Sunday, April 10, 2011

Ten Things I Learned from Benjamin's First Dance Competition



1.  I am really grateful for the age appropriate costumes that our studio director insists upon.  One word to describe the majority of the little girl dance outfits there:  Prosti-tot.  Also grateful for the age appropriate choreography that our director insists upon.  Watching 8 year old girls do pelvic thrusts and shimmies is just a little awkward for everyone.   One of the Moms next to me said, "Well, someone has to train the future strippers of the world."  It was that bad at times.

2.  Benjamin is very chill in the face of a big deal when there are lots of girls watching him.

3.  I am not very chill in the face of a big deal for my baby!  I stood and fidgeted for almost two hours before he even came on stage.  Only then did I sit down.

4.  I NEED to pack ibuprofen for the next competition.  I had a headache and the loud and blaring music combined with shrieking girls was no fun.

5.  I am so lucky to have a boy because it means I don't need to mess with the crazy eye makeup and false eyelashes that everyone else in the studio has to worry about.

6.  Simply having a boy in your dance gets you an extra 3 points in competition.  It's not much, but every little bit helps, right?

7.  Apparently bronze, silver, and gold are passe.  Instead we now have gold, high gold, and platinum.  Ridiculous.

8.  When you own a studio and know a few neat little tricks and have like 80 numbers from your studio performing on the same day, PLEASE don't put those few neat tricks in EVERY SINGLE DANCE.  I wanted to throw rotten fruit at the choreographer every time the girls from that studio did the same move in every dance.  I should bring rotten fruit next time.  And buy a program so I know who the choreographers are.

9.  The kids at our studio are really kind to one another.

10.  Benjamin is a good dancer.  I don't know where it comes from, but I'm glad he got it, and I'm glad he's really enjoying it.  Next year he wants to compete with the tap company also.  And be an assistant for tap and hip hop classes.  I'm glad he's loving this right now.  I don't know how long it will last, but the social and physical skills he's learned over the course of the last 6 years will be an asset to him forever.  

8 comments:

Colleen Eve said...

Sorry to hear that the Columbus dance world hasn't changed much since I got out of it 8 years ago. Ibuprofen and snacks always helped the long day pass. The more competitions you go to you'll start to recognize which studios you aren't a fan of. I had to change studios when I was 12 because they were going the prosti-tot/teen route. Hang in there dance mom!

Emilia said...

Which studios were you at, Colleen? We're doing two more competitions this spring, so I'm more prepared for next time. Did you compete with all types of dance?

Colleen Eve said...

I started out at Pinnell Dance Centre in Gahanna and then ended up at J.A.Z. dance and more in Reynoldsburg. North Pointe was also a spin off of Pinnell by one of my old teachers (do not go there - they are very prosti-tots and usually win a lot of competitions with that style). I also knew friends that went to Straub Studio in Westerville, my ballet teachers also teaches at a studio in Graceland on High St. One of my other dance friend/teachers started the New Albany Ballet Studio.

I competed in tap, jazz, and ballet from age 8-18. Be ware that competitions start to get really expensive the more into dance you get. Once I was in college my Dad jokingly said that if I hadn't danced that he could have paid for all my college - not something that I thought about when I was younger :)

And a lot of competitions once you are over age 12 are on Sundays which is really frustrating.

Emilia said...

I've heard about the costumes at North Point. Yikes. The money doesn't bother me at this point. I feel like the rates at our studio are really reasonable. And since he's been dancing for the last 6 years, it's just sort of a line item in our budget. We also have sort of a PTO kind of organization at our studio that helps support the costs of things.

The Sunday thing is already there. Our director is really supportive and never does recitals on Sundays, but was very clear cut that sometimes competitions would happen on a Sunday. The competitions we do (only 3/year) seem to be thurs-sun and it's just sort of luck of the draw which day or days you end up going. It turned out that Benjamin had to dance Sunday afternoon this time.

Also, it sounds like as he gets older this will be less of a problem. It sounds like most of the senior companies and solos/duets/trios get the earlier days. At least for 2 of the 3 competitions we do each year. Our director really tries to keep things away from Sunday, but it doesn't always work. :(

Glad to know you have some insight into the world. Now I know who to go to for info!

Emilia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jen said...

I'm just waiting to see Benjamin on So You Think You Can Dance in a few years....

Linnea said...

hooray for "10 Things I Learned" lists!!!!

Emilia said...

I learned it all from you, Linnea. ;)