COMPETITION DETAIL

UNHINGED. SCAM. This is the absolute worst dance competition our studio has ever participated in for several reasons. I will try to place the reasons in order of when I noticed them. It seems this competition decided to do EVERYTHING different from every reputable competition company. 1. Assigned seating in the auditorium. For what? We all know that most parents, the kids, the studio staff come in for their kids performance and leave. It caused issues because some studios took the assignments seriously 🙄 2. Adjudications. For all dances (solos, duos, groups..) this lady called the kids up to the front to collect their trophy and they stood there. When adjudications were over their were 30 kids standing in the front of the stage.... ridiculous 3. Overalls- The kids are still standing from adjudications and then overalls start. But unlike any other competition where you are judged by age and ability level, this competition has overalls based solely on age....so novice versus advanced versus elite dancers. It was the most confusing and unfair judging process I have ever witnessed. I saw a young lady crying in the hallway- these dancers work so hard and this late in the season, even if it is their first year, they know what to expect. This defied all expectations and for the young people that put in countless hours this was a slap in the face. 4. During the first session judging on Sunday....after having the kids all standing up the crazy rude lady told the kids if your done dancing go find your parents and leave. She did not congratulate them, thank them for coming, tell them to take a bow .... Nothing. 5. Every studio received an overall champion judges award. There were no categories like creativity, choreography, highest energy... Just overall champion. The trophies were all the same. They are very cheap, they do not indicate your adjudication or placement. Recommendation - DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR YOUR MONEY. MY 9 YEAR OLD COULD HAVE ORGANIZED THIS COMPETITION BETTER.

If there were an option for zero stars, I would. This company deserves absolutely NOTHING. WARNING: DO. NOT. WASTE. YOUR. TIME. AND. MONEY. SAVE YOUR CHILDREN. To whom this may concern, this is the most unorganized, rude, misleading, money-grabbing competition company I have EVER SEEN. For context, I am a dance teacher of TEN YEARS who has danced professionally, traveled for dance, and experienced all the dance world has to offer. I have NEVER in my 10 years of teaching dance and learning myself have I EVER come across such a disrespectful and exploitative company of children before, they genuinely acted like they DIDN'T CARE about the kids and their wellbeing at ALL. First, let's go over what they DONT tell you on their website that misled my studio. To start, the levels you enter your routines in for this company DOES NOT MATTER. During overalls, the Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced levels are ALL AGAINST EACH OTHER. If you have Novice dancers that you are trying to dip their toes into the world of competition, this company is NOT FOR YOU. The awards ceremony is a train wreck in itself, the owner and director of the Company, Carol, kept messing up the adjudications (announcing the wrong award for students), kept pronouncing everyones names wrong without correcting herself or caring even AFTER my own studio called her to confirm how to pronounce their names, AFTER SHE ASKED HOW TO DO SO, she kept getting confused as to what age level we were on constantly asking our students on the stage, "how old are you?" and had no idea where she even was in the competition, AND she was chewing gum so loudly into the mic and could barely speak as it was. My studio left the competition, being told the wrong placements, the wrong adjudications (they got high platinum, but were told they only got a platinum for context), and now my students and I'm sure others, have NO IDEA how they even did. Some of my students told me they feel this company wasted their time, I agree. Secondly, Media in this competition is NOT FREE. You have to pay $20 for your media video, which had people running aacross the auditorium during dances because there was not a single lick of theater ediquitte being reminded throughout the entire competition so, why would you spend $20 for a video that has people running at the bottom of the screen or standing in the audience? The camera didnt move ONCE. Also, $10 for a SINGLE VIDEO??????????!?!??!?!?!?!?!? and thats not even the worst part. I had a personal friend who worked for the company the weekend of 4/19/26. When I first saw her, she told me that Carol threw her in the judges' panel on Friday and that Judge 1 was changing every day. Weird. (This beef has nothing to do with the judges themselves. We still look forward to hearing our critiques, but we will see....) Always check your judges before applying to any competition company. Second thing they dont tell you, they dont enforce ANY of their extensive and insane rules. First, men were going into the dressing room constantly and other parents and moms had to kick them out, not the company staff. THEY HAD NO INTENTION OF PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN. They also disallowed any food or drinks in the dressing room, meaning that if your students have a quick change, they can't get to their waters, and I had many students dehydrated. Also, if you need an exception to any of the rules, such as needing food in the dressing room for students who need medical attention, they dont allow it. Before my studio arrived at the competition this past weekend, my director and owner emailed and CALLED Carol about 2 students with medical needs that absolutely need food in the dressing room in order to survive. (DType1 and HypoGlycemia) Carol said absolutely that was fine, and claimed that the students' health was priority. My director then was in contact with Carol 3 more times after that phone call to confirm the medical needs and the pronunciation of the students' names and levels. Upon arriving at the event on Sunday, CAROL STOPPED MY STUDENT WITH MEDICAL NEEDS AND DIDNT ALLOW HER INTO THE DRESSING ROOM WITH HER EMERGENCY SNACKS. That obviously infuriated my students parent because as mentioned earlier, THIS WAS ALL CONFIRMED SEVERAL TIMES. At this time, my director hadn't arrived yet, so my fellow teacher and I went to rescue our student and parent. I have never seen my parent so upset and hurt. She had every RIGHT to feel the way she did, and Carol just kept yelling at her that she wasn't allowing her daughter to go anywhere with her snacks. My fellow teacher and I tried to diffusee the situation and calmly and quietly told Carol that we were with our director and studio and that we had already confirmed all this with Carol prior to this event, and she gave her full suport then. Carol then proceeded to yell at US, cant remember what she said, but it made my dance parent even more furious that Carol was willing to listen to us and was not allowing my student in the dressing room to change. Meanwhile, my studio was the 3rd number to perform at the start of the day. The other teacher and I then again, calmly, tried to ask Carol if she could pull up my directors email to confirm all this because it was a simple answer to this problem. Carols husband then proceeds to come over to us, SHOVE HIS BODY AND HAND INTO THE OTHER TEACHERS FACE, and started SCREAMING saying, "BACK UP, THIS ISNT A CONVERSATION THAT INVOLVES YOU BOTH SO WHY DONT YOU GO AWAY AND LET THEM HANDLE THIS ALONE. YOU REALLY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO BE NICE TO PEOPLE YOURE RIDICULOUS!!!!" So tht made me step forward and have to push him away from my other teacher who was BACKED INTO A CORNER AND JUST GOT A MAJOR SURGERY. I then tell him again, "I am a teacher who represents these ladies, and I will not go ANYWHERE because it is my job to protect them. So no, I am not leaving this spot." Carol then turns around and starts yelling at her husband for yelling at us, so weird. Thankfully, he goes away before he got more physical, and the worst of it was cornering us and putting his hands up. Carol's bright idea to ease the situation was to give my student a high table in the complete opposite corner of where our studio was stationed and in the middle of another studio's bags and costumes in the large gym that we were using as a dressing room, putting her on display for the rest of the competition to see. This absolutely DISGUSTED ME AND MY STUDIO so I called my director and she showed up very shortly after. At this point, its been almost 20 minutes of us trying to convince Carol that she okayed this and that my student literally needed to drink the beverage she was holding in her hand because she already medically counted for it and her body NEEDED IT. When my director then calmly and nicely approached Carol with the email in hand and wanted to diffuse the situation so our kids could still have a good experience, she SCREAMED AT MY OWNER, yelled at US for being rude, then just walked away from her. No answer, no resolution, no remorse. So we shoved our student into the dressing room WITH her emergency snacks and nothing was ever solved. The parent was SO DISGUSTED AND HURT over the treatment that Carol gave to her daughter, she wanted to take her child and LEAVE, rightfully so. CAROL, THE GIRL THAT DOESNT CARE FOR MEDICAL NEEDS, THE GIRL THAT DOESNT CARE ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN, THE GIRL CON ARTIST, THE GIRL WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SPEAK TO WOMEN HER HUSBAND (i dont know his name but he has white hair), THE BOY WHO IS OKAY WITH GETTING IN WOMEN'S FACES, THE BOY THAT STOOD AT THE MERCHANDISE TABLE ASKING FOR $20 A MEDIA VIDEO AND $10 FOR A SINGLE PICTURE OF YOUR STUDENT, THE BOY WHO HAS NO RESPECT FOR OTHERS. If anyone has read this far and learned about my studios experience, I have to genuinely say this was such a traumatic experience for me as a teacher. I not only never want to go back to this company, but I now feel as though going to a competition in the future is going to be a slight fear of mine moving forward. My brain chemistry has been altered, my other teacher is still medically and emotionally recovering, my director is furious and upset, my parents feel their money and time were wasted, and everyone is so upset. I spoke to other studios at the event, and they all had to say the same issues, and we all agreed as a dance community that NO ONE was coming back to this company and we would warn others not to do so as well. They even had awards for studios that decided to return for the second day of competition; some studios literally pulled their numbers after they saw what a shit show the first day was. My friend, who was working the competition, then said Carol was talking shit about my owner and director, my teachers, and MY STUDENTS AND PARENTS. Words could never describe how disgusted I am with this woman and her company. ALL WE TRIED TO DO WAS DEFEND OUR STUDIO. You ought to be ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. If there is ever a slight chance heres what i have to say to you; Carol- Respectfully, you're caught. You were the most expensive company my studio paid for this season, and after our experience, MANY STUDIOS know you are a con artist. Your website says "Fun, Inspiring, and Educational". My students and I absolutely had fun when you kept giving them the wrong awards, they had fun when you so obviously didnt care they were trying to correct you on how to pronounce their names, and thank you for letting them feel "special". Your company inspired my students to stand up for themselves and what was RIGHT through anxiety, fear, and discomfort. They felt as though you were going to literally sabotage their scores with the way you kept rolling your eyes every time you saw my studio name. How do you feel that you made a 10-year-old feel like she wasn't a normal little girl? And best of all, you definitely educated my students on how a company SHOULDN'T be run, how to NOT treat people, and educated them on the lies and negativity of the dance world. Your company also claims to Motivate, Inspire, and Reward. The only thing that motivated my dancers this weekend was the fact that they felt they had to dance harder because you were going to sabotage their scores from the bad mouthing you were doing about the studio. You then decided to reward my students with not only wrongly labeled trophies and ribbons you were selling at the merch table instead of the placement ribbons, Yelling in their faces and at their parents, you rewarded them with the metophorical ribbon of anxiety, trophyof fear for you and the competition, and a tiara crowning my girls as the "trouble makers" of the rest of the competition, meanwhile OTHER STUDIOS were eating in the audiene, spilling drinks in the gym, and TAPPED AND PROPERTY DAMAGED THE WOOD FLOORS. So, thank you, because now my teachers and I have to make sure our students dont feel this experience hurt their love for dance, performing, and passion. I have never in my 10 years of teaching experienced such a dismissive and horrible company. I think it's time to hang up the hat, because you dont know how to treat CHILDREN. An ADA was filed against you and there will be more to come. As a human being who fights for what is right, stands up for what they believe in, spreads positivity and joy, and always supports the people I care about, I have to admit this was difficult to type. But then I remember others NEED TO KNOW OF THIS. I hope you take this as a sign of retribution. Respecftully, A dance teacher from New Jersey

If I could give this competition no stars I would. The lack of professionalism by the competition organizers was astounding. There are no programs available so if you wanted to see what was happening, you were directed to print outs taped to a window. The awards sessions were chaotic, unclear, and did not differentiate skill levels. The woman who was the organizer interacted with the dancers and the audience very rudely, at one point, she told a group of dancers under the age of 9 to "get off the stage, find your parents and leave". The cheap, inauthentic awards were given without explanation to all of the studios and it appeared that skill level did not matter when adjudications were confusingly announced. Studios that did not dance were announced and at points, the organizer had to stop and bend down on the floor to scribble notes on the page she was reading from. This competition is a real shame and sham. Dancers, studios and family supports work hard to bring their kids to these opportunities and for Step Up 2 Dance to take money and time for what they produced this weekend is awful. Be warned, do not waste your time or money on this competition. The only highlight was the MC that announced the dances on Sunday. He obviously had no clue what he had gotten himself into and made the best of the day. He engaged the audience and kept the event moving. Unfortunately, the organizer kept taking the microphone from him to make rude announcements and host the worst awards ceremonies I have ever seen.

The most unorganized competition with the rudest staff and owners. Violated ADA rules and a complaint has been filed. Do not waste your money. Also your novice dancers will be up against advanced soevel means absolutely nothing at this comp. Would give zeros if we could.

Dancers all did great. However the event itself seemed very chaotic. As a parent who is committed to my child’s passion for dance felt like an over grown child being punished by the way the host spoke down to ALL of us. I am here to support my child but they are not a roll model I would like these kids to look up to. Awards ceremony is a mess! At this rate we will be doing tonight’s awards at 9pm instead of 5:30…. Snarky and Rude!

We have been competing for years now and Step up was an awful competition and we will never return. Unorganized, random, no scheduled breaks for the judges so you never know if you will be sitting backstage waiting for 20 minutes etc. Communication was poor between the dancers/parents and the people running the comp. Was hard to know what number they were on. Merch was low quality and top dollar. They didn’t have programs to download or even buy, just one randomly taped on the wall that we were instructed to use our phones to take a pic of.. it’s 2024 people.. The worst part of this competition was the scoring/awards. It was disjointed, confusing and made ABSOLUTELY ZERO sense. They group novice, intermediate and advanced dancers together in overalls so that entirely defeats the purpose of categories. Their adjudications were done like I’ve never seen, they were called up routine by routine and given a trophy (it’s usually a pin per entry) and it confused the dancers into thinking they were winning, which i found distasteful. Then they would pull the overalls out of that very overcrowded line but it was so confusing that I don’t even think the dancers understood what was happening. These are not first time competitors, they are seasoned. It was truly disappointing and a massive waste of money. Also there were no judges awards which I found disappointing as the connection with the judges is so important. They can’t be bothered to recognize anyone? A cheap plastic sash was awarded to overall soloist winners that didn’t even say overall winner on it.. And one of the worst offenses is they only give ONE PIN PER DANCER, not per entry, even though they collect entry fees PER DANCE. Dancers collect pins as a road map of their dances over the years. Thank you Step up for being the speed bump in that road map and a solid reminder to never return. Save your money and go to a comp with categories and awards that make sense.

WE LOVE STEP UP ! They feel like home to us! Very helpful, family friendly, great venues. Carol is the best with communicating. Their staff members are top notch!

Great Nationals in Phoenix, AZ this summer!! Fantastic staff running the competition, workshops and Future Stars program. Awesome experience for all! Excited for next season!

Perfect Nationals! Thanks to Carol and team for the great experience. Our parents and kids had a great time.

I went to SU2DT last year, and I have to say that it was a pretty good competition. Venue and stage were small, but nice quality. Considering I was Novice/Recreational, it was a good competition to introduce me to the dance world. I will have to say that we DID NOT place in overall, because Novice and Advanced were all put together. What is the point of levels if you are just going to put them together? For an advanced dancer, this is a good competition.

Different Competitons offer different things. If you go into this competition expecting it to be “easy” because you’re in novice or intermediate, I could understand your disappointment. However, levels didn’t used to exist in the competition world and doing overalls by combining all levels, as SU2D does, really shows where you’re at as a dancer. Competition dancers should receive realistic scoring and placement to help prepare them for the professional dance world. I personally have had my competitive dance beaten by a novice routine simply because their scores weren’t as high with the judging curve, I told my kids, if you have a perfect score, no one will be able to beat you. I have also won first overall with my competitive dancers and they feel TRULY proud to look on stage at the other dancers surrounding them knowing that they won over more than just 4 routines. IMO combining is a healthy reminder that levels don’t exist in the professional dance world. As a parent, yes you are spending all this money to compete and be recognized but look at how much you’re spending on training...if you’re unhappy with the results, perhaps your dancer needs to take a different approach to his/her training or work with other choreographers. Reading a lot of these reviews made me cringe as to how far off and negative they were. This competition is educational via seasoned judges, fair via scoring, and timely ALWAYS. I have attended almost every venue in NJ and return to atleast one SU2D event every year. (6 years now) Carol is caring and patient. There are glitches in running things perfectly in Category and putting holds on certain numbers but that is more so the studios fault for not pushing their dancers to be ready on time. The staff is ON IT and ready to accommodate. SU2D has never ended late in my experience, have even competed on Mother’s Day a few times. Everyone always leaves happy and ready for more. If you want to keep your dancers motivated, this is a great competition experience. My comp team is 10 kids...there’s no special treatment to big studios. As far as choreography/costumes/special awards...each studio is recognized individually with a well thought out speech at the start of each awards. This competition is about THE KIDS and their DANCING. I appreciate the roots of Step Up 2 Dance and will continue to bring my kids/parents here annually as it is a wonderful experience.

Had a great experience this season. I Love that the STEP UP 2 DANCE SHOW runs on time with reasonable hours. The crew does a great job of handling hundreds of dancers finding extra dressig room space and the owner goes out of her way to make sure that every child is recognized, have their trophy, medal , ribbon. It’s inspiring to have recognition for all the dancers instead of just the super strong teams. My students left there happy and feeling accomplished. I loved how instead of individual special awards they acknowledged something unique and special about each studio. We really appreciated it!

This was an excellent competition!! My DD had a blast!!

This was our first National Competition, and we had such a positive experience! There were so many additional events and opportunities that made our dancers feel like stars. The awards were of higher quality than other competitions we've attended. Judging was fair, and our girls and their moms went home extremely happy. Going back next year!

I'm really shocked and saddened to see that your competition does not feel that special needs kids are appropriate to attend your event. May I make a suggestion to reword your 'Who Should Attend' guidelines? I don't find that ANYONE would deem a crowded high school as comforting. To suggest a special needs child not attend this event, makes your event an unwelcome competition for my family, and many others who have special needs children who dance or like to support their siblings/friends. I am a studio owner, mother of a special needs daughter, and a competition team director for over 25 years experience. Over these years, have found many other competitions who will welcome us with open arms. I really hope you consider removing this offensive guideline from your website.

I will start out by saying that I was considering bringing my team to this competition but have since changed my mind since reading the rules on their website. I also wanted to point out to others their inappropriate and mean-spirited comments. In one section of their rules about people who should not attend, they state, "Those with special needs may not find a crowded high school comforting." As a studio with a special needs team, I find this comment abhorrent. This competition does not have the right to say that special needs children should not come to a dance competition. Every child is different and it should be up to the parents to decide what a child can handle. That rule is ignorant and rude.

We love this competition, Carol and her staff are so helpful, encouraging and supportive of all the dancers and studios. We are not a large studio but have never felt less than because of this. The judges comments are always helpful and match the scoring and over the years Carol and her team have streamlined the awards so they flow nicely. LOVE this competition and cannot wait to attend again next year!

We have been coming to this competition for many years. As a studio owner you want your dancers and parents to have an amazing competition experience. They always run on time or ahead of schedule. Critiques are uploaded immediately no more waiting for weeks. I have always taught my students it is not about the award, those are just someones opinion. It is about the critiques that drive you to be a better performer so its great to receive them so quickly! We experience great judging, awesome staff, organized backstage handling, and overall a fun show! Definitely a must to add to your competition schedule.

This weekend was our first time attending Step up 2 Dance and we just loved it! The event went smoothly, ran on time or a little ahead, the staff were available and attentive, and the awards ceremonies was quick and fun for the dancers!

This competition is one of the most organized and professional competitions I have been to in a long time. From the stage crew to the lobby workers you are always greet with a smile. You can tell this is a competition that truly cares about the dancers and studios. It was refreshing to have my child be part of such a positive atmosphere. I cant wait to attend nationals!

This competition is not worth any hard working parent giving their money to. The announcer wasn't paying attention to know what she was giving out (had to keep asking the other announcer what award she was at) and talked unprofessionally. My daughter never got a trophy for her solo because they ran out. There was also no special judges awards or any type of "heart" to any awards that were given out. They just rattled down the metals, gave out trophies (until they ran out less than half way through) and called it a day. I can't imagine how anyones kids have any fun there. When we went to listen to her critiques, her video stopped at 45 seconds and all the judges said NOTHING in that time besides a generic welcome to the stage about 15 seconds into the dance.

The competition is well organized and runs smoothly and on time. When conflicts arose they were resolved with a smile. The staff truly cares about these dancers, and it shows by those who attend. Dancers of every age, level, size, etc. were in attendance. The judges critiques were compassionate, supportive, and fair. New dancers were given comments that are easier for them to manage and advanced dancers given comments that will push them to work harder but also lots of praise to lift them up. Carol, the organizer, is kind and communicative. She is quick to answer questions via e-mail and she tries her best to remember her studio owners. She puts her heart into this competition and it shows. We will be back for sure!

The competition offered three levels of competition for dancers to enter, however, when they announced the overalls they put ALL levels against each other and did one overall instead of overalls in each division. Why even offer levels if a first time soloist is going to be scored against an advanced dancer in the overalls? Where is the equity in that? The overall groups were also scored with all the levels against each other. As a parent, this competition is a complete waste of my money. I'd rather spend my money and my time at a list of other competitions that offer a more equitable and appropriate competition.

Review Removed - Violation of Terms of Use

Been going for 10 years! The kids have a great time!

A wonderful competitive experience for all levels of dancers. They have a staff that is extremely knowledgeable and always helpful and friendly. Carol and Phil, the owners are very personable and always make everyone feel welcome and at home at each venue. Step up 2 Dance goes above and beyond to accommodate the studio owners, dancers and parents with thought out scheduling and beautiful performance venues. Their awards ceremonies are a fun Way to end the day with a one of a kind dance party and beautiful awards for every routine along with sashs and sparkling crowns that are awarded to the overall soloists.

Love!

amazing time with awesome teachers!

We love attending Step Up 2 Dance both the Regionals and Nationals! The staff is friendly and accommodating. They always give us enough time for costume changes and do their best to accommodate when a situation pops up. The judging is fair. Our parents, students and teachers are always happy. I love how they acknowledge teachers and studio owners. I don't mind the audience entry fee as their competition fees are lower than most. Great teachers at their conventions also. It is our go to for "first competition of the season"!

We love Step Up to Dance. Carol, Phil and the whole team are great! It is always a family friendly atmosphere and the feedback the dancers get from the judges critiques is always very constructive, not simply a series ..."nice job, good work" We have attended for several years in Ft. Lauderdale and attended two Nationals and have never been disappointed.

SUPER DISORGANIZED!! There was no rhyme or reason to the line up there were minis and juniors performing at the time that teens and seniors were supposed to be performing, as well as duos/trios and groups at the same time as solos. The trophies don't say placement at all, a first place trophy looks the same as a 10th place so you kind of have to remember who got what. They also told my dancer she couldn't perform until we paid her entry fees...which we had paid a month before. Also $10 to go in and watch your dancers per day is a little ridiculous..and if you don't show your wristband at the door, security follows you to your seat (even if they've seen you walk in and out five times)

I have known Carol for over 20 yrs and her competition just gets better & better. We compete at several competition and Step Up 2 Dance is by far our favorite.

Having a blast at Nationals!!! Love Step Up 2 Dance!

I hated this competition. The judging barely fair. They didn\'t pay attention to the actual dancing. They payed more attention to the pretty costumes and colors and props. The one and only awards ceremony was 30 minutes long. They had my studio say the words 5 6 7 8 over again to these three people doing this dumb turn on the awards stage while we were waiting, and waiting and waiting. And after all those minutes, we got our trophies which were all the same, they didn\'t even say what rank we got (It was my dances first time getting something higher than a gold) Our team wanted to show our double gold but it was impossible to figure that out. And we didn\'t get pins either. Our studio is never going to attend this competition again.

Great competition! Well run and always on time. I would highly recommend this competition for beginners as well as advanced dancers. Judging was spot on and all my kids and parents left happy!

Did not like that all levels were put together for overalls. The highest level dances are ,I\'m sure judged differently than the novice and intermediate dances . And yet they are all put together for awards. Never seen this at any competition. And I am sure other groups that have been there before,(this was our first time) place their groups in intermediate so that they are judged easier. Because many of those dances looked like they belonged at highest level which is where we compete. In fact there were only 4 groups in the teen level at the competition we attended that were entered at the highest level.

Always a fun time here!!!! Well run event.

Always a blast at Step Up 2 Dance!! My absolute fav! Highly recommend!

Thank God they only two award sessions. One after solos and one after all the other numbers. Been at others that do awards after each segment and it takes FOREVER! Just getting kids on and off stage takes 15 minutes each time. Show ran at a nice pace (and on time) over all a nice show!

I was very disappointed with Step Up 2 Dance awards ceremony. We attended their competition in Secaucus NJ this past weekend and it left a lot to be desired. Duos and trios were performed in Saturday afternoon evening but did not receive their awards until Sunday evening. In the beginning of the awards ceremony on Sunday it was obvious there was not enough room on the stage for all of the performers it was scary and I was waiting for a child to be trampled or fall off the stage. They finally split the dancers up by seniors and juniors so that meant splitting up studios. Some of the \"juniors\" on the stage were as young as 4 and should have had the \"seniors\" with them to look out for them in the crazy mass of kids that were involved in the awards ceremony. The amount of awards announced at one time made it confusing to even know who was getting what award. And to top it off to add even more annoyance and drag a ridiculously long awards ceremony at the start of the awards they gave out teacher swag bags and announced every single studio that was there to come on stage and receive their teacher gifts...this added over 30 minutes to an already long day. I would be thrilled to hear that we will never go back to this competition again it was an awful experience. The only bright side of the entire weekend was the food vendor they had in the school.

My dance studio had a GREAT experience at the Step Up 2 Dance Tour. The day was extremely organized. Although there was a large crowd, we were comfortable. The staff was helpful and always polite, and most importantly the children were safe. This was my studio\'s first competition experience and my parents were thrilled with the outcome. My dancers are hungry for more and can\'t wait to prepare for next year. We will definitely return, and this time with multiple numbers. Before registering, Carol was always available to take my many calls and answer all my questions regarding the event. We thank Step Up 2 Dance Tour for a wonderful day of dance and inspiration.

My daughter and her studio attended this dance competition this past weekend in NJ. As a parent I was extremely disappointed. I truly hope we do not return and the parents plan to voice their opinions to our studio director. I downloaded the genie app for $2.99 since your website says that you use it only to be told you were not using the app since the school does not have free wifi and you don\'t feel the app is useful and you don\'t know how much longer the app will be around. My daughter performed her duo on Saturday and had to wait until Sunday to receive her adjudications and they only get one trophy between the two of them. I guess they need to share... At other competitions we have attended the solos and duo each receive a trophy. And for groups the studio gets a trophy but the dancers always either get a pin or ribbon in addition to the trophy. These kids were so disappointed to be walking away with nothing besides a trophy for the studio. They were texting us from the stage saying how they were sad not about the scores about not getting ribbons or anything. For the dance party all the seniors got to dance and the juniors were asked leave the stage \"leave\" yes that\'s right only seniors on stage. What is that?? Who does that? You break up a studio from their group? Eventually you asked the seniors to get off and juniors to step on stage and they got to dance one song before awards started. The seniors did try to get on stage again to join their studio and they are told no! I understand there just was not enough space but that could have been avoided if you had scheduled multiple award sessions. There is also no place in the program to explain how your scoring works and your website was not much help either. I\'m glad at this venue there was not an entrance fee because that would have put me over the edge.

Judging was great. Constructive critiques and an overall great day of competition!

It\'s ridiculous for parents to pay for their child to compete several dances, then to have to pay an entrance fee to watch them dance...each day! Add to the this that there wasn\'t a stage so dances had to be reset for an odd shaped ballroom floor. Judges were nice and interacted with the dancers.

After paying so much money to enter my daughter\'s solos and groups into this competition, I had the pleasure of paying a $10 entry fee only to have my daughter dance on the ballroom floor. There should have been a stage. (Yes, there were low ceilings so they really couldn\'t at this venue, but pick another venue that either a) has a stage or b) has enough room to add a stage) At the very least each dancer should be allowed one guest for \"free\" (hopefully mom/dad who already sacrificed for this event. The program book advertised to download the \"dance genie\" app in order to vote for the audience choice award. The app is free but the ability to vote will cost you $2.99 There was a change in scoring as well this year- I think it breaks the score down way too much. Double Silver? High Platinum?

I would like to just say that not only this competition was extremely disorganized, but it was very unprofessional and unfair. The judges obviously were not interested the entire competition! So get new judges. The amount of switches in line ups was ridiculous. The scoring was terrible. Anything that could have went wrong, went wrong. The system is horrible! The one blonde judge sat there and looked as if she was going to fall asleep. The second day we are forced to run all over the hotel for changes! If I could rate this competition negative stars, I would. Extremely unsatisfied, will never recommend.

This was a great competition. We are new to the competition field and it was great. My girls really enjoyed it. We got extra lucky that it was actually a half a day of competition. Their people were great! Judges stern but fair. Some nice camaraderie between the dance studios that came. No one was overly crazy or competitive. It was wonderful! Studios dancers wished each other luck. It was very nice!! I like the trophies too, it\'s nice as newbies to the competition to get a little something even though we didn\'t win anything. My girls were so proud to hold up those trophies... we would love nothing more than to go back this year, but we have a huge conflict and over half of the girls wont be able to go. We will miss you guys this year!

This is my 14th year in business and I have been bringing my students to Step Up for almost all of those years. I highly recommend it! The backstage crew is amazing and very accommodating to the dancers. This competition is always on time or running slightly early. The audio critiques are very helpful. I only wish they used the Video Genie which I love when competitions use. It is so helpful to SEE the mistakes the students make on video at the same time as the critique. The awards ceremony is so much fun. Everyone feels involved and acknowledged. I am thankful for a quality local competition!

Would recommend this event. All around run well. Long awards ceremony, which I find in a lot of comps. Could do without all the pomp, etc. Just want our scores!! ;)

My studio,the Dance Connection has been going to Step Up 2 Dance competition every year for over 15 years. We look forward to this competition and their Nationals every year. The competition is extremely organized and run to perfection, everyone that works the competition is so friendly and the owner Carol is a sweetheart!

Carol & her staff are AMAZING! This is our favorite competition of the year!! My students start asking when we are headed there in Septemver! Friendly, Courteous, & Caring! The way a competition should be!!

Our favorite competition! Carol and crew always provide a relaxed, yet energizing event. Very accommodating staff, critiques and scores within usually 24 hours and so much more! My students and parents beg to come back year after year.

I have competed here several times and love the the atmosphere. The judges give great feedback and the staff are very nice and accommodating to our needs. Would definitely recommend.

Any competition that charges entry fees and then charges admission at the door is INSANE! Seems to just be a money making competition! They say it\'s because it prevents other teachers from entering and stealing choreography! If someone was that desperate…I think they would pay the entry fee anyways. Needless to say we will not be attending a competition ever, that makes you pay to get in the building. Hasn\'t these parnts spent enough money just to enter your competition anyways? For a family of 4, thats $40 just to get in!!!! Outrageous!!!

Good competition. People running it were nice. Judges were fair. Didn\'t like the venue. No stage. Danced on a ballroom floor. Dressing room was small.

The awards at Syracuse were only 1 hour not 2. It\'s all on DVD

It was an incredibly high energy event. The staff, specifically the MC\'s at awards were so upbeat. The judges were engaged. I like the way they announce placements within each category. Lumping all duets , and then all groups together for overalls is interesting as well. It was a very fun weekend for our team. However, there was 1 VERY BIG issue. When you have already paid HUNDREDS of dollars for your dancer to compete at an event, being charged $10 at the door to escort your dancer inside is a slap in the face. The venue was a high school. In all the years I\'ve attended competitions I have NEVER once been charged admission until this particular event. We regularly compete at events held in beautiful theaters and have not had to pay to enter the building. This is not a good move. What was a fantastic weekend is marred by this detail. MANY were put out by it. It is enough to keep people from attending again , no matter how great the event was. It\'s unfortunate, because there were so many other things done well.

what a great experience. This was the best competition I have every gone too. It was so much fun and ran smooth. I loved they way they organized the awards. I can\'t wait till next year. I\'m hoping to do nationals that\'s how much I loved it. My parents were very pleased and actually enjoyed themselves. I would recommend this comp to anyone experienced or not. There was a school that just started doing competition this year and they said this was a great experience and loved how the staff was so helpful. Can\'t wait till next year.

My favorite competition that I have competed at. The staff was great and very helpful. I highly suggest this competition to other dancers

One of the best competitions I\'ve been too.Very well organized ran smooth and ahead of time. The dj was full of energy. Judges were so nice and my daughter said while she was dancing they all had a smile and one was moving to the beat. I wish there were more compel like this. Great job to all the workers from a parent that\'s been attending compel fir 15 years !!!

What a great experience! The judges put my daughter at ease while performing. The staff was very upbeat and friendly. Everything ran right on time. It was very organized. I would highly recommend them. :)

This competition is great! Friendly staff, great dancers, and studios! We love competing here!

Fun and friendly staff, runs on time, and all my kids always leave happy.

Step Up 2 Dance Tour is a pretty good competition. The staff was really nice and had food that we could buy. The only things I didn\'t appreciate was how late the awards were. The awards were scheduled for 6:30 pm and didn\'t start until 7:00 because they were running late. The awards were also two hours long! I was there since 8:00 am and didn\'t get home until 9:30, on a Sunday night.

We Love Step Up 2 Dance!! The Staff is very nice and attends to your needs the best they can. Great communication before during and after the competition. Judges give great critique while remaining positive.

Love this competition, very organized, so professional and the staff is always so accommodating with all your needs............Mr. David

My daughters studio LOVES this competition and looks forward to it every year. Well run and ON TIME.

Awesome competition and have done it for years!

Love this comp! Friendly and accommodating staff. Judges that clearly enjoy watching the performers. Every studio participating is recognized. Very family friendly! Worth checking it out.

I really enjoy this competition. This is our second year competing and I feel that we receive accurate scores and corrections for our abilities. Carol, her husband and staff are the nicest people and maker you feel welcome. Carol goes above ad beyond to help dance educators and people \"in the dance world\". her positive energy and enthusiasm are refreshing. It is nice to receive beautiful ribbons and trophies for all of the money and energy that we put into competing. The kids feel great that they are acknowledged for their efforts and yet understand how hard they need to work to get \"platinums\" or to place.

Excellent competition. Another competition cancelled on us 10 days before hand and we had no where to go. They took our late entries and gave us a fair and fun day. My dancers loved it and can not wait to return. Lots of fun how they acknowledge every studio before awards also with what the judges liked. 5 stars!

This is a newer competition to us, but our students and parents enjoyed the overall experience. I appreciate the fact that the judges and MC interact with the students and help make it a positive experience for all, from beginners to advanced levels. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, no matter whether you were a big studio or a small one. Workshops were great too!

This is the best competition out there by far. I bring my students back every year and they love it. The staff is wonderful, competiiton runs smoothly, trophies are beautiful and the judging is always on point. Step Up 2 Dance goes above and beyond to make every dancer feel special. They also have lots of activities at nationals that students and family can take part in. We compete in many other competitions but we would never go to any other nationals!!!!!

My dancers and parents look forward to this competition every year. The judging is fair and accurate for all abilities/levels. The staff is very personable and always keeps everything on track for the dancers. I love that the judges are involved with the dancers and go beyond expectations of a competition.

My studio has attended the Step Up 2 Dance Tour over the past 9 years. The outstanding organized staff keeps the competition rolling and fun for all level of dancer. On time schedule and easy access entry site makes for a Director Friendly atmosphere. I would HIGHLY Recommend this comp!!

This dance competition literally makes me cringe. Begged our teachers not to make us go back!!!

Terrible competition! Unorganized, very long days. Only one awards per day. Charged money for friends and family to watch the dancers...will never go back!

Awesome day... kids had a blast! TY for breaking the day up for awards. The backstage staff were super friendly. Smooth and on time. They accommodated quick costume changes. But if u planned a little better maybe you wouldn\'t have to jump around so much and make these accommodations. Hope we get to come back next year!

I have taken my studio to this competition for years, both regionals and nationals. It is well run, except for the awards ceremony. I have seen them try to issue the awards so fast that they have missed a couple of our pieces all together and there is usually a lot of \"No, Wait, thats not right!\" when giving out the places. Also, we stopped attending in the last couple of years because of inconsitentcy with the judging. We had pieces that got Platinum at regionals and then got gold at nationals after working for a month to fix what the judges wanted fixed. This happened two years in a row and it was my students that suggested giving it up, as they were frustrated with working so hard and watching their scores drop for no appearant reason. Also, the low scores didn\'t match the number of critiques. They would get \"gold\" but have two corrections. Overall though, Carol and her crew are great.

Great experience! Would love to take my daughter again. Everyone connected is helpful and friendly.

I have been to this competition over the years - From the moment you walk through the door - their staff/owners are friendly and willing to help you with anything you need. The levels are great for this competition from the mini's to the Seniors - It's a great competition! It's ONE day - who could ask for more?? Parents are happy, kids are happy, Studio owner is Happy....it doesn't consume your entire weekend. Everyone gets acknowledged! The kids have a blast doing the dance party on stage before awards. The best part every student gets a participation medal - every routine receives a trophy. rnThere is nothing negative I can say....it runs on time, it's a friendly atmosphere, and most of all FUN all in one day!rn

I recently took my dancers to Step Up and it was an amazing experience. From the moment we walked in everything was well organized with friendly staff directing you to where everything was located. We loved how the competition was one day which gave my competition dancers a chance to all watch & support one another, which is not always possible when competition is spread out over 3-4 days. Though competition was one day it was extremely well ran with a supportive and friendly staff who went above and beyond to accommodate costume changes to keep the show moving efficiently. For awards I could not be more pleased. The staff took the time to acknowledge each studio with a special award that pertained to what made them stand out. All dancers who competed received a lovely trophy which made everyone feel accomplished, sashes and crowns were awarded to your top overall solos and I felt the presentation of awards ran quickly and was not dragged out.rn The competition atmosphere was positive and upbeat and most of all a fun experience. My dancers especially loved the dance party before awards.

I am always proud and honored to take my students to Step Up 2 Dance competition at both the Regional and National level. Step Up treats each studio owner, teacher and student with respect and compassion. Their staff is qualified, caring, professional and kind. At the National level, Step Up gave my students a week of fun, inspiration, talent and good spirited competition. My dancers always feel comfortable, relaxed, excited and inspired. The judges, the staff, and the fabulous classes were top notch. My dancers LOVED each teacher- in fact next year the classes will most likely FILL UP FAST after this year\'s experience!!! Each day\'s award ceremony is not only punctual and fair...but more importantly FUN! rnMy parents have always left feeling as though their children have experienced an uplifting and positive event. rnI will enter this competition until I am no longer dancing and I know my families are forever grateful that we are a part of the Step Up Competition Family!!!rnI cannot say enough good things about this competition. All studio owners know it is difficult to please all of your Dance Team families, and yet Step Up does it for me each year..rn THANK YOU Step Up!!!!

I have been here for years and all I have is praise! The staff & owners are always pleasant & helpful! This competition is extremely well run! They always run on time. Their awards ceremony acknowledges all performances & all schools, yet they do not drag it out for hours! I like the fact that everyone receives a nice trophy, no matter what their adjudications. They focus on boosting all of the dancers confidence & stage presence while giving constructive criticism! Love this competition!

Not a fan. Competition seems to be more about making money than the kids. Awards are given out so fast kids don\'t even know what they won and even after being asked several times to slow down the didn\'t. Years ago it was a lot better but now not so much. Will not do this competition again.

Late night on Friday but was done by dinner time on Saturday, which we loved. Upbeat staff and well run. My dancers loved the judge getting everyone dancing on stage before awards , and even \"battling\" with the dancers. It was a lot of fun to watch. My one major complaint is I like a comp with a good amount of special awards for individual routines and dancers.