#choreography

Tips from Teddy - End of Season Wrap Up!

Jun 11, 2019
7 min

Tips from Teddy - End of Season Wrap Up!

Author: IDA Judge Teddy As regional competition season comes to a close—insert sad face here—I decided to take a moment to consider the amazing talent I’ve had the pleasure of viewing across the country, as well as how I communicate as an adjudicator. In my reflections, I realized that no matter where in the country I found myself, I tended to repeat certain corrections and ideas over and over during my weekends at the judges’ table. I’ve compiled two lists, one for students

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Taking Critical Feedback from Your Judges

Maddie Kurtz

Mar 8, 2019
6 min

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Taking Critical Feedback from Your Judges

Check out our podcast episode on this topic! Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts! As dancers, we’re constantly looking to improve our technique and artistry. There are always areas in which to grow, and competitions provide excellent opportunities to gain critical feedback from experts in the field who aren’t already familiar with your strengths and weaknesses. But as humans—and especially as dancers—we want to be our absolute best all the time, so it can be hard to hear judges t

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Music at Competition: The Do's and Dont's!

Maddie Kurtz

Oct 1, 2018
6 min

Music at Competition: The Do's and Dont's!

Check out our podcast episode on this Hot Topic! Let’s face it: competition weekends are long! A full weekend usually consists of 16 hour days for dancers, teachers, studio owners, parents, and the judges who decide your fate. As judges, we sit, watch, and speak continuously for hours on end, and though we adore what we do, we are full of opinions, especially when it comes to your musical selections. Have you ever wondered what the judges think about your song choices? Maybe

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Bringing Broadway Dance to the Competition Stage

Lesley Mealor

May 31, 2018
6 min

Bringing Broadway Dance to the Competition Stage

Check out our Podcast Episode on this hot topic! Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts! Agnes de Mille. Jerome Robbins. Susan Stroman. Andy Blankenbuehler. From the early years of the musical theatre, dance has served to enhance, shape and further the storyline on stage. Choreographers like Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins paved the way for some of the current powerhouses like Susan Stroman and Andy Blankenbuehler to create stunning and exciting new dance for musical theatre. Why,

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Keeping the Competition Stage Age Appropriate

Lesley Mealor

Mar 1, 2018
5 min

Keeping the Competition Stage Age Appropriate

The world of competitive dance has exploded in the past ten to fifteen years, with hundreds of events to choose from, in cities all over the world. They are an opportunity for growth, feedback, performance and countless other benefits. Dance has always been influenced by pop culture – hip hop as a competitive dance form, for example, grew from the street culture that developed in New York and Atlanta, among other influential cities. Dancers became teachers and began to codify

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New Year, New You: How to Set and Stick to your 2018 Dance Goals!

Maddie Kurtz

Jan 9, 2018
6 min

New Year, New You: How to Set and Stick to your 2018 Dance Goals!

The clock strikes midnight on December 31, and suddenly, it’s January and we’ve hit the ‘reset’ button on our lives. In addition to being my favorite time of year—hello, competition season!—the new year is marked by a fresh start and, with that, a chance to create exciting resolutions. These resolutions range from personal to professional, so what better place to set new goals than in the dance studio? Goals can be big or small, short or long term, but it’s important that we

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Getting 'Un-stuck' - Advice for Choreographers

Lesley Mealor

Nov 29, 2017
5 min

Getting 'Un-stuck' - Advice for Choreographers

Check out our podcast episode on this topic! If you are a dance teacher, chances are you fall into one of two categories - you are either the dance teacher with a seemingly endless supply of choreographic ideas, costume designs, and song choices, or, more likely, you sometimes find yourself stuck for an original concept, passing on every costume you see, and hoping that Dance Teacher Network will come through with a song suggestion you haven’t thought of yet! The IDA judges i

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Convention Etiquette: Advice from the Faculty

Lesley Mealor

Oct 30, 2017
6 min

Convention Etiquette: Advice from the Faculty

Check out our recent Podcast Episode inspired by this Blog Article! Ah, the fall. The weather gets crisp, the days get shorter, and most importantly for dancers, convention season is in full swing! Dance conventions as we know them today became popular in the 1960s as jazz dance emerged in popularity, and teachers wanted to expand their repertoire and expose themselves and their students to new styles. Conventions like Dance Masters of America and Dance Educators of America s

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Lesley Mealor

May 10, 2017
7 min

Let's Hear It For The Boys!

Check out our Podcast Episode on this topic! Ah, the ever elusive male dancer. In the competition dance world, he appears at a young age, perhaps the son of a dance teacher, stealing the hearts of judges and audience members alike. As time moves on, he may continue his training, and become the next Gene Kelly or Nick Lazzarini, or, as is often the case, he moves on to another activity, never knowing what might have been. Today we hear from several unique perspectives on the e

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IDA

Apr 18, 2017
5 min

An Open Letter from Your Judges

Author: Angelina Young Savage Dear Dance Teachers, As you start your week by reflecting on competition and listening to critique tapes, please don't be too quick to hate on the judges or the competition. Just a reminder, the judges sit all day. As you well know, competitions can be anywhere from 8 hours to 16 hours long on one day. They do not get many breaks--awards are long enough to shove a salad (hopefully, but probably pizza) into their faces, use the bathroom, and stret

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Lesley Mealor

Feb 13, 2017
4 min

Choreography @ Competition

Check out our podcast episode on this topic! Choreography can make or break a competition routine. No matter how precisely a dancer executes a technical step, or how well a group dances in unison, if the choreography is uninspiring or confusing, chances are the routine will not score the top award. Featured on the IDA Blog this week are IDA judges Kelly, Patch, KT, and James, chiming in with their opinions and thoughts about choreography for competitions. The vote was unanimo

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