like two-year-olds on stage now, right?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but at a studio that really, really pushed well-roundedness.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: So all the genres growing up, from hip-hop to tap to Irish to clogging to everything that we could take.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: We were encouraged to take at my studio in Fredericksburg.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: I went to college at James Madison University and was part of their competitive dance team.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: They compete with MDA and capture my senior year.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and after that, after earning my degree in kinesiology, I went on to perform with cruise lines, with some circles, I've done aerial silks and all that fun stuff.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: Also working as a personal trainer.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: I still love that strength and anatomy for dancers that still carries a big place in my heart.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then as I got a little bit older, ended my professional performing career, and then started opening a dance studio, doing choreography, doing coaching at a collegiate level myself from that experience.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: And now I am based out of the greater Atlanta metro area.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: Still doing guest choreography master classes, MCing, and of course, judging, which I absolutely love.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_04: I you're just you just do it all.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_04: Like I'm so inspired.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_04: I I just I I could never do all of these, wear all these.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_04: I wear a lot of hats, but you've worn even more hats.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just really, really awesome to see your experience and what you bring to the table.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that's also why you are such a great judge and why we brought you onto the IDA roster because of all of the hats that you've worn.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_04: Because every time you put a new hat on, you learn something new in this beautiful dance world.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it gives you perspective, right?
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: So having owned a studio, now I'm a dance mom myself of a competitive dancer.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: You get all the different viewpoints, and that just lends experience.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_04: Totally.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_04: Well, Amy, we're thrilled to have you back.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_04: Thanks for joining us.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_04: All right, it's time to jump into a very hot topic, all about solos today.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: All right, well, Atlanta represents.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: I y'all know I love me some southern folks.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, we are out here.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, ladies, this is exciting.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to have this conversation.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess my first like, let's jump into just what is it about solos?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think people want to dance on a stage alone?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because they sure do.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: They sure do want to.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's let's jump into why sure do.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: They sure do.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, personally, I think it's like the brass ring.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like growing up, that was like the thing you wanted to achieve.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: That really meant that you could hold your own on stage if you were awarded a solo.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I know we'll get into that a little bit later, but that truly was, I think things have changed quite a bit.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you really had to prove yourself work-wise, commitment-wise in the studio in order to be rewarded a solo.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's the draw now is that it's it's an accolade, right?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I agree.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: I think at first, when we let's say back in the day, we're a little bit more of an old school timeline, the rewarding, that was what the benefit was, right?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_03: And I think we're now kind of diving into a community, but also a time where everybody wants to feel showcased.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_03: Everybody wants that moment of honoring and saying, look at me for a full three minutes.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not just I put the work in, but it's also I'm here showcasing you all of my facilities, all of the genres I can do and can be.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_03: And again, we'll dive deeper in, but it's it's feeling throughout the course that it's more about how much you can be seen on stage versus the value within the stage time or the depth in which you earn it and showcase it on stage, right?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um, it's it's become a lot to watch, not just as an educator, but also, you know, from a parental's per perspective, from a uh choreographer perspective, a lot of choreographers want to bring as much, you know, valued choreography and their assets and their creative freedom onto the stage.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_03: If a dancer wants to be there, they want to be able to present that effectively.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, solos, as far as the reward, I I do feel like that they might be for some studios, but definitely were back in the day a pr a privilege to obtain.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_04: And you kind of worked your way up to getting the solo.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_04: Not everyone is a solo dancer, and uh not everyone even wanted to be a solo dancer.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_04: Some people were just happy to be in that small group, or maybe just happy to be in that duo trio with their best friend.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_04: But the the fear of getting on stage by yourself is a huge obstacle to overcome for many dancers.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_04: And then at the same time, like I do think there's a lot of value in in pushing past those fears and getting on stage by yourself.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_04: But it is a scary thing to go on stage and command a room under stage lights.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_04: Not even a room for three minutes.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_04: An auditorium.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: A theater ballroom, a theater, yeah.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_04: Right, yeah.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_04: Like it's it is a scary thing to think about when you really wrap your wrap your head around getting out there by yourself because it's it's it's you.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_04: There's no one else to point fingers at.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_04: There's no one else, like, if you didn't nail that double pirouette, that it was on you.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_04: It wasn't Sally Sue next door that fell out of it.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_04: And then it's it's just a lot of pressure.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_04: So it it's interesting for me to see so many kids wanting solos when I'm like, Y'all couldn't pay me enough money to get out there these days on the stage by myself.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_04: Alone.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_04: Nope.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's kind of like, you know, I I I would love to dance dancing by myself, totally fine.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: You want me to say some lines on a stage by myself?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Out.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't want to do that.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, I know there's kids who are that way about dance too, but somehow I'm like, are you being peer pressured into wanting a solo?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because everybody wants a solo.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Of course you want a solo.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Why wouldn't you want a solo?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'm I guarantee you there's kids out there who don't want a solo who have a solo.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_02: Our solo is the laboo-foo of the dance world.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: Like, do you really want the stuffed ugly thing?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_02: Or because everybody else wants it.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_03: What were you gonna say, Lex?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I was saying, yeah, it's it's shocking how quickly this idea of solos and showcasing you and only you, and kind of demanding that even from the two to three soloists that come, it's like it's turned into a fad, right?
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_03: So not one solo isn't even necessarily markable.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's not the one they they believe, and I don't mean this from like I'm saying it generally, but sometimes it feels that the fad is about how many, right?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_03: The fad is about showcasing their fate uh face as consistent as possible, because that is where the footer all comes from.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_03: And it's such a deeper, there's so many layers to even that, where I'm like, as an educator, I see you one time.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_03: If you sell it and you do your role and you make the music magical and you make your body feel and believe something externally so that your audience can be let in and obtain and absorb all of that, you've gotten the first.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_03: That's it.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_03: You don't need anything else, you don't need two or three of different genres because you perfected that genre enough to sell the first to me.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 14:35
  unknown: Ooh.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_04: I I agree, I agree.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_04: I I I I mean, going there, like we're there.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're there.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_04: We're there like the amount of soul of dancers who think they need multiple solos.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_04: And growing up, I had multiple solos.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_04: And but my solos were always very, very different.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_04: Always very different.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, that's we're gonna get down that road of having three of the same solos, right?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_04: But like I I agree with you, Lex.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_04: I don't necessarily think that we need three ways to win.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_04: Because most likely when I see you for the third time, my score is either exactly the same or lower than the first time I saw you.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_04: And and sometimes it's the cards that you're dealt, like maybe you have three solos and they're all whatever.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_04: They're you know, different.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_04: Let's say they're all different.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_04: And maybe uh your best solo that you're the most proud of goes last.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_04: But I was already impressed by the first solo that you did.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_04: And now by the time I've seen you for the third time, I'm seeing those little tiny details, the little flaws here and there.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_04: And even though you think that's your best solo, just based on how it was the cards that were dealt at this event, it wasn't your best solo today.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_04: And I probably didn't even need to see that solo anymore.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_04: So if you think about it, if you have one solo that you know you love that you that is your best, that's your powerhouse solo, that's your first overall solo, just give us the first overall solo.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_04: Because you kind of just shot yourself in the foot a bit when you don't know where that solo is going to live in the day.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_04: You don't know what else went before you, you don't know how we interpreted your first solo.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_04: And it's it's just interesting because I feel like that you know, we are always judging it for what we see in that moment.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_04: But at the same time, when I see the same dancer three times, I'm gonna get to know you more and I'm going to see different things that I didn't see the first time around.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_04: That maybe I was just wowed by the performance and I didn't notice that you stick with your feet the whole time, or whatever it is, you know?
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_04: So it's a risk that you're taking actually when you bring out more, I think.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_04: But if you're gonna bring out more, they need to be different.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_02: They need to be different.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_02: Please, louder for the people in the back.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: Good gracious.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: I can't even tell you how many times I've seen dancers bring out a contemporary, a lyrical, and an open and a jazz, and they look exactly the same, like same phrases, same facials, same technique.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, what?
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like, where's your versatility?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like, give me a musical theater and then give me a tab, and then give me a contemporary.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like make yourself a versatile dancer.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I think Lex, too, you can kind of speak to this being an industry working professional.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: And from my past career as one, the more versatile you are as a performer, the more hireable you are because you can fill those multiple roles.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: So why would you not, if you are bringing four solos to a competition, clearly dance is a huge part of your life.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe you want to pursue a professional career, maybe you don't, but why would you not take that opportunity with your studio safety net under you to practice that versatility on stage?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think the Yes.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we love it.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: We love a soapbox.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that is one of the benefits of having multiple solos, is to be able to practice that versatility.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that only really works when, like we've been saying, you actually are doing something different in every category.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, like if your lyrical is not true blue, you know, lyricals based in ballet and contemporary is not contemporary based in modern and jazz, and like, you know, the fusion of all of that, like if they are not polar opposites, that's not being versatile.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: If they're closer together than they are farther apart, that's not versatility.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's just something to remember too.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like we can make this a positive thing to have multiple solos.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're not doing it right, then it's not really that positive.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_04: Dancers ages 15 to 18 or in grades 10 through 12.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_04: This is your reminder that you just have one month left to apply to young arts and enter the national arts competition.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_04: If you're not familiar, Young Arts is one of the only organizations in the United States that supports young artists across multiple disciplines, including dance.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_04: Each year, winners of the National Arts Competition can earn cash awards, travel on an all-expenses paid trip to Miami for Young Arts Week, work with industry legends, receive mentorship and professional guidance, and carry the prestigious title of being a young arts winner.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_04: As a past Young Arts winner myself, I can tell you firsthand how transformative this program is.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_04: I highly encourage every eligible dancer to take advantage of this opportunity before it's too late.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_04: The deadline to enter into Young Arts 2026 National Arts Competition is coming up quick on Wednesday, October 8th, 2025.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_04: Learn more and start your application today at youngarts.org slash apply or click the link in our show notes.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_04: A big thank you to Young Arts for supporting me as an alum and for sponsoring Making the Impact.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, in a perfect world, it should probably be a different choreographer for each solo.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_04: Like if you really want to be if you want to embrace the versatility of the different genres that you're executing.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_04: It shouldn't, I mean, it can be the same person, but hopefully they are sort of crafting and molding each solo separately with with the idea of I know that I already did your lyrical and I know you want to jazz.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm gonna give you a try, like a real lyrical that's showing all of your beautiful ballet foundation, and then I'm gonna give you like a very stylized classic jazz, or I'm gonna give you like a hard-hitting sassy over-the-top energized jazz.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_04: Like it just has to be very different, and it cannot also have the same go-to skills the whole time.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_04: Like I'm already, I've already clocked what you're what you're you're a turner.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_04: Cool.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_04: You did the same turn sequence in your last solo.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_04: Why didn't you do it with a different pool in?
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_04: Why didn't you do it with a different facing a different direction?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_04: Why didn't you change up any aspect of it?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_04: Instead, it's just like plop plop duplicate from one solo to the next.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_04: And then that immediately informs me that it's probably the same choreographer.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_04: And that's not a bad thing either, but I just kind of then knock the choreographer for like, why aren't you also challenging your dancer and giving them variety if it is going to be the same choreographer?
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's it's it's a team effort.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_04: And it's interesting when I'm as the judge and I don't know y'all, and I don't know you, but I'm watching it and I'm thinking all these things as an outsider.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's a great, I think that's a great point, Courtney, too.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: And just coming from I came from a smaller studio and running a smaller studio, I think it's fair, it's fair to us to say we understand that you might be the only person at your studio that's doing competition choreography.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: We are aware of that.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_02: So don't take what she just said as a knock.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: We're just saying, let's raise the bar together.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_02: So like if you find yourself, and I get it, you're exhausted, you probably it's probably not your full-time job.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and also you're choreographed 25 solos this year.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: And they're all contemporary because that's all anybody wants.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: But if you you have to be self aware, you have to catch yourself when you are in that rut of drag and drop choreography and say, I need to challenge myself for the good of my answer.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: So we get it, but we also want you guys to be self aware from the judge's seat.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 21:59
  unknown: Well.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and being able to facilitate what you mean by what you feel and what you say, because from a choreography perspective as well, is lots of times, let's say guest choreographers come in and they have three hours to set a solo, or they have four hours to set a solo, or six hours to set two, and then they go.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_03: And then the uh trust and the honoring of the work, or even from um a deeper perspective of the dancer doing the homework and integrating what it means to do this solo with this piece of music, that is that is the challenge.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_03: That is the overall year hope for the season is to not have the solo to go compete, but to put the best work in that solo so that it's every time consistent for you or it gets a little bit better.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, the amount of times that I've seen, you know, a triple pirouette and that last rotation is on a flat heel, I don't knock the dancer.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: Overall, we're going to talk about how to level up and educate a little more to sustain it.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_03: But overall, it's how consistent can you be within your work progress and your homework so that each time it gets a little bit more grounded, each time it feels a little bit more solid, not just in the foundation of you, but also the work that you're putting in.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, choreography now has just become understandably so a little, a little oversaturated because there's so many dancers that want, want, want.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I think instead of the want, we need to be a little bit more honorable about, to y'all's point, what is deserving, who deserves it, and are they going to put in the work?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_03: Because not every dancer that we know at our home studio that we love wholeheartedly, we know they love to dance, maybe has time for the work.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_03: And if you don't, then there needs to be a deeper discussion there.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that discussion is do you have time for one to make this the very best you can?
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe two is not everyone.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's one this year, and maybe you devote, you know, all of this free time that you have to perfecting this and working on this.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I I really love that what you were saying about like honoring the work for yourself and for your choreographer.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was that choreographer who would come home to my mom's studio every summer and I would have, you know, two weeks, which is not a lot of hours, you know, to meet with people for their solos.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then I would come home at Christmas and I would work on the solos then.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And but then it's kind of like, this is yours.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: And there were dancers who honored the work and honored me.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: And like, really, by the time the end of the season came around and I saw their last competition video, I was like, number one, that is better than we started, so that's what I wanted.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: And number two, that is still the dance we created.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then there were dancers who by the end of the season looked at it and I was like, that's not the dance we created.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you didn't honor this work that we put in, and you know, and it feels very like highbrow to say we have to honor the work, but you we do have to honor the work.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_04: Like, we gotta honor it.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, we gotta even if you are 13, even if you're 14, even if you're nine, like this is important because we've devoted our personal time and your personal time and your parents' personal money to doing this.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where I think like we have been saying sort of the back in the day thought process of this is this is a reward for work well done, and it's an understanding that there will be work well done as we work on this.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_04: I think that this is like a su this is a bigger topic of discussion here as far as like honoring and uh how many solos are happening within even just one studio, because like like we're talking about if there's if there's a choreographer at a home studio and they might have on their plate like 50 solos.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like literally, that number is not out of consciousness.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's real, it's a real number.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_04: That's kind of crazy when you think about that.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_04: That's that's a little bit wild.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_04: And then because of that, pressure on this choreographer, a lot of things are gonna start blending, a lot of things are gonna start looking the same, then that's gonna reduce the quality of the choreography, then it's gonna reduce the quality of the the solo for uh everyone's experience, the viewer, the dancer, because there's just too many.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_04: Whereas if you think about, okay, this is a privilege at my studio, and not everybody gets what what them handed out candy like candy, we only have two or three home choreographers that can tackle these.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_04: How many feels reasonable?
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_04: And with that, that's how we're going to determine who gets solos based on work ethic, attendance, um, commitment to the studio, dedication, all of these aspects that make a really strong dancer privileged enough and ready enough for that solo as something like a reward, like we talked about from the beginning.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_04: So I think that it's a bigger conversation because when we have 50 solos done by one teacher, we're watering down the quality on for the experience level of everyone versus I've I'm giving 10 fantastic solos that are I have time to craft them, I have time to think about themes and and songs that haven't been used.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it just starts and then the same experience as far as at the competition side of things, because then we wouldn't have a full day's worth of solos.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_04: And no offense, but like I miss the group dances, and I feel like they're not prioritized anymore.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_02: 100% competitions, please mix up your schedule, please.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, we we would love to.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_04: It keeps us awake, like it really changes the mood.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_04: It really does.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: There's nothing like judging 40 contemporary solos in one strategy.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_03: Stop.
• 27:40
  unknown: Yeah.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, I I think when it when it's just like dancer burnout, there is choreography burnout.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_03: You have there's teacher burnout.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, and again, our our entertainment mind, our creative mind is to say go and assert dominance and a and a and continue the path of just like push, because that was kind of like psychologically what we were designed to do as young artists and young dancers was to go and finish and just get through it.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: And now you're seeing a big, not just probably decrease in facility, but you're also seeing a big change in dancers' bodies and how they move effectively and what genre we're even talking about in a solo.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_03: Half the half the genres in a jazz, you know, performance category.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_03: I'm seeing a lot more funk and fusion, which, honey, that is my niche.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_03: I will, I will take funk all day long.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_03: I love funk, but also song selection.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_03: Like, how are we being so, are we being kind?
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_03: Are we being supportive and as well as honoring the genres that we, I mean, it comes back to culture awareness.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_03: It comes back to understanding like the OG times and how dance was even brought up into our society.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_03: And then what do we gravitate, gravitate from and grab a hold of inspirationally and take that and make it even hopefully better?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_03: But now it's just about push, push, go, go, like throw it out and get it out.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_03: And you have to understand too, like, let's say, teacher, choreographer, educator to judge, it gets hard to watch a lot of that.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_03: So now you, I mean, I don't think any valuable judge would ever want to give away a critique that isn't reasonable or isn't, you know, that is lacking in substance, but it becomes really draining for everybody, a part of the process.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're right.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_03: You know, so when it what is what is best?
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: What is best?
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and it's it's like when you, you know, have to tell somebody not to type in all caps because it's like they're screaming at you.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's like sometimes that many solos feels like I'm just getting screamed at with choreography and it's not telling me anything.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's just yelling at me with movement.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that gets really hard, like you said, to give an actionable critique, to give a critique that is helpful to anybody because if what you're giving me doesn't move me in some way or have anything that I can give back to you, like it is hard.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's a it's we are in a hard business.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it it is.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_04: But I mean, I don't know.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_04: I have a lot of mixed feelings about about solos, and like I mentioned from the beginning, I grew up doing multiple.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_04: So like I'm one to talk, but now being on the other side of the table, I it is it is an interesting shift of perspective.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_04: And I I just feel like that I've seen a lot of dancers come on stage and I literally I somet sometimes I ask on the critique, rarely, but sometimes I ask, Are you even excited to be on stage?
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_04: Because I can't really tell if they want to be up there.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_04: And it feels a little forced, it feels kind of like the trend that we're talking about, like, well, I'm supposed to be a solo dancer, and like how many times on the pod have we talked about the importance of teamwork, the importance of being an on in an ensemble, and the lack of being a solo dancer ever outside of competitive dance?
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_04: You're you're probably rarely ever going to be a soloist in a professional career.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_04: But in a way, I do see the benefits of solos because they do prepare you in a way for auditions and how to stand out in auditions as an individual, because you as the individual have to get the job that then becomes an ensemble or a team, right?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_04: You're not by yourself on stage unless you it's a very specific job.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_04: So I see those benefits in learning how to perform for you and by yourself and the confidence boost and all of the things.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_04: Because if you can do a solo, you can kind of do like you can you can kind of stand out in an audition, like if you can do a solo.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_04: But are you do you know how to be a team player?
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_04: Because now there's the whole phenomenon of people just being solo dancers.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_04: Or just coming along.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_04: Just hopping around in every competition under the sun and just doing their solo, and they don't even touch a group dance their whole entire career.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_04: Or maybe they did when they were 12 and under, and then at 13 they're like, oh, I'm just gonna do solos and do conventions and hop around and go to this this, you know, national title and whatever.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_04: And it's like, but are you still gonna remember how to like perform as a group when you become a pro at 18?
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_04: Because you probably don't have an idea of how to do that anymore because you've only done a solo and cloud.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, to your point, the it becomes really isolating, right?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_03: You think that when you're just traveling by yourself and you're pursuing all of these trophies and accolades, while it is so rewarding and it probably feels really good, because I mean, in in we do search for parts of that in our career and as a dancer, but that shouldn't be the only thing because then you turn into or you're transitioning into this life that feels really lonely.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_03: And also, where's your personality from that?
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_03: Where are you gaining the skill sets to go and to your point work with the team?
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_03: But also, let's say it's not a dance job.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_03: Let's say it's just an inner group where you have to be personable with people.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_03: And they're asking, what makes you, you know, great at this role or what makes you fitting?
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_03: And you're just over here like, well, I'm really good at it, right?
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_03: Because you've been doing it forever.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_03: So that's the skill that you have.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_03: But it's like, what are the other personable variables or the characteristics that you bring as a human being that allows you to be marketable but also workable beyond the dance spectrum?
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Are you do you work well with others?
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: Do you do you find the need to ask a question and then collaborate?
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's just literally collaboration, is when you're with a group.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's so true.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's these are all like super solid points.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_02: How I try to think of things is, you know, the four of us that are here, we have all been very blessed to have professional dance careers.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_02: We are two percent of people that try to try to get work in our field.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_02: It is a very small percentage.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: We are all very, very lucky people.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_02: I always talk, especially when I was coaching at a college level, like how are the lessons that you're taking working as this team as a group?
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_02: How is that gonna translate into real life, into a corporate environment, into the college I coached at was a teaching college.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_02: So they are all educators now, which is fantastic.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how can you manage a group of people?
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_02: How can you be positive?
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_02: How can you work together?
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_02: How can you put your ego aside for the better good of a piece or a project?
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that with all this solo fever, if you will, if you are independently entering in competitions, you don't get that opportunity to become a leader because you are you are isolated.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_02: Like I love that word for that.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, when we think about big picture, it's real easy to get in the tunnel vision with competitive dance.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_02: I totally understand.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_02: But like once you turn 18, if your pathway is not a professional dancer or conservatory or whatever, how are you taking all that time you've spent 18 and under, all those hours at the studio?
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_02: How are you making that work for you in real life?
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_02: As my dad used to say.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so real life.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and so I guess Amy, you have kids and you have a dancer kid, right?
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_02: I do.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_02: My son uh just got invited to do his competition hip hop this year.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I know I'm so excited.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all is so cute.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so I mean, I think the question is now that like a lot of our listeners are parents.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, parents.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: We you have heard from us now, you've heard from industry professionals, judges, teachers, you know, sort of what we're interested in seeing on the competitive stage and what you know we think is going to work.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think as a parent, like how can parents support their dancer when the kid says, Well, mom, I want five solos, and you know you're trying to set the boundary of like, we're not gonna do that this year, it's gonna be two, and let's pick which ones.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how can you reinforce that like your values of that's the right choice when you're getting met with, I'm sure, you know, a million other requests from your kid about everything else plus this.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, this comes, I'll speak from the moms, right?
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_02: We have mom guilt.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like we always want to give our kid exactly what every other child is getting, if not better.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's just it's in our DNA, right?
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: We always want to have the best for our child.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_02: So when you are surrounded by that and like, well, so and so has three solars and so-and-so has this many solos, it's it's hard not to want that for your kid too, because you want the best for them.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_02: And what I think is the most important is we talk about, we talk about, you know, what's what are the requirements, what are the commitments financially from yourself as a family?
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_02: Solos are not changed.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_02: Good lord, they're not changed.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um physically, mentally, I think as well.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_02: Like my son is eight, so we're going through that like hormonal eight-year-old boy phase that happens.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_02: And he gets overwhelmed a lot.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_02: He plays a lot of sports, fussy dances, and so recognizing being tuned into your child and what they can handle and what they can't handle.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_02: Because what you don't want is to burn out your kids.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_02: And we're seeing a lot of like I could talk about overuse injuries all day, but I see kids stepping on stage looking like someone is in the wings with a cafe prod, making them be out there.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_02: Which shows, and we see that as judges, right?
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, you can totally feel it as a judge.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_02: As a parent, it's setting boundaries just like you would for any other behavior.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_02: Like, okay, well, so and so got a sports car when they turned 16.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_02: Great.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_02: Our family's not gonna do that.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's it's just like any other parenting aspect, and then setting your kid up for success.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: That's what we ultimately want as parents is we want our kids to be happy and we want them to be successful, and knowing your child well enough to say, I love that you want to do all these things, but if I give you all of that, my developed prefrontal cortex knows that yours is not ready for that, right?
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it's it's the same thing in dance is to avoid peer pressure with your kid, just like any other thing with peer pressure with kids.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, Amy, your uh your version of boundaries is so spot on.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, of course, you being a mom, I'm like me, little miss 29, and just trying to get it all together in life.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_03: But the the asset of setting appropriate boundaries, not just with your kids, but also um your the studio owners within the boundaries, how do you make room for a good, guided, well-received conversation with them by saying, hey, my kid would like this?
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_03: I really see them going a little bit more in this, or my kid wants three solos, are they ready?
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_03: And then it goes back into the studio owners.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_03: Are you can you trust the owners in the space?
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_03: Can you trust the teachers and the educators that are putting their heart and soul, sweat and tears and all the above into your students or into your children?
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_03: And knowing that those conversations are going to be well received in order to make the best judgment or best call for what that student may need.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_03: And then that even dives into we as teachers, we as educators need to be really mindful of how much we're delivering or how much even we're asking from these dancers, right?
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_03: Because it's an extremely competitive environment.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_03: The body is going through so many changes in life as well as social experiences.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_03: All of that can cater into a different work ethic in the space.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_03: And so, how are we seeing that from a day-to-day basis and knowing when to push and knowing when to give them a little bit more because they've asked for it, or knowing when to set the tone in the room and say, this is what we're working on because this is necessary and we're going to, we're gonna call it.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_03: This is what it is, right?
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think that this is a really good uh side of the conversation when it comes to boundaries because I think that the boundaries can exist on all sides.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that they, as we have said, a lot of parents might want this multiple solo option for their kids.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but where are they even getting that idea?
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_04: Is it because they've seen others have multiple solos, or do you already know at your studio that that's a boundary that's already set where we do one solo and that's it, but you're coming into a meeting asking for three.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_04: It's like we have the studios have to really reiterate the boundaries of what is being given, because yes, you are the the parents are the customer and it is a business.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_04: So I think that everyone's approach in every studio is very different in how they want to approach this because this is business at for the competitions, for the parents, for uh for the studios.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_04: But at the end of the day, so does the studio say, whoever wants it, sure, if you can afford it, you can have as many solos as you want.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_04: I don't care if it's not the best choreography, I don't care if if you don't rehearse enough because you have too many, but I'm taking that paycheck, hello, because as we know, solos are our moneymaker.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_04: Or are there are there studios that are saying, listen, we do one, you have to audition, you have to get there, but maybe one day you can get to, we're gonna start here.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_04: We dick we tell you what genre you're doing because you trust us as your teachers, but we give you the song, you don't get to pick the song.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_04: Like, you know, these types of boundaries where like the parents, a lot of parents feel like they are so in control of all of these decisions when it comes to their child solo now, instead of trusting the teachers and trusting like I look back at my solo journey and my I trusted my teacher so much.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_04: I never picked a solo, but my teacher knew exactly what style was appropriate for me at my level and age, right?
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_04: And and pro pushed me or to challenge me in different genres every year on purpose, right?
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_04: In different style qualities every year on purpose.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_04: And I turned out to be the dancer that I am today because of those choices by my teacher, not the parent dictating well, they need this song to win and they should be wearing this costume that's all like that looks like they're practically naked, and they need this song even though it's inappropriate, but the parents don't know those things.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_04: You have to trust sometimes the professionals.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_04: So I feel like the boundaries of solos too, because now they're finally like, well, this is my child, this is my solo.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_04: Parents don't get a say in group stuff, but when when it comes to their kid, then they want to be able to have all of these options of things that they want.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_04: And I think the studios can definitely set those boundaries even stronger sometimes for certain studios.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_04: Some already have those boundaries and parents know they they can't push it.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_04: But yeah, I feel like I see that all the time in the groups and all of all of the forums and things about just like how out of controlos are getting when it comes to parents being involved.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, why is the parent involved?
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_04: There should be no collaboration besides like unless there's an inappropriate And I'm I'm thinking like, okay, so like my nephew takes piano lessons.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: My sister doesn't come in and say, Hi, piano teacher, here's the sheet music I want him to play.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, she is gonna do her curriculum and her, you know, here's the song he's playing because this is what seven-year-olds play at this level.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's just the end, and nobody I'm I can't imagine anybody going in there and saying otherwise.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, why is it different for dance studios?
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_04: Right, those boundaries are are blurred for sure.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that it's just parents talking, we're seeing so much on social media.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_04: They think they know there's you know, they're e and they're also educating, and like like we have here at this podcast, we do a lot of educating, so like hopefully the the right people are listening.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_04: But at the same time, like I I don't know, I feel like some sometimes there's overstepping of boundaries when it comes to solos.
• 42:55
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• 44:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I I wonder if that is the money aspect, right?
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're more it's a it's a higher investment level to get in the game with solos, right?
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_02: So then that kind of maybe gives parents like, well, I paid this much, so I should be able to kind of like when you like somebody else is paying for your wedding if you've gotten married.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_02: And they think like, oh, well, I don't like drink and I'm paying for the meals, so you have to do it this way.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_02: And that I think to your point, Courtney, like this is where I'm huge on culture and being a former studio owner and comp director, like your studio needs to create a culture that sits with your moral values as a studio owner.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_02: And as a parent, separately, you also have your own core values for your family, and you need to find the match.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_02: So the studio might be five minutes from your house, but maybe it doesn't match your your core values, and that's okay.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_02: And it's okay for studio owners to say, we don't reward multiple solos and you have to earn it, and maybe this isn't a great space for you.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe you've another studio will be a better fit.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_02: And the same for parents, right?
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's a two-way street, but as long as everyone's being true to their personal morals and core values, then it's a happy relationship.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_02: But when you allow anyone to control that narrative, whether it's a choreographer being like, oh, it's okay for your eight-year-old to grind the floor in this two-piece bikini.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, as a parent would be like, no, we're gonna we're gonna remove ourselves and that's the same thing as a studio owner being like, you know, hey, you have to set boundaries, is what I'm saying.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_02: I'm pulling off a ledge there.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_02: You know, know what you know what you want, know what's okay and acceptable for you.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_02: And if it's not a good fit, it's not a good fit, and that's okay.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_03: And why did we, you know, why did we start all this in the first place?
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_03: We started it because we loved it.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_03: And then on top of that, parent to kid, you love seeing your child on stage.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_03: It fills your cup up, right?
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_03: It makes you glow.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_03: And not only is the work within the financial, but it's also in the honoring of your kid did a lot of the work.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_03: They pursued it and they pushed hard throughout the season.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_03: Now's their time to shine.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_03: So on the side of it, it's just also being a supportive parent, saying, Great job, you did fantastic.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, the more you recommend the amount of solos that you do, I think the more kids start to think they they drive for that first place.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_03: They want that honor, they want that job well done.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_03: If let's say a child comes and they have three different tier solos or three different uh styles of solos, and none of them make, none of them make first, they just get a medal, right?
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_03: Like I've seen so many, not only children, but also parents be quite disappointed.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_03: Some of it, you know, I'm sure that they go back to their studio owners and they discuss, hey, why isn't my kid so and so, or why aren't they uh receiving all of this stuff, right?
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_03: So it's sometimes a conversation of that manner.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_03: And then sometimes it's a just be there, love your kid and be happy that they're hitting the dance stage.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_03: Cause to our point from the very beginning, it is such a difficult thing to do.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_03: It takes so much drive, so much personality, but also like strength as an individual to show up and just do full three minutes with all eyes on you.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_03: And we know how also defeating that can be on the reverse effect.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_03: So, how do we build our build our community from a generalized like dancer base up from a parent to a teacher to an educator to the dancer being able to stay proud and stay honoring of the work?
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_04: I'm also curious to discuss the the competition side of this equation because I feel like that as we probably can do math and and know, solos don't really make the competitions money.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_04: The group dances are where the competitions make money as a business.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_04: But yet the the competitions often aren't really giving restrictions on how many solos a dancer can enter or how many solos a studio can enter.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_04: So I find that quite interesting.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that possibly and now now I will go backwards and say that there are restrictions with conventions.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm sure that a lot of people know that that a lot of conventions have one solo limits for per dancer, as well as limits for studios, depending on how large the the convention is.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_04: And every studio is different with determining who gets to do their solo at which event.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_04: Do they pull out of a hat?
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_04: Is it just evenly distributed?
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know, but for some reason we're okay with that.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_04: But then when we go to regular competition, it's I want to do my three solos, and the competitions don't say no.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that it's possibly due to just oversaturiz uh saturation of the industry in general because everyone's just afraid, well, you know, they're bringing us a hundred entries, but seventy-five are solos.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_04: I'm not gonna say no.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_04: And it's and each kid has two.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just like, okay, we need to get back to like no wonder like there's so many competitions popping up everywhere, but at the same time, like competitions are struggling in a way because majority of their events are now turned into solo competitions instead of group competitions, and you're coming with the studio, you're not there independent.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_04: So I don't know, like, what are our thoughts on like how the industry has shifted when it comes to solos?
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_02: I I g I'm giggling because like I I'm in all these like dance mom groups and like on Facebook and like and I everybody is like, How dare you start a competition on a Thursday afternoon?
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like my parents were school teachers, like we didn't miss school for dance, so that was a huge no.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_02: And thankfully, my studio I grew up in understood that.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_02: And they're like, Why are we starting?
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_02: And why are awards at Sunday at 11 p.m.?
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, gosh, you're getting so lost.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_02: You want to complete this bio.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_02: The call is coming from inside the house.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm just, I don't know.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_02: I get it from a business standpoint.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_02: Having worked in competitions as a director, like I totally get like we want money, but what what is too much?
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_02: Because I'd say, just like you, Cordy, I've judged full days of solos, and it's like, oh god.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_04: It's a lot of that.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_04: It's a lot.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_03: I think also there is this, I mean, huge, it's it's like a big pot of genres that we've opened up to beyond throughout the years, between open and vocal and baton, and there's so many additional sources being paired now with within the genre of dance.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_03: And that is absolutely fantastic.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, from a musical perspective or a theater perspective, like these are also phenomenal assets to have as a performer.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_03: And if you have put in the time and the work, I truly believe you deserve to showcase that.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_03: But even in a sense of, I mean, how many are we?
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_03: Are we gonna limit our competition to potentially, you know, this many in this genre, this many in this genre?
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I know that it's a no-brainer.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_03: We're not gonna do that.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_03: However, how many is too many?
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_03: How many is too many?
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_03: We're talking about solos, and it's also like from a competitive standpoint, how many is too many to offer to soloists?
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_03: Because that is a big reason why everybody is throwing their thumbs up and saying, Hey, okay, you want it, you got it.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_03: Because there is no stopping point on the, okay, your, you know, your senior soloist has a jazz, a lyrical, a contemporary open.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_03: Well, there it is.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_03: That that right there is the no-brainer.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's oversaturated.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_03: There's no way that, you know, I mean, very rarely, and I will say it happens.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_03: I have seen some dancers that have come on stage and performed two, three to four solos.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_03: And every single time I'm just like, I'm just looking, I'm like, this is what I live to do, is to is to give you confidence and to remind you that you're doing a great job, right?
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_03: So it's like a well job, well done job, kiddo.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_03: But then, and I'll kind of circle back and running around in circles at this point, but age division.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_03: Can we potentially talk about it's like the age division of how many solos are allowed to be entered at each age?
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_03: Or I know that there are different directions on how many in each level division, but some I don't, I don't necessarily know.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think that every competition does have those boundaries set where if you're potentially in the novice in their intermediate division, you're required or mandated to only do one solo if that, right?
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_03: Because at the end of the day, it's also off of skill set, understanding body, behavior, and performance.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like, are we excelling to that level?
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_03: And if they are, well then sure, let's throw in another solo.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_03: But what I mean, why are we telling six, seven, eight, nine-year-olds that they can do three potential solos in three different styles when the work isn't engraved yet?
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_04: Well, there's no way that they've learned those, studied those styles enough to have a solo yet.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_03: There's not enough time.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_03: There was there wasn't enough time in life.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, come on.
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right, in life, literally, in actionable life.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and I just think, you know, competitions in many aspects, I think, have just dug themselves into a hole because, you know, nobody, nobody likes it when a business has offered something for decades and then all of a sudden says, no, we don't do that anymore.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, the existing competitions are not going to be able to say, new for 2026, limit solos.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: They're just, it's just not gonna work.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, because like like you said, Amy, if the studio is bringing a hundred numbers and 75 of them are solos, well then that studio is not coming to that competition if there's a limit.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like they want to be able to bring their whole team.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I do think I love the idea, Lex, of you know, limiting it per level.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I like you said, there are some out there who like if you're a novice, you either can't have a solo or you can have one solo.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: Intermediate, I don't know how far they go into that, you know, the boundaries there.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_00: But I think for any new competition owners out there, like that might be an interesting way to go and like start your business out that way.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because taking stuff away from the public is not well received.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't think that's the move.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_04: It's definitely, it's definitely hard.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_04: And I think I agree.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_04: I think that would be really, really great.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, how many competitions do we see popping up every year?
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_04: What are y'all doing that's different?
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_00: We're different.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: We have three levels okay.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_00: We give out top tens okay.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's just everything they say is not different.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I you have a cool logo?
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_04: There are plenty of of issues in our world that we're trying to navigate.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_04: And like you said, Leslie, it is hard to convince people to take things away because it could potentially impact business.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_04: But when you're a brand new business starting out, what do you have to lose?
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_04: Like take the risk and try something different.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_04: And you might get people that are on board, but there's always gonna be people that aren't.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and there's always gonna be people that are gonna take their business elsewhere, and there's also always people that are gonna stay loyal to a brand, even if they do make a change.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_00: That is very true.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_04: So I do think that there just needs to be a little bit of change.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_04: And the more we talk about this, the more I keep going back and thinking unfortunately, this for me falls back on the studio for allowing that many solos in the first place.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_04: I think that if studios made solos a privilege again, because as you can tell based on how I feel about this, I think that they should be something that you work towards and earned and earned, yes.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_04: But then we wouldn't have as many solos, and we would, but depending on the size of your studio, right?
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_04: Like if you're a very large studio, you might have 40 soloists.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_04: But if you're a studio that only has 30 dancers, there might only be seven soloists or eight soloists.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_04: And that'll fix the problem of the ratio of look at for studio owners out there, look at how many entries you're ascending to a competition, and what is the ratio of solo versus group?
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_04: That should it should be the opposite personally.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_04: It needs to be less solos, more groups, not more solos than groups.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_04: And then I think that we will automatically as an industry help fix this problem of too many solos at competition for the comp.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_04: And then that way the comps don't have to put limits on things because we as the studios have already fixed it for everybody.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_02: That's just I think that's a great point.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_02: I think and studio owners, having been in your shoes, like we as studio owners and directors have a lot more power with competitions and say through our buying power than you think you do, and that you allow yourself to push towards.
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I think you're absolutely right, Courtney.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_02: If we as studio owners are like, we're not gonna do that, this is we're gonna change our culture, and if that competition doesn't fit anymore, you've got power to change things.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_02: But we have to be brave.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_02: We have to let go of that scarcity mindset around money and dance.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_03: And with that, and automatically build the quality of the work with pulling back just a little bit, it becomes so much more uh valuable to the eye.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_03: Dance becomes something that's like, oh my gosh, versus anybody can do it.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_04: Right, right, yes, yes, and we yeah, and we talked just about we talked exactly about that earlier with the quality quality over quantity, we say it all the time.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 57:19
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I completely agree.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_04: I have so many more thoughts on this, but I think my one of my final questions before we do our sign-offs is out of curiosity, since we never really clarified this individually, what is your thoughts on how many solos are too many?
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_04: What is the perfect amount of of solos?
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_04: Are you a one solo dancer person that as a and from the judge's perspective?
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_04: How many solos do you think are reasonable for dancers?
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_03: I think from seeing so much, I mean, I'm so honored to be an educator overall, right?
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's a part of why I love dance, it's a part of what keeps me feeling fresh and creative and young.
• 57:57
  SPEAKER_03: I always walk away from seeing a lot of movement from a lot of different styles, and I get re-inspired to go make more.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_03: Hopefully, you know, not every day, but most of the weekends I do, I take something away.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and a lot of that is from these soloettes that hit the floor.
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_03: That being said, I I believe that if you have to your to your idea of perfection or your, and there is no perfect, right?
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_03: We talk about that all the time.
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_03: But in honoring the quality of the work or OG standpoint, I say one solo deserves to be driven and driven and worked on throughout the season, one solo.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_03: If you have an additional genre that you feel super confident in that you've put the time in the work over the years, let's say from age eight to 16, 17, and you are just, I mean, amazing across the board, right?
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_03: I believe you deserve to showcase another side of genre.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_03: You deserve to showcase what you are the best at, the best of you, right?
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not just the best in the genre, but it's the it's the best of what you bring to the table because every dancer is going to bring something different.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_03: So if you have a tab and then you have a musical theater, those are two extremely versatile styles that you can bring two different audience interactions and two different notes of conversation.
• 59:16
  SPEAKER_03: That is if you could do it, right?
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_03: That is if it brings as much versatility as you believe it does.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_03: Now, if there's a lyrical and a contemporary with both of a, let's say, highlighting a Doug Codwell uh style of movement, then there needs to be one lyrical.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_03: And you go for it and you kill it, and it's going to be well received versus the oversaturation of two.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_03: So I say one to two, depending on genre, choice of genre, depending on movement quality and ability as a dancer.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_02: I agree.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_02: I love all those points, Lex.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I I think I would fall into that like one to two range as well for the same reasons.
• 59:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like, show me your versatility, show me your strength.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_02: When people step on stage as a soloist, and I say this all the time in my critiques, when you step on stage as a soloist, your job is to draw that audience in.
• 1:00:08
  SPEAKER_02: So they're not thinking about anything else but you being on that stage.
• 1:00:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so few soloists achieve that.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_02: Unless you can do that, you don't need a solo.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_02: Hard words, I know.
• 1:00:17
  SPEAKER_02: But if you can do that and you want to show me the best of your best, and you really put that blood, sweat, and tears in in the studio to make this opportunity on stage be a pinnacle of your season, absolutely do that.
• 1:00:30
  SPEAKER_02: Again, we've said this a few times, all right.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_02: But like, please don't bring me a lyrical contemporary open, and then they all look the same.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't, because I literally will tell you in the mic, okay, I've seen this before.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_02: What else can you do?
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think I'm right there with you.
• 1:00:42
  SPEAKER_02: Like one or two.
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, your judges are looking around going, okay, well, what else can you do?
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm a fan of two.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think they need to be, I like to see either like if like a rhythmic side of things.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are a tap dancer or a hip-hop dancer, you pick one of those, and then the opposite movement quality.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_00: So a very sleek jazz, a very, you know, beautiful lyrical.
• 1:01:04
  SPEAKER_00: I want to see like the polar opposite things.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, if if you are only, if you are a tapper and you do other things, but you are a tapper, show me that tap dance.
• 1:01:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really need to see the other things.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_00: But if you are somebody who is up, you know, up towards 17, 18 years old wanting to pursue a professional career.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's a dancer that I've judged for many years who just graduated.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so sad I'm not gonna see her, you know, on the competitive stage ever again.
• 1:01:27
  SPEAKER_00: But she is a tap dancer who does other things.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_00: And she does other things pretty darn well, but she is a tap dancer and she always does a tap dance and then one other style.
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_00: And she's moving in towards a professional career in dance.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I need to see both of those, and I understand now that this is your genre, and these are the supplemental things that you also do that I appreciate seeing and that you clearly do very well, but like you're booking a job, you know, as a tap dancer tomorrow, yesterday.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: So those are kind of the ones that I really like to see the most of.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I I agree.
• 1:02:00
  SPEAKER_04: I say max two, no more than two at the same competition.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_04: I know many dancers who have different choreographers choreograph five different solos that they just cycle around throughout the season, which I find very interesting.
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_04: I think that's like a new trend of of dance, where it's like I had my two solos and those are my solos for the season.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I even I even have dancers that approached me before the comp uh nationals asking me to choreograph a solo for their nationals.
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_04: And I was like, why would you do that?
• 1:02:30
  SPEAKER_04: That feels the opposite of that's yeah, that's very risky.
• 1:02:33
  SPEAKER_04: Like, unless they're asking for new material that has to be new and everybody's on the same playing field.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_04: But I would rather you do the dance you've worked on for 10 months that's perfected and crafted than trying out a new dance for the first time at Nationals.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_04: That's not a good decision.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_04: So anyway, I am a fan of maximum two.
• 1:02:50
  SPEAKER_04: I am always here for a showstopper one-off that I'm gonna think about and I'm oh my gosh, like I'm still dreaming about that one dance.
• 1:02:57
  SPEAKER_04: But if you're gonna do two, they have to be very different.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm okay if it is a lyrical and a contemporary, as long as they are very distinctly different, that are showcasing different movement qualities, like you mentioned, Lex, that are very clearly choreographed differently, not the same elements, all of those things.
• 1:03:13
  SPEAKER_04: So when you watch those solos back to back, if they feel too similar, there needs to be some editing happening before you hit the stage.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_04: And everybody solo, uh dancer, parent, uh teacher, studio owner has to kind of observe that and make that call because if not, you're just uh duplicating two of the same dances for us to watch, and you're probably getting the same score both times.
• 1:03:34
  SPEAKER_04: And with that being said, I think that's a wrap on today's episode of Making the Impact and what a great episode it was.
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much to Amy and Alex for joining us on this chat.
• 1:03:45
  SPEAKER_04: It was a great one.
• 1:03:46
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, ladies.
• 1:03:47
  SPEAKER_02: Really appreciate being back on.
• 1:03:49
  SPEAKER_04: How we always have our guests lead us off on making the impact is with one final thought.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_04: So anything else you'd like to uh reiterate, anything that you didn't get to say on this episode that you want to leave with our fabulous listeners out there in podcast world in regards to solos at competition, and how many are too many?
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_03: I just want to end with I think it's an honor to be able to watch as many talented artists that we have on the floor.
• 1:04:15
  SPEAKER_03: Every time we come to competition, there's always something fresh, and I take away with it, learning something new.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_03: I think there's a lot of questions to be asked before delivering out solos.
• 1:04:27
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think it should need to be like candy.
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_03: I think it could be a little bit more selective, a little bit more thought out, and asking yourself, why do I deserve it?
• 1:04:35
  SPEAKER_03: And is it going to push me for my next endeavors?
• 1:04:38
  SPEAKER_03: That could be life, that could be your dance journey, that could be your the relationships you hone in in your environments, um, the why, the how, and then what to do about it, truly.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_02: Final thoughts is what I want owners and directors and kids and parents to remember is that the judges, before you ever step on stage, we are rooting for you to be successful and to have fun and to create memories on that stage.
• 1:05:03
  SPEAKER_02: And that comes with prep work.
• 1:05:05
  SPEAKER_02: So if you are feeling overwhelmed or run down or flooded with choreography, maybe think about the load that you're taking on and have a good conversation with your studio owner, with your parent, with your dancer.
• 1:05:16
  SPEAKER_02: How can we set them up for success so that competition dance is a positive experience, not something that's causing undue stress mentally, physically, financially to you and your family.
• 1:05:27
  SPEAKER_02: What sits best for you and how can you make sure that that time on stage for your dancer is phenomenal every time?
• 1:05:35
  SPEAKER_04: We hope you enjoyed this week's episode all about solos at competition.
• 1:05:39
  SPEAKER_04: Huge shout out to our IDA judges and special guests, Lex and Amy, for joining us on this chat.
• 1:05:46
  SPEAKER_04: Don't forget to follow them on Instagram.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_04: You can find Lex at Alexa Dorahoy underscore and Amy at AmyT Tool.
• 1:05:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
• 1:06:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want more exclusive episodes, support our podcast by joining our Platinum Premium membership for only$5 a month.
• 1:06:09
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribers receive free Making the Impact stickers, shout-outs live on the air, ad-free listening, and exclusive access to our QA episodes for members only.
• 1:06:18
  SPEAKER_04: A new dance season is here, and that means competition is coming up quick.
• 1:06:23
  SPEAKER_04: And we have a great way to help you prep your performance before hitting the stage with IDA's online judges critiques.
• 1:06:30
  SPEAKER_04: One of our professional pre-screen judges will provide you with a video critique similar to what you receive a competition.
• 1:06:37
  SPEAKER_04: But we also take our critiques one step further with our best-selling feature, post-critique additional feedback.
• 1:06:44
  SPEAKER_04: Your IDA judge will go back through your dance and pause the video to elaborate even more on specific corrections and personalized requests.
• 1:06:53
  SPEAKER_04: And exciting news for choreographers.
• 1:06:55
  SPEAKER_04: Our popular choreography console critiques are back in action this season.
• 1:07:00
  SPEAKER_04: Your specialty judge will focus on choreography-specific feedback, covering everything from concept and costumes to transitions, style, and musicality.
• 1:07:10
  SPEAKER_04: Starting at just$35, IDA's online judges critiques are a great tool to utilize at any point in the dance season.
• 1:07:18
  SPEAKER_04: And we are one of the only online critique services in the industry that offers genre-specific judges and rush 24-hour delivery turnaround times.
• 1:07:27
  SPEAKER_04: Are you ready to take your dance to the next level?
• 1:07:29
  SPEAKER_04: Click the link in our show notes or visit our website at Impact Danceadjudicators.com slash online critique to submit your dance today.
• 1:07:40
  SPEAKER_00: Season seven of Making the Impact continues with upcoming episodes, including how to become a convention assistant and an IDA affiliated competition feature episode.
• 1:07:49
  SPEAKER_04: Stay tuned for some more great episodes of Making the Impact in season seven.
• 1:07:54
  SPEAKER_04: Until then, keep dancing.