COMPETITION DETAIL

North Port-May 10,2025. Longest competition ever! I think there were maybe 5 studios. Very small comp. Comp ran ahead which was great. Awards were an hour late. The dance off was a bore and very prolonged. Judging was unbelievable (not in a good way!). You have a solo with zero dance skills and lots of running around on stage lip syncing receiving high scores for what I assume was just stage presence? but little to no dancing. While the dancers with highly skilled and executed routines scored lower. It was laughable to say the least. Staff was very kind and appeared organized until awards time. Certainly wouldn’t waste my time or money entering again purely due to the terrible judging. I wish there would have been better judges choice awards too. They were all the same idea and very boring to say the least.

Seemed too long for such a small event. Nice staff. Not impressed with the judging by any means. The judges didn’t seem to be watching as much as they should. The scores showed it. Seemed like a lot was missed. Due to poor judging, I would not return.

Spotlight is not a very good competition - there are some big flaws. For one, the judges/competition prepares the awards before they even dance. This doesn’t make sense, because it’s really unfair to all those dancers that used their precious time and money to perform and compete in this competition, but didn’t get a single award. This competition also gives the most awards to those that have the most dances. I would not recommend this competition.

Worst competition ever. Biased. Political: will never ever return

No one from my dance school has received their media after 9 days & counting, nor has this company responded to the multiple emails & calls that we have placed. I am starting to believe that they somehow lost our media. I don’t have any pictures of videos from my daughter’s first solos & duos and these are precious moments that I feel have been lost forever. I hope that we never work with this company again.

The event itself is very organized and professional. The judging is fair, however I don’t think it’s right that the judges bring their own studios to compete in the same competition where they judge. The bias was evident.

Awards were quick and painless! Kiddos had fun.

Well organized, tough but fair scoring and detailed critiques make this a worthwhile event. The ongoing frustration of having the lower level experience categories overrun with clearly high level dancers means we prefer a competition that can both adjudicate and categorize contestants fairly. I have experienced this issue over several years and at different locations of Spotlight events so believe this problem related more to management than an issue with one specific studio trying to game the system.

We really enjoyed last weekend in Portland. Spotlight is very professional and fun. The quality of photos was great. I can't wait to return to them again.

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We have been attending Spotlight Dance Cup for the past 5 years and there are many reasons we continue to choose Spotlight year after year! We can count on receiving thorough and educated feedback in every style from every judge. We also love the Dance Down portion of the competition, where our dancers receive great audition experience on stage. Lastly, the Spotlight staff is above & beyond professional, helpful, and friendly, creating a positive atmosphere where all of the competing dance companies support one another. We recently attended the Spotlight Chicago event this year and had yet another great experience for our teachers, dancers, and families.

Great event! Love that you are not waiting around all day for awards. Great venue! Easy to get to. Decent parking if you need it. Close to home. Nice nice people! We were at the San Jose event @ the Performing Arts Center.

Spotlight Dance Cup was added to our competition schedule this past season. We had a wonderful experience from registration all the way to judges critiques. Only negative we heard about from our parents/staff was a few music issues at our particular event. We attended a second regional as an optional competition which ran very smoothly. Staff is friendly, dressing rooms are assigned, events runs ON TIME. As a studio owner, it is important that the dancers and parents get a strong critique since that is a way I help them justify the entry fees. Judges critiques were educated and gave us lots of helpful feedback. It was nice to have judges that had knowledge of tap!!!!! My only negative is that the award ceremonies are too long. Lots of special awards (I know everyone likes to brag about their awards) that are appreciated, but maybe there is a way to streamline the process. The judges do award their special awards in person which really makes that dancer or group of dancers feel extra special. I had a thought that maybe there could be an area where the judges could talk to those groups/dancers after the main award ceremony that might be streaming/Facebook live? That way, everyone else could move on with a much needed break or head home. Let's be honest, the dancers/families/studios that win those awards are truly the only ones who are really tuned in to the judges comments right :) Highly recommend Spotlight Dance Cup.

My studio has been around for three years and we have been going to Spotlight since day 1. Spotlight sets the standard for a well run and fun dance competition. Operationally they are fantastic. Registration is about as easy as registration can possibly get, they are extremely well communicated, understanding, and reasonably flexible where they can be. Also schedule almost always comes out early but never late so that is a huge plus for us. The big thing that sets Spotlight apart is their staff. The staff at Spotlight is the best in the industry. They still have that spark for dance and really seem to be enjoying every moment of the long weekends. Also they are understanding and flexible when things happen and are extremely accommodating. Cant say enough good things about Spotlight. We will be back every year.

This was our studios first time attending Spotlight Dance Cup, and my family loved it! The venue was beautiful, the judges were qualified, the MC was great, the set up was organized, the lobby had great items for sale, and the schedule was on time! Our favorite part was when the DJ played the song of the 1st place winner for each category when the awards were announced! Very nice touch and the kids went crazy when they heard their music! My only complaint....add more locations for nationals!

2017: Attended 2 of the FOUR days of Spotlight Seattle 3. This event was so oversold it was insane. Hours between awards, way too many people to be accommodated in the Foster PAC. The announcers were surly while people were struggling to find seating, through no fault of theirs. So many seats blocked off for photo/video/vip purposes. Late nights are expected Friday and Saturdays, but Sundays? Comp on a Thursday night? Start times of 7am. Spotlight is not worth it in my opinion. Gets worse ever year. At least last year we had the excellent MC. The gal this year seemed to struggle and actually not enjoy her job. They do a good job of acknowledging studio loyalty but I believe that they totally take advantage of that by expecting them to return year after year regardless of the quality of the event. 2016: The MC was fantastic!!! Made the competition experience much more pleasant. Hate the venue. Tukwila is not a nice city and using the nasty locker rooms is unpleasant. They have a lot of fun \"side\" opportunities that can either be construed as another way to generate revenue or simply other things to do if you are interested. Awards seemed inconsistent in terms of overalls. Would like much better in a different venue.

Overall, we enjoyed this competition in Minneapolis. The biggest negative was a that the competition took place in a small venue (an elementary school) where the judges had to sit a long way from the stage. This might work for large group scoring but seems like the judges should be closer for solos. The best part of this competition was the judging. They provided great feedback and the judges had strong credentials in the industry. One more negative; they have a dance down audition like competition, which is great, but they should offer it for free rather than charge dancers to participate.

We loved Spotlight, especially as our first Nationals Competition! Our studio typically alternates every other year at Spotlight Nationals and we will definitely be back! There needs to be enough class space for Master Classes though, we were told and saw happen that there was not enough room, which simply means an overbooking of space or not enough convention space for dancers. If this had happened to my dancer I would have been very upset. MC\'s were great too and made everything energetic and fun for our dancers!

This was a terrific event. Venue was great and the staff and judging was very fair. We will be back in 2017!

Amazing experience. We loved every bit of this Nationals event, from the masters classes with AMAZING teachers, to the black light party, to the competition. Everything was first class and even though we entered as independents, we felt welcomed by the friendly staff who went above and beyond to make us feel like we belonged. Thank you for some of our best memories!

Have attended Seaside Regionals for 3 years, this was our 1st experience at Nationals, and it was GREAT!! I thought the judging was tough, but fair and I love all the extras that they offer for the kids and parents to do (Dance Downs, Costume Challenge, Prop Challenge, Blacklight Dance)!!

My daughter has been going to Spotlight for years now. The MC was amazing and overall Spotlight does a fine job. My complaint though is how the adult category is handled. For nationals more serious dancers 19 through 20\'s (my daughter chose to do some duo\'s with a 22 year old)were put with the much older adults that put in some fun dances. I was very disappointed how the championship was handled. I am all for life long sports and encouraging competition at all ages, however, I feel that at the cost of the more serious young adults, the older groups were given the highest awards, they came from a large studio, and I can not help to wonder if that is why they were given first place. When looking at difficulty, ability, presentation, the result did not make sense. I would not recommend a young adult to enter this competition, but rather go to one that has a super senior age (19-26). That way both groups (older and younger) can be treated with respect. Everyone paid the same amount and should have been judged equally. Thank You

Oh, Spotlight. My studio was a HUGE pain for this competition, and they handled it like pros. We registered late, had to change our performance times due to sickness and then religious reasons (we have a high Jewish population and the competition was over Passover), I had a girl puke backstage... we were just a mess. But, Spotlight didn\'t bat an eyelash at our requests or \"issues\". They did forget to acknowledge our rescheduled dancers during awards, but when I pointed it out, they brought her onstage immediately. They were great. We will be back for sure, and we will try to be a studio that doesn\'t cause any waves next time! Thank you for giving us such an enjoyable experience-- (minus the barfing.:) The judges gave great choreography feedback as well as dancer feedback, which we really appreciated!

When selecting a dance competition to take my studio to I take great care in making these decisions. Spotlight is the gold standard & one of our families favorite competition. Their staff is a well oiled machine and is on top of everything. The schedule comes out earlier than expected which is a huge plus. The venue (Roy Wilkins) is a perfect location for a dance competition. Judging is always fair, unbiased, with a panel of diverse judges varying in background and experience. Furthermore I appreciate that the judges give good honest feedback even if its hard to hear. They value the dancer and dance enough to give the necessary feedback to keep improving. The award ceremony is excellent. Not too long but still fun for the kids. Plus I like the set judges choice awards with the unique ones they create on the spot. Lastly, again the staff is always consummate professionals. They really go the extra mile to make sure our experience is always enjoyable. Do yourself a favor and take your studio here you will not be disappointed.

Seriously, if you are going to say that a part of a score is based off the difficulty of a routine, please follow that. A 4 year old who skips around the stage most of the routine should not be receiving a diamond when they have no content while dancers who actually dance and have content are receiving Rubies in the competitive division. You make yourself look like a joke when that happens. Also, the lower levels-Novice Gems and Future Gems should not be 11 and under and 12 and up. Make them follow the same age guidelines as the competitive divisions.

Staffs are friendly and helpful to us. Thanks to T . Judgeing are fair. Event location is comfy. Customer service was great. Thanks to S. I don\'t have critique yet. I know we will be back this event. Only thing, phone app does not work well.

Our favorite! Always a fun time for kids and adults! And we love the Diamond trophies!!!!!

This competition was extremely disappointing. Half of the critiques our studio received were from another studio! The ones we did get were useless. They combined way too many categories for overalls and only announced the top 3 or 4 for categories that had over 20 entries. And they still haven\'t posted results two weeks later.

Was very disappointed with this competition. Was a smaller competition, but the awards ceremony was very confusing. They lumped beginners with advanced for overall placings and also lumped duos/trios /solos for overall placings. They also only did a top 1 when most categories could\'ve had a top 3-5. I feel like when we\'re spending $350 to enter our dances, you could at least do that much. Judging was terrible. I\'m not normally one to think studiof favoritism happens, but boy did it ever happen at this competition. It was ridiculous. They also put our group of 12 dancers, 1 teacher and parents in a little room tgat can comfortably fit about 4 people.Don\'t think we\'ll be doing this one again.

I am very disappointed in this competitions values. It feels like all they care about is money. I didn\'t not get a feeling that they cared at all about my children! The competion started at 8am on Friday and ended very late (after 11 pm every night). My daughter who is in highschool was competing on Sunday evening at 10pm with awards starting after that! I called the day the schedule came out, two weeks before the competition, to ask if we could have her not compete and just get a refund and I was told no. They had enough enteries to have two completions and not need to start at 8am on a school day and end at 11pm on a school night. I was very disappointed! When the competition only cares about making money then it is no longer fun!

This competition was just ok. The had some technical difficulties and my dancer only received 2 out of 3 judges comments. Not enough to make a difference in her routine. Plus the photographer was also having technical issues and mismatched routines with the images taken. Very frustrating. However the level of competition was very good.

We haven\'t done spotlight in 3years was very disappointed. Felt there was favoritism to some studios. also felt judges were extremely harsh and critical..one even made a rude noise on the recorded critique. we were excited to do their nationals but after a disappointing experience we have changed mind

We attended this event in Seattle in January 2016. The venue was good. The staff was very friendly, however, there was definite favortism the studio who brought the most entries. This was also a small competition, but the awards ceremony was very confusing. They did not do category/age placings. Also, because it was small, they lumped beginners and advanced together for overalls, as well as solos/duos/trios. They also only did a top 1 even when there could have been a top 3 or 5. Overall, this competition was just ok. Don\'t think we will be back.

Always a staple for our studio! Good competition and fun awards.

this was such a great comp... the staff and director couldnt be anymore helpful and professional.

We have done spotlight every year since my daughter began competing. Love this competition!

The judges are all quite old and out of touch with anything resembling modern dance.

This was probably my least favorite competition I have ever attended. Everyone was very unprofessional and showed lots of favoritism. Awards were very very confusing.

Awfull. I saw a lot of favoritism they only< I will never go back , I agree the previes reviews , The favotirm was way too obvious.

Our favorite competition this year! I have nothing bad to say at all - fantastic experience. Great energy, friendly staff, and ran on time.

Fantastic! Our studio had a great time in large part due to their wonderful staff. Staff was friendly and very accommodating. Judging and scoring were very fair. We are a first year studio and felt that the scoring was very fair and unbiased towards larger studios. Cant say enough good things. Spotlight was by far our studios best competition experience this year.

We attended a few years ago with just solos for several dancers. I found the scoring to be tough, but still reasonably fair. Critiques were good and constructive. We attended as a studio this year, and I have to agree with the many reviewers who have complained about favoritism. Although, rather than large studio favoritism, I saw what I would call \"loyalty\" favoritism. During the last group awards ceremony, several studios were given \"longevity\" awards for attending Spotlight for the last 5, 10 or 15 years. Those were the studios that seemed to receive all the Diamonds and accolades during group awards. And since Spotlight only posts a Top 4 online, you would only think 3 studios attended our regional when over 20 studios were there; but those 3 have been attending Spotlight forever! I don\'t mind everyone not getting the highest adjudication, but like others, I found myself scratching my head as to how certain groups got Diamonds while others got Rubies and even Emeralds, then I would look at the studio name and suddenly things made sense! I will say that solo award judging actually seemed more fair to me than the groups, and I do like the judges awards which is why it got 2 stars rather than one from me.

This competition went so well! It ran on time, the awards were very fair, and judges and sound systems were great! Best thing about this competition was that not everyone got the highest award, so they were scored fairly. My only complaint was that the side stage curtains blocked the view for almost the entire audience.

I have loved this competition in the past. However this year the prices are even worse than before. One studio had students wanting to go to prom on Saturday night. The advances category was supposed to be Saturday morning, so that shouldn\'t have been a problem. They allowed that studio to competition Friday intermixed with the novice dancers. All of their dances ended up scoring very high and took the high point. I don\'t think they would have scored that high if they were performing in the right category. If a studio must change the schedule to a totally different day or time, than they should not be considered for overall awards. They should simply be adjudicated. The prices of this competition are way out of line when compared to other comps. Therefore we will not be returning.

Very disappointed, came away feeling like a cash register. Expensive, poor help, pitch black dressing area so girls had to do makeup in bathrooms, couldn\'t see stage from the seats so had to sit on floor off to the side and very high level dancers entered in recreational category. Worst competition all year by far! My daughter did score and place well, but just not worth the hassle. I sent an email expressing my concerns and requested a response but no one bothered to email back.

This competition is more expensive than any other we attend besides a convention/comp. Because of this our studio will not be attending again. I really like how they do awards, they are easy to understand. I appreciate the extra judges choices, it runs on time. But with each number costing over $40 and the dance down at $15 a girl, programs are $15. They only give out 1 trophy for duo/trios, but don\'t worry just stop by the booth and throw down another $50 to take home your own!! Also one of the studio had a event on Saturday so they allowed them to run their numbers on Friday between novice numbers. I appreciate that they were accommodating, but I think it affected the overall judging. To have a advanced group come out during novice is refreshing for the judges. I\'m not sure if they were even the same judges both days. The numbers that came out during novice placed very high. But overall I enjoy this one but it\'s expensive.

Spotlight was great for all our group dances, I didn\'t see any issues in the scoring. The only issue was during solo competition and seeing a few dancers win their category or beat other dancers when they forgot their dance and the teacher told them what to do on the side. Very unprofessional by the teacher. Yes things can happen and not all the judges can see what\'s going on but several adults saw the teacher show the dancer what to do.

GREAT COMPETITION

This was my daughter\'s first dance solo competition and we had a really great experience. Everyone that worked there was extremely nice and helpful as a first time parent and my daughter was registered as an independent. My daughter had a great time and everything went very smoothly when he ran and how the events took place. We would definitely go back and recomend to others. We attended the Portland, Registered event.

Been Doing this compettion for a few years now. Really enjoy it. Like the fact that even though we are a very small studio and only bring a few dancers (6) we are still able to receive high awards and feel comfortable with the large studio\'s that bring lots of dancers. I think the judges are very fair and don\'t really care what studio you are from. They always stay on time. It ends up being a very long day and weekend but very fun. Our children look forward to the week in Seaside in July. Good Job Spotlight.

I agree that we definitely saw preferential treatment for certain studios & certain children. Judges scoring was all over the place. Dressing rooms were to far and boys dressing room ( I mean closet ) Was minuscule. Prices are too high & picture & video prices are outrageous!!!

Been going for several years. I agree with a lot of the reviews. Not sure what they were judging on. Larger studios do seem to stand out to them. They also seem to like the \"toddler and tiara\" duck lips...are they expecting that of the more dramatic routines? Weird. Looks like our studio will finally skip this one next year.

Good competition , just wish they would have worked with the studios who had back to back dances a little more.

This is our favorite competition that we attend, with high quality dance backgrounds (more ballet judges and less cruise ship entertainment), and a solid training in ballet fundamentals. We generally see a better collection of well trained dancers at these competitions as well. Overall, the highest quality comments that really focus on technique over flashy showmanship.

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Comp seemed to run smoothly, director had good energy, love the first place trophies! Didn\'t understand what the deal was with recognizing studio directors because they only recognized a few not all.

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Spotlight has been our Nationals of choice for a few years, but their prices keep going up and the quality goes down. This year in Portland they ran two stages simultaneously and it was a disaster. The dressing rooms in the convention center were a 1/2 mile hike, and they booked numbers from the same studio on both stages at the same time. And once the timing got off, the same dancer was supposed to be on both stages at the same time. I\'m hoping our studio chooses a new nationals to attend next year so we can skip their regionals.

Expensive competition, from entry fees to programs. Venue was average:smaller stage, excellent lighting, decent sound, small hard to locate dressing rooms. Support staff were very polite and helpful. Larger competition with many studios attending. Judging was not good, however. The scores were confusing and didn\'t match the audio commentary given. Two of the three judges sounded bored and disinterested in the recordings. Critique given wasn\'t helpful and constructive, instead it was more criticism. Awards seem cheap compared to other competitions. Definitely saw some preferential treatment. Unsure if we will return.

Crazy number of entries in Portland!

Love love love this comp! Overall very professional and fun. Scoring system is unique but still tells dancers how they did. Little charms on lanyards are given to dancers instead of pins, which I didn\'t mind. Judges are well educated and give good critiques. Videos of performances are easy to access and helpful. Pictures and videos, while expensive, are great quality. (Pics also available with watermark on website after competition) very professional backstage area with nice manager ahead of schedule. Awards are very high quality, overall divisional winners receive a large glass \"diamond\" trophy. Heavy support on the \"if you had fun, you won\" idea, also giving out unique judges choice awards. Tech was smooth, and merch good quality. Can\'t wait to go to nationals with this great competition.

This was not a good competition for us and I can\'t really put my finger on why??? It wasn\'t that the scoring was bad or anything like that. We just didn\'t have a good weekend in many areas. I am not sure if it was us or the competition. I am sure we will give it another try next year

Lots of fun...lots of awards. Award ceremonies a little long and a little late. Runs ahead of schedule which is great. Great staff.

I LOVE SPOTLIGHT! Awesome staff, well managed, and plenty of special awards to be given out. I highly recommend. :)

One of my least favorite competitions. Awards are really cheap and the scoring system is for sure not the easiest to explain to the parents.

this is my 8th time attending spotlight, and it one of my favorites. The awards are very clear, and i like the judges choices. The dance down is fun and my girls look foward to it. This competition doesn\'t seem like a pageant at all, but maybe its different in other states. T

This is one of my favorites. The awards are done 3 times, allowing girls hwo are finished dancing to participate and then leave. The awards are actually fun. They say and the 1st place winner danced to this song, which adds to the excitement. The competition allows a few breaks in the day so the dancers can get something to eat. One disappointment though is that they didn\'t have any food for sale. In other years they have. The judging seemed fair to everyone.

We have attended regionals and nationals. It was a yearly definite for us. A few years things changed. The favoritism shown to large studios is just too obvious. Small studios don\'t stand a chance, regardless of how technically sound they are.

Our studio attended Spotlight Dance Cup this past weekend and had a very good experience. The staff was very friendly and welcoming, as well as super helpful. The back stage manager was incredibly nice and very supportive of the dancers. The venue was terrific, too. The only thing I would like to see changed is to add a teacher or professional dance educator of some kind to the judging panel. We would certainly enjoy attending this competition again should our studio owner decide to choose it in the future.

This was a unique competition with the trophies and the way they described the adjudicated awards. Very much enjoyed!

My studio has been to Spotlight Dance Cup for about 10 years. We love it.

We had a good time at Spotlight. The staff was polite and warm and the judging was fair. A good weekend.

Enjoyed the dance off, liked that there were 3 categories for abilities.

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Good competition. Nice sized dressing areas. On time.

Good competition. Staff friendly and ran it smoothly.

I like this competition, but there seems to be a lot of favoritism with select studios. I always find that disappointing. Staff is friendly and accommodating.

I love all the judges choice awards! They do a fabulous job with video critics as well!!!

Love their awards - the clips on the carabeener are awesome for group dances. Find the judging favours technique over tricks which is great. Very fair. Ran on time.

Poor quality of judging, heavy focus on pageantry, crowns, and pageant gowns...what? What happened to decent judges who judge dance? Judges asked all coaches prior to the comp, to have the kids perform age appropriate dances, etc, but the young kids in sexy costumes, dancing to sexy songs scored the best. Yuck...we wont return.

I\'m going to have to agree with some of the other comments here. Spotlight has gone down hill! And it\'s so disappointing! We have gone for many years but recently the judging has been way off. No tap judges at all, and just not what it use to be. Sorry Spotlight, you need to get your act together.

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Some of the judging was way off. Three days into the competition and the MC still couldn\'t run the sound system. It was terrible in that respect!

Well organized and the nationals is nice. Judging is a little lacking. The scores tend not to match the critiques. The MC seems to have her favorite studios, however I don\'t think that reflects in the awards. It is a competition that attracts the larger studios in our area and it makes it harder for our tiny studio. Overall they are okay.