COMPETITION DETAIL

I am not one to write reviews, but I really disagreed with the previous one, and felt it wasn't fair, so here we are. Judging was extremely fair, everything ran smoothly, and the people running it were friendly and nice. The dressing room was shared, but every studio had their own area. Awards were fast and there were not that many special awards at all. They chose about 10 routines for their Nationals team, out of over 100 solos. There were a few other special awards, I remember a costume one, choreography one, and technique one. We have been to other comps where it seems every routine gets something. (insert eyeroll here!) They did a top 15 for 50 in my daughters age/level. I would say the ONLY bummer was that the first place award was exactly the same as the 15th place. The plaques for winning first in category were pretty nice.

Here we go again with another everyone gets a participation award comp. This was our first and will be the last time attending this comp. If you have 16 dancers that compete why are you awarding all 16 the same medal? Not only that you are also making the kids that came in last just stand there feeling bad knowing them and everyone else knows they were dead last. Do you think giving them a medal makes them feel better while they stand there? The truth is they don’t deserve a medal. Why not stick with a top 5 or 10 based on how many compete? It’s absolutely ridiculous to hand out awards to everyone. I don’t want my daughter handed a medal when she places near the end. I want her to walk away with nothing so that way she knows she has to work harder to earn a top placement!! I believe the judging was fair for the most part but I just have a huge issue with comps who want to give something to everyone. It’s ridiculous and needs to stop. Stop setting kids up to feel entitled in life. Comps like yours are a major part of the problem for our youth in the dance industry today. Venue was clean and nice. Comp ran on time. Other than that this comp is utter garbage because of the harm they are doing to our kids.

We just attended Turn It Up for the first time this past weekend and had a wonderful experience. The staff was kind, friendly, and professional. Our dancers had a great experience overall with the stage set up, awards, and staff on site. Everything ran on time. We will definitely be back again! The judges' comments/scoring were great as well and very professional!

Our studio has only attended once, but it was amazing! Friendly staff and great judging. Fun awards ceremonies and great scheduling!

We have done turn it up for years. Love love it! The staff is super nice. The judges are great and fair. Awards are fun We love the whole turn it up weekend! Nationals was super fun too! A lot of fun daily events

Really sucks here in Fort Mill SC this weekend. They can't keep order at all! The sound crew needs to learn how loud the songs are and turn it down or turn it up. Some songs would bust your ear drums then couldn't hear others from being deaf. It's like they had a favorite song and crank it up wide open! The announcer doesn't need to holler in the mic either! Speaking of favorites, the judges sure have theirs. Plenty of dance studios and dancers should have ranked better and awarded better than others! Definitely a crap show they put on!

Running 1 hour behind schedule and livestream down. And no updates. Terrible experience so far!

Turn it up dance challenge is our most favorite competition to go to. All the staff is incredibly friendly, energetic, always have a smile on their faces and always ready to help. My daughter competed at Nationals with a sprained ankle and everytime she danced, the backstage staff was waiting for her with ice and a helping hand. All the staff members were giving encouraging words to all the dancers. Emcee Jackie made the awards ceremonies so much fun. The choreographers and Joelle made the Dance Team Rehearsal so enjoyable and amazing! I can't wait for the regional competition to come fast enough!! Thank you TIU ❤

My studio has been going to Turn it Up since 2010. Sadly, they have degreased to a competition that seems not well run anymore. It’s very sad to see, we loved turn it up, but after last nationals we’ve seen the change. The old MC Tony made the competition , and when he left so did the reliability. The judging became VERY unfair, the studios who spend the most typically get the best awards now. Not to mention, at their nationals in 2019, the announcer made a s*xual ‘joke’ during the scavenger hunt/changing break during the dance off, along the lines of ‘I need a man to l*y me, and by that I mean a man to bring me a leigh(like the flower necklace)’. That poor other announcer knew it was wrong too, but she knew she couldn’t do anything about it. It used to be great, but now it seems like they only care about $.

Hi! Dancer here to give you my honest opinion on Turn It Up! I LOVE THIS COMP!!!! This is the best one I have gone to! I love everything about turn it up! They run on time, GIVE OUT AMAZING AWARDS!!!, and they truly pick the best stages and places to host their events! I go to turn it up every year and all the time this comp is runned very smooth and well!! For dance conventions, They are SOOOOOO good too! All the staff are nice and kind! I love tap and the conventions make it easy but hard at the same time! They make sure to try and get everybody on stage! I love that! I think everybody should go to turn it up because this is my most favorite and best competition ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been to many competitions over the 8 years of competing and went to Turn It Up last year and loved it. This past weekend (02/29-03/01/2020) in Long Island, NY we attended another Turn It Up competition and the judges were the worst that I have seen thus far through our years. This review has nothing to do whether my daughter won or lost, it's just about the quality of the judges Turn It Up picked. We just received our judges critique videos, which we always look forward to watching and listening to the judges in order to grow and learn. Disappointingly, the judges rarely had anything to say. We were listening to silence at times. Occasionally when they did say something, they were just purely negative with no encouraging constructive comments. They didn't even comment when something was good in a dance. Young dancers need feedback to learn and improve, They are not professional dancers. In one of my daughter's dances, they made 2 weird comments that had no relation to her dance at all. We paid a lot of money to get no decent feedback whatsoever. Very disappointing!!!!! Constructive criticism is how dancers get better! The judges from this past weekend needed to be better at speaking and verbally getting their critiques in quickly while the dancer is performing, otherwise we have no idea why points were taken off when reviewing the scores in comparison to the critiques. Throughout the weekend, when the special awards were being presented, one judge every time she got up to speak, constantly kept saying, "I can't find the word to describe....". REALLY!!!??? If she can't find her words she should NOT be a judge. Not all dancers can be judges and this past weekend was a true realization of this. BOTTOM LINE: Turn it UP needs to be more selective at picking and interviewing their judges. Do you interview to see how well the prospective judges speak and communicate corrections in a positive way? One other thing I really dislike: there isn't a bio of the judges listed in the program. How do we even know if they are reputable? On a positive note, The venue was awesome and the stage director was phenomenal with getting everything organized, helping with a very congested dressing room, and keeping things moving along in a timely manner. Kudos and thank you to her and her team!

My daughter is fairly new to competing but this has been a favorite for us so far!

Our studio has been to TIUDC for the past two years in the Northlake location. The location is not great and the stage is small. So many props at this competition that makes it seem like a recital. I agree with some of the other comments about judging.

Pretty good competition with a GREAT staff! My only criticisms are that they ran over an hour late (and just the scheduling overall), and the venue was GROSS! Overall, great competion but they need to go back to Secaucus! LOVE THEM AND THEIR AWARDS! 💕💕😘

Haven’t been to this competition in a few years and had previously given four stars. I find it necessary to rate this event before the final awards to prevent any unconscious bias. The efforts made by the staff to accommodate us and our changes/props were exceptional. We were asked several times if we needed anything or if everything was going well. Back stage was roomy and although we would like the stage a bit wider I have to remember this is a regional event. Backstage monitor would be a great edition however they had a cool monitor with the live schedule on it and check in requests. Competition was over 500 routines and ran on time. Overall a great event we would recommend.

Could not dream of a better dance competition. My kids had the best experience, the show ran on time and the staff was friendly and courteous. We go to several and by far this is our best experience.We felt the judges were fair and accurate. Thank you See all of you next year Scott

Great competition! Stayed on time sometimes even early.

I have been a dance mom for 15 years and attended many competitions throughout New England and National Competitions up the east coast. This competition by far is the most dancer focused. I now dance as an adult at this competition because of the integrity of the staff, judges, and Directors. The quality of adjudications is by far the most useful and honest.

This was our 3rd time attending Turn It Up Dance Challenge, but every time we have attended this event , we encounter some of the most biased, unfair judging that exists within the entire dance competition system. Turn it up always picks 2 of the largest studios attending and chooses to only award those studios with any type of high score awards, special awards, scholarships etc. At the most recent competition we attended with Turn It Up, myself and many in the crowd watched in utter disbelief as 1 dancer from the largest studio there who already received 1st place in her division, was lavished with 8 other separate awards, leaving nothing for any other dancers in the top ten. I personally found this ridiculous being as there were other excellent dancers in that group that were just as talented and deserved to be awarded as well. The sighs from the crowd and the demoralized looks on the dancers faces sitting on the stage showed that we were not the only ones who felt that this was wrong. Additionally, as the judge was awarding this particular dancer with one of her many awards she received, this judge also let it slip that this dancer was also the title winner before that segment of the awards. How would this judge have known this unless it had been discussed beforehand? No judge should have known who the title winner was before the emcee read the awards. The obvious favoritism at this competition is extremely disheartening. Please do not attend this event if you are not a big studio or don't mind extremely unfair and inconsistent judging!

I didn't mind this competition but I didn't particularly love it either. I didn't like how it was out of order and you could dance at any time not necessarily with your category. Which often means late sunday night for a long overall awards session. Awards in general are really long. Mostly every dance got platinum so you couldn't really tell how you did. Our studio isn't coming back this year because we just didn't love it.

This was our first time at Turn it Up and we really enjoyed it. The judging was fair, event was well ran, and the girls had a good time. I wouldn't mind returning next year!

We have attended many regional and national events over the years. This competition is very well run. Not a huge fan of the dance battle setup but it is a great edition to the competition, just needs a little more consistency I think. However the main competition is run well, judged well and on time. Staff is very helpful and positive. Overall a great competition.

This was our first season at Turn It Up and we were very pleased with the weekend. Both myself and my coaches felt that the judges were tough but fair overall and found the critique useful. Our Team mission is not to worry about the actual award given (although scoring high and placing overall is wonderful), but for our students to improve as dancers and performers, and the critiques provided helped with this. Our Team members enjoyed the experience and appreciated the feedback they received. The venue was convenient with plenty of parking and large dressing rooms. We will definitely be attending next year!

Our studio did not attend this year, but in years past we have LOVED this competition! Its always run well and the photos are always great. Hoping we return next season.

Our studio competed at both a regional and national competition, and overall had a positive experience at both events. Their regional event was a first time in our state, and was not well attended, but the we are hoping they are able to draw in more studios this coming season. One small peeve - because of the .5 increments in scoring, there were often ties, which is fine. But when the tie was announced, the two scores that tied shared the place, and then the next place was also counted. So, for example, if two dancers tied for second, there was still a third place given. Normally one would skip that third place and go to fourth, which is more accurate. Perhaps this was by design to get more dancers in the top 10. Not a huge deal, just confusing.

My dancers had a great experience at Turn It Up Dance Challenge. It was their first time attending a convention, and they had a very positive first experience. Master Teachers and classes were great, each challenging the dancers with their choreography and class expectations. The convention was very well-run, with a friendly and helpful Staff. We will definitely be back to their events in the future!

I have to give this an overall 2. The other studios were nice to my students, schedule ran on time and The judges were decent but I felt the unfairness hit my students hard. We are an African American dance group. My students are recreational dancers and work hard. Our experience:: They all received a gold in their 3rd year competing. First two years I believe they got what they deserved, didnt place. Third year they were soooo much better than the last two. This year was highly unfair because we watched two really bad routines in competitive who scored higher than them and received high gold with at least 15 points more than my students. A hip hop soloist in competitive scored higher than my acro soloist in recreational, mind you the hip hop soloist went to walk off the stage because she didn\'t remember her routine and didn\'t even care about the way she looked on stage. My students approached me and felt like they were being racist... I told them now now and I talked to staff. The staff told me that recreational gets scored lighter than competitive, and I told her that was the point, how could a routine in competitive worse than my student in recreational score so high. she said maybe there is something the judges saw that we didn\'t. Fine..the girls were upset with the answers they received. On to overall awards. My 3 teens were the only ones in teen recreational. So they knew they were all up against each other. Waiting for the recreational teen to be called... nothing. The entire award ceremony ended without them even trying to acknowledge my students. So AGAIN I approached the staff. The claimed it was an accident and that one and only section didn\'t print out. My girls felt so low. They cried on their way home and said to me. We told you they were racist. All TIU offered was an apology, not even a scholarship for next years competition to own what they did. The students regained their confidence but do not want to attend this comp. ever again.

I thought the competition was well run but the judging was not on target. My child did well but I felt sorry for the kids that did their solo\'s in the beginning of the competition because the judges were very very hard on them but as the weekend continued, the judges gave teen solo\'s high scores. The only dancers that placed were contemporary solo\'s. Dont even bother if you are musical theater! I saw teen solo\'s at the beginning of the competition get gold and high golds that were extremely strong and then saw teen solo\'s at the end that were not technically strong but they received platinum and placed in the top ten. The scoring did not seem fair at all. Almost as if they had to make up for giving such low scores at the beginning.

Only our first competition as a new studio, and we had a BLAST! Many of our kids are newbie dancers, but loved their first competitive experience at Turn It Up! The Director and Staff were extremely helpful and friendly. Judging was more than fair. So many entries, but the staff handled with ease. LOVED HAVING THE APP to keep everyone on track and schedule. We would love to have had a middle division level for our dancers, but my fault not dividing them better between the two offered divisions. Went all \"Competitive\" and we held our own against so many amazing studios that attended! Absolutely loved receiving the video critiques so quickly from all three judges. So excited for Nationals! Thank you, Turn It Up!

We genuinely love attending TIU! We spent Mother\'s Day weekend in Derry, NH and just received our scores & critiques! Their staff at the office as well as at the event really care about your studio and dancers, they are bubbly and take pride in getting to know the studios throughout the weekend. The judges seemed truly engaged from Friday-Sunday, and every awards ceremony was smooth and went by quickly! The venue was perfection from dressing rooms to marley floor. We loved every minute of our weekend! Thank you for making us feel right at home at TIU!

The staff was amazing! The director of the competition came out to personally greet me when I checked in my studio. Everyone went out of their way for us! Loved the staff!!

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Loved this comp! The staff were friendly , helpful and very accommodating . The show ran on time, the judging seemed fair, and the awards were great !! We will def be back

This was our first time at Turn It Up and overall we enjoyed it. Judging was fair from beginning to end, and it was well run. There were a few things that could change to make the experience more enjoyable for the kids: Overall awards were at the end of the competition around 10pm. So our kids who performed in the morning either had to go home/hotel or stay all day through to see how/if they placed. Older kids can handle this, but it\'s tough on little ones. The venue was HORRIBLE. It was a convention center with poor acoustics and no separated dressing room. The stage was too high above the judges; it echoed and had a lot of bass with tap numbers. The dressing room was in the same room the competition was held in and was just draped off. Extremely distracting for the audience with the constant traffic in and out. We would definitely do this competition again, just hope the venue changes. :)

I had read negative reviews regarding judging prior to attending this competition, but went with an open mind knowing that some people might just be angry that they didn\'t win. After attending the competition, I would agree that the quality of judging is very poor. I am saying this even after my daughter placed well. Although she placed well, her score was low- the lowest score she\'s received in years- by more than 10 points, and we normally attend the very well known, much larger competitions and the very well known convention competitions where there are normally 500-1,000 entries. I watched most of the competition and was shocked at how some of the dances in almost every category with much less technique and many mistakes placed over dances that were more technically advanced and cleaner. I wouldn\'t say the judging was tough- that would be a compliment. The judging at Nuvo, Jump, NYCDA, 24/7, and Adrenalne is \"tough\". I would say the judging here is very inconsistent and lacking knowledge. Also, the point spread for each award was made it much easier to score a platinum than the point spread at the large competitions and conventions. I really disliked having all of the overalls at the very last awards ceremony. It goes much faster when given out with adjudicated awards.

We had a really fantastic experience at this competition-it was well-run, organized, professional, efficient and fun! The people are very easy to work with and so nice to the kids; communication is easy with the administrators and we are absolutely going to return. Great competition!

The event ran exactly on time all weekend, which was great. The judging was tough and fair. The awards sessions were efficient and the judges were thoughtful. There seemed to be a little bit of drift over the weekend, with dances on Sunday scoring higher than comparable dances on Friday, but not a big difference. Did not like the fact that they had music playing while the awards were being handed out - it was distracting and pointless. The venue was nice. There are pros and cons to the schedule having everything all spread out. I wish they had announced or published the top 10 solos (so far) at the end of each day, so soloists who competed on Friday could decide whether there was any point in coming to the awards on Sunday. I also wish for the duo/trio awards they would let all the dancers come up - it\'s not that many and it\'s odd for just one member of a duo to go up and get the first place award.

The event was well run. Mostly on schedule. Two negatives: 1. Awards were rushed. Special Awards by the judges were meaningless. It almost seemed that the judges were directed to only give out awards to lesser skilled dancers. 2. Judging was terribly inconsistent. This was a real downer for the dancers, especially those more advanced ones. I\'m not qualified to comment on the qualifications of the judges. But I think a main contributor was the format of the event. Pieces in the same age category, for example, senior solos, were spread out over 3 days. Consistently judging within a short window is already a challenge for the judges, how is it possible for them to be consistent day by day? It was so bad that the girls didn\'t feel like to go to our currently planned Turn It Up Nationals.

Turn It Up is truly an extraordinary dance competition. We are honored each season to be a part of the competition! Turn It Up is our favorite! The costumer service, organization, awesome staff, great venues, etc are just a few things that set them a part from the rest! Keep up the awesome work Turn It Up! We love and appreciate you!

I have been both a dancer and been a teacher at Turn It Up\'s competitions in the past. I have loved the entire experience in both capacities. Now for the first time I am in another roll as the studio owner. I am beyond impressed and happy with how easy and stress free the entire process has been. Elizabeth and the Turn It Up Crew have been WONDERFUL and very accommodating. As a new studio owner, I had many questions and concerns. Elizabeth walked me through the entire process, helped to accommodate scheduling conflicts, and made the process run so smoothly! We are in our first year of being open, and our first competition season, I am certain that our first year with Turn It Up Dance Challenge will be the first of many!

This was a relatively small convention, which was such a wonderful break from the norm. The kids were able to be be up close and personal with the teachers. My son very much enjoyed it.

This competition & convention was by far our favorite so far. The instructors were fun, entertaining & amazing!!

This competition was well run and the kids had a lot of fun. Judging was tough but fair.

Very nice and enjoyable competition. I really enjoy that all soloist have to give a speech. I do believe it is nice to hear a word or two about them, and for them to publicly show they are confident enough to speak as well as dance in front of a crowd.

Nice competition for smaller studios.

The judges seemed inexperienced and unable to give correct scores to talented dancers. Absolutely stunning routines scored much lower than musical theater routines with sloppy technique.

Have attended 4 time in different cities and one Nationals in Cape cod. Like the judging , they don\'t give a High Gold to everyone that walks on stage, have found it to be very consistent from city to city and a great co to work with.

Acro numbers should be a separate category. Looked like we were competing against competition GYMNASTIC group. Very little dancing and tons of tumbling. How familiar are the judges with gymnastics?

This is my daughter\'s 3rd year attending Turn It Up. She has been dancing 14 years and is very seasoned. Her duet was spot on for each category. Pieces that were technically average but had half dressed scored higher than my daughter. Every single piece that I thought was mediocre scored high. The judges at this competition are inexperienced. I wish our studio would stop attending such an unfair event.

Attended Nationals this past week in New Jersey.First, the parking fees.The staff of Turn It Up was apparently unaware of the obscene parking fees that were charged every day to park at the hotel/ convention center if you were not staying at the hotel itself, which was incredibly overpriced as well.This was a huge burden to families who had to be at the competition all 6 days.I spent $100.00 to park my car to watch my daughter dance, after already paying fees to enter her in the competition.This was a huge oversight by Turn It Up.These are key things that should be looked into and notifications to studios should be sent.Second,the schedule itself was chaotic.Young girls from our team competed late Friday night and awards were at 10:00pm.They were scheduled to dance again in the first couple numbers the following morning.There were enough dance numbers in the competition to spread these out more accordingly.Third,paying to watch the Dance Battle is just utterly ridiculous.Again,I paid the entry fees for my daughter to compete.Since one of her numbers won and was invited to the Battle,I have to pay another fee to watch her compete in it.This should have been a viewing event just like the rest of the week was.Fourth,charging to dance on the beach with s\'mores.It was a great event.However,it was also yet another charge.Fifth,no organization for dressing rooms.Once in some,they would then close and we had to move all of our stuff in the middle of the competition and frantically look for an open dressing room.No one seemed to know what was going on with the dressing rooms.There seemed to be a huge lack of communication,most of it being with staff and the venue.It seems to have been booked at the place for purely the location and look of the hotel.However,the lack of confidence in knowing about the venue itself shows through on the lack of communication as well as the chaos of the schedule.

Extremely friendly and nice. Their staff is always a pleasure to work with and comp runs smooth. I don\'t understand a couple of these negative reviews other than it\'s people who are mad about their kids scores.

By far the worse competition we\'ve been to. The venue was the only nice thing about it. The judges were inexperienced and verrry inconsistent. At past competition with more qualified judges, our routines all high 90s and a few perfect scores, but at this competition, we, as well as other good studios were scored much lower. The judges seemed to give very high scores to cheesy, badly choreographed routines that looked like they belong in the 20th century. One of the staff workers even shoved one of our dancers to make her get ready quicker! Definitely will not return.

Extremely friendly and accessible owner and staff. Very fair judging! Looking forward to nationals!!

We attended turn it up this season and were unimpressed. This is our first year of having a studio, I found the staff very rude. They would tell us they would scratch our numbers if we weren\'t on stage within 3 numbers, but they scheduled 3 of our dances within 2 numbers of each other. Other studios were given a grace period and we verbally heard the backstage person say its ok take your time. The scoring didn\'t seem right either. It seemed like they favored 2 large studios that attended. Numbers that were incredible, energetic, and great scored low with dances that had technical issues and much more scored platinums and overalls. Seemed very rigid we were very unhappy and will not be returning the future. I also did not appreciate that one of our CDs was broken and scratched up like someone took a Knife to it, very unhappy.

I was very disappointed with our experience this past weekend and to be honest I was quite surprised bec we have attended in the past & enjoyed our experience this time however it was not the case. Firstly I did not like that they made the categories placed randomly here is why...we all know that judges from day to day may judge differently possible scoring easier in the first night or harder the first night and then as the weekend goes on that changes. That is fine when all of the dances in one category perform the same night for example all senior solos go the same night they will all be judged the same way. This is not the case with this particular competition and I noticed a lot more Platinum given on Sunday than on Saturday - could all the dances have truly been that much better?? The other thing ALL of my dances were put on Saturday starting with our first one being in the first 10 dances and the last one being in the last 10 dances of the night - needless to say the longest day ever and I do not believe that that format is in the best interest of the dancers participating. I also agree with many others who have stated that final awards at 10:30 on a Sunday night is beyond disrespectful to parents and students. We sent only 3 members back on Sunday to the final awards ceremony and I am glad that we did not have more of our students go back. Top 5 when you have 35 entries in a particular category???? Lastly, I as a studio owner know I have some students who are both technically better than others and execute their dances better than others so I found it inexplicable how two duos with completely different ability/skill/and performances wound up with EXACTLY the same scores. Even I as a studio owner could say that one of those duos should have scored much higher than the other....not sure how the judges gave them the same EXACT scores. I have no intention of returning to this competition.

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Very nice staff and ran on time each day. Our studio will go back.

I give this comp a 1 would give 0 if possible. They do lean towards bigge dance schools. We had some of our scores changed as last year they did paper scoring and the scores that were changed were the ones taking us from 1st to 2nd making sure the bigger schools won. Was on time venue to small when email was sent director could care less about scoring being changed

We are at this comp this weekend. I don\'t get the raving reviews. The other cities obviously had more experienced judges, as this weekend on LI, the judging is completely RANDOM. There are dances getting Platinum that are horrible technique, and dances getting Gold that are so entertaining and intense, even within my own studio. I am in the process of getting the stats together, but it is looking like they are catering to the big studios with the most numbers entered. So tired of comps that do this. You can see the highs & lows in the judges moods by the scoring, can they just score the talent on the stage fairly? I thought the first night, possibly the judges were having a bad night from travelling, but this \"scoring\" system continued throughout day 2. I wish you could review the judges credentials BEFORE registering for a comp. A positive, is that it runs smoothly and staff is very nice.

loved turn it up this weekend! The judges were kind and fair and the staff did a phenomenal job (especially Melissa) who was able to attend our comp! What a great experience and I can\'t wait to go to nationals for this competition :)

I love Turn it Up! My daughter has danced in their competitions three years in a row. The judging is very fair , the master teachers are wonderful . I cannot say enough about the fantastic customer service! The owner Melissa is very responsive , and all the staff are helpful , polite , and very accommodating . The only drawback I\'ve ever found with Turn it Up is the choice of venues .

Mixing up the groups & solos has its advantages. We got to see routines from our studio that we usually miss. That was fun. The judging seemed fair and they liked some dances that are not typically recognized at other comps. It always makes you wonder if studios get to \"star\" their favorite dancers pre-competition. My biggest complaint was that awards began at 10:15 on Sunday NIGHT. If you wanted to see overalls or thought you had a chance of placing you had to stay. We didn\'t leave until 11:30 which is insane on a school night. It was completely disrespectful of the dancers and a reason to NEVER do turn it up again. Parents at our studio were quite upset. Sometimes competitions end at 9:00 on Sunday and that is hard on the dancers the next day buit its not impossible. Going to bed after midnight is ridiculous. It showed a total lack of respect on the part of the competiton. Accept less dances, speed up awards, run multiple stages at the same time or add an hour to either end of SATURDAY. Figure it out.

We have always had a great experience with Turn It Up. A few things I love about this competition that stand out: *From a studio owner point of view: their customer service is excellent. I call with a question and if their office does not answer I leave a message. I get a call back within an hour. Consistently! Email inquiry responses are just as timely. * The way they set their competition schedule is very unique. Our parents always tell me how much they enjoy this competition as it is run like a \"show\" and it is entertaining. The lineup is \"mixed\" vs. 3 hours of junior solos, then 3 hours of junior groups, etc. You might see a solo, then a group, then a trio, etc. The best part of this type of scheduling? Have you ever attended a Sunday morning 8am comp day with 2 hours of solos and the audience is empty-NO ENERGY? Doesn\'t happen at TIU because it\'s mixed and the audience is packed. *Parent responses consistently indicate that Nationals are fun, master classes are great.

Pros: Runs very on-time; fair judging Cons: Accepts too many dance routines for venue; schedule is too random and is planned for too late; all overalls are on last day (though some dancers do not even dance on that day) We recently attended our first Turn It Up competition and I doubt we will return. The schedule is random and is set to keep the audience entertained (not at the best interest of the dancers), which means there are no categories. For example, dance #1 on Friday night was a teen jazz solo. The last teen jazz solo was Sunday evening, #442 out of 445. The judging did seem fair, despite the fact that one studio placed first in nearly every category (they deserved it). However, 9 & 10 year olds were scheduled for 10pm solos and seemed obviously tired. The venue, though beautiful, was completely inadequate. There was not enough dressing room space. Studios were forced into the hallways of the hotel with open balconies to the lobby. The ballroom was difficult to get in and out of due to the large number of spectators. Parking was a nightmare. It was at the airport and only one level was open for the hotel & competition. There were less dances on Friday so parking was ok, but on Saturday we were forced to park far away and by Sunday the hotel/airport parking was fed up with the competition and forced us to park far away despite open spots and pay $20 to park. I think this competition would be greatly improved if they more carefully chose their venues or only accepted an appropriate # of dances for the venue. The schedule could be improved some by perhaps choosing a few categories (e.g. junior solos, teen small groups, senior teen large groups) and putting them all in one time period with one adjudication ceremony would make more sense. I did give it 2 stars because the judging generally seemed fair and the critiques were useful (except tap) and the portable stage had good flooring (but minimal wings). Overall, though, it was unpleasant experience.

Turn it Up was the very first dance competition my daughter attended over 8 years ago. It was a great experience then and an even better one now. The event is well run, on time and fair and we enjoy coming back every year. The staff are polite and professional. From the director to the backstage manager to the apparel table, you will always find a smiling face. The addition of Platinum Pro this year was exciting and the variety in the schedule is manageable for everyone and enjoyable to watch. I would love to see more pictures posted from the event and also Title Winners acknowledged with TIU staff pics. I would I would definitely recommend Turn It Up.

Turn it Up is always a fun time! I have been going for eight years now and I have never had a problem. Melissa is extremely nice a long with the rest of the staff. The event is always organized and runs on time which is very nice. I also like their addition of the Platinum Pro award. In previous years it almost felt like they were handing out platinums. WIth the new platinum pro dancers worked harder. They only gave two out through out the entire competition which was very nice. I would recommend this competition.

This is my second time bringing my daughter to compete with Turn It Up Dance Challenge. Having attended a bunch of other competitions and conventions from the last time we were at Turn It Up, I have to say Turn It Up is above the rest. My daughter walked away from competition feeling great and with a huge smile on her face, after all, that is what it is all about...making our children happy. My daughter said all of the workers backstage were so friendly to her and encouraged her before she performed as well as congratulated her afterwards. We will absolutely be returning next year!

Normally I enjoy turn it up. Unfortunately this year I wasn\'t as pleased. The venue was nice but their were some issues. One of the judges enjoyed his phone more than the dances performing. I found this extremely rude, and unprofessional. Also for overall awards for 1st, every one went to the same studio. They had fantastic numbers, but this seems unfair. Other than that it ran on time, I hope these issues can be fixed!

Positive experience. Great competition. Staff very helpful.

Turn it up??? More like turn it down!!! Wish I could give zero stars. Terrible run and extremely biased competition. Stay far away unless you are a huge client or know the owner. The location for nationals is actually quite sad. This competition was worth doing once so you can see what a competition should NOT be like!

My family has been competition dancing for 18 years and this by far has been the craziest experience so far. Location was questionable...airport in Phily. Judges biased. Scores ridiculous. Don\'t bother if you aren\'t a contemporary studio or a returning studio with favor. 3 judges and not one knew tap. All top scores magically came in last segment. And also from the same 2 studios. My son is an exceptional tapper and wins overall everywhere...even when tap isn\'t known at a competition. His scores were never so low before. 2 weeks ago at a powerful NJ comp (and we all know the talent in NJ) he won overall. Last year 3x\'s overall and 7th overall at Starpower Natl and tap never wins there. Judges must look outside of their own specialty. Female judge may not know tap, but come on!! Stage was not accomodating. Dances were all mixed up because they don\'t want you to actually see competition. I\'d actually like a refund of my sons solo because you misrepresented your judging and cash was not even given it was scholarship money. Too bad Maude Arnold wasn\'t there. I\'d love for her to see my son. All winners were contemporary. Our other studio solo was a lyrical which must be a dying art to those judges. She also just won overall in NJ at a large comp. You gave her gold...silly. She danced very early in the competition. But if you are a returner you can call and get placed at the end and that\'s where the winners were. What a joke. We were forced to stay with no dances Sunday just for awards. I never heard of such a thing. Oh, but Sunday is when most overall winners were. Judges started out scores low on Friday. Then they got higher. Then you have a title, lol. And they get announced and compete for overall and pay an extra $35. Hmmm so who won the overalls??? Was it the title winners?? It should be separated. Another reason I want a refund. 18 yrs and I have never complained before. We\'ve not placed...if it\'s fair I\'m fine with it.

We attended this competition a couple weeks ago and it was a great experience! They attracted a lot of talent and I was very impressed with how smoothly the days ran. They were very organized and professional. The kids enjoyed the day and I liked the variety of the judges. I would definitely return to this competition.

TIU was the first ever comp my youngest daughter was in & I think they set the bar pretty high for others. We\'ve been to a few different venues with them through the years and attended nationals and conventions. ALWAYS great. Only one VENUE was a disappointment. I\'ve always felt the judges were fair & love the way the dances are mixed. Much more fun to watch! We LOVE Turn It Up! Keep up the great work.

The staff that run Turn it up are so extremely friendly, helpful and professional. That is why I give it 3 stars. However, I am truly confused at their judging criteria. I brought my students there who excell in technique and get raving praise everywhere they go and at Turn it Up they are not recognized. I have another student who litterally forgot the steps to her dance and in my oppinion deserved a low score and was scored nearly the same as my student who exells in technique. Dances that had the audience clapping didn\'t get recognized. The year before, one judge sat through almost every one of our dances and barely said a word. If anything, I would like to know why the scores were low. The scores are so different than the other competitions we attend. Litterally, I want my kids to have a good experience. Awards are awards, but I don\'t bring them to a competition to feel deflated...confused. I thought i would give it another try this year, as the staff is very sweet. Still the same thing. 2 judges with scores similar to each other, another who seemed on another planet!! Sent my students hard work into somewhat disappointment. I only wish Turn It Up would really make sure that their judges are truly there to assist these kids in growing. The judge last year talked more about how he wanted a chimichanga than how he felt about my kids performance. Also, there were a few EXTREMELY provocative dances and on their site they were very specific about age appropriate dances. Even though these girls were older, these dancers dressed in very sexy lingerie and won a platinum. I just felt like the whole weekend was an emotional rollar coaster. Nothing made any sense to me! I had four year olds dancing that day that were sitting watching the sexy dance and twerking as they waited their turn to go onstage. I don\'t care if your judge has a resume the size of China, does he/she really care about their purpose at Turn It Up? We don\'t know if we will attend again.

I can not say enough positive things about TIUDC. We have attended TIUDC 2 years in a row and have been extremely pleased with the great job they do. The staff is ALWAYS pleasant and they are very good at quickly answering any questions you may have. The competitions are well organized and the judging is very fair. The conventions are just as wonderful, the master teachers and their choreography are amazing and they always manage to incorporate valuable life lessons into their teachings. My daughter has been dancing for 12 years and competing for 3 years and TIUDC is her very favorite competition and convention!! By attending TIUDC my daughter has grown tremendously as a dancer and as a young women.

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I can\'t say it enough...I LOVE Turn It Up Dance Challenge! At the studio now just in our planning stages, and the ladies at Turn It Up are always eager to answer our questions immediately through phone or email. Their customer service is what sets them apart. I highly recommend this convention and competition!

My son has competed and attended conventions with Turn It Up for three years and it has ALWAYS been a positive experience. The directors and assistants are professional and treat the dancers with great care. I have travelled many miles to have my son compete for the national title, participate and learn a great deal from conventions, and look forward to the photo shoot, more conventions as an assistant this year, and competitions. Excellent job!

Overall I enjoy these competitions, staff is great, and competitions run on schedule. My only complaint, is that I feel recreational dancers should be judged all together on the same day , not mixed in with high level dancers who are on tv. I think as a judge it would be very hard not to compare a recreational dancers to competitive ones. Wish judging could be separated.

Have nothing but great thing to say about Turn it Up! I agree with the last reviewer, and can\'t believe people are saying bad things about them. I wonder if some are just upset their kids didn\'t do well or something. Thanks Melissa for running a positive event!

I am so sad to read some of the negative ratings below. First and foremost, TIUDC ALWAYS runs on time. When they begin to slip behind they work their magic and get us out of there at a decent time. Every single time I have attended a competition for them they are impeccably fair. One competition we did great, another we did awful, and GUESS WHAT - it was because of US not our moms complaining that they didn\'t judge us fairly. Being a student, you should read OUR opinions of the competition because aren\'t WE the ones you\'re all there for? Turn It Up is our favorite competition because Lora and Melissa are so approachable and never make us feel like we are bothering them. Melissa wishes us all good luck and tells everyone that they look great. A few times I have seen some mean parents bark at Lora, I don\'t know how she remains so calm and explains things so peacefully with the attitudes some parents and studio owners can take with them. I also LOVED the merchandise table girls and the backstage director. Over a period of two days we saw them and every single time we walked by they always said hi, good luck, or asked us how the day was going. One of the girls even found me when I told her I was nervous after I performed and gave me a huge hug to tell me I did a great job. AND I had just met her THAT day!!!! I think the bottom line I\'m trying to say here is, Melissa and Lora do everything they can to make sure we have a blast and get a great experience while also motivating us to work hard. Never have I gone to a competition where you know the directors by name and see them walking around talking to EVERYONE. Nothing is every handed to ANY student, studio or parent whether they\'ve competed with TIUDC from the beginning or it\'s their first year. If you want your children or students to attend a dance competition that inspires, motivates, and teaches, send them to Turn It Up.

I love Turn it Up.My son Matt has been competing for four years on his dance team and has done the conventions and regionals for Turn it Up.He has made the national dance team for the past two years.The staff has always been very informative and helpful with any questions we had.They are all very professional and wonderful to deal with.I have been in contact with Lora who has been fantastic and gone above and beyond to stay in touch with me over nationals.Their competitions are fair and Matt has always left with the scores he deserves.They are not in control of what their judges say,Matt takes their criticisms and uses it to his advantage for the next competition.We will continue to dance and support the Turn it up dance challenge for as long as he continues to perform.Looking forward to nationals next week.

Ok Comp- judging was OK

Great competition! Fair judging, on time, and award ceremonies at regular intervals (which is good so you don\'t have to wait long). Also, online results were posted within a few days. I loved Turn It Up and I hope we go there next year!

Having been in the competition world as a dancer, then teacher and now studio owner I can honestly say Turn It Up is one of the best. When you arrive at Turn It Up you can feel the positive energy. The staff is absolutely wonderful. I love the fact that you know it will be a timely, well organized event. The scoring is spot on... there are so many competitions that hand out high scores to everyone and anyone. My dancers know if they receive a Platinum they deserved it as well as if they received a silver or an overall high score award. I will continue to bring my dancers to Turn it Up!

As a teacher, I love when a dancer has to work for a high score. I love when a dancer knows they deserve a platinum! The staff are remarkable, they are kind, accommodating, and fun. Competition runs on time, and awards are always timely. We love the directors! They keep competition organized and fun. It is always a positive experience. Competing at TIU always feels like coming home!

We have been attending Turn It Up for several seasons now and have had nothing but wonderful, positive experiences. The staff is terrific, they are very organized and run on time. After reading some of the other negative comments, I\'m truly shocked.

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I think turn it up is a great, organized competition! I recommend everyone to come to this competition! I disagree to all the negative comments!!!! All the staff members are very nice! :-) I think it\'s all worth it!! ;-)

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This is my 2nd year coming to Turn It Up and I love it!!!!!! I have so much fun competing! The judges and crew members are super nice!!!!!!! I have such a fun time with my friends from my dance team and fun with some of the new friends I meet from other studios. I like hearing the judges critics so I can get better! I recommend defiantly going to Turn It Up! Melissa and Laura and really nice, my dance team likes them a lot!

We brought 5 solists to Turn It Up in Pittsburgh as an optional competition. This was our first time at Turn It Up and we had wonderful time. All of the staff was super friendy and upbeat and made it a enjoyable experience. The competition ran on time, and finished Sun afternoon which was nice. Thanks for everything!

I am a dancer who has attended Turn It Up for the past three years. I\'ve went to conventions, regionals, and nationals. Turn It Up is by far the best competition I have ever been to! They are we organized, fair and always on time!! I recommend going Turn It Up!!!

I am a dancer who has attended Turn It Up for three years and I love this competition. It is extremely organized and I highly recommend that new studios try it out!

I am a studio owner in a small town in PA. I have been to dance competitions and conventions from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. To Pittsburgh. Turn it up is by far the best we have been to. The owners and entire staff are always friendly and respectful. The judges are different at all the competitions but are all respected professionals with credentials to be judging a competition. My dance team consist of about 10-15 girls. We have been to Turn it up dance competitions where we have done very well and where we haven\'t. I have read reviews on here stating that only the big studios with 100+ numbers win. That is not true. We have won, or at least placed when we have even had as little as 6 numbers entered all weekend long. The girls love the competitions, the conventions, and the experience of going to nationals in ocean city. I would highly recommend turn it up and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

I am a Studio Owner and Parent of a dancer. We have been attending Turn It Up Dance Challenge for the past 8 years!! My studio LOVES the TIUP atmosphere and competition.My students look forward to regionals and NATIONALS every year!!! My students and I have made LIFE LONG friends at TIUP!!! I would HIGHLY recommend this dance competition/convention to everyone!!! GREAT JOB LADIES!!! XOXO

I attended the Pittsburgh, PA competition with my daughter\'s recreational studio this past weekend. She had a blast and one of her groups was even awarded a special award from the judges! As a business owner myself, I could tell Turn It Up is organized and professional. They ran exactly on time the whole weekend...which is not the case from our past few events!! When I was assisting with props backstage, the directors were eager to help out and made sure we were all set. I am surprised to see negative reviews from the same event that I was at...sounds like a bunch of sore losers to me.

We absolutely LOVE this competition! We return year after year and have been with them since day one. They treat everyone like family, no matter how big or how small your studio is...because we are not a huge studio. The scheduling always runs on time...or even slightly ahead...which is a huge plus! Also, they take into consideration scheduling requests, which really helps when I have families that have obligations the same weekend as competition. They really know how to run a fair, professional competition. The environment is unlike other competitions. The events are always upbeat and fun...and the kids walk away with a memorable experience. One thing I especially love about Turn It Up is that they always tell the kids that it is more than just the awards that they receive, but to continue to learn from the judges critiques and grow and continue practicing for next time! It is like a breath of fresh air at this competition. I highly recommend Turn It Up Dance Challenge to all other studios!

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The total unprofessionalism of this competition overall is disappointing. The expectation upon entering a child in a dance competition is to give them the opportunity to perform and receive a professional, unbiased evaluation and critique of their technical ability and overall performance. The judges and director of this competition were so obviously unqualified to fairly judge entrants based on their abilities and rather chose a particular dance school to present awards. Turn It Up Dance Challenge is unqualified, unprofessional and totally biased.

Do not support this venue. Granted, I have only been a dance dad for 2 years now but involved in over 20 of these events now. This was a great disappointment. Dancers that I seen from several schools that scored very high at other locations were given low scores at this competition. One particular school was given a strangely high number of high marks and awards. Overheard several parents from other schools just as surprised by the scoring let alone giving high marks to selections that had NC-17 rated lyrics. Compound that along with poor scheduling of presentations, it falls below the level of wasting those precious days off for such disappointment. Overall awards were on a separate day then performances and it appeared that one school was so aggravated by the organizers that they pulled the rest of their performers and left a day early. With so many organizations that provide these venues, your hard earned dollars would be much better spent with a different company.

This was the worst competionthat I have attended. It was very clear that it was biased! There were children that gave flawless performances that were given lower awards than children that literally stood on stage & forgot half of their routine. It seemed that you had to be a dancer from one specific studio to score above a gold. Don\'t waste the time or the money to attend this competition.

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Bias judging just plain unfair in general do not go to this competition! Will not go back

Loved the venue, but wasn\'t crazy about the overall competition. It seemed a bit disorganized.

Attended your competition and was impressed with the level of organization and professionalism of the staff and procedures as a whole. Of the three judges, only one gave consistent technical corrections. Would have liked more quality critiques from all 3. I would like you to consider one constructive criticism and possibly implement change: Awards. I understand the rankings for Novice, Intermediate, or Recreational vs. Competitive, etc. However, I think to avoid manipulation or confusion regarding placement of a dancer into one of these categories, two things could be implemented. 1) no Platinum to any category below competitive. 2) no top 5 awards for any category below the competitive. I believe this would motivate teachers to place dancers in the appropriate categories. It would motivate dancers to want to train more in order to achieve these awards and placements. And it would eliminate a dancer who is spending more hours in the classroom from having to hear a novice dancer being awarded a higher medal and a high score. These honors should be reserved for the dancers choosing to dedicate themselves and qualify for a competitive level of competition.

By far the WORST dance competition we have attended. Too many numbers (almost 600). Too late at night for young dancers to be performing. Judging was questionable. High score/special awards were given to dances/dancers performing numbers to inappropriate songs. No mention in program as to what background in dance/performingarts the judges had. Horrible.

Have been to this comp twice. Both times they ran behind schedule and the stage was small!

I love Turn It Up! The staff is very nice and it is always a fun time at this competition.

While the elimination of categories may make it more enjoyable for the \"dance moms\" to watch, it leads to inconsistent scoring within categories (which is how overall awards are eventually given out). We all know that time of day, placement of routine, etc has everything to do with scoring. All routines in a category are NOT scored the same when one competes at 8am on Saturday and another at 3pm on Sunday. As a teacher/judge you cannot remember every routine over a weekend and compare them consistently every time. This format does not benefit the dancers. Was even worse for nationals when it\'s over 4-5 days instead of 2-2.5.

I would highly recommend this competition! We have been attending for several years and have received nothing but top notch service and satisfaction. Melissa and Lora (director & assistant dir) are sweethearts and you can tell they truly care about each and every dancer. This competition always runs on time and we have felt the scoring was fair. We also LOVE the DVD critiques. Cant wait for next season.