Dance Competitions can be exciting and fun. They can also be a pain; any number of small details can go wrong and ruin your day. Hopefully this collection of useful reminders that are written from personal experiences and initial mistakes will help.

* Enjoy Yourself: It is amazing how many people forget the most important aspect of being at a competition. You're there to have fun, so don't get too wrapped up in how many dances you placed at, or how many medals/ribbons you won. It is important to remember that all competitions are a place to learn and to expand your knowledge about dance as a sport. You may or may not take back ribbons and medals, but witht he right outlook, you'll definetly take back memories you'll have the rest of your life.

* Arrival: Be early. Give yourself plenty of time to register. Find the changing area, stretch, warmup, calm down, and make sure everyone is together the entire time. Don't forget to go tot he bathroom well before you go on. There's nothing like going on stage and remembering you had to go. Look over the dance program and mark down the dances that all the members of the school are participating in. We support everyoe throughout the competition, our fellow dancers at the school and dancers at other schools as well.

* Goodies: Bring your clohes, shoes, and other stuff in a bag that would fit under a chair or table. You want to keep this bag close so you can access it easily. Here's a useful list of things to bring:
       - Dance outfit(s) and shoes
       - Warm-ups
       - Safety pins for costume emergencies
       - Thread and needle, again to fix a torn seam etc. if there is a little more time
       - Towel, to blot perspiration between dances
       - Comb, hair brush, or other grooming device
       - (For ladies) makeup, hairspray, etc.
       - Food and Water (see item below)
       - Contact lenses, rewetting drops, saline solution (if applicable)
       - pen or pencil, to mark down dances on the program

* Food/Water: Water or other liquds may not be easy to get to at the competition: bring your own water bottle. It is important to always be drinking water while dancing. This precents injury, muscle soreness, and fatigue. Competitions are usually full-day affairs, and you *will* get hungry. Food is not always conveniently available. If this is the case we will figure out how we can cut prices down by bringing lunches and dinners, if needed. Bring high-carbohydrate food items with you. Some good choices include, breakfast bars, power bars, bagels, peanut butter sandwiches, and bananas. They all provide instant energy, and don't take much room in your carry-on bag. Either the night before or two nights before, upon convenience, we will try to do a spaghetti dinner for the dnacers to be together as a team and get ready for the competition.

* Warm-Up: warm up well before the competition/category begins. If you are participating in multiple dances try to warm up with each of them, even if just for a few minutes. Get a feel for the floor, many times if we arrive to competition early, the floor may be open to walk out onto to get a feel for it. Is it sticky, slippery, etc.? Sometimes the competition is held on a floor that is neither designed nor maintained for dancing. The floor could be unevenly waxed and slippery on some spots, or there may be electrical outlets, seams, or other uneven spots on the floor. Go over the floor a couple of times during this time and look for all such hazards and, as much as possible, avoid them during the competition.

* Attitude: Remember, you are being judged from the minute you walk out onto the dance floor. Attitude is KEY!! The judges will get to know you as the day goes on; do your best early on, and it will help you out later. In my experience, if the judges like you early on, you could get a break later if you make a little mistake. Making a good first impression is important. When you dance by a judge, you can acknowledge him/her with a litltle smile. But don't go overboard on this.

* Hose/Underwear: As a team we will all be wearing Danskin light toast convertible dance tights, or Danskin Theatrical Pink tights. These are sols in the The Dance Shoppe at both studios. There will be no underwear allowed underneath costumes during any performances.

* Shoes: These will be decided at the beginning of year, but remember you must have all your shoes ith you. Check, Double Check, and Check again. Remembering these things is neither your parents nor my responsibility!!

* Hair/Makeup: Essential! We discuss this well before each individual competition to make sure everything is in place. Typically, buns are the cleanest and most professional looking. We may change it up, but do know that our hair will always be pulled back out of our face!! Wear lots of makeup! Especially eyes and lips. You may think it looks gaudy and overblown, but that's OK. This is a competition, and the point is to look good to the judges and the audience. The judges ar standing at least some yards away, and overdoing the makeup compensates for the distance. Bring your makeup and mirror to the table to freshen up. Bring a towel to blot perspiration during the competition.

*Accessories: Many costumes sometimes come with little accessories. This is usually the stuff that we all forget. Make sure accessories are with costumes at all times. Ziplock bags are wonderful for this.