COMPETITION DETAIL

Showstoppers is truly the best of the best! Everything is so well organized, which makes the entire weekend fun instead of stressful, a huge relief at any dance competition.The staff is amazing, the judging is fair with helpful critiques, and a big shoutout to Julian for always being such an encouraging and entertaining announcer. Showstopper is professional, positive, and just plain fun!

Just returned from Indy, we have been going to this competition for quite a few years. And we have had it with their judges not watching the full routines. Which we have felt this way since the beginning, but we liked their backdrop screens, and it used to feel like something special. But it has lost its appeal. The competition wants the judges to not only give verbal critiques, but they have them write dancers little notes too. Which the 1st season we thought was cute. But now it's just annoying! I would rather the judges WATCH the dancers than write cute little notes to them. The one judge, who is the worst at this, also kept just looking over at the camera man in room 2 as dancers were performing... We have been so disappointed in their judging that we will not be returning. How can you accurately score a routine when you do not watch the full routine? Um, you can't. I have watched the judges miss full chunks of dance routines and so have my dance parents. For $200 per Solo, (you can almost pay for two solos at PAC for this price) you need to judge better than what you have been doing. The PAC Collective is WAY better with fair judging, who appreciate artistry in dancers. (At least in Indy anyways) I don't get on if you have a competitive dancer who has impeccable stage presence not score a full 7 points on their stage presence? Seems a little fishy to me. I get that the score can vary on technique, but stage presence. If you have great stage presence you should get the full 7 points. Hate that they do a preliminary top ten when they have a lot of soloists. Why...? What's the point? I had a dancer whose 1st solo has won 1st and 2nd place all session and out of 17 some routines didn't place that routine in the top ten...? which was crazy, but then she's expected to perform her second solo after the 1st preliminary awards defeated her.... It would be better to not know where you are placing so far in the competition. It's so stupid! Just do one top ten at the end of their session. Other complaints: There is no backstage help. So, there is nothing that makes this competition feel personable at all. And that's what makes a competition is the staff and fair judging. People that interact with the dancers and owners/instructors. Not just a telephone backstage... You just feel like a number at Showstopper or should I say a dollar sign. Didn't like that there were no printed programs this year either. And we couldn't print at home because they didn't release the full schedule until they started on Saturday. The venue got so dirty and disgusting, the bathroom was gross to even walk in. I don't know what kind of food they were cooking up at the food area, but it smelled like fish and just stunk the whole place up. This competition has gone downhill for sure but are charging more and more every season. And nobody liked what they did with the lower-level soloist. That just made no sense either. It was a very disappointing weekend all around. Whereas our time at LUXXE, PAC & CRU have been amazing this season!

My daughter's team attends Showstoppers competition very often. This is the first time that I have had a issue. We just recently went to Showstoppers Nationals @ Myrtle Beach I must say I was highly disappointed. The solo judges in Room 3 were barely watching, and they were on their phones. My daughter has always looked forward to going to Showstoppers but this is the 1st time she has said what was the point of all of my hard work mom! The crazy part is it was not just our team who were confused it was a lot of others. Even worse they moved those judges to room 1 on the last dance day and they did the same thing, one of the teachers finally had to say something but very little was done to help the situation. As a parent this was very disheartening. Please get better judges. We pay way to much money to get horrible judges.

The best competition we have attended by far. Love the stage lighting, media is always great, judging is fair from credentialed judges, and the dancers just have a great time! We will always be a fan of this event.

Love everything about Showstopper! Awesome staff and events are crazy well run

Fair judging, amazing awards! Loved our first time experience!

The media package is excellent and a steal! Great merch as well. The staging with the LEDs makes a fun experience. The awards are kind of weird and take some getting used to, especially if your dancer's group is so large they need multiple sections. There were issues with audience members being inconsiderate (taking photos, talking on phone, standing in front of others) while dancers are performing. This comp is so massive they can't really police for bad behavior unfortunately. Not their fault, just be prepared for people to show their worst. Showstoppers is best suited to dancers with more comp experience because it can be quite overwhelming. I would not bring someone new to competing to Showstopper.

Always know what you're going to get with showstopper. It's excellent! Def one of the best on the biz.

It's the best. Every year it has the best vibes. Awesome judging and great staff.

We always have a good time at showstopper. Solid competition.

Pros- love the merchandise - great prices. Held at a water park so the kids were happy to stay there. They loved the constant non-stop action. I did like how they announce the top for each age/category as well as the top overall. Cons - extremely large for a regional - very overwhelming when there are 3 rooms consistently going. We had a couple dancers on our team almost miss their award ceremony for another dance due to the multiple rooms and dance times. I wish there was a way to view photos/videos other then just online after purchasing. I was also surprised at how the beginner/lower level is supposed to be for anyone taking a combined 3 hours or less of dance/gymnastics but talent appeared to be a lot more - such as how can someone taking that few hours be able to pull off 2 solos with multiple turns, tumbling passes, etc? It just caught us off guard especially when there were almost 100 junior beginner soloists at a regional! This also leads to the ceremony being split in half. You can compete before the "first" ceremony and place in the top 10 but by the time overall placements are announced, you can be knocked out - a little discouraging in my opinion.

We love Showstopper! It is super big and don't necessarily like two rooms running, but somehow they make it work and it always runs smoothly. Staff is friendly. Love how affordable their merchandise is. Love how they have a teacher's tent with goodies, and an area of activities for small children. Judging is fair and I love how this competition does not cater to big studios. The placings are very fair. Looking forward to next season!!

Incredibly well organized. Being able to pull a schedule from their website is a simple but rare and fantastic perk. Fair and helpful judging. TERRIBLE venue for nationals. I can not say enough about how ridiculous it is to hold a children's event at a casino, but far worse is having to walk your kids through the smoke filled casino floor to get to the actual dance competition.

Look, they are great. Everything is professional and hi-tech. I think it's on par with some of the Break the Floor events quality wise. It's just a bit too impersonal though. Competitions are EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!!! I want to feel a little special.......

We've done this competition several times with a couple different studios over the past few years and it was great. Well organized.

Love this competition! Julian is the best MC ever. Very fair competition.

We really love Showstopper!! We love the venue they use. The staff that we encounter are all friendly. They had a wonderful tent set up for the teachers with snacks and drinks, which was so awesome. They also had a table set up with coloring pages and activities for kids. What a nice thing to have!! It is a huge competition with 2 stages running, which I generally don't like because sometimes there tends to be overlapping, but the event actually ran very smoothly and even a little bit ahead of schedule. I used to not like the awards ceremonies because I love comps that do special awards, however, with a comp as big as this, they do a fantastic job of sectioning awards ceremonies appropriately so not a million acts at one ceremony, and they get them out in about 15 minutes. One plus to it being a bigger comp is not having to rush to get ready when your dancer has 2 solos. Judging was fair and the judges seemed to be interested in the dances on stage. One thing that is always a pet peeve of mine is how common it is to have ties there. Our top 10 turned into a top 18. I really wish they would just break the ties and reserve the top 10 for those who truly belong in it. I know I wouldn't want my dancers to place by default. I wouldn't want a dancer to place with a tie for 10th when they were truly 20th, etc..Just a little annoyance, but otherwise we love this comp and can't wait till next year.

We attended the Wisconsin Dells Regional for the 2nd year in a row & really enjoyed it. The competition was well run & organized. Judging was fair & awards were generous. The video playbacks at awards were a nice touch. Merchandise pricing was great, and video pricing was truly amazing. The venue was perfect, with plenty of space & food options. The one thing I'd note is the stages were very slippery. I'm not sure what they were made of, but there was no marley, and we saw a fair number of slips & falls. The judges seemed to understand the issues & didn't appear to be deducting points, but it's something that could be addressed next year for sure. But overall, it was a great competition & I suspect we'll return next year.

IN LOVE WITH SHOWSTOPPERS! We re-attended for the first time since 2007 just because there are so many to try... & I'm glad I brought a new generation back! Kind staff, & very fair judging.

We attended this event in Tacoma, Wa in May. It was a great time! everything ran smoothly and on time. Everyone seemed friendly. Love the trophies given. I do wish the awards ceremony had some special awards, or something a bit more fun. Judging was very fair. It is a bit hard with two rooms running, as we had 2 acts literaally overlapping each other. But, luckily it worked out. Looking forward to Showstopper 2018!

We attended the Showstopper Dance Convention for the 1st time this past year. I have to say it is by far my absolute favorite. At first I was disappointed to hear they did not judge or do scholarships like other conventions until I attended it. WOW you such a difference with the children. My daughter loved that she could relax and enjoy the class. The Choreographers they choose are only the best and have so much fun and joy themselves. It is a long weekend of nothing but dance, you can't beat that. I will be going back every year now.

Dear Owners and Staff of Showstopper!! As a choreographer, dance teacher, and parent.....words can never express the gratitude and deep profound joy that I have after attending your competition for the first time in Arlington!! You seriously knocked it out of the ballpark!! From my students to my parents.....everyone in my studio is raving about this past weekend in Arlington!! This is my first season and what an amazing way to close out the regional season by attending a competition that is professionally owned and operated from beginning to end!!! We've attended a total of 6 regionals and clearly we saved the best for last!! I look forward to many more years of making Showstopper a priority and mandatory competition for my studio!!! I seriously can go on and on, about my happiness, but suffice to say....."You guys freaking rock!". Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!!! Joe Berry, aka "JB"

We go to Showstopper every year. We love going to the beach, but the competition isn't my favorite. They have 3 stages going at the same time, so you never can see everything even though they have video feed from the other stages you miss so much. The digital backgrounds take away from the dancer and makes the photo quality as well as video quality much lower. The awards they rush through, and half the time you cannot understand what they are saying so we just wait for the results to post on line to see final results on everything. This used to be our favorite competition, but it has gotten so big it just isn't as much fun any more.

We recently attended the Wisconsin Dells regional & had a great experience! The competition ran on time or ahead of schedule all weekend. Everything was organized & very professionally done. Video pricing was AMAZING, and merchandise was reasonable as well. We really liked the venue -- it was clean & had plenty of options for quick meals/snacks between dances. We thought the judging was fair & consistent with what we've seen at other competitions. Awards were generous, with recognition for a top 10 without ties, but the highest adjudications were reserved for the dances that truly deserved them, which we appreciated. The one negative thing I'd say was that our dancers found the stages to be smaller than what they were used to at other competitions & more slippery as well, so we had to make some last minute choreography adjustments. But overall our dancers & parents loved this competition! Edited to add that these were some of the best critiques my dancer received all season -- they were a great balance of things to improve upon as well as things the dancers were doing well.

Years ago I loved this competition. Things that turned me away then are still in play today (2 or more stages running simultaneously, confusing scoring system when they moved to adjudicated from the original ordinal format of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc). Made for a very stressful weekend worrying if we would as directors be there for our dancers or possibly miss them completely. Luckily we were able to see each routine and attend each awards, but I know other studios who did not fare as well with this issue. They also do not stand behind their rules. One studio, in particular had competitive level dancers (same as an elite) competing in the performance (novice) category. And of course those kids took the 1st overall spots. I was told they use the honor system and do not move them to the proper ability division or give deductions in points for entering in the wrong division, even if it is totally apparent that they were cheating to get an overall award. Judging was fair and consistent otherwise, with the exception of they didn't give any silver medals and they tended to live in the gold and platinum score range for most the competition, with the exception of the Competitive level, then they lived in the platinum and double platinum range. I did like that they were stingy with their crystal awards however. But they are the most expensive competition on the market. I stopped going to Showstopper back in 2001. Came back due to cancellations of others that we had chosen to attend. The only positive was that we were done each night at a reasonable hour, which I understand that if they hadn't done 2 stages we would have been there hours longer. We will make this one optional in the future instead of a mandatory event for the whole team.

Please tell me they are not giving out 1 metal for duo/trio. If so this is something new, we have did this comp for years and like it. What's up with that now. Come on now, I understand the group, but most studios allow dancers to take home their solo and duet/trio awards. it really sucks the duo/trio has to pick which dancer gets the award. Come on Showstoppers, each individual paid for their participation in the duo/trio, if a top winner award them as such with 2 or 3 metals (trophies)

Showstopper has always been a favorite of mine. My biggest issue is during awards. I think they should call top overalls up to front of stage as most competitions do. Instead they call out your number and hand you your award and have you sit back down. These kids work hard. Have them stand up front and be proud of their accomplishments! Make a big deal about the 1st overall. We were in Pittsburgh and the school parking is awful and not enough dressing room space. :( I wish after all these years they would find a new venue.

This is our favorite competition to go to!

This was our first experience at ShowStopper and the team really enjoyed it. They tend to be more relaxed and pleasant. We went to the one in Lenoir, NC and was OK. They don't seem to be equipped with adequate dressing rooms which was stressful. The lack of hotels in the town is a negative. The actual competition was great though! We met some wonderful people from other studios and then saw them again at another dance competition just two weeks later. This was our first experience in having multiple stage competitions going on at the same time. We called it a learning experience. OH! And for the price, there videos are the best we have ever gotten. They had close up and long range shots and the quality of clarity was good.

Our studio loves Showstopper! We have attended numerous times and it is by far our favorite. The quality of dancers we see there are always incredible. The atmosphere and the staff are always great and the venue has been great. The awards are very nice and the dancers always really enjoy this competition.

We attend this competition every year and each year are more pleased with the way it is run. We love how the judging is done and how placement is known no matter what place you come in! Highly recommend this competition!!!

Showstoppers was a fun competition! My students had a great time and the judging was always fair. They never gave favor to lots of tricks and cared about clean dances with lots of technique. The only complaint is the award ceremony. They took a very long time to announce each dances individual award but barely gave attention to dances that placed overall.

This is a terrific Competition! Ran on time and was well organize! We will be back in 2017!

I can\'t even begin to list all the great things about this event. They seem to be the best and most experienced all around.

Exceptional convention as usual! Wish the juniors had a ballet class, but they got so much amazing instruction!

I\'m a little late with this, but wanted to say, they did a great job at our Nationals we attended in Orlando this past June. So friendly! Wish there were a few more competitor\'s in some of the age/skill levels but, overall well done. Really liked that there was an overall competition at the end of the week for highest scoring dances, that was a lot of fun for the girls to dance again and dance hard!!

We attended showstoppers last comp season in Woodbridge VA and we can\'t wait to go back this year. great comp. ran on time.more than fair judging. great trophies. love love love. Only thing I would say is one of the stages could have been a little bigger, my dancer needed more room for her solo.

Great comp!

Does it get any better than Showstopper? Not really!!! Always our favorite competition of the year!

We had a wonderful time at both a regional and a national competition. Very organized. Was worried about the lack of a backstage manager initially, but it worked well. Judging was consistent, fair, and the judges gave excellent critiques. Friendly staff. Awards ceremonies moved quickly, which I loved, though I can understand some being disappointed that there are no \"extras.\" Despite not having a lineup of the top ten, my dancers loved being able to see their routines displayed on the screen when they were announced. Only complaint was the size - multiple stages meant that parents with multiple dancers sometimes had some tough situations. Regardless, the organizers handled it well, and were willing to work with our teachers to make sure everyone could be on stage when they needed to be. Overall, an excellent experience.

Always so well run & professional!

Our studio has been attending this competition\'s Regionals and Nationals for over 10 years consistently. Our studio is mainly hip hop so we already feel at a disadvantage before we even get started. However for the past couple of years, we feel we were judged pretty fairly coming out with 5-8 crystal awards and placing too ten with a few dances. We just attended the Showstoppers Arlington competition this weekend and our kids routines were amazing. They gave higher scores to other studios who did the whip and the nae nae for hip hop routines while ours are intricate and clean since that is our studios focus. Our kids work so hard and were really dissapointed in the results even though they danced amazingly. The judges this year do not seem well versed on hip hop at all. I feel like if you are going to have the category, you need to understand that there are several types of hip hop. There is lyrical hip hop, old school hip hop, hype hip hop, character hip hop. For us to constantly spend so much money coming to regionals and nationals each year, at least do us the courtesy of having well versed hip hop judges who can actually critique and give good feed back. We also did not like the bright lights on in the house while the dancers were performing, music was low, and we really didn\'t like that there\'s no stage manager backstage. It made it seem really impersonal. We are not sure if we will be back next year which is a shame as it is usually the highlight of our competition season.

Our studio attended Showstopper this weekend and what a wonderful breath of fresh air to the competition world! It was right on time, we were so well informed and all the communications about when and what stage to perform on were super easy. I also love that they respected our dancers educations by starting after school on Friday and ending early on Sunday, even though it was a huge event. The staging, hosts, video playbacks during awards were all as professional as a concert tour and we just plain had the most FUN we have ever had on a dance competition weekend.

2020 UPDATE: After 5 years ofTacoma Showstopper regionals and 2 Anaheim nationals, it has become a favorite. Looking forward to 2020 regionals! 2016: Showstopper is a an alright competition. I definitely have mixed feelings about it. It\'s huge. Understanding that, with so many entries, starting earlier on Friday would be better than ending so late on a Sunday, many schools have half days on Fridays. The Tacoma Convention Center is a nice venue however the use of adjacent stages and location of warm up areas and dressing rooms is very distracting. Sound is horrible, unless you are sitting front and center you cannot hear the music of the performer(s) on stage. Even when sitting front and center you cannot hear or understand the announcers very well during awards, the kids on stage also had trouble hearing and understanding them. They have several shorter awards, which is better than waiting hours between ceremonies, but they seem a bit lackluster, except the replay of videos and Just Dance, those things are awesome! While they tout being family friendly, judging seems to be a bit contrary to that message. The Convention Center staff were not very friendly.

We attended in tacoma this weekend. This was our 4th year in a row. We have always liked Showstopper, but not as much this year. The good. Event ran on time,staff seemed nice,judging seemed fair. I liked how they have screens up and in between dances they flash next 3 dances up.The trophies are nice and I like how they do a top 10 overall, but also do placings within age (11) and category (jazz).The bad. It is too BIG.Close to or at 1000 entries. 2 rooms running. There was no one backstage to check in with. Doors were open to rooms, people constantly walking in and out while kids are on stage. You can hear all the music and cheering between rooms and it was distracting. Lights are on during dances. Awards ceremony was boring. They did not make it fun for dancers and hardly any interaction with dancers other than calling them up. The top 10 overall didn\'t even get to stand on stage and be acknowledged. Scoring system is weird too.Dp and platinum is such a small range and they always end up with so many ties. A top 10 ends up always being a top 12-18.No special awards. Really wish they\'d cut the entries down to half or 3/4 the size. We have always liked this comp, but this was the worst year, but still willing to give it another try next year.

Great competition. Very professional. Staff seems wonderful, other dancers were very talented and nice. While I appreciate the fact that they want to hurry through awards, they went so fast it was kind of hard to keep up with. Most of the scores were well deserved. Really no complaints from our weekend of dance.

Best competition out there!! The awards are quick and frequent. They judges give great feedback on the video critiques. They take excellent pictures of all the dances and always have the competition at a great venue.Their conventions are also fabulous!!

Was at Showstoppers this past weekend and all I can say is they really know how to put on a great competition. The scheduling was nearly to the minute even with multiple stages going, and even though the event was huge the hours were reasonable. I love that they respect our children\'s education by not starting during school hours and end so they can get some rest from day-to-day. That didn\'t go unnoticed by all my studios\' parents. Great staging, announcing, fair judging and I always felt well informed about when my dances were going on. And I LOVED the trophys and huge screens they use to make it all so much fun!

We had a great fun time at Showstoppers! Extremely organized and on time. Trophies and medals were over the top. Loved the backdrops and playbacks during awards. Fair judging with constructive comments.

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Great comp. Organized, on time. Friendly staff. Loved the FAIR judging and streamlined awards... No fluff stuff here! Trophies and medals were good quality. Merchandise available for sale were reasonably priced. The emcees were awesome! Loved the comments about the routines and the backdrop screens during awards. The cons: well, having the dressing room directly backstage-big mistake! Dancers were screamingand yelling during solo dances and it was heard all the way into the audience during routines. Very inappropriate and distracting for the dancers onstage.

Love the $3.99 video promotion. That being said, video cameras were directly in front of stage or to the side. With bigger groups, few girls were included when they filmed and it made an awkward video from the side. My kid tries to use competition video for visual feedback and make corrections. That is difficult to do if they are not in the video.

Fun competition, reasonably priced t-shirts and dance wear for sale. Love the $3.99 video promo. Beautiful photos were captured but they were just too expensive to buy. The stage was very small - worried the minis might fall off during productions. Improved venue location this year from previous years we have attended.

We have been to numerous Showstoppers in the past. My favorite comp of all. Nice stage sets, professional staffers, always on time, fair judging, great trophies & medals. Didn\'t care so much for this venue. Stage seemed smaller. Auditorium seats were old. Barely could see stage if someone sat in front of you. Sad there will be no nationals in Sandusky this year! :( Great all around competition.

I could not say enough good things about Showstoppers! From their in point scheduling, awesome staff, qualified judges that give great feedback, to the high energy feeling of it all our studio LOVES this competition!! Keep up the great work!!

First time attending Showstoppers and it was fabulous! The MC was fabulous. Awards were quick and ran smoothly and was surprised by the trophy size. Schedule ran early. Only thing I would change would be photo and video pricing as it was by far the most expensive I\'ve ever seen. Definitely a competition that I would recommend to others.

We LOVE showstopper! The kids have so much fun! They have so many cool effects with the lights and watching the award winning dances on the screen. The staff is so wonderful and the judges are so helpful and so uplifting for the girls. The only issue we had was we had never been to a competition where they competed in two rooms and that was very stressful with only having two teachers and wanting to be in two places at once. That was the only hard part.

was the best comp ever everything as amazing

I attended the Sandusky, Ohio regionals at Kalahari Resort last year and loved it! This was my first time going to a Showstopper competition. It was pretty organized and ran on time. (For the most part) I thought that the staff was friendly and helpful. The judging seemed to be extremely fair. Last year was our studio\'s second year ever doing competitions and we took overall awards for every dance, so they aren\'t just giving awards to large, repeat customers. Unfortunately, my studio isn\'t returning this year but the studio director said we definitely will next year!! My only complaint is that one of the duets we entered was a hip hop duet that got 5th overall. They only got one medal? (Showstopper gives out one trophy for the studio and then medals for each dancer in the number.) Once the studio director talked to the staff of the competition they handled it in a very professional manner and eventually both of the dancers received their medals. Thai competition is very fun, organized, and professional. Definitely would love to come back for sure!

This was our first year at Showstopper and it was a fantastic experience! Our girls had a great time. Would definitely send them to this competition again in the future.

My girls love ShowStoppers. We have been competing with them for 4 years at both Regionals and Nationals. The dancers love the energy and the trophies. It is nice to see the acts on the screen and also be able to watch acts in the other room. I do wish that they had a backstage manager. The judging is always fair. Its a very large competition but they are usually right on schedule!

Great experience.

Great Competition. Well organized and runs pretty close to schedule. One of my favorite competitions

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We enjoyed being a part of Showstopper and look forward to more competitions with them

This competition is one of our favorites. It is very well run and organized and the kids have a lot of fun. This is a very big competition, and I am always surprised how well run it is!

Great competition! Very good at staying on time. Great energy!!

We have always been pleased with this professional competition.

So much fun! great experience!

This is a beautiful, well run competition! The stage lighting and sets are incredible and the truly professional videography is cinematic!!! They\'ve got great vendors with reasonably priced gear and gorgeous trophies. Competition runs on time and was often ahead of schedule. Judging was on target and appreciated the heart and abilities of each dancer and the attributes they offer even though the range of abilities varied greatly. Positive experience for our team!

We just attended the convention for the 2nd year in a row in Biloxi MS. This year didnt seem quite as good as last year. We didnt receive a bag, this year it was for purchase only. This year seemed a little less enthusiastic too. There were rainstorms and flooding forecasted the second day of convention so we opted to sit it out.

Great comp. I prefer conventions and wish this was one. Only issue os studios misplacing their dancers. This should be discouraged but no one says anything. Not fair for the true recreational dancer to compete against somene dancing 20plus hrs/wk but one studio clearly does this and gets away with it every year.

:)

FUN!

Our girls LOVE Showstopper competitions and so do the parents!!! This company is top-notch at being positive, welcoming, and supportive of all of the dancers! They truly make you feel that you have improved yourself as a dancer by offering positive comments and feedback. Always a fabulous experience!!! :)

Wonderful convention. My daughter learned so much. Can\'t wait to go again this year!

We a attend Showstopper every year as an optional comp because we love it so much. Fair judges, great feedback and great awards and presentation.

One of our favorites. Always fun an entertaining and pretty much always runs on schedule!

Our favorite comp!!! Very well run. Rarely behind.

Overall just average, dressing room not able to handle the large number of parents and students. It was a messy and not clean all weekend. One room was running on time, the other was not. Very little scoring difference between routines that were excellent and ones that were average. Really over the large amount of crap sold in lobby, prefer focus on good sportsmanship, encouraging watching others dance. To gimmicky for me

Showstoppers is the most exciting and amazing National Finals in America. So professional it\'s like performing on a television show all week long! Fun, wonderfully organized, fair judging and classes with the best instructors we have ever taken from, and the classes are included in the competition fees! No extra \"convention fees\" for the classes!! Pretty remarkable value. A truly memorable week and the best experience our dancers have ever had.

Our favorite. Amazing organization, runs on time, and truly top notch staging and production. At this year\'s finals we had a wonderful time, well worth the experience. Lots of judges and very fair judging and plenty of fun activities for the dancers and the whole family.

It was an alright competition overall. I was disappointed that they ran 1 hour behind in both rooms. I found out when I went to check in a student and the stage manager questioned me why we were there so early. If anyone was announcing it into the dressing rooms, it wasn\'t getting to the back of the cafeteria which was the dressing room. The schedule made no sense. My 10 year old soloist ended up competing at 10:00pm, while my 19 year old soloist ended up competing at 5:00pm. The schedule was very spread out which gave plenty of time to relax between routines, but made for a really long weekend. The dressing rooms was difficult to get in and out of as it had a make shift entrance that you couldn\'t see if others were coming in or out. The large studio in the front ended up taking up so much room and left no pathway to get to the back of the room. The awards were good, but dragged on a bit. The judging was useless. They had very little comments (praises or critiques) with very low quality of the video. The stages were nice and most of the stage staff were friendly. My students seemed to enjoy themselves and did well, which is what is the most important. I would be willing to go back to see if it is any better this year, if this years schedule didn\'t conflict with gymnastic state meets, that some of my students are in.

We just returned from East Coast finals in Myrtle Beach. Showstoppers was truly amazing! Master classes were wonderful. I love that everyone seems so genuine at this competition.

Fikshun is incredible!! His workshop was the most fun and inspirational I\'ve ever taken. Love Showstoppers! #whoa #nationals2015

Easily the best Nationals we\'ve ever been to! There is nothing we would have changed. Thanks for the great experience!

EXCELLENT COMPETITION! Very well organized, great staff, highly-qualified judges, and excellent feedback & critiques. Everything you could have asked for and more! Come here for a great experience!

Best in the biz!! I admit our studio can be a pain but they handled all our special requests and changes wonderfully. Thanks Showstoppers!

I have gone to Showstoppers since they went to Spokane 30 some years ago. Now it is in Tacoma and the venue is not the best as there are not very many facilities surrounding the Tacoma Convention Center. I really enjoy Nan who runs that particular competition and it seems to go very smoothly. The dressing room needs to be bigger. I would like them to look into the Convention Center in Portland, Oregon as there are more hotels close to that convention center and many more places to eat and more things for families to do when not competing.

Lots of Fun and kids enjoyed it. Well run event!

Attended the Battle Creek competition in March, and hands down the best competition. On time, awards were fair and moved along, and the whole atmosphere is exciting!! Trophies were awesome, especially the crystal ones. Would highly recommend this competition....

Hands down the pink gem on their trophies was my dancer\'s favorite. Fun competition. They played a portion of the winning routine during award announcement - which was great parents usually aren\'t able to watch every performance of the day,

its fun and the trophies are nice. Awards seemed to be appropriate for the most part based on the skill level of the dancer and the performance. It has not ran on time in the 2 years we have done it (over an hour)and they choose the worst venue. They choose one if the smallest and oldest local school auditoriums. There is no convention and the second stage is quite small. Dressing rooms were a free for all and chaotic. Also everyone qualifies for nationals it\'s a business who will happily take your money you must enter a regional but it does not matter how well you did there in order to move on to nationals so you can get a \"national\" title without even winning a regional. Go figure.

Not a bad competition, not a fan of the backstage crew- I like backstage staff to be interactive, and I don\'t feel like they do that here. But overall- we have an ok experience with Showstoppers.

LOVE THIS COMPETITION !

Very disappointed in this competition. They had three different stages running at the same time and some dancers had to be on different stages at almost the same time. The weather delayed the comp on Fri. night but it was even more delayed when we waited 30 mins. For one studio to perform their last routine. Awards were delayed over an hour and didn\'t finish until after midnight and then they rudely pushed everyone out of the venue. Some of the dancers that were there until well after midnight were scheduled to dance at 7:45 the next morning. Then the same thing happened with teen solos the next day and there were no issues with weather. Awards were over an hour late. The scores were very inconsistent and I can\'t find an explanation anywhere. We had already quit going to convention and now we won\'t go to competition either. There were two other comps in the area this weekend we have other choices.

Really the best run dance event! One of the few that seems to truly execute fair judging and rewards age appropriateness. They don\'t start during school hours which is a total deal-breaker for or studio. Well organized and the staff is positive, amazing hi-tech backgrounds and a very positive and encouraging environment with awesome trophies. We go every year and are going to Nationals this year. Very excited!

We have been going to Showstoppers for the past 8 years and NEVER have I seen them give out so many Golds! What changed?

Showstopper is always our favorite! Our studio has attended for the last 8 years. We have always come home with critiques from the judges that have been useful to our teachers. The audio and staging is best I have ever seen at a competition. The awards ceremony is quick, exciting and fun! The venues we have been to are large with wonderful dressing areas. I can’t wait to go back to a Showstopper competition!

More then disappointed with Showstopper. We have been doing this competition for more than 13 years. Backstage was not ran smooth at all, they were rude and pushy. Our dancers were told they would not wait on them while they were doing a quick costume change! The award ceremony was long & they announced and had every single act it seemed like line up. As far as the scoring went it was very sporadic. I\'ve never seen anything quite like it.

Overall slightly disappointed with our experience at Showstopper this weekend. With no stage manager, backstage has hectic and unorganized with scheduling issues. The awards were rushed and no judges/special awards were given. The judges also were conversing and laughing with each other during our performance. Very unprofessional. We love, love, love Showstopper Convention but sadly cannot say the same of their competition.

Had a fabulous and uplifting dance weekend in Columbus with Showstopper. They are just the best!

Showstopper & Starpower are the best competitions out there. We love That showstopper does top 10 for overalls because most competitions well do a top 3 out of 8 and that to me just isn\'t right. The overall winner gets to see their dance on a screen. The personnel is just a awesome!!! The convention is awesome! We love it!

Absolutely the best run dance event of any we have attended through the past many years! One of the few that seems to truly execute fair judging and reward age appropriateness. It is well organized and the staff is wonderful. A positive encouraging environment with awesome trophies, staging, great merchandise (never a rip off, always a great value!) and all the extras. Their attention to details to make the experience wonderful for teachers and dancers is quite incredible. We will go back every year.

After 10 years - we\'re saying goodbye to Showstopper. The impersonal nature of the comp has us feeling unappreciated. Scheduling has always be manageable but the addition of the 2nd stage sucked the fun out of the weekend. I totally understand it\'s need and understand you were flexible in when your routines went on, but it added unnecessary stress of the unknown to the weekend. Often parents missed their own children or dancers missed their own awards ceremonies. Having the awards emcee come on shushing the kids and telling them to settle down came across harsh and unnecessary. I know you were down a stage manager but your sub would ask our dancers what # was on stage and how long the judges\' break would be. Sometimes you need to fake it until you make it. Also watching your staff get angry and scold the stage made the dancers very uncomfortable. Your fees have also become unreasonable. For the price of your fees, I could have my dancers attend a different competition and a convention.

Nope, never again! Too much chaos, no stage manager, and kids competing in the obvious wrong division (in performance when they should be advanced or competitive). They do not give special awards (judges choice, entertainment, choreography, etc) and the awards themselves feel so rushed. We left the feeling exhausted, broke (fees are really high) and disheartened! I wanted to love this competition, but I

This is our second year at Showstopper here in Ohio and it is an exceptional experience in really every way. The awards, staging, venue, staff, merchandise, and their encouragement and recognition given to all the dancers during awards and the whole weekend is remarkable.

Showstopper seems to be everyones favorite in my area. They make every dancer feel special thanks to Julian!! Well organized and professional. Disappointing that they didn\'t bring enough tour T-shirts to the competition. First year daughter didn\'t get on in 5 years.

Competition went well. So glad we had a theater stage instead of the temporary ones we were on two years ago. We were allowed a little extra time for costume change as needed, which is great! Awards were pretty consistent. There were some dances moved to different levels than were listed in program and a few dances added after program was printed. That made it a little more difficult to keep up with during awards. There were a couple of judges who were very difficult to hear if not inaudible during our audio critiques. Those we could understand were both constructive and encouraging. We were unable to view videos due to the crowd and all the dances we participated in were on Sunday. It has taken a month for them to be posted. I can see about 5 seconds before the video stops to buffer on my laptop. I am still unable to view the entire 15 sec preview. That is probably something due to my computer. Attempted to purchase a video as advertised $5.99 per download but I am unable to see how to do so. When I attempt to purchase, I am being billed for the $25 for first dance on dvd. Not sure what I am doing wrong there.

The fact that they have been around for over 30 years is evident in the professionalism of this competition. A class act all the way around, and great awards and venues for the dancers. We start our season every year with Showstopper and are always excited to attend!

I really only have one complaint about this competition, but it is a big one. Despite, the fact that they state in their rules that they will move a dance that is obviously underplaced, they will not. Their were several dances that were very obviously underplaced in order to win, and instead of moving them they awarded them with their top overall awards. Hoping we will not return unless they fix this issue.

Fun competition. Only bad comment wish they would move through Awards a bit faster. Love having this competition at the Cannon Center. Very friendly staff.