COMPETITION DETAIL

I would not recommend for anyone who is not competing for a large studio. Big studios win all of the awards. There is also conflict of interest as judges know studios that are competing.

Very disappointed in this event this season. Precovid, it was our FAVORITE competition. We ran into so many issues on our 2023 regionals weekend. The judging was inconsistent, the competition ran out of awards the second day and we never received replacements, the one studio who attends all the nationals, pageants, etc events strict to KAR and Rainbow won each and every category overwhelmingly, a routine we had to pull was awarded a judges award which was awkward and confusing and lead to myself and my customers having no trust in the judging and no pride in the other specials they received. To clarify, the routine which received a standout award was never competed onstage as it was pulled. Another studio owner verbally assaulted one of my customers, and when I emailed about this issue as well as the judges award, I was NEVER contacted back. Very unprofessional. We will not be attending again in the future. This opinion is coming from a studio owner, choreographer, and dance competition adjudicator.

Not surprised at all the negative reviews. Short and simple 4 DOY finalists were completely forgotten about. Another girl crowned instead of actual winner. Told by director at competition they messed up. Then they doubled up and said they didn't make a mistake. Just seems shady and not honest. Mistakes happen, just be honest and truthful and the outcome would have been better.

Echoing the sentiments of the previous one star. Sub par judging and no tap judges. I watched poor technique get double platinums over and over again. If you can't hire judges that know specific dance genres and technique, please do not offer that category in your competition or hire diverse judges that rotate in and out. If a dancer has placed in the top ten or even top five and then all of a sudden doesn't place at all and performed even better than usual - you bet something is corrupt/bought or extremely biased towards certain studios. MC was difficult to hear and no judge awards for solos, duos and trios. Awards get cheaper and less are given year after year. I also do not like the fact that parents can buy their student(s)' trophies. Dressing room area upstairs was a disaster - all open and very little space and while signs told no males allowed upstairs, there was no supervision of this by staff. Quick change difficult as well do to the logistics of dressing room location as well. Competition does not vet hotels well. The hotel was next to a freeway, needed security and unruly. Loved how they called it Redondo Beach but it's Lawndale right of Inglewood Ave.

Make sure you donate trophies, and that you donate in any way possible or they will blank your team. Sub par routines will win major awards when anyone can see they aren't good enough for them. They claim to have heart but will watch your girls sit there confused and heartbroken, obviously better than the teams that placed. It is not a real competition. You will see why they need trophy donations as they put NO money into the cardboard awards they supply. This is a money grab pure and simple. There is no attempt to hide their biases. They are dishonest, blatant about it, and petty. Its a joke.

Wow I’ve been going to competitions for 8 years and have never seen such a biased competition! Obviously they picked their favorite studio from the beginning I’m assuming a studio that comes yearly. Not saying my kids where the best but to see the looks on the faces of all the students when one studio gets non stop double platinum and we revieved 0 for the entire weekend. They even gave a young lady a platinum that didn’t show up due to Covid. They don’t even sell programs or have a live stream(due to Covid they say), the most expensive registration fees and it was tan horribly. For being a national dance competition it was a joke. Also seen multiple people recording other dances and staff said nothing to them except make an announcement at the beginning of each day.

I was so frustrated with this competition after this weekend and was searching if anyone had the same experience as we did, so I felt the need to warn people. We haven't been to this dance competition in around 10 years and thankfully this will be the last. The judges didn't score on technique or dance ability at all. There are studios that are favored. Numerous solos lacking any technique or poor choreography were rewarded and received 'Double Platinum' and those with good technique tossed aside because it wasn't a musical theater number. I have never seen this from a dance competition and we have been to many since my daughter started dancing competitively 11 years ago and have also been to many conventions where she has made auditions so she has really good technique and dance ability that this company did not recognize at all. I am beyond frustrated at the long awards too. I hope they can find some judges that actually know dance and good technique.

Yikes…where do I begin? This was one of the most frustrating competitions I have ever attended. Most of what was said in previous reviews was true at this one. So much favoritism towards certain studios, aka the ones that attend every year. I think the fact Rainbow tags individual dancer accounts and not studios says something. This isn’t about the fact that my own dances weren’t winning. I am used to having tough competition. It’s about the fact a rough, trick-heavy (aka basically gymnastics) routine can score higher than a routine with good technique and few tricks. I watched one where the dancer was constantly stumbling out of their tricks and ended up with double platinum, but I watched others not from my studio with flawless technique and they got platinum. The scores are meaningless without knowing the scoring system, too. Like what does Double Platinum even mean when we don’t know the cutoff? And what qualifies a dancer to be a Dancer of the Year finalist? Don’t know. But my friend wasted $40 and didn’t know what disqualified her daughter. The acoustics were awful during the competition and whomever was on the soundboard was awful! During a routine from another studio, the volume of the music went up and down constantly as if someone’s kid was messing with the soundboard. Also, not that it’s a huge deal, but the merchandise employees would change prices on merchandise. We tried to buy a shirt marked at $25 and the employee asked if we minded paying $35 and told us it was for cancer in a way that sounded like guilt tripping. I mean…maybe change your price tags?! Regardless, the staff was very rude and acted like they didn’t want to be there. Awards ceremonies started with a bunch of pre-awards nonsense that lasted a good 30 minutes or so. At one point, they wanted the kids to do YMCA and they just stood up there awkwardly. It took forever and they ended up skipping their scheduled breaks in order to get the next session starter, which rushed the teachers. You couldn’t understand the speaker at awards. Either the mic wasn’t working or the presenter was speaking so fast that they didn’t properly annunciate their words. It was so bad, that I had to text my daughter to see what she got! A platinum sounded like a high gold because the speaker was like an auctioneer. No judges awards for solos or duos/trios and the extra awards they did give out for other groups didn’t feel special or personal. So annoying. Won’t return.

I have Never seen a dance competition with judges that obviously knew nothing about dance or technique. Numerous dancers with flat feet, toes that never pointed, falling out of spins, toed in, and no choreography placing in top 5 while beautiful technique went unrewarded. Rainbow is a joke, it is a studio play house for loyal customers!

My kids loved competing at Rainbow! The awards are fun, the staff is kind, and the competition was great! Lots of great dancers!! I also like how they do their picture/video package online!

For it being my daughter's first competition. She placed in top 5, and 2nd in her category. I am very proud of her. But I did question the 2nd the 3rd place finishers because my daughter clearly had better technique. The most frustrating part about this competition was that the judges seemed to favor acrobatic and gymnastics tricks over technique. Also, the awards ceremony was like a "Millennial" awards ceremony where everyone gets an award. Every kid who placed in top 10 gets a Double Platinum Plaque. There's no differentiation between 1st and 10th other than the 1st place finish gets a crown. So a kid who places on the bottom 5 -10th will boast about getting a Double Platinum, when in reality they placed 5-10th. But no one not immersed in the comp world would know any better and would just assume their kid is the "best" dancer because they received a "Double Platinum" award by just placing in the top 10 overall. It's laughable. Also, I have a big issue with the "DANCER OF THE YEAR" category placement. As long as you pay $40 for your dancer before the competition, your dancer automatically gets a free sweatshirt that says "Dancer of the Year". And they are in the "running" for Dancer of the Year. This is paid for by the PARENTS! Not chosen by Rainbow Judges. Had I paid $40, my daughter too could have received a "Dancer of the Year" sweatshirt as well as a certificate that says "Dancer of the Year" Finalist. It's laughable because I would see dancers and their moms boast about how they were "Dancer of the Year" finalist, when in reality, who are you joking? Dance comps, are For-Profit, so they find every way to nickel and dime you and to thinking somehow you have a prestigious dancer by paying for certain awards etc...

The judging was fine but the staff at the venue were TERRIBLE. These grown women were rude and insulting to dancers and parents. I would never come back to this competition again at this location.

This was one of the worse competitions I have ever been to. There is clear studio and dancer favoritism. They do not set adjudication points until day of competition and then pull the numbers out of thin air. They ran over an hour behind and already had late nights scheduled. If you have a sparkly costume, musical theater or classic lyrical dance this comp is for you.

They certainly favor certain studios.

Two years at Rainbow and I doubt the studio will go back. The judges prefer dances that are cute or have traditional choreography. If you put three turn sequences in a contemporary dance, then Rainbow is for you. If you choose more modern, interesting and challenging choreography, stick with convention/comps who understand and appreciate it. Rainbow is not for you. And the gentleman who read the awards was impossible to follow all weekend.

Mandatory media fee is ridiculous! We have been going for many years and won't be returning. Communication regarding this was terrible!

This was our first time at Rainbow and hopefully the last. The venue was awful, it was 80 degrees outside and they wouldn't even turn the air on in the main dressing room until half way through day 2. Then they had the venue staff walking through the dressing room, which in my opinion was inappropriate when girls are changing. The judging and scores were a joke. They do not set a set score range for the DP, Platinum etc. they make it up the day of the event. Then there were studios who should have clearly been moved up to the next level and they didn't bump them up.

For the most part we liked this competition. The staff was friendly, judging was fair personally (will touch on further down), like how they select a few dancers for new York/Hollywood invites. Merchandise was good. Loved the judges critiques for my dancer. A few things kept me from giving a 4th star. One is they did run late, which I understand can happen, but they allow so many entries that it gets ridiculous. Maybe lessen the amount you will accept. Next, in a huge competition with lots of big studios, I was overjoyed my dancer placed and received a double platinum. That speaks volumes, however, There were a few dancers that placed higher and it almost felt like a joke. I commend any dancer that has the courage to step on the stage, especially for a solo, but when the dances are obviously technically not good and the choreography is sub par at best, it makes you question not only how they earned a double platinum, but managed to place in the top 5. I don't want to accuse, but these dancers paid the extra entry fee to compete for dancer of the year, so it makes you wonder if these comps try to give a little kick back for the extra fee. Not saying that's what happened, just makes you wonder. Also, the dancer taking first knew one of the judges. This judge comes to her studio each year to teach a convention and choreograph dances for this studio, so I felt that was a huge conflict of interest. I am not saying she was given extra points for knowing that judge, just saying again that it does raise red flags. With that all being said, otherwise this was a decent competition and am open to trying it again.

We love Rainbow! What a great experience at the Phoenix, AZ competition this year. We love the pot of gold party, the wonderful critiques we received this year, and that the competition runs on time. We have been attending Rainbow for many years and it never disappoints! Thanks Rainbow!

Very very unhappy with this event... mostly with the inconsistent judging. Across the board, .the judges tended to favor a certain studio that was technically inferior , yet awarded them all overall and DOTY spots. Many times during awards, I thought maybe we were being punked. For example, a dance that was awarded best technique, didn\’t place in overalls. This competition was a complete joke. Awards were super long! Only positive thing I can say, is the staff working the event was kind. I would never go back to this event.

We just competed here for the 1st time and I really wanted to like it. The event sold out early on, and instead of turning people away, they added a second location. The first night, comp ran until midnight with just 1 awards ceremony in 6 hours of comp! They only covered half the stage with Marley and didn't have all the curtains open so the stage was small- this was thankfully fixed for day 2. Because they were holding comps at 3 other locations during the same weekend, we had no backdrop or anything to make it look nice. 2nd day was just awful. The venue was too small for all the groups, and they had a good 2-3 minute pause in between a majority of the dances, causing the whole comp to run 2 hours behind! There was literally no seating in the theater, and they kept telling people if they didn't stop sitting in the aisle they would start disqualifing studios. I get it's against fire code. Backstage manager was hardly ever around to check in (I think we saw him twice and we were there from start to finish both days), so they would announce dances who weren't even backstage. They didn't account for the HUGE studios that were there and in every single dance, so halfway through the day there was absolutely no telling or guessing when kids would be performing. There was no dressing room space at all! The only plus for us, is that we felt the judging was very fair, and kids weren't being handed double platinums and overalls. Thankfully this was the last comp for our teams. Had it been the first, I think many of our first time comp families would have immediately been turned off to the comp world. We will not be returning.

The Louisville event was pretty good. The schedule was well thought out and provided about 2 weeks ahead. Plenty of awards sessions. Judging was consistent. The photo and video were of very good quality for the price and are available on a USB before leaving the competition. Both days ran ahead, but not too much. The app is great and appreciated that it was free. The memorial auditorium is impressive. The acoustics were good and the music could be heard throughout the venue. The reason I give only 3 stars was that this venue had essentially only street parking and the elevator did not work. After lugging dance gear for a couple of blocks, it had to be carried up the steps. If a parent or spectator had mobility limitations, this could have made for an awful experience.

We have been going to Rainbow for years. We may still attend next year but this year as we have never had this problem before, however, the judges tapes were terrible . They were only negative things across the board. Anytime any of our dancers did anything it was all corrections. It was simple, one or two word corrections. No attempt to explain or help a dancer get better just a nagging, stretch, knees, spot, timing. The judges spoke during the entire performance with these corrections. Even our group dances that received high scores and high overall awards had discouraging judges tapes. There was one tape that was an exception.... no nagging or corrections.. just a comment about how this soloist should wear more blush and bronzer to highlight her cheekbones. We are hoping that they will work on hiring better judges next year as they have in the past. Our deciding factor in what comps we go to is not our score but if the judges are helpful in our dancers growth.

If I could give this a lower score, I would. You had judges dancing in the their seat, on their phones and not appearing to pay attention. Scoring was inconsistent and basically only one team which appeared to know the staff was receiving all the high awards. The venue was a high school with basically no dressing areas and no food close by unless you wanted to miss a dance. The dancers were always rushed unless you were on the team they knew. We actually had a dancer pass out back stage and no one notified the dance director or parent. All they did was give her was water and gummies....really and that was from the backstage assistants. Not a fan and would not go again.

Really enjoyed this competition this year. My daughter is a younger competitive dancer at 6 years old and sometimes I feel judges don\'t always judge on the technique they have at the age they are where as this time the judges seemed to recognize that these children are young and are doing very well for their age and level they are at.

If I could give it less than one star I would! The first night of Competition ran extremely late with very lengthy awards. The judging was obviously very in inept and spent much of the time looking down and no at the dancers. They already new who was winning! There was studio present that partnered with the KAR/Rainbow family and it was announced at an awards ceremony. That is the same studio that took most of the top awards as they \"travel\" with the competition. This was very unfair to the other studios competing. I would not waste my money on this \"competition\" again...knowing that they are so clearly flavoring a single \"family studio\".

Our studio schedule was all mixed up. The schedule they sent us was totally different from program lineup. Our girls were nervous because no one seemed to know when we should be dancing. Other studios placed their numbers in wrong categories. There has to be a better way of classifying what level to place a dancer. The emcee spoke too fast during the awards part. He tried to give a costume award to a group that had not even danced yet. It just felt really rushed. Also, there were no special awards for soloists. Those dancers work hard to present their solos and there are no awards except adjudication and overalls. There were plenty of other dances that could have been recognized as well. I think this one is just a money making machine.

My daughter and her studio competed at rainbow this weekend. It was the worst dance competition experience that we\'ve had in 13 years. Judges were all over the place with their scores. Their was one judge dancing in his seat which was distracting to the dancers onstage, our studio anyway. And to the audience as well I\'m sure his hands flying to the air are going to appear in everyone\'s videos. The backstage staff was unprofessional and not very good at keeping the show running. The backstage manager was very dimmeaning of another studio to my daughter while they were on stage. The award ceremonies were very long and were like church passing around the offering plate.

Just returned from competition in Overland Park, KS. Venue was okay but the dressing room was extremely overcrowded. The schedule was way off. I missed my daughters first routine because it occured way ahead of schedule. The judges seemed to pay little attention to the dancers. The scoring is impossible to understand. Our studio already received the judge\'s critiques, which is great. We received one video file with audio and two audio files. The audio recordings of the Judge\'s review are extremely difficult to understand at times and are not tied to the video.

We have attended KAR and Rainbow events for many many years and have always enjoyed them. Unfortunately, we had an incredibly poor experience this past weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. They crammed three days worth of routines into two days and at one point, were running a solid 2.45/3 hours behind with NO effort made to catch up. The largest section of awards was not split so ALL groups ALL ages ALL levels were in one section, which created total madness for our schedule and kept our youngest dancers at the venue for hours beyond what they should have been. It was NOT the first impression I wanted our first time competitive parents to have of the competition world. The large awards ceremony was SO long that I had five year olds falling asleep on stage and parents frustrated. As a studio owner, I can\'t continue to support events where they run behind from the very first number. It creates problems not only for the competition, but for us studio owners and teachers as well. In addition, two of the three judges rarely looked up from their computers and on the first night of competition, one of the judges had her head in her hands most of the evening. It was ridiculous. Unfortunately this was a big weekend for our studio and even though we did very well, we left with a sour taste in our mouths because of the disorganization of the event.

We did not enjoy this competition at all and will not return. The judges appeared to only sporadically watch the routines. It also ran extremely late - with the awards not starting until almost 11:00 PM. There is also practically no room for dancers to run through their numbers prior to performing because there are virtually no spaces large enough.

The judges looked at their phones for most of the evening. Not sure how they were able to score kids. The staff did seem friendly though.

We love Rainbow!!!! It is definitely one of the most fun competitions that we attend every year! Rainbow goes out of their way to make sure that every dancer learns and has a great time!!!! My daughters Nancy (almost 6) and Karen (4) always have a blast at this competition!!!! From the babies to the big kids, they make every dancer feel special.

Ok competition, staff was friendly

We have attended for 2 years and will be attending again this year. Fun, Helpful Staff. Run on time. Great experience.

I wish you gave out more awards for title competition

Superb competition! :)

Awesome venue

Good competition overall. Loved the venue, loved the refreshments, the staff was wonderful, awards were fun.

We love Rainbow Connection! Have loved this competition for years!

our studio participated in Rainbow this past weekend in Louisville. We had a wonderful time. The judges appeared to be engaged and the scores seemed to be consistent with appropriate scoring. There were a couple of scores that raised a few eyebrows but not out of the realm of possibility. The photos and video were high quality. The awards were fun but not excessively long. The backstage and production staff were helpful and friendly. The only feedback for improvement is that they could have had a few extra staff out front. But all in all we had a lovely time at Rainbow as always.

This past weekend My Dance studio and I went to Rainbow National dance comp in KC! I loved it very nice staff and fun enviornment! But there was a few things I wish could be changed for following years, The venue was horrible, there wasn\'t good sound in the venue. Dressing rooms were extremely packed knowing the fact that there was only one for the girls. And they didn\'t have real bathrooms they were like out house trailer things and it was just not fun... and there were as well no drinking fountains for the dancers ect. But the staff there was awesome! I loved the dancer\'s against cancer were the collected money for dancers against cancer. Awards were super fun loved the pot of gold and how crazy the dancers went! Also it ran on time and never ran late! The staff is so nice and caring and very understanding and so sweet! Many awesome dancers were there and they had great judges! Loved rainbow overall and hope all studios go to this awesome Comp!

We hadn\'t been to Rainbow since 2007 & picked it back up this year & OMG we loved it! It was ran so smooth, awards went quick & the specialty awards were nice. The people backstage were kind to the dancers & that really means a lot. The scoring was fair & judges critiques were really helpful. I hope we plan to do this competition again for years to come! Thank you.

At the end of our season, our entire company can agree that Rainbow Competition was the best of the year! The staff was friendly and helpful, a variety of awards were given, and by- far the best judges critiques we have seen. Extremely professional. After taking some time off from Rainbow, we will be attending again! Hats off to Rainbow.

Love love this comp! I\'ve been going to this comp for 4 years now and it gets better and better each year! They have great staff that is so nice and very understanding. They have great judges and fun awards for the dancers! This is the comp I always like forward to going to each year! It\'s a family friendly environment as well! Fair judging,great dancers,and amazing people and an overall excellent time! They run on time as well!

Rainbow is by far the best competition I\'ve ever been to. Everything runs smoothly, the judging is very fair, and they go above and beyond to make every dancer feel special.

Finally This competition GOT SO MUCH BETTER! Thank you!

Always a good comp, they changed their adjudication last year though. They only give out a certain amount of platinums, etc. My daughter for example went to Rainbow twice last year. Point wise she scored higher the second time, but her trophy level was lower for the higher score because there were more dancers that scored higher than her at the second comp then the first. This doesn\'t make the comp adjudicated anymore. It was disappointing to her to perform so much better the second time and score higher but get recognized as doing worse in terms of he trophy level.

Good venue, good dressing rooms with nice little \"tents\" to change in if needed, nice staff. Pot of gold was fun for the kids. Judges seemed to favor flashy costumes and tap routines. Awards dragged on longer than necessary. Trophy hunting studios danced down in Rising Star for solos but won 1st overall in their duo in elite level which to me is ridiculous. More should be done to monitor this and keep it fair.

Overall nice competition. We have attended both regional events, as well as a national event with Rainbow. Definintely run professionally, however; they tend to run so ahead of schedule that it can be challenging at times. Love that the national events truly draw in dancers from many, many states!

Really great energy from the announcers! The floor wasn\'t as easy for my daughters turns but overall a good experience! They were running an hour ahead of schedule all day so that was nice too on Saturday! Wish some of the dances were judged more age appropriately but overall good experience!

We love Rainbow!!! Such a great competition! Organized, on-time, friendly, helpful, fun for the kids, competent judging, and wonderful venues! Thank you Rainbow for always being a class act!

A fairly small competition in our area, but fun. Ran on time and was fun for the kids.

Competition ran fairly smooth. Back stage employees were friendly, helpful and treated the dancers with respect. Many back to back dances scheduled made it hectic, but they worked it out. I was dissappointed with the costume scoring. Many dancers were given 4.5 on costume by each judge which changed their award as well as their placement in overalls. The costumes were appropriate for the dances. Dances with lower technical scores would place higher because they received 5.0 points from each judge for costume. I would not vote to go back because of the costume scoring. Entry fees are high compared to our other competitions.

We love Rainbow, but would like to see a couple of changes. What we love- 3 levels, fair judging, friendly staff and the pot of gold is the dancer\'s favorite. Changes we would love to see- shorter, more concise awards, schedules that don\'t go past 11:00pm or start Friday morning, venue\'s that can handle the capacity of dancers attending. Other than those things it is a very well run, on time competition and our kids love it.

The Chicago 2014 Regional event was terrible. The days started at 7am and went until 1:30am! There was an awards session on Saturday night at 10:30pm and then after those awards, the teen duo/trios started to compete! They were not home until 2am and have to be back at 6am, because the minis started at 7am Sunday morning. It was awful and not fun at all! The judges were fine, a little off here or there, but nothing major. and there was good competition from other studios. However, we go to these competitions because they are supposed to be fun and when Rainbow overbooks their shows that badly, they are no longer fun! We pay too much money for them to not be fun. I would only go back if I had some sort of guarantee that competition would stop at 9pm and awards would be done by 10pm.

Attended in Kansas City in 2014. I\'m not a big fan of the venue they chose for such a large event(Liberty Performing Arts Theater), it really lacks dressing room space and common area space, especially when there are dance teams of over 100 in attendance. And when the productions were on...there wasn\'t even room in the auditorium to watch. The judging was fair, although our tap routines were critiqued for stage presence for not dancing toward the front of the stage more-the dancers didn\'t want to come off the set marley that was only towards the middle and back because the bare stage was dangerously slippery. The competition ran on time, but I don\'t want to have dances scheduled so late! Our teachers and studio owner had to be at the venue from 7 am until after 11 pm the entire time. I hate levels...but the way Rainbow schedules them is wonderful. You don\'t have all the levels mixed together while competing and at awards, so no one feels like they are lesser or better than. Overall good job, but due to the late and early schedule, our studio is trying a different comp for that month this year.

A good competition, well organized, runs on time. Awards ceremonies run a little long, however. Overall, Rainbow is a reliable comp with fair judging and a well-run program.

Fair judging! Loved the judges Choice awards! My girls had a blast.

Always fun and scoring was consistent. They seem to pick venues that are nice from the audience point of view, however, little thought into the dressing rooms.

We really enjoyed this competition, the judging was fair and on time. With the amount of companies at this event, I wish their was more thought into dressing rooms. Our company ended up not having one and had a long hike from where we found outlets to the stage.

Our dancers, teachers and parents alike LOVE Rainbow competitions! Rainbow always presents the best experience for everyone with lively MC\'s, super fun awards where they get the girls up to dance and be silly, a wonderful store to purchase merchandise, and an excellent value on purchasing photos and video of performances too. Love that we don\'t have to wait for weeks to receive our photos or videos too! We are so excited to go to Nationals this year with Rainbow and are hoping for such a positive experience there as well.

This was our first time doing this competition my daughter had so much fun. The staff was helpful and encouraging.

This competition really focused on the kids and made them each feel special. This was our favorite competition this year and will definitely be on our list to attend next season..

This was a very fun competition for our kids. My niece won the mascot award and got a huge teddy bear and it made her day. I felt like they tried to make all of the kids feel special and gave out lots of extra awards. Overall great experience

We\'ve done Rainbow several times and we\'ve always enjoyed it. A little crazy backstage, but overall a quality competition. Not sure I totally understand the scoring system. They have no set ranges like the other competitions and adjust scoring on a division by division basis. They have a set number of each type of award they hand out so, even if your score is great, you can still receive an award that doesn\'t seem related to your score because they\'ve already given out a predetermined number of the correct award. Well, you just dance and do your best, you can\'t control the scoring.

This was our first time attending Rainbow and over all were pretty pleased. They give out lots of awards their pictures/dvd are high quality and very reasonable! They did spend 30 mins doing the Wobble and passing out toys at the final awards on Sunday evening and then made instructors stand with the high point winners which took them forever to get to the stage, this made for an even longer day...judging seemed to be fair. There was some disorganization backstage with numbers being scheduled back to back, that needs improvement.

I had very high hopes for this competition because it was the first time that we attended, however after our experience, we will not be returning. Let me also say this is not sour grapes because our team did amazing Pros: offers 3 levels with titles offered to the higher two levels. Judging seemed fair and consistent. Lots of prizes awarded at all levels. Cons: The scheduling system of this competition needs a major overall. Scheduled dancers backed to back. Did not take into account that children who have been dancing back to back all day need things like water, asthma inhalers to keep them going. My students were scheduled back to back and did not miss a beat all day. We even had kids who were sick with a stomach flu (yes kids throwing up among other things) and made to the stage on time. We asked for more time to get ready for our production number which we were told was ok, only to have the director of the competition at the dressing room door yelling for my dancers to go on. YES YELLING \"WE NEED YOU NOW!\" sending half of my students to the stage with out me! Mind you WE WERE NOT EVEN LATE. They even started our music while we were still placing dancers in the wings causing dancers to miss their cues.. it was a disaster. It threw the whole number off. It scored well, but as a director, I was livid. What made matters even worse was that this number went on right before awards, so you think they rushed us so that they could get awards started in time.. nope they played 15 minutes of games and music before passing out awards. They also did this on Sunday night at the last awards ceremony when they were already running about 30 mins late! Also the stage manager was not very friendly. Never smiled, seemed annoyed if you asked him questions. Not sure if they are over working him or what, but he was not friendly. The directors were ok. Also did not like that despite there being 3 jr. large groups they only gave out first overall, and the other two did not place.

Runs pretty well and is fun for the kids, but they give most kids 4.5/5 per judge for costume and very few get 5 points for costume. So the kids with super fab expensive costumes get like a 1.5 point advantage, which makes a big difference. The kid with the best actual dance scores may not win because kids who get 1.5 more points then them for costume. I guess Rainbow is the equivalent of a \"glitz pageant\". And I am talking about regular overall, not title. Also, the audio on critiques was so horrible, pretty much useless.

We attend every year, Regionals and Nationals. The staff is top notch! My students love the awards and I like that they take their time rather than rush rush to finish. The students spend months preparing, let them enjoy that moment! Judges alway do a fantastic job and I feel they are always fair and consistent in their scoring. Would recommend to all!!

This was our first time attending Rainbow and overall it was a great experience. We attend many competitions at this venue and the dressing rooms, registration area, etc. are all pretty much the same. Awards were fantastic. I loved how they announce the overalls by playing the dancer\'s song and then inviting the teacher up to the stage for a picture. When I heard my daughter\'s music I got so excited- I wish I could\'ve seen my daughter\'s face. I also like that they invite all children who placed to speak, not just first place. My daughter has been waiting for that moment where she could give her choreographer/teacher credit for all of her hard work and this weekend she got to do just that! The emcee was really positive, too, and really encouraged the crowd to get into the awards. Despite our positive experience, I only gave 4 stars for 2 reasons. 1) Their video and picture viewing equipment was down for most of the morning. 2) By the end of the night they had gotten an hour and half ahead of schedule. We had dancers walking in at the 2 hour ahead mark expecting to warm up and instead they were pretty much having to go backstage directly. Also, I know several people who missed the dances they came to see. Running early is going to happen sometimes, I know, but when it gets to be an hour plus, they really should take a couple of breaks and slow it down.

we\'ve attended this competition for a few years, and I\'m never impressed. judges seem to favor large studios and take off points for unexplainable reasons. for example, in the audio comments, all 3 judges said that they liked a costume, and then gave it a 4.5/5. it seems like they\'re just trying to find places to take points off of smaller studios so that they can make way for the big studios to win, even if they don\'t have as good of technique as the smaller studios. doesn\'t seem fair to me!!

Great competition! Wonderful staff, fair judging, fun and exciting atmosphere! This is by far our dancer\'s favorite competition we attend each year.

This is just a regular comp - nothing overly special. Great place to get some stage time. I think it is probably a better comp depending on your venue. In our area they keep changing the dates and venue making it difficult for this comp to gain some traction and get a lot of participation.

We really enjoy this one! The awards are long but in a fun way! We love how the teachers are recognized. The staff is nice and helpful, always willing to help with props. Lots of different awards too. Very fun.

Really enjoyed this competition but the venue was extremely small and there was only a one-room dressing area for ...EVERYONE. Hopefully the will find a different venue. It will make it much more enjoyable.

The first website we visit to find a competition! They are awesome, runs smooth, great feedback, fair scores, intelligent staff, and great morals.

Out of every competition...this is my favorite!! I love the awards and top 5!

This is a very big competition. I attend the St Louis area competition every year and there\'s always top notch competitors. Nice dressing room space, and almost every performance was awarded in some way. Big awards and scholarships were given out. Although I noticed most of the winning numbers consisted of mostly tumbling and tricks. The judges were very kind and had very nice critiques.

Not enough changing rooms.In fact not rooms at all just curtained area about 10 feet from the stage.Partial to big studios.Judges do not move to correct level even when it is clear the act should be.Never did get scoring due to some glitsch and staff does not return calls.

Rainbow is a competition with a heart. Our studio has always had an amazing experience attending Rainbow. With their levels for competing it is a fair and balanced competition. Their awards are great & really make the dancers feel like stars. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Have found the judging to be fair and critiques are genuine. I would rather hear a critique that "speaks" to the dancers than receive generic one word quick comments. With critiques from Rainbow I feel like my students learn; which to myself and my studio is the whole reason we compete. I love that Rainbow runs on time and most of the time ahead of schedule. Tgey truly make it an enjoyable experience from the beginning of the weekend through the very end. Highly recommend this competition to small & big studios alike. Everyone is treated with respect no matter how big or small your entry fee check is for!

We enjoy attending these competitions

Really liked this competition, they made it fun and exciting with the audience as well, made a long day more bearable. Would definitely do it again! Oh and the most reasonable photos and videos I have seen and they were really good shots as well!

Ran out of order, very confusing to know when what dance was coming up. Over all staff was great and pleasant. Judging was good and fair.

Excellent competition experience, all the way around. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The judging is fair, and they give nice awards. The merchandise is plentiful and as reasonable as anywhere else. The photos and videos are a very good price, however, I will say the quality/quantity was much less this year than in the past. Highly recommend this one, the staff can\'t be beat!

One of my favorites this year. Such a friendly staff, beautiful awards. Good judges with good critiques. Nice venue and ran on time with normal length awards.

This comp is by far DD\'s favorite. The judging is fair. Staff is very friendly and nice. Wish the owner Amber would make an appearance and the comps like she used to. They have the best trophy\'s and medals. Location is great and merchandise is always good!!

We really enjoyed this competition. They did run out of order quite a bit so if you aren\'t backstage well in advance you\'re likely to miss your call. But other than that we had no complaints. Friendly staff, fair judging, upbeat MC.

Ran on time,but very out of order. Judging inconsistent. Friendly staff

Ran on time or a little ahead. Everyone seemed friendly and welcoming. They did run a bunch of dances out of order which makes it challenging. We did have some quick costume changes, but it all worked out.

Just got back from Rainbow. Major complaint is they totally mixed up the order which was very frustrating!

Love rainbow. Organized and friendly. Received feedback from one super annoying judge though. She would say one note, like get in a straight line, in ten different ways... She would waste 45 seconds on a comment that could have taken 3. On EVERY SINGLE DANCE. Like it otherwise...

Haven't been in years. It was fun, but really, really big.