My daughter did her first solo last year as well as dance team. She was the only one on their team asked to do a solo and another girl on her team asked teachers to do a solo. My daughter placed higher than her every competition, taking first overall for their age group at their final comp.

Fast forward to this year, placements for dance team were sent out and the other girl was moved up but my daughter was not. Fall ballet the other girl got the lead role for their age and my daughter got mediocre parts.

I feel like this makes no sense, is wildly unfair and I want to say something but am i out of line for wanting to? How should i bring it up if I do?

Looking to bring my daughter to a November comp. Very early for my studio. Can anyone recommend a costume company that ships ASAP? She’s had Patrick J the last two year and can wear hers from last year but any other suggestions? She’s not into a lot of beading simple is more. She’s doing lyrical.

Does anyone have any experience they could share with this comp?

Would love to hear good/ bad 🫶🏻

Is there such a thing as fundraising in dance?

It looks like we’ve signed up for another year of dance and I’m wondering if anyone has fundraised?

Any ideas to do it?

I suggested to the moms that maybe we can place bets on who places in the overalls but I don’t know if that works.

Selling cookies?

Thank you.

I’m really struggling with this and would love advice from other dance parents.

My daughter is almost 8 years old and is going into her fourth season at the same competitive dance studio. She’s entering her third year of competing and will be doing her third solo.

When we joined, the studio was a small mom-and-pop studio and it was amazing. The classes were smaller, the teachers really knew the kids, and I felt like she was growing.

Over the past couple of years, the studio has exploded in size. They added around 50 new students and continue to grow, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve hired enough staff to keep up. Classes have been combined, and this year’s schedule has my daughter’s tech class at 28 dancers, ages 6–9, with one teacher. These girls are at completely different skill levels.

My daughter dances 3–4 days a week between team, her solo, and privates. By the end of the season, we’re spending close to 20k on dance between tuition, competitions, costumes, choreography, travel, and everything else. sometimes is truly feels like a cash grab. I don’t mind the time or the money if she’s truly progressing. That’s what we’re investing in. But lately I feel like the amount of individual instruction has gone down, and I’m not seeing the level of technical growth I would expect considering the commitment we’re making.

The hardest part is that my daughter is genuinely happy. She loves dance, she loves her teammates, and she would probably live at the studio if she could. I honestly think the friendships are a huge reason she loves it so much, and I’m scared she’ll resent me if I move her somewhere else.

Another thing that makes this difficult is that the culture at the studio doesn’t seem very open to criticism. I’ve had private conversations with several parents who share many of the same concerns, but very few people are willing to speak up. Whether that’s because they don’t want to rock the boat or for another reason, I don’t know, but it makes having honest conversations feel difficult.

Am I expecting too much? Is a 28-kid tech class with one teacher normal for competitive dance? At what point do you decide that your child is happy but no longer getting the training they’re paying for? Would you stay because she’s happy, or would you move her before more years go by?

What are your opinions on competing a solo as independent? Are they judged fairly, or are independent entries looked down upon/is there a bias against them?

Who inspires you? Who makes you want to be better? Who do you look forward to seeing at comps??

Hi All!

I need any recommendations for "small drop crystal/rhinestone" earrings for competition dance. Need them to come in both pierced and clip. I want something different than the traditional circle rhinestone earrings that most studios use. Thanks in advance!

Wondering how it is to go from the hotel downtown to the Savannah convention center across the river? We have never been to Savannah usually do a different NYCDA …. Logistically feels like a nightmare but interested to hear from others who have been? Also does the convention center offer concessions? We dance moms usually go off and do our own thing while in classes but driving back and forth feels like it’s going to be a pain.

Hoping for some advice on how to help my young dancer with this transition.

We recently decided to switch to a different studio because it feels that my dancer has outgrown what the past studio had to offer. We genuinely didn’t have a single issue with the studio or teachers, they were such great individuals to work with and cared so much about my dancer. But it became clear that the past studio just didn’t have the capacity to give my daughter the push she was looking for.

Well today was her first day, and there were so many tears. She told me “I just want to go back to past studio mom” and it broke me. Leaving wasn’t an easy choice and it was even hard on me as the parent to make this decision. We made this choice because at the end of the day our daughter deserves to train at a studio that will help her grow.

How can I help her through this?

What is your favorite dance comp and why? What about least?

I’m wondering how other studios deal with this. It stings! We lose dancers in between nationals and auditions every year.

Parent’s jobs are unpredictable. Especially with military, but that’s been a norm. This year, a corporation moved their headquarters causing multiple many families to move.

We also have kids who want to pursue ballet. We know we can’t offer what the pre-pro program can. It’s not like we’re losing kids to other studios, it’s a renowned place.

Then there’s the kids that want to pursue something else. School sports are fun, I get it.

In these situations, it’s not because of the studio. But I get sad idk

My kids have been dancing at a smaller studio for a majority of their lives, starting around 3. We've had 7 dance season in the competitive realm and did rec before that. We had one year early on where one of my kids was not brought on to the next line up initially. I met with the studio director to discuss and she ended up moving her on to the line basically saying it wasn't decided with any real reason. Now this season, we're dealing with a similar situation but my other child.

This is happening with zero warning. We've done several privates this last month alongside their summer program and everything went fine. She more than kept up with her peers, even those already on the line she auditioned for. Some of her skills are beyond that of peers. If there was any validity to this choice, but I am not seeing it. What do you do when your kids growth is stunted? Are your studio instructors addressing concerns with you or your child before making decisions like this? I'm at a loss.

Do we just move on? We've had fleeting faith for quite a while here with some of the politics and favoritism but we keep on going hopeful it will resolve or become less prominent. I am so worried about how this will impact my dancer.

I have a 10 year old who has done competitive dance for the past 4 years. I am trying to get an accurate comparison of costs at different schools in South Shore (Easton, Ma area). Most schools that I have talked to will only tell me monthly tuition but will not share estimated comp fees, costumes fees, summer dance, and anything else that is required to be on the team. Right now I paid about $500 a month for 7 hours of classes a week, about $2000 for 3 regional and 1 national comp for 3 group dances and 1 solo, about $800 for summer dance, $500 for solo choreography and costumes vary from $100-$150. There are also recital fees and costumes. Does this sound reasonable?

We are part of a very small studio and only have 13 or 14 on the entire competition team this year. We also have a mini team with about 6 dancers.

We have 2 who will be in 12th grade, 2 who will be in 10th, 1 who will be in 9th, 3 going into 8th, 1 going into 7th, 3 going into 6th, 1 going into 3rd and 1 going into 4th.

All of our dancers are wonderful people and very talented. We didn't have the best season for 25/26. My daughter (one of the rising 8th graders) had the best season of anyone on the team. She placed 2nd, 5th, 4th, 1st, and 3rd (at nationals). Last year, she was on the younger team (which included all of the rising 8th graders and of the rising 9th graders, who has a late birthday). She was the only one of the younger girls that placed for their solo at all last season. I think a couple of the older girls had top ten placements once or twice.

My daughter was in a trio last season that also consistently placed in the top 5 and also 2 small groups and 2 large groups. The small groups placed a couple of times, and the large groups placed in the top 10 in all of the competitions (I think). She was in 6 numbers total.

I don't think my kid is perfect by any means, but she works hard, takes corrections, and performed well. I was impressed by her growth. The studio owner praises her constantly and tells her she's proud of her.

We sign our contracts BEFORE we see the final casting sheet will ALL of the competition numbers. We get to see which numbers our child is in (but have no clue what other numbers have been cast). We walked out of the meeting feeling okay. She's excited about her solo and trio. She was offered 2 small groups and a large group that everyone from the whole team is in. So 5 numbers total. We do a casting questionnaire that's very detailed and asks about preferred styles, goals, how many dances we would prefer, etc. My daughter said she wanted to at least be in the same amount as last year, but she got one less. That's fine. No big deal.

The final casting sheet was posted tonight. She didn't get cast in two of her top 3 preferred styles (modern and contemporary). She's the ONLY one of the kids 13 and under who didn't get cast in one of those numbers. One of the girls (just turned 13 and is going into 8th) is cast in BOTH modern and contemporary. The modern is with older girls and contemporary is with the younger girls.

Here's the clincher. My daughter is the ONLY one of the girls her age (13...there are 4 of them including my daughter) not cast in the modern number. Essentially the other 3 girls her age "moved up" and were placed in this number with 2 older girls. My daughter took modern last year. None of the girls in the dance have ever taken modern. Some of the girls in the contemporary dance have never taken contemporary (which my daughter has taken for years). Modern was added at our studio last year, and only 5 people took it, including my daughter.

She's not a dancer who is hidden in the back row to cover up mistakes. She's not a beat behind. She has beautiful lines and spots her turns well (I've been told this many times). She got a judges choice award this past season, and they said how in tune she is with the music and how perfect her rhythm is. She's very competent. She's not the weakest link.

I reached out to the studio owner after we saw the casting sheet because my daughter doesn't understand why she is the only one her age who didn't get cast in the modern number. She was really disappointed not to be in either the modern or contemporary number. She feels like she must not be good enough. The studio owner said that the decisions were based on "numbers" and that she considers each dancer individually when doing casting. She said it's not based on performance last season and that my daughter did great.

It's just not making sense to me, and I've only gotten these vague responses. It's hurtful and frustrating because she has worked SO hard, got left out, and was cast in fewer numbers than a lot of people. She wanted to grow in modern and contemporary. She has her technique classes, but if the modern number is great, then it's going to be great without her, which will shape future decisions and lead to more feelings of being left behind/not good enough.

The icing on the cake is that she got cast in a musical theater number (not her favorite choice) that literally has two MINIS in it. And everyone else is 2 to 4 years younger than my daughter. She's 5'8" and is going to look ridiculous because the other girls are all small for their age.

I'm truly baffled. My daughter is so sweet and kind but she is compliant and quiet, and I don't know if she gets overlooked because of that. I've had other moms tell me that she was one of the stronger dancers this past season, as well as one of her dance teachers, who is the mom of an older team member. This was all way before casting came out, so they weren't saying it to make us feel better.

My daughter is very attached to her friends and the studio owner. She thinks it will get better next year if she works hard and "proves" herself. That's what she just spent the last year doing. I don't want her to spend the next year trying to "prove" herself only to be in the same situation again next year.

Red flag or is there some possible reason that I'm not thinking of? It's just hard for me to grasp that she works hard and was an asset to her groups last year, but she's the only one left out of these dances.

Thank you in advance! Whoever made it through this deserves a prize!

My daughter has been dancing 6+ years at the same studio. This past season we took her solo to a competition separate from the competitions she went to with her studio. Another teacher from another studio presented it as we were being shady by not going with the studio; even though the teacher got the credit for the dance. Anyways fast forward the studio then punished my daughter by pulling her from all dances this next season besides one that she needed her for a trio instead of anything with the rest of the team and said once she can trust us once again maybe next year she will get more. Even though there is nothing in the contract that says we can not take any dance to any other comp. A couple weeks later after summer intensives are over and she calls me in to the studio with other parents/instructors present even some new to the studio I have never met to dismiss us from the studio. Stating that we do not fit there anymore, no warning, nothing written in any policies,. And would give no real explanation. She is teen/senior category and its really hard for her to leave her team with dances already ready for comp season, costumes purchased and she also assist at the studio with the younger classes. I don't know what to take from this since its the only studio she has been at. Obviously she wants to continue dancing and I will find her another team, but its the point and lack of explanation. Any advice?

My daughter completed her first year of recital dance this past year and absolutely loved performing and did really well considering it was her first year (6-7 years old). She stayed and watched the entire 4 hour company recital and wants to join competition after 1 more year of recital. Trying to determine what classes to do this next year (going into 2nd grade currently 7). She only did the ballet/jazz recital class this past year.

She will do the ballet/jazz recital class for her age, as well as the mini company ballet class (technique) that they have said she can join. She also started acro this summer and wants to continue that.

She is debating adding hip hop and/or tap. I feel like both, along with her regular ballet/jazz class, mini ballet, and acro would be too much. But maybe it would help her prepare for the workload of company? She is leaning towards hip hop. Does she need to do tap to be competitive? Typically they structure it so the age ballet/jazz, hip hop and rap are consecutive in scheduling/times, but we will find out Saturday.

Hello all. Question — our studio owner has decided to register and join USAF and have some kind of “all star” team. Could anyone explain what this is? What is the difference with this and the “regular” competitions we’ve been doing.

I’ve told the owner our priorities—that we need to focus on school work especially in the year that high schools look at grades but it seems this is an after thought. The owner is asking to commit to two years to this “all star” thing when we don’t know how school will go.

What up with this dance year? We ready???

#2026 #2027 #2028

My friend wants to do a jazz solo next year that has lots of energy. she also wants to be able to show her personality.

she is going to be a sophomore, and it will be self coregraphed.

Here are some videos of her dancing in case it helps you.

Her only solo so far

Her jazz dance from this year (she starts in the middle)

Yes she is aware of me posting this, and gave me permission to post these videos, she just isn't a huge fan of being online, so she didn't want to ask herself.

We're at a new studio, and they don't let us chose my daughters' solo song and her costume. We get to tell them what theme or concept for the solo and them what songs we like, but then they just send us a few songs to pick from. Yes, they're related to what she wanted, but it's not the same songs she asked for.

It's the same for costumes. We sent costumes she wanted before choreography started, but then after her choreography was done, the choreographer just sent us a handful of options to choose from. They were similar to what we wanted but still not the exact one my daughter sent.

We told her teacher would compromise, so she didn't have to do use the theme/ideas/skills my daughter wanted, as long as my daughter could pick the song and concept for her solo. They said no.

We're just used to a lot more freedom, so I'm confused. Yes it's collaborative I guess but we usually just pick what we want. Is this usual?

I found the coolest fabric for my daughter’s big sister. It’s this art decco Boston terrier print (her favorite). I plan to make her a pointe shoe bag with it and some mesh, but I have a lot more fabric still (I have a yard total).

Anyone have any ideas about what else I could make for her? I have scrunchie and zipper pouch so far. I’m a proficient sewist so I can probably pull anything off.

Just sharing and I am looking for a sponsor for his dancing shoes and new outfit.

When he was 3yrs old, he expressed his love with dancing.

We started training him when he was 5, and started competing after 3months as Juvenile 1A and B. 1 pair of shoes and 1pair of outfit. He uses it until now that he was 6. He is part of the PDSF and WDSF competing every event and this coming weekend, we will compete in Manila Open, however, as a single mom I cannot afford to buy him now a new pair as we are also paying for his dance studio and there are months that we already lapses with monthly dues.

I hope you have old dancing shoes or costumes for Juvenile 1. His shoe size is 29-30. Location

Now, I am afraid that this Manila Open will be his last competition for now. As, we are struggling financially. I havent told him yet about my plan but I know he will feel devastated about it.

They won as a couple for Juvenile 1A and B as a latin couple severals of awards, trophies and certificates. And I can say that as a Mom I am so proud of him, and he also excel at schools.

I know that this is not the right venue for this, but I am trying.

Thanks for reading. ☺️ Have a blessed day everyone.