r/CompetitionDanceTalk

My daughter is interested in getting into dance wear modeling. Has anyone done this? Any tips?

Does anyone know what the TDA auditions are like as someone who is going there for the first time this summer, in the teen age division? Are the combos long, hard to pick-up? Please give me all the infooo

My 7 year old is about to try out for her 4th season of comp dance. Her studio only requires team class and a choice of any other class for her age. Do we pick ballet or technique? She just had recital and the ballet routine they did was very basic so idk if she even learned much in that class. There’s no cameras in the rooms so I can’t watch and see what is done in classes.

A lot of the young dancers at our studio have joints that pop or crack when they move. They sound like they’re 80 years old. Is this normal for competitive dancers, or a sign of an underlying problem with their training?

13 year old has danced for years, but recently stopped her competition team and has just been doing rec classes. She seems to have lost all passion for it, and would happily sit in her room on her phone all weekend and evening Instead!

There’s been issues at her school with in-house bitching and she just seems over it.

Has anyone’s kid experienced this and rediscovered their passion at a later point? I’m so sad that she is so talented and just doesn’t care anymore. I’m looking at a new school opportunity but I don’t want to make her if she really doesn’t want to. Equally though I’m not having her do nothing apart from stare at a screen, as she isn’t interested in any other activities/hobbies

I am a 3 year dance teacher, grew up dancing all styles. My first year, I started in the middle of year and at the end of spring semester, asked to choreograph a comp team dance and wasn’t given one, which in hindsight I understand, I was very new and didn’t have a ton of choreography experience under my belt.

I helped with some comp team rehearsals throughout the year, just here and there, though. The next year I went to competition team auditions to help out, asked to choreograph something and eventually, a month or more later, was asked if I would choreograph the musical theater production that the owner normally does. I know there had to be some level of trust there to do it, but it also kind of felt like I was given that piece because the owner didn’t have the energy to do it this year so it was the throwaway.

I did a great job with it. The routine did well, the parents and kids loved the dance, it even beat the other two productions (jazz and contemporary) from our studio at one competition. I also spent the year running rehearsals for other dances and cleaning certain routines, so I was highly involved in the competition team throughout the whole year.

This year, while assignments haven’t been officially given out, I’m a bit worried I’m going to get overlooked. She already sent out an audition form asking for solo choreography preferences and didn’t even list me as an option, even though I’ve asked to be listed every year I’ve been here. I would really love to choreograph a jazz or lyrical routine, I can do any level/age range, but the problem is, the priority is typically going to the owner’s daughter and a gal who grew up dancing at the studio. They are both wonderful choreographers but they won’t be there throughout the year to run rehearsals. We’re cutting back on the number of routines, so I can just really see a scenario where I’m just SOL.

If I don’t get a routine to choreograph, I plan to say that I won’t be coming in on Sundays to help with rehearsals.

Is it fair to be a little upset about not being prioritized? I feel like I’ve made my ambitions pretty clear and haven’t been given any sort of feedback on the quality of my work not being up to par. Is there something I should do to better communicate or position myself?

I really want the opportunity to grow as a choreographer and explore new styles but I feel like I’m not given a chance or acknowledged for my work. During the year, I teach classes with a wide range of abilities and ages within one classroom, so I’m proud of how my recital dances turn out and get many choreography compliments, but the routines don’t look ~amazing~ because I only have a handful of really strong dancers who take multiple classes a week. Whereas, one of the prioritized teachers gets lots of praise from the director for a cool dance with all the most advanced dancers.

Hey DanceOne, you are leaving money on the table giving the same kids the same awards throughout the season. A kid who wins Non-Stop Dancer runner-up or Protege runner-up in 2 or 3 cities a season is only going to give you the $500 once for the Nationals Experience. If you are going to price gouge us parents, be smart about it. If the average is 25% of kids who get an award will show up to your nationals, 1000 kids will earn you $125,000 versus giving it to the same 500 and only getting $62,500. You are also hurting your regional profits when studios stop coming because the same kids get the awards over and over. There are a lot of other options popping is for us to spend our money at. For a company that only cares about profit, you sure are being dumb focusing on social media popularity over dollars and cents.

Does anyone know the results?

Went this weekend and really loved how the speaker spoke to the dancers.

She asked them all their favorite ice creams. Everyone had a different opinion and she made a point of saying that you like vanilla one day, chocolate the next, etc. and told them that this is exactly the same thing with these judges. They might like some dance one day and like a completely different one another and their opinion should not matter to you. Said she used to be a dancer and has no memory at all of what place she got in any competition. The only opinion that matters is your own and your family’s and not these judges. Opinions aren’t facts.

Another time, told them to repeat positive affirmations to themselves and pose in their most confident move. Whenever you feel nervous, assume that pose and feel strong about yourselves.

Haven’t been to only about half dozen competitions now but she’s the first I’ve heard say something encouraging like that. 👏

My daughter has to switch studios this year for several reasons, and we found a studio that is much closer to our house. The studio is on the newish side (3 - 4 years maybe) and doesn’t have a lot of reviews. But their social media looks good, and my daughter had a trial class there and really loved it. The other girls seem super nice and welcoming, which is exactly what she needs. And dance instruction looks great too.

However.. communication with the studio owner has been frustrating and a bit disorganized. They don’t have an admin, and I think this is the main cause of the problem. We had a class scheduled for last week and when we showed up, there was no class, apparently because the comp schedule had changed. Phone texts are often not answered without me following up, I was supposed to receive the handbook of the competitive team over two weeks ago but never did..

Is this a deal breaker? Should I keep trying and hoping communication will improve and everything will be okay?

Nationals - just wondering where some of the big studios are going this year?

This is a big dance week for my dd, between school and her studio she has six recitals, I know she’s tired. However, I have a guest pass to my fancy workout place that expires tomorrow. Is it crazy for me to wake her up early tomorrow or is it overkill? I feel some movement early in the morning could set the day right but I feel bad not letting her sleep in.

I’m literally trying to watch my friends perform, and this livestream is just 💩 on my whole day.

One wants to try a different studio and one wants to stay where we are. I know it would logistically be a challenge but I’m more concerned about the social and emotional part of it. Anybody live this life?

I‘m a studio owner and I obviously think we do a great job and convincing people we‘re a good choice isn’t hard for me to do in person. But so many people don’t ever make it in the door before making that initial decision (most I think go on social media and websites first) so I would love to know what made you call for a trial class or got you interested enough to pursue your current studio? We are the only serious competitive studio in the area, everyone else who does comps does them sort of as a side gig, which does make us an obvious choice for someone who wants to compete seriously, but comp dance is only now gaining some popularity in our area so people don’t really know what they’re looking for.

Just trying to get input from the parent side on this, in a more objective manner than asking our team parents (love them all dearly but they’re our biggest fans so not always super objective on the matter haha)

Hello again all. I’m again trying to learn from you all and your world. Father here.

Is it common/accepted to change studios?

One dancer decided to try out for another studio, and it was done in secret as though this was a crime. When they left, they were labeled as traitorous.

Also, totally unrelated but how does one look into potentially changing studios? How do you know if the new studio would be a better fit? Do you just search and get in touch with them, preferably in secret?

Further, do all teachers tend to be stern and demanding and yellers or are there studios that praise?

Also, do many dance moms talk bad about each other and is drama a feature and not a bug? Maybe this is in all sports and all genders; I apologize if my writing is rude or offensive and I hope it’s okay that I’m asking.

Thank you!

I’m a mom of a very young dancer who seems to gravitate toward ballet, but I have zero dance experience or knowledge. I loved to dance (and sing 🎤 ) as a kid but was never given any opportunities to train in any capacity whatsoever. It was just my friends and I in my room choreographing our own dances to spice girls haha.

I now have 3 girls. My oldest is 7 soon and has a year of rec/performance dance under her belt, doing jazz, ballet, hip hop, and tap. She also does theatre and loves it. She’s now moving to a comp/recital team in a studio that specializes in ballet and has a pre-pro program but no professional company.

Like my husband and I, she is tall and lean and very flexible but struggles with strength/stability so we will continue to help her with that to avoid joint issues as much as possible.

Looking back on your journey, if you could control every aspect of your training and experiences, is there anything in particular you wish your younger self could have done? It doesn’t matter to me if she pursues dancing professionally or not, and I am not worried about money, but I would like to give her the best opportunities I can to explore her creative interests.

Hey all - competition companies are releasing their late 2026 and 2027 event schedules - all in one place. You can see a comprehensive look here: https://dancefinder.net/blog/2026-27-competition-season This is a blog + map of scheduled events scheduled out to 2027. These data will be updated regularly. Some info is a bit sketchy. Some competition companies have only posted event cities & dates. Again, data will be updated in DanceFinder as it becomes available. Disclaimer: don't make decisions prior to checking with the competition companies' websites (urls on DanceFinder).

Anyone have a teen leave competition dance entering high school? Have they continued to dance recreationally? If so, any tips on how to find the right balance and the right classes? Did your dancer have any regrets?

Too many comps have these dance offs that are grouped into 12 & Under and 13 & Over. The 12 & Under portion just ends up being these Extended Lines that are led and dominated by 16 and 17 year olds, with 6-8 year olds running across the stage and doing a butt bounce for 10 seconds. Since they are in the dance the average age gets lowered. Any dance that is legit 12 and Under such as a Mini Line or a Junior line gets smashed. It’s crazy to think 8 and 9 year olds are competing against girls about to go to university.

Comps need to change the rule to be max age of the dance to qualify for these dance offs.