What is a Dance Competition really like? Part 2
You have successfully made it to the dressing room. What now? Your dancer's first routine is in two hours. Why did we need to be here so early?
What now? Dancers should get into their first costume, with hair and makeup finished. Dancers should stretch to warm up cold muscles. This begins the process of getting their bodies into the right physical state. Dancers will need to run through their dance. It may be a run-through where the dance is marked. Marking a dance is a way to reduce the movements and focus on the routine itself rather than making each movement perfect. Marking a dance can mean excluding tricks, leaps, or stunts, plus going less than full-out during the run-through. Having dancers listen to their routine music with headphones/earbuds begins the process of getting into the right headspace. Teachers will typically run through the routines with dancers. However, there are certain times when a parent needs to run the music for a dancer. Having the songs loaded on your phone saves time searching for them.
You have successfully arrived at the venue, found the dressing room, and gotten your dancer ready. If you have time to kill, now would be the ideal time for a coffee run to get that second cup of caffeine coursing through your veins. It's only 8 a.m., but the first round of adrenaline from successfully arriving on time will be gone soon. This time could also be used to stake claim on an area. Our dance family organizes group meals for the parents, teachers, and dancers. We bring crockpots with pasta, toasters for bagels, coolers for cheese, fruit, and salad. We set up a space in the designated eating areas. We write the name of our studio on paper and tape it to the table. Parents then know where to drop their food and drink donations. This usually becomes the hangout area where our kids can find us.
The Program. Most competitions will charge for the printed program. Some competitions have the program on their website, so you can print it. The program will show the line-up, dancers, studios, categories, approximate dance times, and numbers. Purchasing a program might be for you if you want to see how many routines your dancer is competing against, what studios are in attendance, know the times and numbers of all dances from your studio, note adjudications and overalls, or track if the competition is running on time. If you only want to know the numbers and times for your dancer's routines, taking a picture of a page in the program would be an alternate solution to buying the program. Your dance teacher will have the schedule before the competition, but the schedule can change. Make sure you have the correct number and time for your dances written down. You can use a journal for writing dance numbers and times, such as the one found for the 2023-2024 dance season https://amzn.to/3rTQmpO
Why did we need to be here so early?
Dance Competitions rarely run on time. They run ahead and behind schedule. The dancer must be ready when their number is up, no matter if it is seventy minutes before the estimated time in the program. Yes, this happens a lot, so be ready. Your dancer should be at the venue before the estimated stage time. We try to arrive at least two hours before the first dance time or when doors open if a routine is scheduled early in the day.
Typically, multiple routines from your studio will be performed at the competition. Teachers require time to run through each dance before performances and watch their dancers on stage. Chunks of time are needed to get a group together for practice since dancers can be in multiple routines. It gets tricky to make this all happen. Hence, parents may need to jump in and play the music for a dancer for a run-through.
The most common question of the day is, What number are we on?
Pay attention to the schedule to determine if the competition is on time. To determine if things are running early, behind, or on time, go into the auditorium and wait until they announce the routine number (#143). Check the time on your phone or watch (2:45 p.m.). Use the program to find #143 and the corresponding time. It is currently 2:45 p.m. and #143 was scheduled at 3:15 p.m. in the program. Now you know the competition is running 30 minutes ahead. If you don’t have a program, you can ask someone to see their program quickly or ask the workers at the merchandise table if the competition is running on time.
Tips:
- Internet connection and phone service are often spotty or non-existent inside the brick walls of schools. Download needed things before arrival. You may need to run outside for cell phone service.
- Use a dance journal to keep track of the competitions. https://amzn.to/3rTQmpO
- Double-check competition websites to see if you can print the program for free. The program usually isn’t available until a few days before the event.
- Drinks and food are usually not allowed in the auditorium and sometimes not allowed in the dressing rooms either. Water bottles with lids are typically the exception.
- When dancers are young, their hair and makeup are the responsibility of the parents. When dancers are older, they typically do hair and makeup themselves.
- Hairstyles and makeup colors will typically be determined by the teacher. Check what side hair pieces need to be placed (right, left, center high, center low.)
- Add extra bobby pins to hold hair accessories in place. When you think it's good, add a few more.
- There is a merchandise table with clothes and other cute things with the competition logo. If your dancer desperately wants a specific item, you may want to buy that t-shirt early on as the hot items tend to sell out.
- Dance Competition merchandise can be expensive.
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