I've been given the unique honor and privilege of working as both a dance judge, as well as, a Studio Director. During this competition season, in city after city, I've seen some incredible talent. I've seen things that wow me, inspire me, and challenge me to do better at my studio. I also see some repeat mistakes that I believe most judges can agree upon (I know my peers that judge have agreed with me on many of these). Here are just 5:
1. A LITTLE PARTY NEVER KILLED NOBODY....
...but it kills a judge after hearing it more than a dozen times over a weekend. The Gatsby soundtrack this season was a huge hit, but it honestly was overused, overused, overused. Challenge yourself to look for the unique song that speaks to you and can be interpreted by the age of kid you are choreographing for. Also, the classics never get old. I've never been sad to hear another MJ song, or Celine song, or even Josh Groban.
2. LOOK UP YOUR LYRICS!
'Genie In A Bottle' may sound cute for a 9 year old, but the lyrics are unbelievably inappropriate for the age. Young choreographers fall into this trap a lot. Just because you like the song, and are inspired by it, doesn't mean it belongs on your junior hip hop group, or your petite jazz line. Judge after judge after judge will agree. We can tell you horror stories of tragic moments on stage that involved a dancer performing to a song they can't relate to, or can't possibly grasp the concept of. Ask me another time about the 10 year old lyrical to 'Grown Woman', or the teen jazz solo to 'Blurred Lines'.
3. COSTUME ALL DANCERS FOR CONFIDENCE
I love watching a group of girls and boys on stage that exude confidence! They make me want to jump on stage and dance with them.....until I see the girl in the back who isn't feeling the same. I may be in the minority here, but I have a big problem with selecting a costume that doesn't look fantastic on 100% of the dancers in the piece. Specifically regarding 2 piece costumes - if even 1 girl doesn't look GREAT in a 2 piece, then DON'T USE A 2 PIECE COSTUME! Our jobs as dance educators is to do just that - educate. Our secondary responsibility is to instill the love, discipline, and confidence that comes from dance training. The last thing we need is for one of our dancers to not feel confident because their teacher fell in love with a specific 2 piece costume. Save it for a specific group, but don't force someone into a 2 piece that can't be confident in it. Our dancers (especially our girls) should feel gorgeous, elegant, and definitely confident about themselves when they step onto the stage.
4. EDIT! EDIT! EDIT!
Do we all need to do triple pirouettes into 14 ala seconde turns? When I judge, nothing makes me happier than a group of dancers doing really strong and clean double pirouettes. Remember, don't show a judge what you CAN'T do, show them what you CAN do! Don't show us that you almost have your fouette turns, or that you can almost hold a scorpion stretch. If your team is working on triple turns at the studio, then show us how awesome your double turns are. Don't include mediocre trick after trick. Select elements that your dancers are excellent at executing. Work on those weaker elements during class time, so you can keep getting stronger with them before putting them on a competition stage. This past season, some of the highest scoring routines I've seen included none or very very few turn sequences. Remember, it's NOT about the teacher, it's about the dancer.
5. CLEAN, SHARP, STRONG
This season, I gathered a few of my teachers and challenged us with the following...."Let's clean each other's dances before Nationals and allow each other to speak frankly and freely about parts of the piece that we feel may cause us to score lower. We need to trust each other and be okay with changes being made to our dances." Trust me. It was hard for me to let go of my own dances, but I knew that for the good of the studio, and ultimately, the good of the student, we all had to allow our dances to be cleaned and if necessary, adapted, by our co-workers. I can honestly say that the dances looked so much stronger on the stage. We were willing to not take offense so that our dancers could shine stronger on stage.
I've sat behind many microphones this season, watched thousands of dances, and am more excited now than ever at the future of the dance industry. Let's remember that our dancers are our focus, not promoting our own agendas or goals. When you see your kids leaving a competition or rehearsal full of confidence and pride on a job well done, the end score or top ten placement seems less and less important. Congrats on a great 2014 season!
