You’ve put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears – mostly sweat, let’s be honest – into your set that you’re ready to debut at the next competition. Your team has carefully selected each song in the set to be cohesive and original. Your costumes are on point, whether they are simple crew neck sweaters and khakis or some studded/rhinestoned/sequined prom dresses. You all have prepared for the best and the worst to come, and you go to the competition, have a great tech run through, practice a little, chill and get ready, eat and meet some other teams, perform towards the end of the show, and then humbly pull out a first place win. Best. Day. EVER!
The struggle on the day of a competition is so real, and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t escape them. From running out of outlets to accidentally not letting your team have a lunch break because you really want the set to be clean and perfect and #firstplace, we can do nothing but welcome these struggles with open arms.
Roughly in chronological order, here are a few struggles that competition day can throw at you, and healthy ways to deal with them.
Sorry, ok, now we can start Philling you in on the knowledge.
1. Your Registration / Tech Time is Before the Sun Rises.
Maybe they draw team names out of a hat for fairness; maybe they set up registration times by the teams’ distances from the venue; maybe you turned in your team’s paperwork late; maybe your coord was dating the guy in charge and it ended and, though they “stayed friends,” he’s a little salty about it. All you know is that the last time you woke up this early was probably in high school, when you were forced to go to school to get that education thing.
Deal With the Struggle!
Make sure your board members know better than to keep you up all night with last minute touches to the set. A good night’s rest is necessary, so no one should be on Facebook or IG after practice; no double tap is worth waking up late the next morning and getting to tech late and then not knowing the dimensions or the slipperiness/stickiness of the stage and then falling on your ass during the show – two feet to the RIGHT of the position you should have been at because you don’t know where center was.
Pack your things the night before, wake up on time – DON’T BE THAT PERSON THAT HAS TO BE CALLED 42 TIMES BEFORE WAKING UP APOLOGETICALLY, make a Starbucks run, eat an apple, and become best friends with the concept of catnaps #meOW.
2. Tech Time Starts Now… But Your Music Won’t.
Sure, nowadays cars have Bluetooth and AUX cords and can hold 8 CDs and have XM radios, but a venue can’t upgrade its technology and invest in an iPod jack and needs the CD to be readable in a certain way. That totally makes sense.
Deal With the Struggle!
Carry around copies of your music like you’re handing them out as free EPs. Make sure you have extra copies on any and everything possible: CD, iPods, mp3 players, records, hitclips, cassette tapes. These bad boys look fresh on your belt loop.
3. Tech Time Starts Now! (For Real)
It’s smart to do a run through with music, then walk through marking it, then if there’s time do another full out run- tech is only 10 minutes and not 15?!
RUN TO YOUR SPOTS PEOPLE.
WHERE IS CENTER?
IS IT THIS ORANGE PIECE OF TAPE OR THIS YELLOW PIECE?!
Deal With the Struggle!
To make sure you have an efficient tech time, have a plan. Whether it is to walk through formations first, perform full out first, or mark it with music, have a plan and make sure to practice it a few times before competition day. That’ll save you a ton of time and energy, as well as a lot of not looking unprofessional in front of other teams. Judgment from all dancers begins once you give the girl at the front desk your ID and she gives you a wristband. Make sure to stay quiet during tech and listen to whoever is directing you, and to actually make mental notes of where you’re standing on stage, because if you’re off during the performance, @geraldnonadoez will find you.
4. The Line Up Makes You Feel Down
You’ve always heard that being in the first half isn’t as good as being in the second half, that closing the first half is the best spot, that closing the last half is the best spot, that being fourth in the show is the luckiest spot. You aren’t in the position you want to be in, and it’s annoying.
Deal With the Struggle!
As much as we all may think the line up matters, there are logistics that go into the order of the show vary with each competition. One may set it up alphabetically, another by how new you are to the competition, another by how many wins you’ve had all year, another by the rankings of the last major competition, another by how many cuties are on your team. You’ll never really know, and it won’t really matter, because as long as you make a lasting impression on the judges, you could be going from the 1st half to 1st place.
5. There Are Only So Many Empty Parking Lots…
There are going to be a lot of teams, each wanting to get in a few hours of cleaning and run throughs. You need a practice space, but all the levels and corners of this 7 story parking structure are taken. Should you go on the roof? The forecast is only sunny with a high of 102 degrees. Maybe we can dance battle other teams for their practice spots, very Step Up 2L The Streets-esque.
Deal With the Struggle!
Look around for any open spaces and always respect other teams when you’re passing through. And if you see another team struggling to find a spot to practice at, offer them your space when you’re done. And if that’s the case, don’t get nervous about wasting valuable practice time. Let your team be productive; give them an earlier lunch, have them start on their hair and make up, let them nap dammit.
6. “We’re practicing from 10:30am to 6pm. Everyone can get ready until our call time at 6:12pm. That should be enough time to do hair, make up, put on your costume, go get some dinner, and stretch, right? Better meet in the hole at 6:10pm, just to be safe.”
Ok my bad I didn’t know Stalin was your director damn…
Deal With the Struggle…
By not being like this. Ever. Next.
7. “Hey are you done with that outlet?”
The dance community has a lot of pretty girls with pretty (probably damaged) hair that needs to be straightened or curled and, unfortunately, battery operated curling irons don’t suffice.
Deal With the Struggle!
Bring a power strip! 6 girls, 1 strip. Genius.
If you have time, come with your hair already done in the morning. That way you can have 99 problems but your hair will not be one.
8. You Fall Victim to a Fashion Crime.
What?! Your color scheme of black with gold accents is NOT as original as you thought!? Shocker. Maroon, navy, and khaki are common colors?! Surprise! Paisley print and jerseys are TRENDY?! WHAT?!
(Any chance to use a Lizzie Mcguire gif is golden)
Deal With the Struggle!
Well you can’t really do much about it once you’re there. Just make different decisions next time! It happens; people often times think they’re outside the box and the community is small and more like-minded than you think, so ideas are bound to clash at some point!
9. If Yonce Was at a Competition, She Would Probably Ask:
You met your runners in the morning at check in, got the house tour, and then they disappeared for the rest of the day. You can’t find them, they can’t find you, you don’t know when your call time is, and they can’t find give you your good luck goodies.
Deal With the Struggle!
Keep in good communication with your runners! If you’re a runner, keep tabs on where your team is! Sometimes, the runners will disappear for the rest of the day, doing other duties, and the teams wonder when they go into the hole, only to find out that they were supposed to be there 5 minutes ago. Other times, the team you’re running for will magically disappear for the whole day, having chosen an incredibly secluded location to practice at, and you’ll feel like a sad parent wondering where your kids are.
Exchange numbers on the tour; textual communication is strongly advised.
10. “Is that…. OUR SONG?!”
You’re in the middle of your team huddle, delivering a feelsy speech to your teammates in the hole when you hear…
your opener…
playing…
right now.
Your opener that is a specially remixed version of that song from the 70s that you found and bookmarked on SoundCloud 2 years ago. What. How. Sigh.
Deal With the Struggle!
Much like the costume situation, at that point there isn’t much that you can do. All you CAN do is kill the choreo you guys have, and commend the other team on their song choice.
11. That Awkward Moment When…
The MC just hyped up the audience with your introduction.
You’re pumped and grunt out a, “LOVE YOU FAMS!” in the dark as you hit your pose.
The lights turn from dim to light.
Hold that pose.
Silence.
Silence.
One random, “WOOOOO” from a supportive alumni.
Silence.
Don’t.
Move.
The MC comes back out, saying to give it up for your team once again, for there are technical difficulties.
The second wave of hype comes from the audience, more supportive this time because they feel bad that you’re standing there, and your opening pose happens to be a hollow back.
Deal With the Struggle!
If this happens, and trust me, it does happen, always stand still. Hold your pose. Not only does it show professionalism, but it also keeps you prepared for whenever the music might start, and you don’t want to be scratching your head when the dramatic kill off at the very beginning starts. Again, @geraldnonadoez will catch everything.
The struggles are so real on competition day, and the best way to deal with them is to either prevent them from happening or to prepare yourself mentally! Don’t let unexpected problems turn down your mood; competitions are supposed to be fun, NOT stressful. Do the fun photo scavenger hunts, hashtag the event, take pictures with your runners and the posters that they made for your team – shout out to Main Stacks and their posters for Prelude Norcal, haAy. I’ll never forget this one.
In conclusion:
Do your hair beforehand, drink coffee, focus, and if you’re worried about other teams having your costume or music, I suggest a nude and silent set. Very avant garde.
Are there any other struggles you can think of that we haven’t included here? Leave a comment below to add to the list!
There are competition day struggles, and then there are ‘every-day struggles’ all dancers have been through. Check out the rites of passage each dancer goes through here!
11 Struggles Dancers Go Through On Competition Day And How To Deal With Them was originally published on STEEZY