COMPETITION DETAIL

We usually enjoy Encore regionals. We love how they do overall placements and how they adjudicate. It's always fair, and judged based on their criteria. This was our first year at Nationals. Didn't know paying for a red carpet gala at more than $100 a ticket was a thing, but for Encore it was. The 800 seats sold out within 20 minutes. Dancers guaranteed to be in it, did not get tickets. Dancers who earned the opportunity to be on the Elite team did not get tickets and neither did their parents. We excitedly went anyway. MY teen tapper was in the 2nd session of the event. The sound was NOT figured out prior to Dancers taking the stage, and they had tap mics under it. When my daughter began her solo, they turned the volume down so low, and the tap mics up so loud(she has powerful feet to begin with) that she could NOT hear her music. Her director couldn't from the 1st row, and I couldn't from the second row. She was judged and adjudicated unfairly against jazz, ballet, contemporary, and lyrical that had full volume. Per encore rules, if it is a technical error on their part, a competitor will be allowed a redo. My child was not offered this courtesy. Luckily they figured it out before large groups, lines and productions. Either way I paid an entry fee for her to be set up for failure on Encore's part. Months of prep and money down the drain due to sound issues. Luckily, she still placed. The rest of the event seemed to be based on entertainment value and not the criteria set forth by Encore which is stated in the program and online. If it's not typically at a comp, it needs to be scored exactly the same as any other routine. If you don't know that style, it's not fair to score high based on ignorance. Every production guaranteed to go to gala getting a Can I Get An Encore no matter what was not ok either. Adjudication has criteria!!!! Period!!!!!!!! The gala was a hot mess. Career in the local tavern industry and I immediately recognized that the announcer was intoxicated. The 360 camera for that many people was a bad idea, it didn't work most of the red carpet portion and a lot of people didn't even get a turn. Should have had a few. No actual red carpet. Prix fix menu, one option. Not ok for allergies and autoimmune disorders. Division 1 up against division 3 for Best in Show was a complete waste of our time. In the meantime if you didn't have a gala ticket you were banished to the dressing room and were only allowed into the room when you performed. For 5 hours. Luckily we are innovative and found a way for our team to cheer on our friends. You have potential, Encore. Do better. Nationals 6/2024

10 years of dancing the a pay to watch gala/recompete showcase is a first for us. The gala that is at the national event is a complete waste of money and is such a scam. There were only 800 seats, they charged an average of $100 to see the gala, have a not so great meal that no one had a choice of food or a they could buy a pay per view for $45. Parents that already paid for their national competition fees then had to pay more for a ticket and find gala clothes if they wanted to attend the gala. They had a “red carpet” event that did not have a red carpet and was not an event at all. It was some 360° cameras set up in the hallway, that is it. The competition already knew that EVERY production was going to the gala, but never even gave those parents a chance to get tickets before they ran out in a matter of 20 mins. Let’s talk about those that were on the Encore Elite team and got to perform at the gala. They had to pay $150 or more for a 2 piece costume, then they had to buy high top, lace up boots, a belt, fishnets, and black short on top of the $150 and had to buy a gala ticket if they wanted to see this special performance. No Let’s talk about the lights, tap mics and the sound issues. The lights should be on before the dancers music starts, not the other way around. Either use the floor mics or don’t. Some tappers had the mics, some didn’t. The AV person didn’t have it set when the dancer went on stage so as the dancer was dancing, the mics and music volumes adjusted. Obviously, this messed up some of the dancers. It’s also not fair that some dancers had mics for the judges to hear and some didn’t. This changes the sounds. Honestly, tap mics are not necessary that’s why most comps don’t use them. The judges are right there in front. They can hear and see the tap sounds. They had signs up threatening to fine us for bringing in outside food and drink. Really? The venue didn’t have food that everyone likes, can afford, or can eat for a number of reasons. Threatening signs, this is the most absurd thing. How about signs that say, “Don’t make a mess and if you do, please clean up after yourself.” They know we are there all day and have children to feed. Overall it was just okay. It could get better if they listen to parent's concerns and think about how to make it fun and not a get rich quick scheme.

We really enjoy this competition every year and we do nationals with them every other year in texas

Enjoyed this competition a lot last year, things seemed to have changed though. Always ran about 30 minutes behind schedule and personal relationships between judges/directors and studio owners/dancers. staff backstage is very nice.

It was nice to see something other than lyrical/contemporary rewarded. However, the judging was inconsistent. While I do appreciate the show running on time, they crossed the line into rushed. I dislike the lack of category awards. The awards ceremony is loud. It just seemed to be a give us your money and now hurry up and leave. Once again - another competition that seemed to favor the large studios, i.e. the ones that spent the most. We won\'t be back.

We always look forward to this event!

Always so professional. They run on time. I appreciate the professional judges and the helpful critiques. A class act!

Very good except for the fact that there is NO ONE else in the division 3 level so we are just competing against ourselves! And they don\'t really care about sportsmanship because this one studio there was SUPER rude and they didn\'t care they sat there and watched them do it! But overall very good competition, nice scheduling, and fair judging.

We have been attending Encore since our studio started competing 5 years ago and it has always been a great experience. Caron runs a very professional event and the judges are extremely qualified. A few things I would do to make it better would be a shorter awards ceremony and have separate commentary but other than that we always come away feeling like the staff really cared about each and every performer. The critiques we receive are always very useful. I highly recommend giving them a try. Your dancers will come away having a great experience.

Presenter seemed very sweet. New city this year San Diego. Horrible venue. Fallbrook high school. I was most disappointed by the lack of judging the judges did in terms of level placements. There were only three elite dancers that were honest enough to dance at that level. It was quite obvious that a high majority of the level two dancers should have competed in the level three catagory. The Judges did not recognize and address this issue, yet instead applauded San Diego for such great talent. I\'m so tired of studio\'s placing there dancers down so they will place in the over all. Get a clue! And let\'s start a real competition going. I see this all the time it drives me CRAZY challenge your dancers already

This comp struggles to attract division 3 participants and every time we go we end up competing against ourselves.

Enjoyed how it was ran, everyone in the staff was very kind and helpful. Ran on time, very fair judging. It was nice to see the judges back farther than just right up front. I loved watching all the performances so much more with the dancers looking out at up at the audience not just dancing for the judges!

I enjoy this competition and staff every year. Fair judging, well run, and the staff is great with my students. Love them!

Karen does a great job at staying on time and running a good competition that scores appropriately. The only bad thing is the award ceremonies are pretty long. This year, they had one lasted well over an hour with 5 and 6 year olds up on stage. It was WAY too long for those little ones.

Love Encore --runs on time Karen the director is awesome give extra studio and special awards look forward to doing competition next year

Not sure what to think. The audio critiques were tough because the judges talked at the same time, on one recording. No special awards were given, and the awards we\'re read off too quickly. The schedule was messed up and we ended up waiting 30 minutes for one dance to go on. It ran very early.

My studio attended Encore for the first time this year. It is very different from any competition we\'ve ever been to, but in a good way. They ran on time, in order, and Caron and her staff were awesome!! One thing that I really loved was the judging. Most video critiques from other competitions are very short, and they don\'t really elaborate and sometimes makes it difficult to understand what they\'re talking about. At Encore, the judges talk on the video critique throughout the entire dance and notice every single detail. It helps tremendously!! I loved this competition and look forward to attending again in the future.

Encore is a standard for our studio and I\'ve always been impressed with the professional manner in which it\'s operated. This year was no different. However, some accommodations were made for girls in our area that had prom- which I think is great! But, because of that, the junior groups danced late into Saturday night. My daughter\'s last dance was at 10:30 at night and awards were going on past 11:30. Then, Junior soloists came back at 7 Sunday morning. That\'s a bit tough for a 9 year old! (and an old mom) The judging was tough, but we can handle that. I highly recommend this competition.

We look forward to this competition every year!

Love love love this competition. Very professional, everything ran on time and every studio was assigned owned dressing room! The only reason I didn\'t give it five stars was because I thought judges were looking for only lyrical routines both for groups and solos. Felt they didn\'t give other types of dance a chance.

In my daughter\'s 11 years of competing this is the only competition I have seen that goes EXACTLY in the order printed. This means they actually put thought into the order, taking costuming issues into consideration PRIOR to the event. The staff is so professional. This year was our first year to attend this competition and I wish we had gone years ago! In regards to the awards, the judging is harder than other competitions. This is a good thing, however, because there is nothing sillier than an awards ceremony where 95% of the entries receive the same award. What is the point of a COMPETITION if everyone is scored the same?

Loved the Encore competition. Professional, yet kid-centered. Positive experience and my students had a blast. The weekend was a good length... Long enough to feel like a real competition (lots of studios) but not so horrible that you wanted to poke your eyes out each day. My only beef is that the judges critiques make me feel crazy- three people talking at once is just tough on the ears. We will definitely go back to this one.

Major disappointment - biased toward larger studios who attend their finals. Judging not consistent and their turn rule is ridiculous and doesn\'t solve the problem of studios placing more advanced dancers into lower divisions. Could not pay me to attend this competition again.

I\'m not a fan of \"leveled\" competitions because you just can\'t make all people happy. They tried something different (the whole number of turns thing) and I\'m not sure it\'s working. I don\'t like that all three critiques on the the same dvd. The judges are talking over each other. Interesting that there were 14 5 star ratings all within one week, by one time posters... just saying

Being in the industry working for many other dance competitions and conventions, we are in a unique in a way since we see it from the outside and the inside. From an organizational standpoint, Encore has got it going on, from signing up to having everything inplace on the day of the event. There are NO favorites in judging and critiques which is awesome, and with everything else in place, it just creates a fun, stress-free event that is super easy to enjoy. If you are a studio looking for a competition, I would definitely check out Encore, obviously I am not the only one that agrees.

This competition is completely biased. If you are looking for a fair judged comp, this is NOT it. Our studio got all gold where at other comps we get High Gold/platinum. Other studios got ALL platinum -__-

Encore is definitely my daughter's favorite dance competition of the season. She knows the competition in division 3 will be very tough but she looks forward to the judge's comments knowing that they will be critiques that are fair, accurate and specific to her performance level. Caron and her staff are extremely organized & nothing but professional at all times. This is particularly important to me because as a parent I appreciate the staff representing Encore in such a positive manner and being great role models for the dancers & families. We have attended Nationals three years and the convention is outstanding as well as the entire competition. It's obvious that Encore is dedicated to providing an over the top national experience by selecting a great venue like Cashman Theater in Las Vegas to host their national competition. The best compliment that I can give Encore is to note that my daughter has made friends from different studios & states from attending Encore and at the end of the day that is the most important part of competition- not being the person or studio with the biggest trophy. Great job Encore...... See you in April!

Wonderful competition, professionally run, nice people, highly recommended.

Such a great comp! Everyone of the staff is kind and amazing. They are very supportive and love the art of dance. I would highly recommend if you want to go to a well run competition.

LOVE!! They have an amazing staff, always professional and well organized. As a teacher I am most impressed by their passion for the ART of dance. Many competitions that we've been to are more interested in tricks but here we always know that they appreciate creativity and emotion. A choreographers dream and our students love it too!

I have been taking dancers to this competition for years! They are always organized, on time and maintain a very supportive staff and judging system. The main thing I appreciate about this competition is that they always support choreography that is artistic and always reward quality over quantity. They always go above and beyond to recognize the creativity behind every dance and our dancers and teachers really appreciate Encore for that! We LOVE them so much!!

WOW!!!!!!!! The Staff is amazing, The Quality is amazing, The Talent is amazing & most important to me as a studio owner it's a family atmosphere. It's the only competition I have commited my studio to for more than 8 years! It's the best in my opinion and the levels are a huge bonus for us! We are HUGE HUGE FANS!

I honestly cannot say enough about this wonderful system! Caron and her staff truly go above and beyond to make sure this competition is the best experience you will ever have. We have attended regionals as well as nationals for the last 4 years and never once has Encore been late...with anything! The staff, judges, and Caron are all extremely personable and professional. We recently changed studios and encouraged our new studio to attend Encore...no surprise here....it is now the favorite system of the studio! The master classes at nationals are staffed with the most amazing teachers and my daughter leaves each year feeling more confident in herself as a young dancer. This can only come from a system that runs professionally, courteously and respectfully. Thank you Encore for treating all of your dancers like family!

The Encore performing arts showcase is the BEST most well run competition out there! Caron Moore and the Encore staff certainly have differentiated themselves as first class professionals in every way! Always on time, passionate about each and EVERY dancer on stage, and demonstrate a unique level of credible ethics and integrity from start to finish. It is always such a pleasure attending the Encore dance competitions, and will continue to do so.

I'm actually a judge for this competition and have judged for a few others competitions throughout the years and ENCORE is superior to all of them. I truly believe that everyone I have ever sat with on this panel has EACH and EVERY dancer's best interest at heart. I feel we give the best critiques for your children no matter their skill level and we really try to judge each dancer as an individual, we don't favor studios. And I really appreciate the attempt by ENCORE to create levels and rules to follow cause I started dancing at 17 and I had to compete against people that had been dancing since they were 3, I had NO SHOT of placing. I love coming back year after year to see your kids grow and improve and I hope some of what we say has a little part to do with it. I have been told by so many students, parents and teachers that my critiques are always the funniest and the best to listen to over and over. I hope that what I say helps build your dancers into a well rounded student technique, performance and connection to song or emotion. Im so thankful to ENCORE for allowing me to be a part of creating the future of performing arts.

My daughter has been dancing since the age of two and has danced competitively since she was 5. She is now a freshman in college so that's a lot of years of dance and competitions! We attended several competitions and conventions throughout her years of dance and the one that stands out the most is Encore. It is the one competition she looked forward to every year and that means a lot. She also attended Nationals in Las Vegas the last three years and considers her experiences at Encore as one of the highlights of her dance years. As a parent, it makes me feel good to see how special each dancer is treated by Caron and her staff. The competition is always very organized and runs on time. The staff always has a smile on their faces! That makes a paying customer feel good. I also feel Encore hires awesome judges who give excellent advise to the dancers-advice they can use to improve. Another HUGE compliment to Encore is I was not able to attend Nationals with my daughter this year in Las Vegas so my husband took her. He had nothing but good things to say about how it was run and the friendly staff. If you knew my husband, you would know that is a HUGE compliment! Encore has always been a very positive experience for my daugher as a dancer and to me as a parent. LOVE this competition!

I am and parent of three kids who have danced at Encore Performing Arts over the last several years. I have truly loved coming to this competition both regional and national over the years. They are so professional and have wonderful and friendly staff. There judges are the best I have seen and really get to know the kids. This dance competition is really part of my dance family. My girls love coming and enjoying all aspects of this competition. I recommend this competition to every one I see when they are asking me where we compete at. Caron Moore knows the parents and kids by name and welcomes you from beginning to end. They offer not only an amazing and profession competition but, so much more. For instance, at their nationals if your child is selected at the regional competiton to be on the Elite Dance team it is an honor. When selected for this your child gets to be apart of the showcase when at Nationals and will receive a scholorship to the workshop at the beginning of the week of nationals. This is a huge honor and opportunity for your dancer. I can not say enough about this competition. Love love love them!!!!!!!!!

I can't say enough about Encore. Our studio goes every year and for good reason. They offer different levels based on skill and they are VERY strict about it, making it hard for the competitors leveling down for a trophy. The critiques are FABULOUS. You get a video critique from each judge and they are very helpful, valuable critiques. The staff is wonderful and a pleasure to deal with. I always look forward to attending this comp!

This competition is on the small side--and that is a good thing for your dancer. The judges value technique, artistry and dance innovation. You won't see a lot of non age-appropriate costumes and choreo. Rather, you'll see many very polite young ladies and gentlemen who have received good all-around dance training. The people who run the show are very competent, organized, and kind. They want to support dance education at a high level and give our kids a chance to shine. The judging is fair, and they don't hand out the highest awards like candy. You will have to work to get platinums. At nationals, they bring in quality professional dancers and industry people to run the workshops and judge. Our studio has attended this competition, both regionals and nationals, for many years. I've seen it grow, but I haven't seen the organizers compromise their strong dance values just to attract more studios or make money. I'm glad my daughters had the opportunity to dance at Encore.

This dance competition is absolutely AMAZING!! The staff, judges, and Caron Moore are so friendly and good at what they do. I would suggest going to this competition because of it's integrity and professionalism. rn

Absolutely loved this competition!!!! Our studio has been looking for a new competition to explore over the past couple of years and we had been hearing so many good things about Encore. We decided to go out on a limb and boy was the risk worth taking. The judging was the best we have ever seen, with extensive and informative critiques through audio and video recordings as well as a clear written score that was easy to see and understand. They bring in true professionals who really know their craft and indulge in not just teachers, but choreographers, agents and dancing artists. They ran on time, the staff was courteous, always asking if there was anything they could do to help us and the program was easy to follow. One thing i personally loved about this competition was the divisions they had, based on the number of turns you could do in a routine. I felt like by enforcing these rules everyone was on the same playing field and it gave an opportunity for my less advanced kids to really shine to perform at their best. Encore will be on our list every year to attend. We also attended their Nationals in Las Vegas and again they fulfilled every possible expectation of mine to the fullest, which i have to say is really hard to do. Our parents were happy, I was happy, our kids were thrilled and we will be recommending Encore for many years to come for everyone to enjoy.

love this competition, they are fair, professional, and organized

We attended Encore this season in Fort Worth. We had a great time. Some of our best critiques came from this competition. I understand that some people are frustrated by the number of turns defining a division level but it is one of the most fair ways to do it. As a teacher, I know that none of my dancers can pull off 5 a la seconde turns if they only dance 3 hours a week. Unfortunately, there are several teachers out there that are dishonest about the number of hours a student dances. At least this way it keeps people a tad more honest. And yes, I am fully aware that you can have a super advanced dancer in Division 2 who performs with no turns. Welcome to the dance biz folks... or life... its not always perfect but they sure are trying to make it as fair as possible.

Well run show. Nice facilities and staff.

Not a huge fan. The divisions are based on how many turns you can do, but my dancers dance the hours of a division one with technique levels of division 2-3. I places the DANCER IN A DIVISION, but other studios placed the routines. So division 3 soloists combined to do division 2 duets and groups. Not exactly fair in my book.

I loved this competition. I thought that the judging was fair and every dancer left feeling special. All of the dances ran on time or ahead of schedule. The audio feedback from the judges was helpful. I wish their scoresheets had better notes on them. We had to share a dressing room with a few other studios but that was not a huge issue. The only negative that I had to say was that the running of the nationals video before awards was annoying. They should have it playing in the lobby instead of right before awards.

It was OK

Encore\'s divisions are based on the number of turns a dancer does and I don\'t agree with that. Advanced technique can have no turns at all or can have 2 turns, thus putting them into a division lower than they should be. Its overall not fair and we won\'t be back. We saw a very large studio sweep an entire division because they placed they\'re students in a category they should not have been in. Not a happy mama!!

so-so comp. they play their national video before EVERY award ceremony - by the end of the weekend I had seen it 4 times.