COMPETITION DETAIL

Some of these reviews sound like they may be coming from bitter dancers who were unhappy with their scores. As a previous dancer now teacher I can confidently say I have never had a bad experience. The judges come from all over with all different types of backgrounds and qualifications and although they judge very strictly, they make great points. A lot of people mention favoritism when they talk about TOP but although you may hear a studio being called a lot of times it’s usually because that team and those dancers are top notch and earned what they got. As the dancer who never got double diamonds, even I can recognize that they see the best of the best and award them accordingly. Secondly, the backstage crew is always amazing, I love befriending them and I always see new ones! They are usually young dancers as well so it is great to pick their brains sometimes. All in this is one of the competitions I look forward to in our season because it’s always timely, organized, and they have events catered for their audience… young dancers! It’s always a blast at TOP!

The judging is awful, the judges do not know every style (only tap and jazz). The judges also award sexual dancing and bad technique. At other competitions usually technique is worth 50 points. Not at TOP. They have the technique worth 30 points and choreography is worth 10. The choreography should be worth only 5 points. The dancer should not have points eliminated because of the choreography. They also gave extremely stupid judges awards. The costumes are also extremely skimpy. I at under 18 years old could judge a lot better then these judges. These are no judges they are people who know a little about jazz and tap. They also don’t tell you what range you score in. For example a diamond is 280-290. TOP also has favorite studios and award their favorite studios which is not fair what so ever. This competition overall is not great.

Watching this Production company for over 10 years and I'm sorry to say they have fallen behind the competition. Stage lighting and backdrops are blasse by today's standards. Judging has also become more and more predictable by favoring certain studios and those contestants that have entered additional features, such as the "Top Entertainer". Do agree with other reviewers that the staff is great.

The staff at this competition is absolutely the best! They are a family and make everyone who attends feel like they are also part of that family! They are not about the big trophies (even though at Nationals they give them) but more about the growth and experiences that dancers need and should have. If our studio would just do their events all year long we would hands down be the most well rounded squad possible. Education is a TOP priority and being a former teacher I LOVE it!

We love Talent on Parade. We attend PROgressions, Solo Challenge, Dance Directives, Competitions, Nationals. Always great instructors, choreography, and training. Competition judges comments are positive, good feedback.

Talont on Parade has been a competition our studio has been doing for quite a while. It's well run, runs smoothly, but is very long. It usually starts on Wednesday or Thursday, so if you are competiting a solo, you may have to pull your kids from school or scratch, which sometimes can be frustrating, but the competition overall is very professional! Great staff, great judging and great critiques!!

We love this competition! Always runs on time, and the staff is very friendly.

We love TOP and have been going for years. It is run very professioally and usually always on time. Their judges critiques are very professional and very helpful! One of the highlights is the Dance Down! We are so fortunate that their tour is very close to us so we can continue to attend each year!

Our favorite Dance Competition of the entire season! We have done several vlogs on this event on our YouTube Channel : DANCE SPOT LIVE. What I love most about this venue is the staff; the awards & the charity dance downs! Our kids love the way the staff makes them feel important & special and we love how awesome the competition runs so smoothly and efficiently! I would say this competition does wonders to seriously prepare the dancers with the realities of how the professional world works! I LOVE THE CHARITY DANCE DOWN!!! ABSOLUTE FAVORITE OF MINE TO SEE MY NOVICE LEVEL DANCERS HOLDING THEIR OWN WITH ADVANCED LEVEL DANCERS - IT'S AWESOME TO SEE A DANCER SHINE IN A REAL AUDITION FORMAT!

This past weekend was both mine and my students first time to Talent on Parade. I am thrilled to be able to give a review stating that we will ABSOLUTELY be back next year! I grew up in the competitive dance circle and am now the company director for a studio in the Chicago area. I wanted my students to have the same wonderful experiences that I had growing up when competing, so choosing the right competition was crucial, especially because this is only their second year competing, meaning that this would only be their 3rd competition. From beginning to end everything went smoothly. It was very easy to create an account and register for an event. (just a side note, when you forget your password, they are very prompt to help you reset) Uploading music was also incredibly easy. I was able to do it all at once and received immediate confirmation of the upload's success. The venue was GORGEOUS (actually because I was familiar with the venue, this was a huge factor in our decision to attend TOP). Dressing rooms were assigned and they had done a great job of putting groups together who didn't have a ton of dances competing at the same time the same day. All venue staff was extremely helpful, friendly and polite. All the TOP staff were just absolutely wonderful. One of the chief complaints I have heard about certain competitions is that the staff seemed way too friendly with the kids and knew them already. Therefore, those were the dances that received the best scores. Not so with TOP. We didn't have a ton of dances entered (12 to be exact and no solos, duos or trios) and had never met any of the staff before and this did not affect our scores. I specifically want to send out a huge thank you to Matt. He knew everyone's names and if he didn't, he made a point to introduce himself, ask who you were and where you were from and get to know you a little. I told him my name once and every time he saw me he smiled, said hi and was extremely helpful. One of the best things was his attitude towards not only the teachers/studio owners, but the kids. Obviously being new, he didn't know any of my students. But as they were waiting backstage (rather anxiously I might add), he approached them and asked if they were excited. When they made it clear they were a little nervous, he made the point of telling them that they were going to do awesome and gave encouraging high fives all the way around. Seeing this kind of caring and the smiles it brought to my students' faces was wonderful. Also, during the 13+ dance down, Don came on and was talking with the kids onstage. I actually took notes on everything he said because he said things I try to instill in my kids. It was WONDERFUL to hear him be honest about the business while still being encouraging and positive. I was truly thrilled that my students heard everything he had to say. My only compliant here was that since he did this Sunday, my kids that were Saturday didn't get to hear it. :) As far as the judging went, it seemed to be very fair and unbiased. The one small complaint about the flashdrive I have is that it is audio only, BUT the comments were extremely accurate and VERY helpful. It was also nice to have the judges acknowledge the same corrections that I give every week so the kids could hear it from another professional. The judges did have a lot of critique, but I disagreed with nothing and felt that everything they said was constructive and not in any way insulting or harmful. I noticed that TOP attracts studios with similar values and training as for where I work. Everyone was really nice, very encouraging and created not only a positive, but a truly inspirational atmosphere for teachers, dancers and even parents. Dancers were polite backstage, not pushy and encouraged and complimented each other. I gave everything 5 stars except awards and the only reason that I gave it a 4 was because there were a LOT of awards. I have been in this business a long time and it took me a bit to figure out the scoring (I asked Matt who took the time to make sure that what I thought was correct). So if you are new to the competition world (like my studio owner and the other teachers), it was very confusing to them how all these awards fit together. Maybe a bit more of a breakdown in the program would help anyone new. I would like to add that even though there were a lot of awards they moved FAST. I was able to still hear everything that was said and they only took 25-35 minutes. Another comment I hear a lot, is that the competition ran out of order or not even remotely on time. TOP did a great job of keeping things running smoothly while still allowing time for quick changes as needed. When they were ahead, they gave the judges and students a break, yet still started the next section of competition 15 minutes early. It was really easy to follow and I got a lot of good feedback from parents that they loved how everything ran so smoothly. My big compliant is something that I am not sure TOP could even monitor or fix. With the 3 different divisions of competition (beginner, intermediate and competitive), I know that competition staff expects teachers and owners to be honest. Unfortunately, that was not always the case. There were 2 studios in particular that clearly entered their dances in a lower categories to receive better scores. For example, I saw a couple of BEGINNER dances doing open seconds (also known as grands or a la second turns). Beginner? I think not. I also saw in the intermediate category dancers doing 3-5 pirouettes. Not intermediate. Again, I am not sure exactly what any competition could do to prevent this, so I encourage all teachers and owners, please be honest. By lying about class hours to receive a better score, you are not teaching your students anything good. Overall, the weekend was fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about TOP and want to thank them for a wonderful, fun weekend. We learned a lot and had a great time. We will see you next year!

This is a terrific Competition. Everything ran on time and Everyone was so nice!

Talent on Parade was our first competition. My daughter loved it as did the rest of the first time team members that attended. The younger girls also really loved that they each got a medal if their number placed.

Really fun competition. Love how fast the awards go!

Excellent comp experience!

Love, love, love this competition. They are the best at communication and commitment to the dancers. My daughter only took her solos and a duet to Talent on Parade and they still treated her great. They offer so much love and treat us like family even when we were only 2 dancers. Favorite competition!!!

Favorite competition to attend!!! Love the staff and runs so smoothly!

Disappointed for the second year in a row!! Last year we received another studios critiques for 3 of our group routines. This year I only took solos. The first two judges made very little comments and the third we couldn\'t hear at all! There should not be these technical issues. The only thing about this competition I like is that they do a TOPStarz for nationals. Which is a giant group routine. It makes the dancers feel special to get that award and every studio gets it. Teachers also only got programs, typically at competitions a pen is included. It would have been nice to have pen, but not deducting because of that.

First time doing this comp and I feel it went pretty well. It started on a Thursday night at 4:45. It ran on time for the most part. Some points Friday were about an hour early after one set of awards. They waited nearly the whole hour to start back up again, so it would have been nice to get started earlier to end earlier that night. Judging seemed pretty fair and accurate. The girls did miss receiving pins since they do ribbons instead. Although the medals for top 5 overall were nice. Awards have a lot of judges\' choice awards, which is nice. The announcer flew through a lot of them which was nice to make them fast, but kind of rushed the recognition. They don\'t call up choreographers but give a shout out in the audience for the choreography awards. It did make the awards go faster, I suppose. I do like that none of the awards were scheduled to begin all that late. The latest started Friday at 9 pm and went pretty quickly. So there were no nights anyone was there until midnight or even close. Also, the picture and video quality were both wonderful, but VERY expensive. I think this needs to change. It\'s ridiculous to pay $65 for pictures and video for ONE routine. Overall, I\'d vote for doing this competition again.

Judging lacked variety. Judges were young and did not understand older dance routines.

Very unprofessional. Organization is not caring and treats professionals poorly. Will not return

Great job moving the awards along. Good schedule as well as venue. Always a good time.

This competition is okay. Not amazing. It\'s sad, when ever I attended this competition with my small studio, they didn\'t know who we were, never acknowledged we were there, never cared. While we stood around and watched the larger studio get treated like family. There staff played favorites and it did not make you feel good if you werent close with them. They staff gave us the cold shoulder, but there judging almost makes up for it. They have great judges and are quit fair

One of our favorite competitions! Almost always runs smoothly.

Runs very smoothly, but I feel that in the younger age groups it is becoming too sexualized.

I cannot recommend Talent On Parade high enough!!!!!!! They are amazing!!!!!! TOP is laid back and *fun*, but at the same time *very* professional and my Nancy (5) and Karen (4) have learned so much from this company. It only took one competition for TOP to feel like family. They are our absolute favorite. Highly highly *highly* recommend!!!!!!! From teaching the babies to teaching the big kids, they are incredible!!!!!!!! We attend many of their competitions and dance directives each year!!!!!!! I can\'t reference a specific event because we attend so many, but they are all amazing!!!!!

love TOP one of our favorites!

love TOP one of our favorites!

We love TOP!! It\'s the one competition that my daughter has competed at every year since she started! Love that they category awards as well as the overalls. Staff is great as well!

I would give you 5 stars if you gave crowns for title to others not just the overall winner. Top 3 should receive them as they aren\'t that expensive to purchase and the girls entry fee more then covers it and you still would be making money on just their entry.

We enjoy this venue, staff is helpful. We experience ed , regular venue plus nationals with them.

TOP is the top! We enjoy this competition in Louisville every year!

Not one of my favorites. Very happy to not be returning to this one this season.

Absolutely LOVE Talent on Parade! I would recommend anyone that has a chance to go to one of their events. Every experience is full of positive energy and is ALL about the kids! They strive to make everyone feel welcome and I feel everyone leaves their events feeling like a winner! Staff is absolutely amazing!

We\'ve ALWAYS loved going to Talent on Parade!! To me they are the standard to compare to in the competition world. They are always professional, fair, friendly, knowledgeable, and wonderful to the kids backstage. I couldn\'t ask for much more!! This competition deserves 5 STAR PLUS!! They are also unique in the fact, they also reward the dancers with extra training and events that mostly benefit only the dancers. They go the extra mile to be at the T.O.P.!!!!!

Favorite competition to do always!! Staff is always so friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Everyone is such a great person to be around and the competitions are always so much fun. Judging overall is fair and usually they are very knowledgeable in their dance genres.

My team returns to TOP every year! The staff is fun, judging is great, and the venue has lots of room! At this particular location, no favoritism was shown. We have attended their Indianapolis regionals, and they seemed to show more favoritism there. Only dancers that place in the overalls receive PrePro scholarships, judges awards, Top Starz, etc. Otherwise, this is a great competition to attend!

I love TOP. I think it is an organized, personable, and fair competition. I have attended many of their regional as well as national competitions. The personable part is what sets them apart to me from the rest. However, having just returned from their St. Louis nationals, I do wish they would reconsider the scheduling they used this year. 8 and under solos, duets and trios all competed in the same day at nationals this year. For young children who are in both of these divisions, that is tough. It may have been done so that those people could be finished and able to leave sooner, but putting those on different days would be helpful, especially for the little ones. Imagine the child whose danced her duet and it made Parade of Champions, dances her solo and made parade of champions, attended top Starz practice, and then recompeted two different times later that night. It\'s just a little much for the young ones.

This comp is very well run, and the staff really seems to care about the happiness of the dancers and their families. My daughter loves having pins on her jacket, and we were happy that we were able to purchase pins for the groups she was in. My only negative comment was the length of the comp. It started on Friday during the day and ended Sunday night. This is our only \"out-of-town\" comp, and since we came from the Chicago area, we needed to pull our daughter out of school on Monday and spent the night Sunday night, since her solo\'s awards were scheduled for 9:00 PM. They did run early, so we finished early, which was good.

TOP is our favorite competition of the season! All events run on time and adjudications are very consistent and fair. Not to mention they have an amazing staff that truly cares about each and every kid! No competition compares to them in my opinion!

We were a bit disappointed in this competition. My daughter performed her solo in Acro and danced the best she has all season. She has won past competitions so we had high hopes for this one and she did so well. I know you might think I am just biased but I am being honest when I say it was the best she has done to date. She got a diamond which was disappointing and was recognized for nothing at all. As another reviewer stated the same kids kept getting different awards while the others just sat and watched. Other kids that did a great job. They deserve something. I could tell she was just holding back her tears on stage while she sat there. It seemed like the judges might have been biased and hated acro. Her instructor was baffled as well. Didn\'t seem like the awards were done in a way to award as many kids as possible. It just brought her confidence down.

Although I am not a big fan of competitions (versus conventions), I thought this one was pretty good!

Doing the kc show now this competition is fabulous. Read some of the reviews as a parent I also have to pull my children from school for dance competitions....they either have it during the day or we would be there very late in the evening. I suppose they could set a 350 act show and divide that number between solos duets trios and groups...then many wouldnt get to attend at all. And the list of awards that have been listed....novice intermediate and competitive that\'s awesome as not all of my own children dance at the same levels. Of course there are more options for a advanced dancer...let\'s be real the elite dancer is going to be picked for work before the average dancer is. I have done this competition for years...many of the same staff have been around for years as well as a few new faces. One of my children have broken thru and is a true double diamond the other two haven\'t but they leave as happy with their novice and intermediate placements. It\'s how the child feels not how the parents make them feel. The top shows are for the kids that\'s why nobody leaves empty handed. And for the record....my child wasn\'t a overall winner in the solos this weekend...and I am still a very happy parent. Thanks Top for all you do. I am sure realistically you all are exhausted to as you do this for many dancers across the United States keep up the good work.

We loved this one in the past, but not so much this year. The good- stayed on time, took breaks, didn\'t push to get way ahead of schedule The bad- early Friday start, ridiculous amount of awards My gut was telling me to back out of this one when I learned my daughter was dancing first thing Friday morning. I\'m generally okay with pulling her out at lunch to go to a dance competition, but the idea of her missing all morning didn\'t sit well with me, but I didn\'t listen to my gut. Just seems like this competition doesn\'t care about kids. So, before I continue I want to preface by saying that my daughter earned a diamond award, which is the same level of adjudication she has gotten at every competition this year. We were happy with her adjudication. But then the line-ups started. They lined up all 3 divisions for overalls (beginner, intermediate and competitive), they lined up all of the special judges awards, they lined up the TOP Starz, they lined up the Pre-pro scholarship recipients, they lined up the category cups, they lined up the high point awards...am I forgetting anything? Probably. It was so much that I couldn\'t keep up. The awards just went on and on and on. And it was the same kids over and over again getting called up, while the rest just sat there quietly. Yes, including my daughter. She didn\'t get called up for anything, which is usually fine. But, this just made her feel terrible. She left feeling like she had not done well and the thing is- she did do well. It\'s just that some of the other kids got so many different awards, it made her feel like she had failed. I know some will read this and think “sour grapes” and maybe that’s true. But, I believe there is a way to honor and recognize the achievements of those who did really well without making the middle of the road kids, and worse- the kids who didn\'t do well- feel bad. We won\'t attend this one again.

We LOVE TOP! We do 3 Regionals and a Nationals every year with them! No other competition will never come close to the things they offer for everyone from dancers to studio staff to the parents. They truly care about all of us personally and make you feel like you are TOP of their list. From the office to the show staff these guys are so friendly and helpful! Never disappointed!

As a former competitive dancer for many years, and now a studio director and choreographer, I must say it is extremely rare to find a competition that meets or exceeds your expectations in every aspect of the event! The venue and stage were great, the show was very organized, staff was INCREDIBLY friendly (even remembered all of our dancers names), awards were very fair/consistent but also very inclusive, and critiques were beneficial. To say I was impressed would be an understatement! Having the ability to view routines live via the Ustream app was a very nice added bonus as well! The only thing that would have absolutely been the icing on the cake would be video critiques as opposed to just audio. Also, results were posted on their website very promptly! This was our first time attending TOP, but will certainly not be our last!

We have attended TOP many years and think the organization is wonderful! Acrobatic routines with very little dancing score REALLY WELL compared to true dance routines with a lot more technique. That is the only complaint. We love the dance down and the staff!

Love this competition. Very fair and I always feel TOP is about the kids. Gtrst staff. Hope we see you next year.

Very fun and well run events. Kids love the \"gift\" that get thrown out before awards. Always a FUN time.

By far this is our family\'s favorite competition. The venue is excellent, the stage is beautiful, the scoring is very fair, and the video and pictures are beautiful. I just wish they were coming to Minneapolis in March and not in May. Our studio is unable to attend this year because they are coming in May. Hopefully next year they will be back in March. We will really miss TOP this year.

FAVORITE COMPETITION EVER!!! I entered the competition as an independent at both nationals and regionals and they are SO welcoming no matter how small or big a studio is! the directors personally know people and what i love most about this competition is they make sure no one goes home empty handed and make sure everyone feels special! Cant say enough good stuff about this competition! this is the competition i look forward to the most! also they have SO many opportunities for dancers like the college bound dance fair and so much more. LOVE TOP!!

Good competition. We have done this for several years but some of the judging goes for more \"entertainment\" than actual technique. It is a good competition to do if you have really high energy numbers.

Love this competition. Back stage staff is fantastic and have high energy. Wish they posted at least a bare bones schedule a little more in advance. When deadlines are so far in advance, you would think we could get an idea, (since many of their competitions are 3-4 days which means during school time), when we will be dancing, a little earlier than 8 days before the competition. Love the awards and my daughter loved participating in the TOP Starz program at Nationals. Very positive atmosphere and great comments from judges. Edit: I wrote this review just before attending this year\'s competition in Joplin. Same great staff. I do think there was something wrong with the Marley floor though... Kids were falling and stumbling all over the place and it seemed most kids couldn\'t turn on the floor. I\'m wondering if since there was a competition in OkCity the same day, if Joplin got a back up floor that wasn\'t as good? It just seemed really bumpy and sticky. I hope they don\'t use that floor again! I really felt it was a disadvantage to all of the kids who do any turns in their solos.

The Tulsa Regional was so much fun for my dancers. They love TOP as do I! This is my fifth year attending their regionals, and I have never been disappointed. Their staff is incredible; always eager to help and always very kind! Talent on Parade is the best in the business, and if there is one consistency in my dance schedule, it is that Talent On Parade is on our competition schedule every year! My dancers love it, my dance parents love it, and I love it! TOP is family!

We have attended TOP for 6 years in KY. We love the backstage guys, always fun and they even take the time to learn kids names. Yes, this year they dealt with some technical difficulties right off the bat, but replacing a sound piece within an hour seems pretty remarkable to me. The show ended early even with the morning glitch. The cold weather had soma few acts going out of order, but would expect that on a less than perfect winter day. All in All another great TOP show. We will see you at nationals!!!!

the scoring system is below par. the announcer was slow and could not pronounce names. they would run ahead then take breaks to make it run behind. routines were called out of order and they don\'t list if routines are novice, intermediate or competitive. it makes for a very confusing experience.

I do not reccomend TOP at all! most employees were very rude and the whole competition was very disorganized! during the group performances (which was supposed to be an all day thing) they put in solos which werent even scheduled for that day!! not to mention the stage was very bumpy!! also awards lasted close to 1 hour and 30 minutes!!! The whole experience was horrible and I hope that my studio never does TOP again!!!

This weekend, my 9 year old daughter and I attended the TOP competition in Fort Worth. As a first time soloist, my daughter was so excited to perform and show off all of her hard work. She started off full of energy, and as she moved toward center stage, she looked down and saw two of the \"judges\" having a lively conversation among themselves turned away from her with the backstage director that continued through the entirety of her piece. She completely lost her concentration as the people she thought were supposed to be judging her wouldn\'t even glance her way. She plowed through and managed to score an elite, but was devastated. When I pay hundreds of dollars for my child to be watched for two minutes, I expect for her to be watched and NOT disrespected. Shame on TOP for making her first time out such a horrible experience with their completely unprofessional behavior.

Talent on parade is not my favorite competition. It felt very unorganized, groups could show up when ever they wanted, earlier or later, and perform with no penalty. Because of this my group of 7 year olds stood backstage for nearly and hour waiting for their group to go because several older groups who were not scheduled for much later, I checked, showed up and \"needed\" to go early. They also often very inconveniently schedule the competition all day on friday. Although they try to put solos on this day to avoid as much conflict as they can, Im unsure why they are the only competition that needs to schedule this way. After performing dancers wait around for hours before their awards. Awards were so long because almost every single group size from every level of an age group were at one ceremony. Also it is not clearly defined in the competition book which level teams are competing under. It is nice to see what a team is up against. Last year I entered a group under the competitive age level only to find out at the award ceremony that they were the only group in that level. If I had known this ahead of time after searching the program i would have made an attempt to contact the competition director and move them down so they had some actual competition, after all they were there to compete. The judges also tend to favor tricks and do not score hip hop and tap dances very high. I understand that tap and hip hop are very different in scoring from a high technique lyrical or jazz dance, but there has to be some fair way to judge such different styles using different criteria. I watched several solos with more than the allowed 3 tricks dance and win. Solos without acrobatic tricks did not place at all, when they very clearly had better technique than other dancers who did place yet had acrobatic tricks in their routines. Not too pleased with my TOP experience.

great for intermediate teams in our area . You won\'t find many of the big team names at this comp but it\'s still well organized and the judging seems to be on par . They run on time and also have the most affordable video and picture company . Parents really enjoy when you can afford to buy videos of the dance and still pay for lunch ! Good job talent on parade !

Not too bad of a competition. Son enjoyed being there. Long comp, as it lasted 4 days. Judging seemed fair. Won\'t be able to attend this year, due to our schedule, but would recommend.

Sorry, our dancers did not have a good time at this comp. The scoring system was very unusual and we didn\'t feel the acts were judged fairly. I don\'t think we will be going again.

We have gone to Talent On Parade since the first year they started....over 15 years ago. Very classy and caring organization. By far the best competition we have ever attended hands down. Always on time and gives out more awards and cash prizes than any other competition around. The professional setting is a direct reflection of owners Eric and Kim McCluer. A class act couple whom really care about the kids and remember them from year to year. They make every studio feel special....from the large ones ...to the tiny studios. Whatever they are doing is working......their nationals are huge and master classes have always been well attended. We love TOPS and will always support this competition. They feel like family. :)

Talent on Parade is without a doubt one of the leading competitions in the industry, their professionalism and one on one treatment to everyone who attends is unmatchable!! We have always gone to TOP and will continue to do so!!! Thank you TOPS for all of the opportunities you give to the dancers!!

TOP is without a doubt, the BEST competition around! We have been attending Talent on Parade competitions since their first year in business. Kim and Eric McClure have watched our students grow up! Our students and families really look forward to going to TOP events each year. We love that they know us and look forward to seeing us each year too. The staff is incredible. They are friendly, professional and knowledgeable. I always feel like we are competing in a expertise environment. Their master classes are affordable and the instructors are top notch. The TOP shop is awesome as well. Lots of fun stuff there! If you have never attended a TOP competition-do it!! Especially their nationals...always amazing!!

Excellent company Very professional Very friendly

Talent On Parade is TOP notch! As a studio owner, selecting what competions to compete can get difficult. TOP has been the ONLY consistency in my schedule. I have had my dancers compete not only Regionally, but Nationally with TOP for the past 17 years! (Some years we do multiple regionals) The staff is incredible, the events are always on time, and most importantly, this is the only competition my dancers ask to do every year! We think TOP is FABULOUS!!!

This Competition is by far our studios favorite to go to. Not only are the regional and national completions the most fun and organized competitions out there, TOP is going above and beyond by offering great programs like Pre-pro and Go Pro for dancers that want a career in dance. This competition is a great experience for dancers of any level! The backstage staff are fun and helpful and the judging is fair to studios of all sizes. We have have been going to TOP competitions and events since they started and we will continue to go for years to come. If you haven\'t been to a TOP event, you are missing out!

My students have attended TOP since the first competition TOP held in our city. This was the only competition that was never a \"choice\" to attend it was a \"must\"! There\'s always something new to expierence for the dancers. With GoPro PrePro Holiday Show, it never stops! Always something special.....ALL ABOUT THE KIDS!!! see you soon TOP family!

My studio loves this competition. We go every year because they are consistent. Lots of awards and cash prizes. Fun crew and runs on time! Thank you TOP for being the best on the biz

I have brought students to Talent On Parade Competitions or Dance Directives for the past 10 years. This is always our favorite to attend. We have always been treated fairly and love how organized and timely the competition runs. I personally am so happy about all of the other events TOP puts on throughout the year, especially the Go Pro and Pre-Pro programs. Not only does TOP care about every child that competes with them, they are making an investment in the future of dance by teaching kids HOW to be professional dancers. The staff at TOP treats me and my students like valuable customers and we will continue to go back!

Review has been locked - Disputed

Not a good experience with this one. Scoring system and judging was very odd, it was quite disorganized and we couldn\'t find anyone with the comp that could help us figure out what was going on with the changes and holdups in the lineup. A disappointing weekend and really a waste of money compared to the experience we\'ve had at good comps out there. We will never go again.

We love Talent on Parade. We have attended for the past two years in Iowa and Nationals last year in Tulsa. Overall, we always have an AMAZING regional experience. Nationals was a good experience, but judging was very heard compared to Regionals, which is expected as you are at the national level. Dancers are very beginner and found it to be frustrating as they performed better at Nationals than Regional, but got lower scores. Did not like having to wait for the Top 10 awards until late evening, when we were done in the afternoon, especially the last day. Ovearll a great competition and we will return.

We attended the regionals and nationals in St. Louis with a select group from our larger team. Regionals were well run and professional. The staff is awesome to the girls. Judges critiques were generally better than other comps we attended. I loved the nationals theme days, and the coloring table!! Having a charity dance challenge before awards is also a highlight of this comp. Changes I would suggest 1)identify levels in the program. We have no idea how many we were up against 2)for the contests at nationals, it was impossible for smaller studios to win (as they seem spirit based), making our efforts as a handful of dancers seem pointless. Make the contests guidelines more clear please. 3)I hate levels, however if you are going to have them, don\'t completely ignore intermediate and novice dancers at nationals. Their fees were the same...why weren\'t there big trophies for those levels, too? The parade of champions qualifications weren\'t clear about who would be included, I thought maybe overall winners in intermediate would have a chance? All being said, we will be back this year!

Friendly and fair. Seems simple, but we all know not all comps are like that. We will go back!

Such a well run comp! Fair, organized and fun. Love you guys! Thanks for another great year:)

Absolutely love TOP. One of the best competitions out there. Fair judging, stay on schedule, encourage and support dancers of all levels, and make dance fun. Just finished a great nationals in Tulsa. My daughter can\'t wait for GoPro in a few weeks! Eric, Kim and entire staff are the great.

Staff was great! Our kids had so much fun. Really looking forward to next year:)

I have rated this competition before. I am still a fan, but I was a bit disappointed this season for a couple of reasons. 1)I feel like Judges Special Awards should maybe not go to the routines that already are in the overalls but maybe to encourage dancers in routines that maybe are not necessarily scoring high. Just a thought. 2)Critiques did not match the scores. For example if you deduct on a costume, tell me why? If you deduct on showmanship then why are you telling me I have great stage presence and then say nothing else? Again still love this competition but not as impressed this year as before.

Our favorite competition by far. They run on time or early, critiques very helpful, minute by minute schedule sent to us earlier than most competitions, they do not show favoritism to big studios, very friendly staff with a special shout out to Audra, Ryan, Kim, and Eric. Don Mirault is a favorite from our parents to our students, a caring, and talented man who really knows the business. Talent on Parade is our national home. So sad we will have to travel 5 hours next year for the closest national, but we know it will be worth it.

TOP is the very best competition out there. If you have not attended you should. They are a very successful competition company because they genuinely care about each and every dancer and their dance careers. I can not tell you how many times I have been shocked that the TOP staff remembers my students names, dance routines, skills, etc. I know they see millions of dancers every year and they take the time to treat each one as an individual. The competition runs smoothly, in order, and on time. Judges are always very qualified in ALL GENRES of dance. Critiques are very helpful, scoring is fair and easy to understand. WE LOVE TOP and can\'t wait for Nationals!

After having two not so hot experiences at other competitions, it was fantastic to come to Talent on Parade. It has the best atmosphere, most comprehensive competition and amazing staff! We are not a studio who competes 200 acts a weekend but we feel like when we are at TOP we are home. Please keep up the great work!

They are the best out there!

Love TOP! My girls LOVE doing this competition!! This competition certainly tries to add that personal touch that is lacking at so many competitions these days. My daughters competed in Wichita last weekend and my oldest was so surprised that Don Mirault knew who she was and that she would be attending GO PRO this summer! Really made her feel special! We will continue to patronize TOP every year!

If I could give six stars, I would! We always have so much fun at TOP!! Love this. Comp!

The 5 day format seemed more like a national than a regional. Feedback from the judges was just ok. Considering the cost of a solo, it would be nice to get a critique the dancer can use to improve on. Awards were quick and early (didn\'t stay past 10pm any night). Overall, it is very well run.

TOP is great. I could not believe the staff remembered the names of many of the girls from the previous year! They see thousands of kids and to remember them my name truly says it all!!

TOP will forever and always be our favorite competition! The staff truly does care about our kids and helping them make it in the dance world if that is their desire. From TOP Starz to Go Pro/Pre Pro and now giving out college scholarships to seniors at some of their regionals - you could not ask for a better company. I love how they are expanding to new cities across the country but managing not to become a corporate, cash driven competition like some others that are around. You will always get a great critiques and feedback from them and it will always be fair. We need more companies like TOP for our kids. Just love them!

We go to TOP every year in Indy and our girls love it, I love the awards they move so fast and they are pretty good about keeping the schedule or ahead.

We\'ve been to this competition twice. Once our dancer was chosen for a scholarship to the Go Pro Event. She went and said it was extremely helpful in launching her career. We love their category cups and all their awards they hand out. This year they did an onstage audition which was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!! It was so helpful for our girls to get to participate in this. I love the guy who comes on stage and dances and sings (don\'t know if he\'s the owner, but he is super entertaining!). He\'s great with the dancers as well. Love it!

We have been attending this competition for four years and it has always been my favorite by far. The staff is absolutely WONDERFUL and we love the scoring system. However this year I felt as though judging was not as fair as in the past. When you\'ve been competing for many years even as a parent you come to learn correct technique and skill level. Although my daughter did very well receiving diamond and even double diamond awards, I noticed perhaps favoritism among another larger studio. I witnessed a child that placed above my daughter and previously we competed against her at other comps and she didn\'t even come close, and at a competition since then the same was confirmed! Consistency is very important and when you can look and see other dancers not from your own studio that you know deserve that top spot and yet one child whom places and scores low at other competitions gain that top spot you know something is very wrong. I still can\'t complain about our experience as it is always pleasant and we do very much enjoy the staff; I just suggest not showing favoritism to larger studios in the future to ensure the smaller ones continue to return. Otherwise TOP will be left with that one big studio and I would hate that since it\'s such a fun competition to attend.

TOP is our all time favorite dance comp and the last 2 weekends have reaffirmed why we love it so much! Our studio, Cabot Dance Academy, competed at Little Rock and Ft Smith and loved every minute if it! The staff always makes it a fun experience for the dancers and their families. They know many of the kids by name including my own and treat everyone w/the upmost respect & courtesy! Kim & Eric run a top notch program that no other dance comp comes close to in comparison! There are so many opportunities for dancers to excel and branch out to showcase their passion such as TOP STARZ, Pre-pro/Go Pro, Solo Dance Challenge and even more exciting opportunities coming up next year like College Bound...I can wait to find out about that program! My daughters, Caleigh & Ashe, look forward to attending TOP regionals and nationals every competition season! I can\'t say thank you enough for all memories created over the years and I look forward to making many more memories!

TOP is my all time favorite competition for my daughter to be a part of. The staff makes you feel like family and form relationships with the dancers and even remember their names! Can never say enough wonderful things about TOP

We love Talent on Parade! Our studio has a \"from the beginning of time\" relationship with them but last year was my daughter\'s first competition season and had great experiences at Talent regional and national events! So even though Fort Smith was a new city for us, this weekend felt like going home again! We ran early all weekend, they were helpful in reorganizing some of our group numbers to allow costume changes, you can actually follow what they are talking about during awards unlike a few other comps we have attended. This is a well organized well ran competition in my opinion!

We have always enjoyed attending TOP. The judging is fair, they run on time and everything is very professional. Great competition. We had to miss this year for the first time in 3 years, due to a conflict. I really hope we get to attend next season!

Very tough competition but that could be a good thing!

TOP is our favorite competition!!!! We try different competitions every year and every year we agree that we still LOVE TOP! They are amazing with our kids and develop a relationship with a lot of them that the kids will never forget. It is wonderful to me that with a competition this size, each year the staff remembers a lot of these kids and it makes the dancers feel very special. The over all \"family feeling\" is amazing and a great experience for our kids. Yes the large competitions get long but the TOP staff does a tremendous job of keeping on or ahead of schedule. We love this competition it has been our favorite for about 15 years!!!

Before I get started on all the details about how incredible this competition is, I must say that I strongly recommend you go. now here are the details: Don Mirault is hilarious. He truly makes the competition experience. Also, the judges aren\'t biased and are fun! I enjoyed performing for them because one judge was fisting the air on my turn sequence!(: Anyway, the competition runs smoothly and it\'s my favorite competition. The award names may be long, but there are many opportunities for winning something, which makes it a favorite. I recommend that you go and check Talent on Parade out!

"Rating has been locked, pending review"

Great, friendly staff...

TOP has always been one of our favorite comps to attend and have gone for several years. This year the comp started on Wed., which I feel is unacceptable for a regional comp. Also, although rules state no more than three acro tricks, there were many lyrical and jazz routines that had many more than that. Favoritism to large studios was apparent this year.

Staff was very friendly. Judging seemed a bit off. Where some really great routines only received elite but not so great routines received diamond. *shrug* not the first comp to do this.

Had a great time at Talent on Parade in Louisville. The competition ran on time. The staff seem friendly and well organized. My dancers reported that the stage was nice. One thing that was confusing was that the competition was leveled out, but we did not realize until awards. It was not noted in the program or in any announcement of dances. That was very confusing. Also, it is great that they give so many awards, but the award ceremonies were confusing and the announcer was difficult to understand at times. Overall, it was great.

Just got back from TOP Louisville. This was our studio\'s first time to TOP. Overall, it was a pretty good competition. It seemed to be well organized, and ran on time for the most part. The groups competition did not follow program order, which makes it hard for parents and prop dads. The scoring seemed to be pretty fair and not inflated. The TOP crew looked like a fun group and made it fun for the kids. The comp was streamed live over the internet, which I love bc I can\'t always be there for all dances. There was a security situation toward the end of the competition where a man who obviously did not belong there was being watched by 3 policemen. I don\'t know why he wasn\'t removed promptly for the safety of the kids. I\'ve never seen that happen before, so I\'m not sure how they can remove someone from an event open to the public.

Our studio loves TOP! We make it a point to go to their competition every year. Our dancers love competing here, the backstage managers actually talk to the dancers and make it fun for them. Its also very organized and its never predictable like other competitions. They have a lot of awards but they get through them very fast, and I appreciate how many awards they give out. Sometimes the competitions are very large but they are always great at making room for everyone. The whole staff is very friendly. If you haven\'t been, you should try it out!

It was average in my opinion. It wasn\'t terrible, but wasn\'t great either. There were way too many awards in my eyesight, although I really enjoyed all the clothing options.

Love Love Love TOP!!!!! They put on the best competitions & master claases in the country. The staff at TOP is one of the friendliness & most professional in the business!! Their teachers at their dance directives are among the best in the industry!!!!

Love love love TOP. They do a great job every competition and make it fun for our kids!

Their name says it all .. TOP. They are the best in the nation! This competition does so much beyond just the competition aspect for it\'s Teachers, Dancers, Families and communities! We love them!

This is our favorite competition! So easy to work with and always so professional! Great judges and staff! Our kids always have a blast!

Absolute FAVORITE competition!!! I love that each girl gets a trophy for her adjudicated score.

LOVE TOP!!! From beginning to end they are top notch.Love the TOP Starz award.Just wish they would bring nationals back to Des Moines and should limit entries so not 5 days long.Staff is awesome and a pleasure to work with especially Jasen:)

I wasn't a fan of the when the productions were scheduled, but otherwise, both the regionals and the nationals were very well run with lots of energy. Awards seemed to be distributed well, and the judging was generally fair. Nationals judges seemed more focused on entertainment than technique, but they were consistent in how it was applied.

LOVE this competition! So professional. And Don Mirault is a fan favorite. Don't miss this! Fair judging and great feedback.

We go to four competitions a year and Top is our favorite. The scoring is fair and consistent, I love the minute by minute schedule and they get it to us quicker than any of the other competitions we go to. The staff is frienly my kids especially like to go to TOP to see Don Mirault.