ADC|IBC

All Regionals

General

Reviewer

Dancer Age

Competition experience

Event Details

Round

Regional

Season

Location

Traveled to compete

Regional was the closest

Why this location

"Assigned by studio"

Who encouraged multiple regionals

School Encouragement for Multiple Regionals

"Exposure"

Entry affiliation

Rules Easy to Access?

Did Dancer Miss School?

Days of school missed

Master Classes

Master Class Types

Master class teachers

"Arcadian Broad"
"Arcadian Broad (technique)"
"Administrator"
"Judges"
"mimmo miccolis, can't remember who taught ballet technique"
"Nadia Pavlenko, guest teacher"
"A technique class that was included in the scoring was given by Peter Merz and the judges for the competition watched the class."
"Sorry, can’t remember."
"The director of this location for ADCIBC."

Distance from venue

Received corrections

How corrections were given

Repeated Responses:

"Individual and group" (3 responses)

Unique Responses:

"Individual and groups"
"differed depending on instructor"
"Complements and some group corrections"
"Group"
"Not sure- but she said there were a couple comments made at barre."

What corrections were about

"Dancing only."
"Mostly technique and advice"
"Neutral"
"Dance technique"
"about dancing"
"Helpful about dancing."
"Just about technique and artistry."
"None"

Anatomical language

Correction tone

Teacher engagement

"Class was required for scoring. Lots of teachers observing. Tense atmosphere."
"Not a good class but it was required and scored"
"Engaged walked around the room"
"Very engaged, walking around, talking to students"
"Very engaged"
"Involved in the class."
"mimmo was super engaged - for all ADCIBC events we attended, he was a highlight"
"Great energy, positive, predictable class but challenging."
"The master class for ADC IBC is part of the competition. The teacher walks the room, demonstrates."
"My dancer really enjoyed the class. The teacher was engaged and invested in each students success."
"Teacher was engaged and leading the class from the front of the room. teacher was good."
"Judges cared more about judging than teaching a class. Class size was far too large. Class only managed to complete 4 center combinations and went about 15 minutes over time."
"Walked around the room."
"Very engaged. Great class."
"Teachers seemed engaged, I believe part of the scoring included the classes the night before, so they were paying attention."
"sat in chair"

Crowding

Really Crowded





Plenty of Room to Move

Master Class Feedback

Technique

Contemporary

Additional master class comments

"Atmosphere was tense. Classes are held at a local studio who competes at this regional, their dancers were acknowledged by the teacher in a way that others were not."
"Pointless"
"Dancer reported they were helpful, she learned from them"
"Went well, nothing stood out"
"Very serious because it was being judged"
"The master class is judged. There are many students in the room and it can be a little chaotic."
"Just another reiteration of the fact that Mimmo Miccolis was outstanding, inspiring and encouraging"
"Helpful and goes into the score."
"I really think this section for ADC IBC should be different bc the class is part of the competition."
"I really like that in this competition the judges watch the technique class and score the dancers."
"NA"
"Obvious benefit for groups who were last to complete combination"
"They made a big deal about attendance then stuffed so many dancers in a tiny room. The masterclass was scored by 3 judges."
"It is a judged class, so it’s good practice for auditions."
"Overall were positive, maybe slightly crowded. Some chaos as a snow storm was coming and were re figuring out the weekends schedule and logistics"
"The room was so small dancers had to stand outside. Each dancer went across the floor in a group only once."

Performance Details

Venue name

Repeated Responses:

"Downey Theater" (3 responses)

Unique Responses:

"Cullen Performance Hall"
"Don’t remember"
"Orlando Ballet School"
"Trinity Prep School"
"Studebaker theater"
"I can’t remember- just outside Seattle"
"Renton IKEA Performing Arts Centre"
"Kennesaw State"
"Wortham Center"
"PC Ho Centre"
"Pinnacle Peak High School"
"Bob Burton"
"Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater"

Venue description

"This is a horrible venue and ADCIBC makes it worse. There is either no heating or it is incredibly inefficient. The judges and audience are in winter gear and hats indoors. It is inexcusably cold. There are a few heaters provided in a back hall for dancers… my daughter said she couldn’t get near them and ballet costumes tend to be flammable anyway. It is to the point that it is unsafe. If it was one year, fine, but this has happened repeatedly. Also, the backstage is accessed through the audience. ADCIBC does not curtain these off like other comps do, does not give the dancers enough time to pass through the doors between performances, then yells at them over the microphone. Is it poor manners to open the doors during a performance? Yes. Does ADCIBC make this unavoidable? Also yes. Last year, we could not attend but the Houston regional was in the smaller theater at the Wortham center. This year, it’s back at Cullen, still in the winter. We will not be back."
"It was a college"
"Performance studio with tiered seating"
"Small theater"
"Very small lobby Seating comfortable and ample"
"Marley with lots of stage and audience space. The lobby is large with a cafe."
"Seating was nice and spacious, lobby was small, but fine"
"PAC"
"Theater lobby, downtown theatre district Houston"
"Although, its mainly for high school and community productions. It is well maintained and a very intimate and inviting theater. The floor was a little slippery for all the dancers."
"theatre, Masterclass room and practice area's we nice and large. lobby was spacious however there was no seating in lobby."
"Seating and lobby are nice for a high school. No check-in table or obvious presence by ADC IBC"
"Medium sized theater. Plenty of seating."
"The lobby doesn’t have seating because it’s a high school. But the theater is nice."
"lovely theater. moderate lobby with some seating. everyone needs to go through security with bags searched, so leave time."
"It was nice. There was a place to sit outside."

Stage description

Repeated Responses:

"Marley" (2 responses)

Unique Responses:

"Cullen has their own Marley. It’s mostly find but has a slick spot stage right, close to the front. Stage is not raked."
"Marley flooring"
"Floor was very slippery and it impacted the dancers"
"Slippery Marley that didn’t cover full stage."
"There was Marley and it was fine."
"marley, but is was slippery"
"Marley. Stage was small"
"Marley, not raked, not slippery, stage was fine"
"The floor was a little more slippery than usual for the performance."
"plenty of room, marley on stage floor. I heard the floors were a little slippery."
"Marley was extremely slippery. Several dancers fell quite hard which made me nervous as a parent."
"Nice floor, marley. Not slippery."
"it was a nice sized, good professional floor"
"The floor was very slippery. It was average size with marley."

Off-stage warm-up space

"Very little space. Most dancers warm up at the nearby Hilton. There is a marble floor space downstairs but it is small and in the way of people trying to go to the bathroom."
"Loading dock only"
"Classroom/studio space"
"Multipurpose room"
"Fair"
"Dancers warmed up in the dressing room and space outside the dressing room."
"a bit crowded but it worked"
"Crowded"
"Space to warm up in the rehearsal room downstairs"
"There were only hallways or small spaces for the dancers but it was enough for everyone to have their own space."
"not sure"
"Enough space to warm up"
"Big backstage area."
"I can’t remember."
"lobby, dressing room and dedicated stage time"
"There were rooms down a hallway."

Dressing rooms

"Dressing room space is at a premium here."
"There was a single crowded space for everyone"
"Classroom"
"Large room sectioned off for dancers to change/ stretch"
"Separate dressing room as you would expect in a professional theater"
"I don’t know."
"a bit crowded but fine"
"Different spaces. Not really rooms."
"unsure. maybe this question should not be shown for the female parents"
"The dressing rooms were spacious and had good lighting and garment racks."
"large dressing room. boys used the mens washroom."
"Dressing room was a school classroom. Room was small"
"Several dressing rooms for girls, one large dressing room for boys."
"I don’t know if there was a male dressing room."
"Several small dressing rooms. parents were not allowed, but appeared to have several mirrors (parents could drop off bags or costumes, then had to leave)"
"no idea"

Parents in dressing rooms

Male dressing room

Parents backstage

Onstage warm-up

"Nothing memorable, pretty typical open stage."
"Crowded and overwhelming"
"Positive and encouraging"
"Lots of fun with other dancers from her studio. Very encouraging."
"Friendly and supportive. Lots of joking. Staff positively interacted with kids."
"It was a typical stage warm up."
"Not bad, always feels a bit crowded and like you need to be very careful you don't collide with others"
"Friendly, stressful, good enough"
"Same as other venues, it's really long though. Probably too long"
"The woman running the backstage area was kind and caring. She tried to put the dancers at ease and made herself available for any reason."
"well organized, calm"
"Open stage was crowded, but not unusually so."
"Typical. Lots of dancers onstage at once."
"It is crowded, but sufficient for getting a feel for the stage."
"It was a bit crowded, but she was able to feel the floor, could practice turns, but not enough room to jump"
"Stage was very crowded."

Schedule adherence

Other schedule comments

Repeated Responses:

"no" (2 responses)

Unique Responses:

"Awards are late for a Sunday night"
"Nearly an hour off because judges were delayed getting their dinner."
"We had an anomaly of a competition because of a snow storm, so contemporary was cancelled and the classical was condensed"
"There were problems with the music and we all had to resubmit our music which we didn't have so it had to be located on a Sat. night by her teacher."

Staff communication

"I don’t know."
"Very disorganized. It was the first regional of the season and the staff didn’t seem to know how things were supposed to work"
"Seemed to be efficient"
"Email. Could have been better but there weren't major issues"
"Good"
"Good."
"very good"
"We were confused because it was the first competition but it was fine."
"great, we just kept an eye on emails and parents who were at the venue let us know timing updates"
"The competition staff was very responsive and went out of there way to help me with any questions."
"everything was communicated through an app"
"Very Little communication"
"There were no changes. They were unwelcoming and over it."
"Great."
"Emails to the studio who then texted parents for updates"
"There was but unless you had the app you didn't get it."

Parent seminar offered

Parent Education

Seminar content

"Judges Q&A"
"Q&A with parents/ dancers"
"Q&A between instructors dancers and families"
"Q and A with judges"
"Q&A for the kids"
"it was a Q&A where the judges spoke to dancers, teachers, family and friends"
"Q&A before awards"
"There was a Q and A."
"just the regular Q&A"
"Dancer and family Q&A"
"The judges talked to the audience before awards."
"Question, answer before the awards was provided with the judges."

Seminar helpful

Why (not) helpful

"No new information"
"Answers were insightful, students were encouraged to speak up"
"Helpful to hear how different people view competitions and what they are looking for"
"It was helpful to hear what the judges look for in competition but also jobs"
"Most of the kids were to shy to speak. Those who did speak asked general questions."
"is was helpful"
"It's always great to hear from the judges that there is so much more that goes into being a professional than performing 1 solo"
"The judges shared anecdotes from their experience as dancers. They were very encouraging and it helped to create a positive environment for the dancers."
"discussion was mainly on topics everyone already knew"
"Judges were underqualified to be judging or presenting to dancers. The panel’s answers to questions were uninspiring at best. In the Q&A discussion, one of the judges blamed dancers for sickling their feet causing them to fall (I have not witnessed so many dancers falling at other competitions)."
"3 male judges talking to a group of little girls. Thaaaanks for your fascinating life experiences champs."
"I love this because it provides added value to what you get from the award ceremony. It’s not just about winning, it’s about learning and exposure to industry leaders."

Judging

Judging rubric clarity

Judges' attentiveness

Feedback turnaround

Type of Feedback

Feedback helpfulness

Not Helpful At All





Extremely Helpful

Main takeaway

"It was very generic."
"As expected, judging is extremely subjective and some comments by the judges were contrary to specific choices made (e.g., to look at the audience more in a piece that was intended to be introspective)."
"Positive and constructive feedback"
"She took the corrections well"
"Feedback focused as much on artistry as technique. The judges encouraged dancers to know their characters."
"Some positive feedback and things to work on."
"helpful feedback, some costume criticism"
"There was “facility” and “lines” feedback but I think that’s typical."
"It's always great to hear from the judges. It's helpful when she can hear suggestions from other than her coach. They are in-line with her coach's focus and that is great reinforcement."
"The feedback was helpful because it was in live time. My dancer received constructive criticism and compliments."
"The competition was well organized. Master class with very good. Unfortunately there was little to no feedback on how dancers can improve. video judging with comments would be a great addition."
"Judges had limited knowledge of different variations styles. For example, my daughter danced a Russian version of her variation and the judge commented that she had never seen it before and had an overall negative tone. We heard similar stories from other dancers."
"My dancer scored mid 90’s from two judges from the masterclass and an 87 from the third judge. No explanation."
"Most of the judges give a lot of detailed feedback in the videos. They do a better job with quantity of feedback for the classical than they do for contemporary. No coded language."
"It seemed appropriate all around"
"The comments were fair but very sylistic. The judges seemed to like tricks over technique- at least the dancers who added a bunch of stuff to their variations won."

Scoring felt fair

Why Scoring Unfair?

"N"
"Looking back i didn't understand what they were looking for"
"At ADC IBC your variation and contemporary scores are averaged with your Master class scores. You can have 3 judges give you similar class scores and then suddenly one gives you 20 points less. This affects your placement even if you do well in the competition. One can understand variations of scoring by 1-5 points but 10-15 pointe difference by one judge? Also the final totals are not always correct? I think there may be some manipulation of scores to assure a particular outcome. This is happening not only at Regionals but Finals."
"NA"
"n/a"
"It was interesting…"
"Found that they had favorites and girls who had won in years past were automatically picked. Also, they picked girs from studios who had the most entries."

Awards & Scholarships

Awards ceremony

"It was pretty typical, nothing to note."
"Long and disorganized"
"Sunday evening awards were given out to top 24 or so?"
"Long but good"
"Positive experience. They give a lot of awards."
"Finals is elaborate but Regionals is very basic."
"lovely - lots of room for family to attend in person"
"Had to wait all the way to Sunday evening. You didn’t know anything about scoring or placing so everyone had to stay. It was late at night."
"It happens right after Q&A in the venue which I think is great. People are already seated and no rush to find seats."
"The awards ceremony was clear and concise. The top dancers were recognized but there also wasn't too much importance placed on the rankings."
"Standard gala format. With the top 10 or 15 dancers in each category receiving recognition on stage"
"To top off a weekend involving poor scheduling, a cheap venue, and questionable judging, they only had 50% of the plaques to hand out. How more disorganized could you be?"
"Odd choices."
"It is a respectful and mature ceremony. compared to YAGP. They also have encouraging words to say to the dancers which can make dancers feel better about not placing."
"It was a brief ceremony because of the weather. So I don't think it was typical."
"It was at the end, pretty average."

Won an award or training offer

Gala offer

Invited to finals

Award or Training Offer Description

"The only scholarships offered were from the organizations that two of the three judges represented. The third judge was still dancing and had nothing to offer. Listing the awards won would out my child so I will not include them here."
"Received awards for both classical and contemporary and received some partial scholarship offers and invitation to finals"
"Didn't place top 12"
"Multiple offers for trainee and summer intensives"
"Awards"
"She placed 3rd overall for contemporary and was in the top 25(?) for classical. She received invitation to the Washington Ballet SI, and a 50% scholarship for Ballet Idaho SI"
"I don’t remember. They were small and she already had SI acceptance"
"Houston Ballet, Summer Full"
"Short Stay"
"Daughter received top 15 contemporary"
"Top 25"
"Top 24 in classical one of the seasons. Ballet Met SI partial scholarship one year and OKCB SI partial scholarship a different year."
"Several summer admission and scholarships: Cary, Colorado, Nashville, International Ballet Academy"

Gala offer details

"Gala was included with weekly pass. It was both final round and gala and it was very exciting and lively. The audience was great, everyone was supportive, clapping and cheering for every single finalist as well as the gala artists."
"When we went to finals in St Petersburg, my dancer was cast in the contemporary creation that Mimmo Miccolis was setting for the gala"

Final Comments

Best aspect

"Honestly, nothing. We hated this one. The staff wasn’t kind, it comes off very much like a money grab. They seem to do the absolute bare minimum."
"It was the first time my child ever performed a solo onstage, so that was nice"
"The master classes the performance experiencen the preparation/rehearsals beforehand, the commeraderie of the dancers"
"Getting to perform, the encouragement from the other dancers"
"Holistic approach to scoring. Staff gets to know kids. Finals format is more like a summer camp than a competition. The boys all went to the beach one day and have all kept in touch since leaving. Most friendly competition we’ve ever done."
"The organizer is very positive and kind."
"It felt very supportive and geared towards helping all dancers receive helpful feedback and having a good experience. The ADC staff seemed very invested in provided a great all around experience for dancers. We liked that the classes were part of the judged scores."
"Score from class included, positive small setting"
"The scholarships fro this competition are the most generous we have seen! Also Merz is calming presence."
"There are so many positive aspects of this competition, the judges watching the technique class, learning and performing a compulsory variation, the live video feed back from the judges, and the staff being supportive and welcoming of all the dancers."
"The best aspect of this competition was the Master class and being able to perform on stage."
"Hard-pressed to think of anything positive."
"Leaving and knowing we’ll never do that one again."
"This competition feels like a more valuable experience with the classes being observed and judged by the judges. It’s also a good opportunity having the class take place on the stage. The Q and A makes it feel like a greater learning opportunity."
"The feedback was nice to listen to afterwards, several scholarship opportunities were nice"
"I really wanted to like this one since they girls were judged on the class as well and thought that might be nice. Very few if any offers were given."

Worst aspect

"One studio is heavily favored. I guess at least nobody tries to hide it."
"The required class was really terrible"
"Nothing comes to mind"
"Nothing"
"Regionals is the full 3 days for every age group."
"The scoring."
"At finals, it seemed like there could be pre-determined favourites. They had posters and media around the venue that featured dancers who were also competing at that finals"
"Stage was tiny, waiting u til Sunday night to know place."
"Always using Vitacca as the classes location! Horrible parking, horrible traffic. Even in their new space, it's tight. I preferred the Houston Contemporary dance center."
"none"
"judging and feedback is very limited"
"The judging panel was very disappointing. One judge had never danced in a company. This competition fell short in every category I can think of."
"Having my child continually posted on their Instagram during all aspects of the competition and then winning nothing and getting an 87 (!) for the masterclass. Welcome for your free advertisement Adc. You’ll not get it again."
"One year one of the judges gave a 12 point lower score compared with the other two judges with virtually no constructive feedback on the video."
"master classes were a bit crowded"
"The judging was so random. The room in which the girls took the class was tiny. They didn't warm the girls up before grand allegro. They only got to go across the floor once or twice duing the whole class."

Competition culture

"Not welcoming at all."
"N/A"
"Positive and encouraging"
"Fun, constructive"
"Positive and supportive"
"Competitive but not uncomfortable."
"supportive, welcoming"
"Seemed fine. Adults that worked there were positive. Some parents and teachers were too intense."
"At Finals, you can definitely tell who the favorites are. It's such a small group at Finals, and the favorites are noticable; that's almost worse. The scoring, judging at finals does NOT seem fair."
"Friendly and welcoming"
"welcoming, friendly both people running the competition and the participants. We much prefer this competition atmosphere over YAGP"
"Judges comments were negative and Q&A session was not worth the time."
"Rude and standoffish. Also total blowhards. They had very high opinions of themselves."
"The energy is calm, kind, and supportive."
"It seemed fairly healthy and appropriate"
"They were really nice."

Attendee culture

"Just… there. We connected with people we knew from other studios/comps but there isn’t much clapping for other dancers, etc."
"N/A"
"Excited friendly"
"Some studios' families were a bit TOO competitive, pushy. No issues with dancers but I could've done without some parents."
"Friendly"
"Good."
"the contemporary piece was a good opportunity to interact with other attendees"
"Some were intense and saw some girls crying."
"We met some of our best dancer family friends at this competition. The intimate/small finals atmosphere does set a tone for camaraderie."
"The dancers were able to form friendships during their short time together."
"Attendee's and other parents were very friendly. We met many people from around the world."
"Attendees remained positive but could feel the unprofessionalism of the organization."
"Whatever. It’s a ballet comp. Nervous moms, nervous kids."
"They are more relaxed and happy at this competition compared with YAGP."
"The student who came en masse from a large local school were a bit intense"
"Girls were very nice. Pretty much the same girls at other compitions."

Suggested changes

"New venue or not in the winter if at Cullen. Restrict number of entries so that the comp/classes don’t require school to be missed, move classes to the nearby hotel or other neutral location. If at Cullen Performance Hall, actually consider and plan for logistics to KNOWN PROBLEMS."
"N/A"
"None"
"Nothing"
"More Locations"
"A clear Rubric and accountability for scoring a dancer very low or high. The judges should share their scores and discuss massive discrepancies."
"be careful about using advertising/media featuring currently competing dancers. Bad optics"
"Stage, awards each day"
"Finals is too long; scholarships awarded at finals were not helpful."
"none at this time"
"video judging with comments would be a great addition."
"Get organized and make the competition and master class worth the money that we paid to be there."
"I don’t care. We’re not going back!"
"I don’t think that the audition that one judge conducted for her program should be affiliated with the competition. I question whether my daughter’s decision to not attend her audition that year played any part in that particular judge’s decision to score her so harshly. In future years she attended the audition just in case that played a part. I understand the judge wanting to take advantage of the trip to conduct an audition, but I think it should be more separated from the competition."
"smaller groups on stage for practice before performing"
"More offers made. Judging on technique. Release the class scores. Make the classes an actuall class instead of 100 girls in a small room where noone could even be seen."

Cost vs. expectation

Significantly More




Significantly Less

Time worth it

Not Worth It





Worth Every Minute

Overall rating

Anything else?

"No."
"N/A"
"We approach all competitions as an opportunity to focus on a variation, to work with a choreographer, to receive coaching and to perform. It's a chance to meet other dancers, work with others in the ballet world, network. It's never about winning but about learning and growing."
"Nothing comes to mind"
"You get a more Holistic experience."
"This is a great competition to attend as a finalist but the scoring was questionable."
"nothing else"
"This one was SO much better than UBC where everyone gets a medal and an invite. That didn’t even very rigorous."
"The finals gala is not enticing, not enough higher level professionals."
"My daughter was registered as an independent and the competition was helpful and welcoming to her despite not having the support of her ballet studio. Once she received recognition from the competition via instagram, her status was changed from independent to her studio's name."
"The caliber of ADCIBC is pretty close to YAGP with many of the attendees doing both competitions however the atmosphere is less intense which is what we prefer at our studio."
"This competition costs the same amount of money as others. I don’t understand why ADC IBC wouldn’t be able to provide more than a high school venue, mediocre judges, and limited scholarship opportunities."
"Prepare to be surprised by the winners!"
"I recommend it."
"This was our first go, and the chaos of the weather was really the only big detractor."
"We do a lot of compitions and this was the worst experience we have ever had. The dancers threw in these random firbird jumps in their variations and that's who won."