COMPETITION DETAIL

WE LOVED SDA we come every year but since the new owner, this comp is not what it used to be. They don’t even have a website anymore! The Facebook is all random re-posts, getting votes for the emcees other gig, and a profile picture of the patriots cheerleaders? Hot mess express. They don’t have half the customer service the original owners had… the amount of grammar, punctuation, and typos in general makes it look like a 5 year old is on the other end. Trying to get in contact with the actual owner is like trying to pull teeth. The professionalism this comp had has gone so far out the window, do yourself a favor and skip out on this one.

Very well run. Lots of attention to detail and a wonderful, friendly and helpful staff.

We have continued to LOVE Spirit of Dance Awards! We have been attending this competition for years, and watched them grow! Even though they have gotten bigger, they still maintain that family feel and they continue to truly care about the dancers. They take feedback from studios and families and each year they implement something else that is more convenient for the studios and families. They always have wonderful and caring staff and great judges! They give detailed and helpful feedback every time. Their Nationals is always a wonderful event with plenty to do and the dancers form friendships and bonds just like summer camp! We will continue to return to SDA for years to come.

I have owned a dance studio for 30 years, and have been competing for 14 years. SDA is my favorite competition because they judges\' talk a lot on the critiques and the comments are both professionally given AND of good quality and helpful to both student and choreographer. The owners and staff are always upbeat, helpful and full of energy that transfers to my students & parents & staff. We had a blast at their Nationals on the Cape this summer.

We had a great weekend at SDA in Nashua! It was our first time attending this competition and we will be returning next year! Staff was super professional, awards ceremonies could have been slightly more organized. The venue wasn\'t ideal, smaller wings and lobby, but the stage was great.

Professional and organized. A truly positive experience for dancers, parents, and teachers!

My daughter has attended this competition for three years now and it is always a favorite. Everyone from the backstage staff to the administrators is welcoming and helpful. As a parent, the judges seem to give developmentally appropriate feedback that my daughter can apply. We also appreciate the fact that they are very well organized, from the signage on the doors and in the hallways to the schedule in which there is rarely a deviation. I love that they pay careful attention to detail, too. Little things like cold, bottled water and bobby pins available at tables behind stage means they are thinking about the dancers. We look forward to Buddy\'s energy every year.

I LOVE this competition for my studio and always recommend it to others! They always run on time (usually early!) and their awards are easy to understand and run fast. Buddy is a fabulous Emcee and special judge and all my girls love him! We are always happy with the judges they choose! My studio usually ranks somewhere in the middle when we go to regionals, so I am not ranking them high because we win! The judges are very fair and give good commentary. The owners of this competition are amazing! They are very warm and welcoming and very accommodating when a scheduling issue comes up! They respond to emails quickly and will do whatever it takes to keep you happy! My families always say they love coming back to this competition because it feels like \"home\". We also attend their Nationals each year and have a great time! The classes are amazing and they offer free workshops too! I cannot say enough great things about this competition!

It was the first competition that my daughter attended as an independent vs. with a team. I was worried we would be lost on what to do but the information provided was timely and very complete so it went very smooth. I like that dressing rooms and the area within the room was pre-assigned so there was no need to fight for space with groups that got there early. Scoring seemed to be \'easy\' because so many people received an \'Ultimate\' award which is the highest there, BUT the best dancers did place in the overalls as you would have expected so it could just be the range was wider than some competitions. Overall it was a very good experience and it proved to my daughter that she would like to continue to compete as an independent. She found that without the team around she met many new friends and still had a blast.

This is the best competition we have attended by far. It was well-run, the facility was nice, the dressing room had plenty of space, the judging seemed fair and unbiased, and the awards ceremonies went quickly, while still being totally understandable. While one studio seemed to dominate the awards, they were hands down the best dancers at the competition, so it didn\'t feel rigged. There were a few downsides - no real food offered for concessions, and the photography was a pain in the neck to purchase (and not available online to peruse at leisure once you got home). I hope we go back!

A well run competition. Very small, and not nearly the caliber of Jump or Nuvo, but on the plus side I did not see any favoritism at our particular comp. Everyone (especially the staff!) was nice, but the level of the dancers attending was low. A good warm-up comp, but definitely an easy one for students who dance a lot. *response to Spirit of Dance: We were in the area anyway for a different competition and then a series of master classes, but attended your competition the week after for fun. So yes, the review was meant for you.

Not a fan. Agree with others that this competition favors studios. It is so evident to the point where judges go the whole routine without saying any critiques! The introduce themselves, are quiet the whole time, then say \"Thank you\" at the end. Waste of time/money.

Not the worst comp we went to- judging like everywhere favored the larger studios. Venue was ok. Awards were nice enough- ran ahead.

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Very small competition and only gave one medal per dancer regardless of how many dances they were in. Picked a venue where it rained and caused the roof to leak so comp was postponed for several hours. Didn\'t really make much announcement either so many were confused. However the national master classes were great.

My girls love this competition. This was our third year and it compares very favorably to the other area competitions. It\'s more organized and well run than all the other competitions. The dressing area has labeled tables for each studio so they don\'t have to compete for dressing space. Host/emcee is excellent; backstage crew friendly and helpful; judges comments are useful and applicable. We look forward to doing this particular event every year.

For my studio,this was a very positive experience. Everyone was very friendly, and they loved getting to know the kids. We are a relatively we studio, and everyone at Spirit of Dance awards was eager to answer our questions and to help us be comfortable. The judging comments were helpful, in that they didn\'t tell the kids they were wonderful and give one criticism. I don\'t consider this lack of added fluff \"rude\" as other reviewers do. We took the criticism, and the kids improved. End of story.I really appreciate everyone at the competition being so friendly and helpful. We will be coming back!,,

I am basing this review on our recent experience at Nationals held in Cape Cod, MA. My daughter (13) really loved doing the Ultimate Dance Spectacular closing number choreography with Buddy Casimano. The workshops had 3 levels, and they allowed her to participate in the advanced even though she was really the age for the intermediate group. Many of the kids at our studio felt the pizza party was a big waste of time. My biggest complaint is that they held the majority of the dances, especially all the largest groups, on Sunday, and did not end until after 8pm, when most of us had checked out of the hotel rooms, and therefore had a 4 hour drive home that night. It was small, less than 300 numbers. They could have held some of the numbers on one of the other days. Holding all the overalls until Sunday night made you feel like you had to stay. They didn\'t give any special awards either. Just \"mentions for artistry.\" It was certainly better than the regionals we attended. The host hotel had terrible service and many people complained of moldy smells in their rooms. The desk people were very rude. So lots of little good and bad notes. My daughter was overall happy, but I just think there are lots of ways this competition could improve.

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Didn\'t like it at all. Judges made really useless comments and some very rude ones. They lump all the solo/duo/trio and groups together for top 5 overalls. Why? You can\'t give top 5 solos, top 5 duo/trios and top 5 groups?