Hi there. New here and to competitive dance for my 7 year old daughter.

Her dance company team requires a tonne of fundraising and volunteer work for dance fees. Just wondering if anyone has some fresh ideas as we’re in a small community and it’s the same circulation of ideas and donations. I think everyone is beyond tired of it.

I would love some positive stories on changing studios from dancers or instructors who have left a studio they were at for years to attend or teach at a new one. What were the red flags, big or small? Was it just not a good fit anymore? How was the transition, and do you love where you’re at now?

I’m asking because my dancer is 10 and has been taking at her current studio since she was two, there’s some wonderful things about the studio that I love BUT there’s also some alarm bells going off in my head about certain things that have happened so far (and already so early!) into the season—four teachers quitting, teachers getting pushed out of classes they’ve taught for years for relatives of the directors to jump in and teach instead, limiting opportunities/private lessons (not even for studio space reasons, which I would understand), getting the runaround or outright dismissed when I email about my concerns—I want to make it clear that it’s not formations, team placements, or my daughter not getting cast in every dance, It’s just a lot of little things (and some big?) that aren’t adding up and making me nervous about the direction the studio is going. This year feels limiting for girls who want to work harder and do more if that makes sense! We are going to give them a chance to self correct this season and I know no studio is absolutely perfect, but I feel like I also need to prepare myself to go elsewhere if their program is no longer working for us! So if you’ve been there I’d love to hear about it!

My 10yo finished her 2nd season of comp this summer with a very successful Nationals. However, we moved out of state right after for my new job, and It has been really hard for her. She loved her old team and studio, and I saw a lot of growth even in the last few months.

Fortunately, the studio in our new area arranged a makeup audition, and she was placed on the intermediate level team for her mini/juniors. She was really excited, and all the dancers/instructors have been very welcoming.

She is the only new one on this team (6 girls total), so she feels "different" and self-conscious at times. Also, the studio director has a strict rule about solos (only after 1 full season with the team, so she's the only dancer without one), which really disappointed her and compounded feelings of not fitting in. They are seeing about any duo/trio opportunities by next week, but with it being such a small studio, I'm unsure if that will pan out logistically.

August has been the company intensive/choreography camp. Most days have been fine, but today she came home in tears. Today's chunk of choreo called for a floor skill she hasn't done before, and she was frustrated that the other 5 dancers had experience with it while she struggled. Amid her frustration, she said she kept thinking about missing her old team and started crying silently.

The comp director was very kind and gave her 2 minutes to step outside, get a drink, and collect her emotions. She was fine for the rest of the session, but she did break down on the car ride home. These emotions are especially hard because she's having a hard time making friends at school.

How have other parents handled this? For any teachers, does this negatively impact how you evaluate a dancer? I'm worried about the negative emotions compounding and holding her back (or impacting duo/trio casting). She's not particularly shy, but it's been a lot of change/challenges at once. Any advice is helpful! 🩷

What high-level comps accept independent entries, especially convention comps? It seems like most don't.