This weekend was our last competition for the season. Whew! I enjoy them but I am glad its over. Kaylee & her team did very well so it was a great way to end the "year". The ranking system for this competition is Platinum, Elite Gold, Gold, Elite Silver, Silver & Bronze.
Kaylee received all Elite Golds. Her Lyrical solo placed in the top 10, which was amazing and funny because that's been her weaker solo all season and the teacher has been changing it every week. I guess it just finally came together. The large group number also placed 1st overall.
The competition only awarded 12 platinums for the whole competition. It is an almost perfect score. Our 3 Seniors all won Platinums for their solos and their small group won Platinum & First Overall. In fact our studio took home 6 of the 12 Platinums awarded! Our best Senior Boy & Girl took home the Titles too.
But the best award for the weekend- We won the "BackStage Pass Award" which is awarded by the Stage Manager for best sportsmanship based on everything that happens BEHIND the scenes. As parents we are most proud of our kids for that.
Now we have just about a month until recital, so I'll be trying to finish alterations on those costumes and getting organized for that.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Arts Academy Spring Dance Recital
We feel officially part of the Arts Academy in the Woods family now. Kaylee had her first recital with the new school. It was a great show. The ballet classes performed varations from animated movies. Kaylee's class Ballet III performed to "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid. It was a wonderful show. Lots of pointe dances, which made me very happy. We've been giggling about the correspondance we get from the school and we've got her report card on the fridge. (She's got a 4.0 taking just one class makes that an easier accomplishment. LOL) But the recital drove home the pointe (pun intended) that she's part of the school. She still has a few more weeks and 1 final exam to go but we are already looking forward to next year.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
I Love Dance Competition
Today's competition was different then any others we have done. The competition is in its 33rd season and is what some might call "old-school." Kaylee called it "vintage."
They use a hotel ballroom instead of an auditorium with a stage. There is no stage lighting and the audience was frequently told "the appropriate response to a dance performance is polite applause NOT hooting and hollaring." There were about 10 small studios competing not any of the Mega Studios in our area. We didn't really know what to expect but it turned out to be a really good fit for us. Our Studio won a lot of awards!
One of our Soloist got Best in Show!
Our Senior Small Group got 1st Overall in Groups.
Our Senior Duet got 1st in Student Choreography.
Several of our Soloists placed in the top 3 in their age groups.
Many of numbers place in the Top 3 in their category.
I had been nervous about this competition for two reasons. One is that they are very strict on their rules. Several of our numbers had to be modified to remove a move that was not allowed. One of the things that they don't allow is lip-syncing unless you are in the song & dance category. I was concerned because Kaylee does a very jazzy-pointe number and she lip-syncs. I was worried about her not remembering not to lip sync. The other thing I was worried about was the type of flooring. Kaylee is used to dancing on a marley floor or a hard-wood floor. I was concerned about her doing pointe on a ballroom floor, which can be very slippery. We were also told that they were not allowed to use rosin on their pointe shoes to keep from slipping.
When we arrived and Kaylee did a quick test on the floor, Kaylee, her dance teacher & I all agreed that we didn't want to risk an injury by dancing pointe on the floor. The competition director was very understanding and agreed to move Kaylee's number to the song & dance category. I was thrilled because this solved both of my concerns. It ended up being a very good competition.
Kaylee's Not-Pointe solo got a 1st Place Trophy in Song & Dance.
Kaylee's Jazz Trio got a 2nd Place.
And the Large Group number got a 1st Place in Variety Arts.
Her Lyrical looked good but didn't place in a very large, very competitve 15-17 age group.
We had a great day at I Love Dance!
They use a hotel ballroom instead of an auditorium with a stage. There is no stage lighting and the audience was frequently told "the appropriate response to a dance performance is polite applause NOT hooting and hollaring." There were about 10 small studios competing not any of the Mega Studios in our area. We didn't really know what to expect but it turned out to be a really good fit for us. Our Studio won a lot of awards!
One of our Soloist got Best in Show!
Our Senior Small Group got 1st Overall in Groups.
Our Senior Duet got 1st in Student Choreography.
Several of our Soloists placed in the top 3 in their age groups.
Many of numbers place in the Top 3 in their category.
I had been nervous about this competition for two reasons. One is that they are very strict on their rules. Several of our numbers had to be modified to remove a move that was not allowed. One of the things that they don't allow is lip-syncing unless you are in the song & dance category. I was concerned because Kaylee does a very jazzy-pointe number and she lip-syncs. I was worried about her not remembering not to lip sync. The other thing I was worried about was the type of flooring. Kaylee is used to dancing on a marley floor or a hard-wood floor. I was concerned about her doing pointe on a ballroom floor, which can be very slippery. We were also told that they were not allowed to use rosin on their pointe shoes to keep from slipping.
When we arrived and Kaylee did a quick test on the floor, Kaylee, her dance teacher & I all agreed that we didn't want to risk an injury by dancing pointe on the floor. The competition director was very understanding and agreed to move Kaylee's number to the song & dance category. I was thrilled because this solved both of my concerns. It ended up being a very good competition.
Kaylee's Not-Pointe solo got a 1st Place Trophy in Song & Dance.
Kaylee's Jazz Trio got a 2nd Place.
And the Large Group number got a 1st Place in Variety Arts.
Her Lyrical looked good but didn't place in a very large, very competitve 15-17 age group.
We had a great day at I Love Dance!
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