COMPETITION DETAIL

I have attended this competition for YEARS and disagree with most of these reviews. Yes, it is a very large competition. Yes, there are several rooms going on at the same time. If you enter a zillion routines, you should expect some scheduling conflicts. There are 700-1000 dancers that go, not just you. Don't expect complete catering to you when there is everyone else also. Practice your quick changes - every one else has to. Once the studio I was involved in stopped competing there, I signed on as a judge in the past. I moved away from the area so I am not involved currently. And no, I was not from any of the studios complained about in other reviews. Yes, a lot of the same people win - because they are GOOD. No favorites, no catering. I've spoken with most of the other judges. Not one has been "taken out for dinner or drinks" so I'm not sure where you pulled that from. Judges do not confer with each other and never know how each other has scored for a routine. Judges don't even see the end results. The director doesn't sit there and say "ok - score this way." One judge may have a bracket they routinely score in from 80-90. Another may be higher at 85-95. The other all 94+. They will use the same brackets every time they judge across the competition. And everyone else in your category will have the same brackets. So yes, completely feasible for your scores to be 97, 96 and an 84. That last judge just has higher expectations. Also - how do you know you didn't lose by 0.1 or 0.2? You don't. And there are very few "national level" competitors that show up there to constantly earn 100s. That's the point of having more than one judge - to get more than one opinion. Every judge there (that I have met) has either an extensive background as a dancer and winning competitor, an instructor, studio owner, dance degree, professional performer... They all have extensive backgrounds. Yes there are a few older judges, but they didn't suddenly lose concept of proper technique. Technique is lost in current dance. Amping up difficulty without proper execution is awful - and what I see most often. The director is bringing on more and more younger judges, and I bet your scores were still the same. If you are upset about losing, revisit your routines. Is the technique impeccable? Is the stage presence incomparable? Is the choreography age appropriate and to the relevant difficulty? If your performance can't compete with the powerhouse studios mentioned, time to step up your game (or go to easier competitions). Competition is to award the BEST that show up. Try harder. Do better. Occasionally, someone who shouldn't have won sneaks through - but I have seen that happen at every. single. competition up and down the east coast. If you can't handle this, why are you even a competition dancer? You should want to work hard and earn the wins. Not just be given them. Technique is lost on current dancers. Time to do it right.

Have been going here for 5 years. EVERY SINGLE YEAR, it\'s the same dance studio\'s that win.....AMSD, Elite, Dean\'s..... some are justifiable. Some you can tell are biased. ESPECIALLY to AMSD. Had a child in it this year. In TV category, one judge gave her a 99, one gave a 98.8...... the last one gave an 83. HOW is THAT justifiable. It\'s nonsense. And of course, the \"preferred\" studio won. This is the end of the road for Kind of Prussia for us. The judges are too old as well. HOW do they know what good hip hop is??? It\'s crazy... long.... disorganized. WE... ARE.... DONE. Onto bigger and better things. HAve at it AMSD an Elite..... if THIS is how you want to win (by having 16+ kids in a trio and adding a 6 year old to bring your age division down), then have at it. We\'ll go where there is true all around talent, no cheating, and no biased opinions. Other kids works just as hard. Just because you take the judges out for dinner and drinks should guarantee a top three. Booooooooo to PAA at KOP.

Went to this competion for years. It is unorginized expecially awards. Price is cheap because only 1st, 2nd and 3rd receive trophies. This year our schedule is not avalible with less than 2 weeks before competion. Competion can be very long because some kids are in several numbers and sometimes holds up competion. I wish they would limit the number of solos that one could do.

What all the other reviews are saying is true. Very disorganized awards ceremony to long. The judges are way past there prime. The fees are cheap that\'s a plus.

I see a lot of negativity, but honestly we really enjoy this comp. I\'ve been at this event as both dancer and teacher for 13+ years and we always look forward to returning. It is a very large comp: May\'s event will see 800-1000+ dancers, November about 2/3 that. It spans 2-3 days, depending. There are no entry limits for dancers/studios, which some dislike, but I love the opportunity it provides for our dancers to perform, grow and experience. Fees are the lowest I\'ve seen: under $20 for solos, less for D/T/G/L. Not a national level comp, agreed, but there are great dancers that do attend, and it isn\'t always easy to place. It does get a little chaotic, but nothing I\'ve never been able to handle. 2-3 ballrooms compete simultaneously (less time wasting). Awards ceremony is long (4-5 hrs) all on Sunday. I actually prefer this method. I\'ve been to comps where performances are broken up by awards, and sometimes dancers get sad/discouraged if they place low, and it hinders later performances. Better for sanity to keep it all on one day. High quality trophies/titles awarded. Only top 3 in each cat/div place (gives more to work for!) Judges are not that bad at all; some are older, plenty younger. All former teachers, dancers, comp directors, etc. In the 1000s of scoresheets we\'ve had, less than a handful were WTF moments (you get that everywhere though). I appreciate the classic critiques, always spot on and helpful. (Do you want to improve? Or just win?) Never experienced a clash between their generation of style and current styles. We don\'t always win, but we agree with scores and critiques given. Very nice hotel, ballrooms. Large KOP mall across the street, pool nearby - lots to do in between numbers. Long weekends, but always worthwhile. Competition has existed for 35+ years. Popular for a reason.

After spending the past year attending \'real\' dance competitions (NYCDA, Groove, Jump), I can honestly say this competition is a joke. We attended PAA for 6 years. It was utter chaos. Competitors are scheduled to compete in different numbers at the same time at opposite ends of the hotel. There is no limit on the number of entries a studio can enter. The rooms get behind by hours. The judges, as far as I know, have no real dance or performance related credentials (and truly are ‘past their prime’ as noted above). They allow studio owners (with no known credentials) to judge at certain times, but then compete at others. The children dance on ballroom floors (no elevated stages). The rooms are small, and observers are allowed to practically sit on top of the judges during the event. There is one awards ceremony at the end of the entire competition. It begins at 11a and doesn\'t end until close to 5p. It\'s long and drawn out. We only ever attended the May competition. Even though my children were awarded first place in many categories, no scholarships or cash prizes were provided. We only took home the same cheap blue trophy every year. My advice, avoid this competition and invest your money into a well known, reputable competition.

Venue nice. Competition overall seemed unorganized. Awards ceremony boring and way to long. Seems same studio won almost every award.

It\'s a crazy competition to say the least! The venue is nice, it\'s held in the same location every time. This isn\'t a National level competition, but I\'ll tell you, you know you\'ve competed when your done with the weekend. Some of the categories were so big they had to split division into 2 or sometimes 3, and each division still has 15 or more in it. The judges to me were the only problem, many seemed to be \"past their prime\" to put is nicely and their resumes weren\'t really anything that made me feel like paying for their opinion was worth it. The cash prizes at their championships are huge! Be prepared to sit through a VERY LONG awards ceremony!