COMPETITION DETAIL

We have been attending DMA for several years, ever since my daughter was little. Everything from the convention to the competition has been a great experience. My daughter has participated in the pageant alsok which is a wonderful experience. It gives her opportunities to audition and interview, which I think is wonderful experience, especially because dance is something she hopes to do professionally someday. The convention which is held in October always offers great classes with wonderful teachers and the competition is smaller, but always a lot of fun for the kids and parents, especially if you are competiting in the pageant. Because of the size and the studios that are in our chapter, we have made many long lasting friendships! We have attended Nationals, which also has provided a lot of wonderful opportunities that my daughter will always remember! Thank you DMA!

We have been doing DMA for quite a while. The conventions are a lot of fun with great instructors, but the competition has not always been well organized! We love the judges that are brought in and appreciate their critiques but it is definitely one of the smaller competitions that we do each year. The Pageant has always been alot of fun for the kids too. My daughter has had the pleasure of experiencing and really enjoyed all aspects and plans to do it again. I especially like that they do not require the pageant winners to attend Nationals anymore as I think it kept several dancers from participating in what I feel is a great experience for them, especially those dancers that want to go on to dance professionally. Another change that has happened for the positive is the change in venue. Just this past year they switched and it was so much nicer.

We\'ve done DMA for years and it has a lot of problems in our area. The required conventions: 95% of the teachers lie about the students age and put them in the wrong class. By doing this they are ruining the class for the older kids who wanted an advance class. The Competition: Those same kids all of a sudden get 3-4 years younger. I really think if you insist you are a teen in class, then compete as a teen. Title section: This is where the locals really mess with things. The president of our chapter PICKS who is going to win in advance in each age group and doesn\'t let other dancers sign up for title. Sorry, I wish it wasn\'t true, but my daughters old dance teacher is the president. As others have mentioned; I\'ve never heard anything negative about nationals.

Great experience.

Great competition. We go to it every year and will continue to go.

Dance Masters conventions are the best! Class prices are around 30-40 dollars which is awesome compared to most conventions costing 100-200 dollars. The master teachers always come from very impressive backgrounds and the entire atmosphere of the convention is great for learning and does not feel too commercial or as if the company is all about the money.

Have attended several conventions, title competitions and dance competitions for DMA Chapter 27. Wonderful and supportive staff and always look forward to the next event.

This was very professional and teaching staff was amazing! The kids really learned a lot and had great interaction with the professional staff. It seems as though the judging was a bit unfair at times. It was hard to agree with some of the scores. Other than that, it was amazingly put together.

Even after all these years they have managed to stay with the times and put on a great convention.

On a local Chapter level, there is so much in-fighting and it is so poorly run that just getting through Chapter competition is a nightmare. Nationals is better, but this organization is stuck in the past and there are so many more opportunities out there that this one ranks way down on my list.

Always love Dance Masters!

The level of competition here is fantastic. However, the event seems to run forever and never on schedule.

This competition is stuck in years past. By today\'s competition standards it is boring, boring, boring. They have \"guest performers\" during the competition that consist of the current title holders which the membership has already seen over and over at the solo title event itself. One studio manipulates all aspects of the competitions and continuously wins everything. Most of the member chapters in our area have stopped attending their competitions for this reason.There are too many other choices for comps these days to waste time on Dance Masters. There is nothing fresh or new about this organization.

I am going to say this-- if you are in a big state with a well-run local chapter, then you are very lucky. Our local chapter is biased and very unfair. The two main large studios only give info out to their girls and they will do anything, even lie about ages, to win. Because they control everything, there is nothing anyone else can do. I raised my concerns to a higher level, but I sensed that no one wanted any bad publicity. The lady at the national level promised to get back with me, but never did. :( Also, our local chapter doesn\'t allow anyone in the audition classes and they aren\'t taped. How can any of the teachers really know what is going on in there??

I\'ve been part of Dance Masters for a really long time now. I have made so many friends through this organization and love going and seeing people and making new friends. They are still really old school in their way of doing things (for conventions you have to wear pink tights, black leotard, and hair in a bun with no clothes on over top) but its overall a fun place.

Always a great experience!

Been one of the fairest and best for decades. Still does a good job and we enjoy going every year.

Wonderful organization, locally and at a national level!!!!

Still one of our favorites. A long standing wonderful organization and well respected.

Competition is well run, but there is a strong prejudice for male dancers and tap and ballet routines. Classical jazz routines scored better than more modern styles and hip hop and contemporary styles were not well recognized for their efforts. Competition did start and end on time and there was a good cross section of talent.

Simply the Best!

Haven\'t been in years, but was excellent competition/conventions!

Great competition. Fairly run. The national competition and convention is quite large but very well organized and a lot of fun! Possibly one of the only True Nationals still out there. There are honestly studios there representing the entire US and Canada because they only do the one nationals. DMA is a non-profit organization that is made up of member teachers that run everything! The rules are strictly enforced and everyone is held to the same standard, which I find refreshing. We will definitely continue to attend Dance Masters competitions and conventions.

Great!!