COMPETITION DETAIL

Venue was great. Staff seemed nice. But I can’t find awards anywhere. Clearly the staff can’t be bothered to the update their website since 2019. Maybe less money on ugly trophies and more on a decent website.

We love this competition! Judging is always fair and most important they usually run a little ahead of schedule. The newly renovated venue is absolutely beautiful. A little bit of traffic getting home usually due to the yearly parade outside.

We enjoyed regionals and felt like the judging was fair and reasonable. We are at nationals in Las Vegas and the judging is all over the place. Routines that should have received higher adjudication are not and stuff that is downright terrible is winning. There is also quite a bit of competing in a lower level than the dancer should be. A novice should not be pulling a quad, into seconds and finishing with a catch leg turn. That is not novice!! I realize that judging is subjective but when certain studios are being favored, it really puts a damper on the dancers who have worked hard but are new to the competition.

Really enjoyed Thunderstruck this year. They put on a great production. Staff was friendly, venue in Portland was nice, and judging was fair. Looking forward to next season.

good

We used to LOVE Thunderstruck. This was our 4th year attending. Remember the wonderful and well educated judges like Charmaine Hunter and the charming awards ceremonies? All of that is gone now. I think perhaps someone bought Thunderstruck and is trying to make a better profit. Everything was very low budget including the judges who seemed to have very little dance education. The judging seemed arbitrary and all over the map. One of my daughter's solos that should have scored well did not and her solo that had all kinds of technical issues got a great score. Very confusing. It went this way for all the solos. Also, the awards , signage, and staff seemed to have been cut down for maximum profit. The back drop only covered about 2/3 of the stage and was cheaply clipped onto the black curtain with visible chip clips. That's not such a big deal but the cu- down-to-the-bare-minimum staff was a big deal. They had 1 poor guy doing the job of backstage check in, music, and announcing. He handled it the best he could but it was ridiculous to pay this much for a comp and have it be so low budget. Awards were also cut down to the very minimum. It was really disappointing to see the this is what has become of Thunderstruck. We should have gone to one of the other 4 competitions happening in the area that weekend. We will not be returning.

We have attended Thunderstruck many times in the past & have always had a positive experience. Backstage staff is friendly & accommodating. Judging is tough (they have 5 adjudication levels & they used 4 of them, which I've never seen before!) but fair & consistent with other competitions we attend. The venue is large enough to accommodate all dancers without being overcrowded. My one complaint is that the competition ran early all weekend, and instead of allowing an early finish, they appeared to purposely slow things down. I understood that on Sunday, when weather was impacting travel to & from the competition, but on Saturday it would have been nice to keep the momentum going & end a little earlier to allow the dancers a little extra rest. That said, the flexibility shown related to the lousy weather (allowing dances to perform out of order & in different categories when dancers couldn't make it to the venue due to road conditions) was fantastic. Overall a great competition, and I hope we return next year!

We just attended Thunderstruck Seattle. Our dancers seemed to have a good time. Seemed organized and ran on time. Awards ceremony was fun for the dancers. Love all the special awards and scholarships they give. I wish every competition would do these because it means so much to these dancers. Judging for the most part was fair. Critiques were very good. I know each set of judges are different and they all have different opinions, but it is weird that one of my dancers had competed with one of her solos 3 times prior than this and received the highest medal each time, then comes here and receives the 2nd highest, but they loved her and the routine.We also questioned a few dances that received lightning gold that were not very good from a technical, choreographed, and performance standpoint, while I do admire anyone with the courage to take the stage. Also question how a song and dance can score so well, when there wasn't any real dancing. But again, not a big deal as this is the chance you take when competing :-). Staff was very friendly and they were all very easy to work with, which is always appreciated. Would definitely like to give this one another try next year.

We had another great experience at Thunderstruck. Judging seemed reasonable and the staff was courteous . I love how they asked questions with the Title participants before they dance - makes it more special. The only problem was with AV malfunctions ( may have been a venue issue) and logging back into our account for judges feedback. We will go back next year.

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the one time we got to go to this was not very big... but seemed fun.

It was an alright competition. I felt like the judges were a little biased to those girls who had gone up for a title compared to those who didn\'t. other than that I was pleased how smooth it went.

We have been going to Thunderstruck for several years now & we love it! They are always on time or early, the venue is really nice, and the staff is friendly, helpful & positive. Judging is consistent with other competitions we attend. Scoring is a little tougher than other competitions, but I personally appreciate that they don\'t give out the top adjudication (Lightning Gold!) like candy! I\'m sure we\'ll be back next year!

We really like Thunderstruck! We have attended it every year my daughter has competed. The last two years she has attended as an independant doing her solo and we have appreciated the great critiques from the judges. This year, the critiques were all combined which makes we like because the judges tend to talk to eachother about something one points out, which adds more insight. The competition ended up running ahead at one point due to entries being pulled and the staff added breaks in to keep things running on time instead of way ahead which was greatly appreciated. We look forward to continuing to come to this event in the future. The one downside was the building was extremely warm. Having attended other competitions at this venue, that is normally not the case, so hoping that it is due to the unusually warm weather we were having that day.

We participated in the Greensboro, NC Thunderstruck event this weekend -- from opening number until final awards. We were very pleased with every aspect of Thunderstruck. The staff was organized and friendly. Numerous staff members managed this event (not just a few backstage and perhaps one in the lobby, as is fairly common). It wasn\'t difficult to get answers to questions. The event ran smoothly and about an hour ahead of schedule from mid-morning until the end. Awards were thorough, well-paced and easy to follow. There were several studios at the event, and I felt all of the studios were treated fairly. No one studio (large or small) dominated (which reflected the diversity and strength of all the studios in attendance). Scoring seemed fair and appropriate for each division. There was certainly a difference in the rigor and expectations for more advanced dancers, which I appreciate, but novice dancers had every opportunity to have a positive and rewarding experience as well. The photographer they chose did an excellent job with the dances I wanted pictures of from this event. I appreciate how many shots they took and how friendly they were even with technical/wifi difficulties early on. We haven\'t received the judges\' feedback yet, but I have every reason to think it will be helpful. I wouldn\'t hesitate to return to Thunderstruck and would recommend it as a great option for studios of any size. Thank you for providing a great performance experience for our daughter.

Nice competition. Great judging, great productions.

So much FUN! The venue was fine, but the changing areas became a battle ground. The days went pretty late, even on Sunday. The awards and MC were so energizing! Made the end of a long day a little better :)

Well run. Reasonaably on time. Judges extremely qualified and involved in awards. Great experience but I wish the actual awards had been a little nicer. Wouldn\'t have cost a lot more to upgrade the hardware.

I didn\'t like how the judges could hear each other while critiquing, besides that, the kids loved it.

the 3 judges all spoke into the same microphone, so the comments and opinions were completely biased and influenced based on each other\'s opinions. and they obviously can\'t argue on audio during a critique, so the remarks were all very superficial, generic, and about appearances instead of artistry and specific technique or style commentary.

We attended Thunderstruck in Milwaukee last month & as always, found it to be a class act. It\'s one of our favorites & I\'m sure we\'ll be back next year! Pros: -Runs on time/early -Exceptionally friendly & helpful staff -Judging consistent with what we\'ve seen at other area competitions -Nice venue-comfortable auditorium, enough space for everyone, plenty of dressing room space -Great awards-trophies for adjudication & plaques for overalls Cons: -The only con is that they typically only place a maximum of 1/2 the dances in the overalls. So the last couple of years, there have only been 2-3 petite solos, which means only one dancer places in the overalls, and that seems a little stingy. It\'s one thing to place the top 10 when you\'ve got 20 junior solos, but it seems a little unfair to the littlest ones not to just place everyone when you\'ve only got 2-3 in a group.

This competition seemed very unorganized during awards. The MC talked a lot during awards which made them drag on and on forever. Awards were given to the wrong kids, and then taken back to be given to the right kids. She was critical of the audience even though it was full of tired moms and dads. The judging was very inconsistent throughout the weekend. At the solo awards on Saturday one judge said he was \"tired of contemporary\" to the kids on stage and many of them had just completed contemporary solos.

Great Staff, nice program, trophys, tons of awards :)

Love/hate relationship with Thunderstruck...First, I love the staff! Andrew is amazing to work with and everyone is helpful and clearly love their jobs, now for the hate...2 out of the last 3 years, they advertised the competition at one location, but then once you pay and get your schedule the week before, you find out that the whole competition moves to another location. The burden and inconvenience of this was kindly passed on to the dancers and parents last year by turning the whole competition around from \'normal\' schedules (solos and duets/trios starting on Friday with groups on saturday and sunday) They scheduled our older groups for friday night with awards not starting till after 10:00. Home at midnight; some dancers and families had to be back at 7 in the morning for the younger/mixed groups, dancing all day again. Dances ending in the early evening saturday so they could tear down and move to another venue on sunday for solos only. Next, the judging-What were they thinking putting all three judges on an open mic situation where they influence each other and quite often blurt out inappropriate comments? Even worse, i sat behind the judges and watched one carry on a \'conversation\' by writing notes back and forth to the sound person, even laughing at something...DURING a dance! Lastly, I think it is really CHEAP to hand out a single pin to the dancers who work so hard to bring their craft to the stage. Seriously, it\'s like getting the obligatory ribbon at field day in elementary school. Parents pay a lot of money to get a good production (venue, staging, lights etc) and quality critiques to help their kids grow (not blank space while 3 people just sit there and then when 1 says something, the other 2 agree. While our studio does very well overall, judging by the large number of negative critiques, other people are have similar concerns. I hope the owner really takes the complaints to heart and makes some changes.

I absolutely love this competition!! I\'ve been going to it for the past 5 years now with two different studios and have had wonderful experiences with both studios. Both studios are not very big and we do very well and receive great critiques from the judges! The staff is very friendly and always willing to help out. I had a younger student during her dance run off the stage in tears because she forgot her dance and the guy running the backstage area let her do her dance again. They really go above and beyond to make the experience enjoyable for everyone!

All dance competitions are businesses, but this one wears it like a badge. If you are a mega studio then this is the right competition for you. You will be rewarded for mediocre dancing as long as you bring enough of it. Very biased towards their larger clients, and they don\'t appear to care that it\'s obvious. I strongly encourage the smaller studios to stay away.

Overall, this is a well run competition that is organized and efficient. The video/photo pricing is exceptionally good & the quality is great too! I would like to see them be a little more generous with the awards they give out, as the number of awards given out in the overalls was much less than what we see at other competitions. But overall, well run & organized.

I attended this competition in 2012 and it was ok so I decided to go back this year. Big mistake! The competition was very unorganized and the schedule was way off. I waited 30 minutes backstage because their sound system wasn\'t working. Also, when they were giving out awards, they called out my number for a Judges Choice Award but as I was standing up to receive it they called out the name of a dance that was not mine. I was confused so I went to the judges table after the competition to ask which dance should have won (mine or the other girl\'s) and they said that mistakes happen and there was nothing they could do about it. I would have been okay with this if they wouldn\'t have been so rude. Lastly, when I watched the feedback on my dances only half of my dance recorded and there was no sound. Overall, very disorganized, not on time, rude staff, and pretty much an \"i don\'t care\" vibe. I will not be going back.

I\'ve competed at a Thunderstruck twice as an adult . I find this competition to be very fair and everyone was very friendly!

Very disorganized. Lost my kids music, which caused alot of anxiety on his part. Will NOT be returning again

we always have fun at thunderstruck, my daughter looks forward to going every year!

So much wrong with this competition. People are unfriendly and rude. If you do not have a bunch of numbers competiting they have no time for you. Highest awards to the large dance companies. Dance out of order, run behind, and just disorganized.

Needs Improvement

I\'ve never been overly impressed. Judging is odd, and it seemed disorganized. There are much better comps out there.

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Unprofessional, poorly run competition with rude staff and biased judges. Judges showed clear favoritism to certain studios and types of dance. Critiques were inconsistent and not constructive. Scheduling was a disaster with impossible quick changes. Backstage staff was unfriendly and mean. Sadly this was a negative experience for our dancers, parents & studio staff.

Run poorly! Not professional! Horribly inconsistent judging. Staff rude to kids. Chaos backstage. One awards ceremony for 8 hours of dances. They only used one stage at a venue where other companies use 3.

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Most unprofessional dance competition we have ever attended. Inconsistent judging, judges comments were unprofessional and not constructive. Staff Rude to kids. One star is too high.

Have loved thunderstruck in the past, but not this year. The judging was very inconsistent. One of my dancers was absolutely ripped apart by judges, she had a few minor errors but it was overall clean routine... Other numbers the dancer very obviously forgot choreography, scored higher than others who got through theirs clean. They seemed to be partial to the showy numbers rather than the numbers with actual technique. I will not go back unless it is a different set of judges.

Both of my daughters had there start with dance competitions this past year. They loved the Thunderstruck Competition they went to, as did I. Friendly competition, fun, excellent feedback program, and very well organized. It was held in a very nice facility as well. We loved it and can\'t wait to go back this year. They are really looking forward to it!

My daughter loves to compete at this competition. We love how professional they are during the competition. Numbers are jumped around so that the competition can be on time or even early. They always have a wide variety of judges. Not the same people over and over again. The trophies are also amazing, by far one of the best! They also give judge’s choice and high score rankings. We would recommend this competition to any studio or individuals!

Went this year for the first time, it was all right. We will not be returning. Seemed to be disorganized and the dancers said the staff were rude and unfriendly. Judging was fair except for tap, none of the judges seemed to know good tap regardless of what studio was doing it. Liked the more \"showy\" jazz type tap numbers with little technique or quality sounds as opposed to good, clean tap technique with clear, crisp sounds.

we weren\'t able to compete at Thunderstruck this past year due to a conflict with another competition but are looking forward to the 2014 date in Omaha, Ne!! We loved this competition - Very fun, fast paced, professional and fair awards.

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Loved this competition! I felt it was run professionally and unbiased. Plus they allow adult division. Woohoo and thank you for helping complete our bucket list

This was a very friendly welcoming competition. This was very professionally run competition as well. My daughter loved this one.

I have been very happy with this competition. Everything from the registration process through to the awards has been well organized. We have attended their regionals twice and their nationals once and I would definitely take students back again. The awards emcee Andrew, is so sweet and positive. They all seem to genuinely care about the kids. I would recommend this competition to other studio owners.

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