Chilly ballrooms, hard floors, dozens of dancers going full-out all at once: The average convention room may be buzzing with excitement and creativity, but it can be a challenging dance environment. Dr. Alexis Sams, PT, NKT, and founder of AZ Dance Medicine Specialists in Phoenix, Arizona, says she often sees convention dancers with “back pain […]
After years of taking their students to conventions where the dancers never seemed to leave with lasting takeaways, Alex Chan and Juan Borona co-founded Artistic Dance Exchange in 2017. “At these dance conventions and competitions, they would receive a trophy, and that was kind of it,” Chan says. So he and Borona vowed to form […]
If you’ve ever watched a Broadway musical, dance company performance, or dance TV show, chances are you’ve seen at least one New York City Dance Alliance alum at work. NYCDA excels at helping dancers naturally transfer their competition and convention experiences into the professional industry. Their not-so-secret key to success? Years of relationship-building and community outreach by […]
The new dance season has just begun, which means dancers around the country are choosing which conventions to attend this year. If all the choices are making your head spin, you’re not alone. Between higher expectations, the stress of competing and social media, many dancers find themselves in a race the moment they begin their dance journeys. […]
Like most of us, Amanda-May Wilson grew up dancing for fun all the time. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, most of her dancing was done through sneaking into the rehearsals of her childhood church mentors. But she also spent much of her time obsessing over the world’s greatest superstars on music videos and live […]
Most seasoned dancers would agree that the best part of competing isn’t just the trophies—it’s the people you meet and the opportunities you discover. A fellow dance mom who’s run two successful studios herself, Encore DCS co-director Rhonda Marchant knows comp life like the back of her hand, which is why she treats every dancer, […]
Between travel restrictions and the economic burdens of COVID-19, you may not find yourself able to convention-hop every weekend as per usual (or you might find yourself attending virtual, rather than IRL, convention events). But that doesn’t mean your dance training has to suffer—especially if you’re conscientious about applying your convention lessons and corrections to […]
Kati Simon has worked as a teaching assistant with ADRENALINE Dance for more than four years. Though the convention circuit has been put on pause by the COVID-19 pandemic, in the past, she’s had the chance to dance alongside industry notables like Sonya Tayeh, Nick Bass, Sarah Reich, and more. And according to Simon, there’s […]