The Greatest Show, Part 1

If you’ve been following my posts for the last month or so, you may be familiar with our all-too-common tale of woe.  For the uninitiated, here’s a brief rundown (although the story line is quite predictable in the era of COVID-19):  Dance team has Nationals date in an out-of-state location, studio owner (rightfully) opts out of the out-of-state event in favor of an in-state competition, in-state competition gets moved out of state, competition is canceled altogether the next day, new competition is scheduled for within the state but under a ginormous tent to align with current guidelines, dance families nervously check their emails every 45 minutes for weeks to see if the new event has been canceled.  It’s a story as old as time, isn’t it?  

Well, I’m THRILLED to report that Starpower’s Battle Under the Big Top did take place, and we were lucky enough to be the first team to take its stage!  A 10,000 square foot tent was erected in the parking lot of Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and a stage and seating area was set up underneath it.  As expected, the event had a different feel to it than the pre-pandemic competitions that we have all grown accustomed to.  Because there is a strong possibility that the remaining events of 2020 will be governed by the new guidelines, I thought I would share our experience with everyone.

The first major change was that of allowing only one dance school or studio into the venue at one time.  You may have heard this practice referred to as “block scheduling,” “studio blocking,” or “studio scheduling.”  As you can easily predict, there were both pros and cons to this structure.  The pros were that you could spend just a few hours at the venue, and you would see all of your studio’s numbers!  This was huge for us; under pre-pandemic circumstances, only a handful of people would actually see my daughters’ solos because they’re typically scheduled very early in the morning.  But with the studio blocking structure, all of the dance families were able to cheer on the entire company!  Also, being completely done with a competition after just six hours was a welcome change from days-long events.  

However, with our studio being the only one there, we missed the interaction with other schools and their students.  My girls have made some acquaintances over the years with dancers from other organizations, but they had no opportunity to do so this time.  Additionally, we truly enjoy watching routines from other schools to see what’s out there – current trends, new tricks, innovative choreography, show-stopping costumes, etc.  Plus, when we see the other studio’s routines, we know what our competition is and what we’re up against.  When we all get to experience great dancing, whether it’s our studio’s or not, it heightens the level of competition and makes us all the better for it. And as great as it was to be done with our performances in fairly short order, it left little time to get a snack, use the facilities, or shop at the store.  Practice time was sharply decreased as well – because the numbers ran consecutively, there was little opportunity to rehearse the routines. Our company had a full-team warm-up, but there was virtually no time to go over more than a handful of dances.

Another safety measure that was instituted was a limit on how many people could be in a dressing room.  For you veteran dance moms out there, you know how squished they could typically be (think sardines) so that may be somewhat of a relief.  Our teams were divided among three dressing rooms – one for the Pee Wees, one for the Minis, and the Juniors, Teens, and Seniors would share the third.  Because of the new rules, I was not allowed in the dressing room with my girls (despite them being the youngest dancers in the Junior/Teen/Senior room).  But the team mom was in there with them, along with a teacher and the older girls, so I wasn’t too worried.  As a precaution, I made an order-of-performance list for my girls to hang on the rack of the Dream Duffel so they knew what to put on, and when.  Each costume and its accessories were stored in one bag, and I laid the bags in order when I packed the Dream Duffel.  Luckily, there were no jewelry or hair changes; all they would have to do is keep reapplying the blush and lipstick, as the mask would rub some of it off of their faces.  They handled everything well, and I’m proud that they were able to pull everything off with little assistance from anyone.

For the rest of the story, go to The Greatest Show, Part 2

Work hard, have fun! – Danielle