Dance Open America

General

Reviewer:

Parent

Dancer Age:

Pre-selection process:

Yes

Pre-selection details:

Her Teacher was Teacher of the Year and School of the Year the year before and was able to recommend students straight to the finals. We are a Miami based school so it was in the area and convenient.

Competition experience:

This was their first ballet competition

Event Details

Round:

Final

Season:

2024-25

Location:

Miami, FL

Entry affiliation:

School

Rules Easy to Access?

Yes

Did Dancer Miss School?

Yes

Days of school missed:

Attended master classes:

Yes

Master Classes

Master Class Types:

Technique, Contemporary

Master class teachers:

Taught by the Judges and by Natalia Makarova, the Russian ballerina who got a lifetime achievemnet award.

Distance from venue:

At the same venue

Received corrections:

Yes

How corrections were given:

Corrections concentrated on certain dancers that were in the front rows. But, they did try to get to everyone.

What corrections were about:

Leg placement, turn of the head, movement of the arms in contemporary.

Anatomical language:

Correction tone:

Neutral, Positive

Teacher engagement:

Very engaged because they were looking for dancers for the finale.

Crowding:


Really Crowded	Plenty of Room to Move

Master Class Feedback

Technique:

Contemporary:

Additional master class comments:

The kids could be as serious as they wanted. Some dancers were not so serious and got less attention

Performance Details

Venue name:

Moss Center for the performing arts- Cutler Bay.

Venue description:

It was a proper Performing Arts center with modern seating, lighting, and sound.

Stage description:

Yes.

Off-stage warm-up space:

More than adequate - lots of dancers, but room to move

Dressing rooms:

Parents in dressing rooms:

Male dressing room:

Unsure

Parents backstage:

Onstage warm-up:

I person was allowed backstage to help dancers. Either the teacher, or the parent. We let the teacher.

Schedule adherence:

Tended to run behind

Other schedule comments:

15-30 minutes behind by the end of the day

Staff communication:

Very good.

Parent seminar offered:

Judging

Judging rubric clarity:

Yes

Judges' attentiveness:

Yes, all judges were actively watching

Feedback turnaround:

At the end of the competition

Type of Feedback:

Brief written feedback, Numerical scores

Feedback helpfulness:


Not Helpful At All	Extremely Helpful

Main takeaway:

It was her first ever competition and it was good. She did surprisingly well and got to dance in the finals. Her teachers thought she did amazing and felt she had scored very high. The same studios had lots of YAGP finalists and regional winners, so there were no preconceived results.

Scoring felt fair:

Yes

Awards & Scholarships

Awards ceremony:

Smooth, lots of compliments. Went quickly, but all place winners got a little moment and a picture.

Won an award or training offer:

Yes

Festival offer:

Yes

Gala offer:

Award or Training Offer Description:

2nd place, Senior Classical Womens. She got summer SI awards at places like The Rock and and offer to compete in a competition in Japan.

Festival offer details:

The one in Japan. It didn't include expenses, so we didn't follow up.

Final Comments

Best aspect:

Not too big. Ran smoothly. A good vibe.

Worst aspect:

None. It was an international comp- so lots of dancers from South America, but lot os Fl dancers as well.

Competition culture:

Supportive

Attendee culture:

Dance Mom's - what can I say?

Suggested changes:

Email results to parents

Cost vs. expectation:


Significantly More	Significantly Less

Time worth it:


Not Worth It	Worth Every Minute

Overall rating:

Anything else?

It is maybe not as competitive as YAGP and a good first comp to get a dancers feet wet. YAGP can be overwhelming.