COMPETITION DETAIL

Judges only care about large studios. Don't bother competing if you are from a small studio.

Competition ran 2-2.5 hours early. Studio pick has clear bias towards the studio with the most numbers competing. Awards were very confusing with elite top first, top first, and first place as the adjudication.

first time experiencing KAR and will never go back or recommend. the doors open 30 mins before comp starts. expecting dancers to get mentally and physically prepared in 30 mins. they started a regional comp on Wed. afternoon going all day Thursday-Sunday... absolutely outrageous. they let in double of routines they should have. very clear they are only worried about money and not the dancers well being and education. their scoring system is outrageous and changes depending on level, age, and routine size. awards are confusing and misleading. they scheduled line dances with over 75 dancers right away in the morning so parking was outrageous at 730 trying to get in the building. I had to have a dad park my car so I could warm up my dancers and get them on stage, he missed the dance it took so long to park. very confused on how some dances could beat a dance in a category but they could still win an overall and the other dance wouldn't. everything just seems fishy and very money oriented. I would not recommend them or their sister comps.

There are so many things about this comp that I hate. First off, the adjudications - Top First Place, Elite Top First, etc.. Who came up with that bright confusing idea? Second, this comp is as political as it gets! Don’t believe me? Browse through their results and you will see the same studios all place in the top 10. A dancer who ran off stage and didn’t finish her routine actually placed in the top 10. The judging is a complete joke. There is 0 communication between Kar and studios so if you expect to get a question answered or need anything, you can forget about it. Rude staff members. We gave this comp 2 chances just to see if things had changed any this year. Not at all. KAR truly does not care about anything but money. Thankfully we won’t be returning next year!

This was my daughter's 4th competition season, and this is one of the worst competitions we have ever attended (we did 7 others during COVID, and none were as problematic as this one). I believe the venue was selected after we registered (it was supposed to be in Denver, but was moved an hour away to Colorado Springs, which was a hassle). Our studio arrived well in advance of our scheduled start time, and they decided to start early, which caused a huge rush in our dressing room. The competition staff kept pressuring us to hurry and get started, even though it was well before the scheduled start time. As a result, our littlest kids were in a huge rush to get dressed, had no time to warm up, and as a result, were stressed and rattled during their performances. We were then rushed outside and handed trophies in the yard in front of the building. I paid for a photogenic entry day-of, but it was never listed on my profile, so I have a strong suspicion that they took my money and never registered her. All in all, poorly run, rude staff, and a very stressful experience. I hope we never have to attend again.

I sort of liked KAR but there were a lot of bad things. Cons: The venue they choose was horrible! They had a separate dressing room for boys and girls. There were a lot of big studios there and they gave us the tiniest dressing room! There were at least about 100 girls just in the tiny closet they gave us. The boys had a bigger area than us and there were about 5 of them. So many girls had to go into the bathroom to change and do their makeup. Another con is that while we were dancing onstage they were changing the volume of the music!!! They would turn it up really high almost bursting our eardrums, or have it be so quiet we can´t hear it! The pros: The staff was very nice and helpful! I also loved the app, telling people what dances were next! They also had good video and photo quaility. The juding was also fair.

We weren’t pleased with the judging for this competition. However the venue was very big and was easy to load the props into the building.

We will never go back to this competition. They awarded a vulgar dance ( and it’s not just my opinion- I know plenty of people who did not feel comfortable watching this performance as they complained and left the theatre.) 2nd place overall. This is after people got up to complain, teachers from other studios, studio owners, parents, ext. They do not stand by their word stated in their rules, and when approached, the director was nowhere to be found. Nor did they return my numerous phone calls regarding this particular event. I’m not complaining because we didn’t win first overall, I’m complaining because of their lack of concern that multiple people from multiple studios felt filthy while watching. Everyone is entitled to their opinion opinion, yes. But this was well beyond child appropriate. I care about my students being judged fairly, and as children.

The location for this competition was fantastic! Also it was an overall really fun experience!

This was my daughters very first experience doing a competition. and we have been hooked ever since. our dance teacher new how to hook the new parents. everyone we ran into had smiles on their faces and treated you like you were the stars loved it cant wait to go back. it was on mothers day so i got to enjoy the dance mom life for the first time and WOW what a great way to do it. i will never forget our first one!! thank you for making it a great experience and we have never stopped dancing

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I dread doing this competition every year. Last year we were force to pay $25.00 extra for media fee which is something we have to pay extra moving forward. Their judging is way off. The studio with the most dances is the one that wins the studio award even though the dances are not the greatest. They also have a dance convention which is a waste of time and money. We have it at our studio so we have to fork over $175.00 for over 30 kids to be crammed up in one room. Since this competition and convention are mandatory at our studio I will be taking my daughter out I will not be giving my money any more to this competition or convention

This was our first and only time we will compete at any competition by KAR or affiliated by KAR. I have attended dance comps where you hear “it’s political”, “they don’t like this style of dance or they like this style of dance”. I’m ok with that even though I thinks it’s BS because it’s a “dance comp” and every style should be judged fairly regardless of the comps preference. I also believe in “let the dance speak for itself”. If the dance and dancer is good it can’t be denied.... well I’ve been proven wrong! I have NEVER attended a dance competition where they were so blatantly bias towards one dance studio. KAR’s promotion of a particular dance studio was excruciating to watch. It does nothing to promo good sportsmanship and a healthy competitive atmosphere; quite the opposite. An example of this is dancing out of order to accommodate one studio multiple (A LOT) times during the 3 day, causing problems for other studios. Which in turn gave the “preferred” studio a sense of entitlement and arrogance towards other dancers. When a dancer says good luck say thank you, don’t smirk and roll your eyes. KAR allows super studios to run the show. KAR prefers super studios which offers them money and quantity over quality. KAR also prefers twerking and shaking your a$$ over technique. And your award scale first, top first, elite first; what the heck is that?! At least have the decency to slow down, speak clearly and louder for us to know what our routine scored. In my opinion KAR, your comp is a SCAM/FRAUD, you do NOT promote the best atmosphere for dancers to be creative, you are singularly focused on one thing $$$$. FYI... our dancers were committed to go to your Nationals in Myrtle Beach, reservations booked. Not now, we are NOT giving you any more money to have our dancers unfairly judged. I will make it my goal to let anyone and everyone know of our experience.

Walking in with no idea where to go, where the dressing rooms were, or any staff to talk to at 7am was a huge misstep. Yes, the technology factor is nice regarding the app and how they update everything. But, their point system and judging makes no sense. How did we get an overall 2nd and 1st place with the exact same composite score? Didn't seem fair to the other girls in our categories to have not placed if they too had tied with others. And don't go to Long Island if you're from the city. What a waste of your time- everyone is white, there is absolutely no diversity and everyone had a "I'd like to speak with a manager" haircut. Lots of Abby Lee wannabes with cicled feet and the same choreography entered 20 times. Yuck. The judges were very sweet but offered absolutely no real take aways. Will not return.

We attended a recent regional competition, which was probably my daughter's 5th or 6th one between two different dance studios. We always love KAR and feel that things run smoothly. The main downside is the venue, which isn't always the fault of KAR. Dressing room areas are horrible because it's in such an old theater, there is not enough space. This venue has been used for a few years now and they have made improvements, in terms of better security with employees posted at the entrance of curtains that block off the dressing room areas. But they are way too crowded and absolutely nuts on the busy days (Saturday and Sundays). Even if you arrive early in the day to get some space, it gets overrun with other dancers who plop their belongings right in front and in the "aisle" through the mess of Dream Duffles/Rack and Roll's. It's impossible to walk through there to try to find your dancer to help with quick changes, etc. As for the competition, there is always the issue of studios not seeming to enter their dances in appropriate levels, but we see this pretty much everywhere we go. They ran on time and sometimes early. Some awards are LONG, but it's hard to split them up much more than they already do. Judging was fair and it was always a good mixture of studios in the overall awards.

This was our first time at KAR and I wasn't impressed. It was on time and a little ahead of schedule at times, which is a positive. The adjudication system is silly. It's so confusing when you have the adjudications of "Elite Top First" "Top First" etc. Why put the word "first" even in it? It's not about where you placed overall.... it's about how you scored. It's especially confusing when there is an "Elite" division. I know our girls were confused on the adjudication system and it was VERY difficult to follow when they were giving awards. I'm not sure why you would go with something hard to understand....platinum, high gold, gold....or some similar system would fix this problem. Also....too many levels to compete in! I just wasn't a fan of this event and if I have it my way, would prefer to not ever return.

I enjoy attending KAR as both a dance teacher and mom. We have been attending for the past 10yrs. The venue, judges and awards ceremonies are always well put together. Communication is great before, during and after competition. I also enjoy the app you can download on your phone. Our studio attends KAR Escondido each year which always sells out. We are a smaller studio. We bring roughly 30ish routines..... I had enough staff to work back stage so I thought I would enjoy myself by sitting in the audience. I got to observe the entire weekend from a parents perspective. What I found to be most upsetting was studios placing routines in the wrong levels and what’s worse being awarded with overall placements and judges awards. Now please understand I am not playing the victim. Our studio did very well and held our own amongst the larger studios. However, I can honestly say I saw more talent in the Primary divisions then I saw in the intermediate and Secondary divisions. Triple pirouettes, advanced acrobatic skills, fuertes for days, and the confidence that they have been dancing for many seasons before...... it was only natural those routines would place in the top 3. They were gorgeous, flawless routines. It’s too bad those gorgeous routines could not bump up into the intermediate division and let the truly novice dancers dance in the beginning division. I’ve talked to KAR about this issue and they always say the same thing. They don’t know how to regulate the issue. Well for starters why don’t you start bumping up the routines that can place in the intermediate division??? Are you afraid you will loose customers? Make studio owners accountable! Overall We will continue to attend KAR each season because our studio enjoys the challenge. We may not always get top placement. There may always be a studio who comes in and Cheats. It is my hope that KAR grows a pair and makes these changes so that everyone can enjoy the competition.

Do not adhere to their own rules. Studios taking 10-15 minutes for props, not ready for their time slot. Consistently running 2 hours behind schedule. Awards very difficult to follow and understand speakers. Judges do not have a well rounded dance background or knowledge of other genres. Judges have zero interaction in dancers. Scoring all over the place and inconsistent. They ran out of programs by 10 am on Saturday morning. Pure greed-way too many routines and dancers for one competition, not enough dressing space. We will not be back. They cater to the bigger studios.

Sometimes I wish they would check the kids and their levels better. Sometimes these kids are far better and do not believe they belong in certain levels!

Love KAR! High energy and just a fun competition.

Very nice Venue. Large and accommodating for all dancers. Kids had a good time and were treated right. Not a lot of studios were there for the event but we moved quickly because of it.

I was hesitant to attend KAR after reading the reviews for this season here, but tried to go in with an open mind. Sadly, I agree with a lot of the reviewers. If you look at each category you'll notice that whichever studio brought the most routines will be the top 5. Plus, I've never been to a comp that has a top 10, but awards them in separate groups and makes 10-6 feel like they're second class winners. Anyone who pays attention to an actual honest competition awards session will know that the point difference in a 1st place routine and 10th place routine can be just a few points. Making the dancers at the end of the line up sit down while you call up the "real" overall winners, talk to all of them, and wait for their choreographers to come on stage for pictures is ridiculous and a complete waste of time. They also send dancers out into the audience with buckets to collect donations while they talk about their charity work. As you can imagine, awards take more than a minute. The judges critiques were a joke and not worth the time it took to listen (no video critiques). They spent a good portion of the time on the costume, one took points aways because she didn't like the chosen dance shoe, and overall gave about 1helpful correction on the actual dance. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!

First, if there are five or four entries in a category, why not announce all of them in ranking order instead of only announcing top three? Our dancers like to know where they placed. Secondly, at the Lenoir regional they "ran out" of pins and crowns for title winners. We were told they would mail the pins and crowns to the studio. This is unacceptable. Our competition was small. There was no way they could have "run out" Saturday morning. They obviously did not prepare. Many dancers love to collect these pins. Entry fees are expensive and if the only thing they get to show for it is a pin, they should at least have those. Same for crowns. If dancers place in the title competition, yet all they get is a piece of paper, they are not getting the experience of getting crowned on stage. This is very disappointing and should not happen. Last, I believe we found out that the invitations to the NYC experience are determined randomly. We had a dancer who did not compete her solo, yet her name was still listed in the program, and she was announced as a winner of the NYC experience! She didn't even dance! I think this proves that these "invitations" that they hand out are not special or even picked based on any type of merit. It seems they randomly picked them and this time they picked someone who did not even dance. This is really bad. I tried to reference the Lenoir, NC event but it was not listed in the drop down menu below. Along with others, I also agree that judging is questionable but that is my own opinion. Not having pins and crowns, and giving out awards to people who didn't even dace, are not acceptable.

First, if there are five or four entries in a category, why not announce all of them in ranking order instead of only announcing top three? Our dancers like to know where they placed. Secondly, at the Lenoir regional they "ran out" of pins and crowns for title winners. We were told they would mail the pins and crowns to the studio. This is unacceptable. Our competition was small. There was no way they could have "run out" Saturday morning. They obviously did not prepare. Many dancers love to collect these pins. Entry fees are expensive and if the only thing they get to show for it is a pin, they should at least have those. Same for crowns. If dancers place in the title competition, yet all they get is a piece of paper, they are not getting the experience of getting crowned on stage. This is very disappointing and should not happen. Last, I believe we found out that the invitations to the NYC experience are determined randomly. We had a dancer who did not compete her solo, yet her name was still listed in the program, and she was announced as a winner of the NYC experience! She didn't even dance! I think this proves that these "invitations" that they hand out are not special or even picked based on any type of merit. It seems they randomly picked them and this time they picked someone who did not even dance. This is really bad. I tried to reference the Lenoir, NC event but it was not listed in the drop down menu below. Along with others, I also agree that judging is questionable but that is my own opinion. Not having pins and crowns, and giving out awards to people who didn't even dace, are not acceptable.

As a dance parent, this is the competition I dread the most every season. Judging is questionable and this place seems to cater to large studios. They do not post score break downs so they can have control over picking what the dancer gets or who places and who doesn't. Not a very honest competition. Our location is usually small with only one large neighboring studio in attendance every year and they usually sweep the whole competition not necessarily because they are phenomenal technical dancers, but instead because they bring the most money. This large studio also has dance chorography by KAR convention teachers. Every year, only this studio's dance pictures/videos make it onto KAR's social media while all the other smaller studios in attendance does not. Most elite top first adjudications were reserved for the large studio and the boy dancers but that's another whole story. I agree with the reviews down below that this competition runs on a who is cuter or who has the loudest costumes. KAR runs on over the top costumes and crazy big faces, not judged on dancing ability and technique. I wish our studio owner would stop picking this mess every year but although we place horribly here every year (we usually do well at other comps) the boys does well here so that could be a reason for our teams forced return. I guess we'll have to take one for the team but it's a HUGE waste of money. KAR is expensive. If you're stuck going here, is a smaller studio, and don't belong on KAR's list of favorites, don't expect a fair playing field, just clap, roll your eyes discreetly, and move along. If your a big loud studio with a ton of dances, ENJOY!

Absolutely crazy scoring this last competition. In the petite level, top 10 consisted of two 4 olds and several 5 year olds. There are NO way that a 4 year old should have been in the top 5. Seriously? They were judged on cuteness only. There should be a tiny tot level like Applause. A 4 year old should not be judged against a 7 or 8 year old. There was also one studio that would not show up for their scheduled time. We did keep track and every single solo/duet/group from said studio never performed on time. Most of the time they danced hour or two later.

Very poor judging! It seemed like they were going for cuteness and not on technique.

Completely disappointed with this competition. There was underjudging for cuteness rather than technique.

love

I have done Kar before with my children and had a great time, unfortunately I can not say the same about this past experience, routines called out of order ALL weekend to the point some moms missed their kids perform. Then when our studio owners asked to have one of our routines pushed back 10 mins to allow or girls to catch their breath and change before basically back to back Hip Hop Routines we were told no. Had girls coming off stage after second routine about ready to pass out. Schedule your stuff better!! Hopefully our studio owner will skip this one this year.

KAR, hire more young judges, from various parts of the country, who are knowledgeable about technique and today's innovative dance styles. Provide a mix of judges on a panel: male AND female, tappers, ballet teachers, hip-hoppers and contemporary dancers etc. And, change the judges completely for the Showcase, as one of your competitors does, to provide a new, level, field. If you keep the same judges, and just add a couple more, the previous bias is still present. Judges, recognize and reward technical difficulty and the ability to perform it cleanly. Don't mark your favorite style higher just because you like it better than another style. When you see groups that very obviously don't belong in a particular category, MOVE them, or penalize them. We saw groups who could have danced in Intermediate winning primary. We love your competitions, regional and national, but the judges at this year's nationals did not have the technical knowledge, background, or experience to judge a west coast competition fairly. It was obvious to audience members, with and without dance backgrounds.

This is just a revenue machine!! Scoring is biased for large studios!! You hear the same names over and over!! They are not judging talent....they are awarding by the spend per studio!! They also seem to have not cutoff for the number of entries they will take! My daughter performed on Friday morning at 9am!!! She had to miss school and I had to use a vacation day! KAR has seen my last $$

As a dance parent, we typically love attending KAR, but this year was not as enjoyable as previous competitions. Several studio mom's felt like the judges awarded only one style of dance, and overlooked the many talented dancers in several other genres. It was very clear that these judges were more comfortable with contemporary style soloists, and the scores reflected that. We also disliked that huge, pre-pro studios here in our area, brought multiple solos (no groups at all) and swept all the top scores and title crowns. It was a bit frustrating watching that happen, knowing that our dancers were attending nationals and could not compete title at nationals without qualifying at regionals. Maybe having a separate scoring system for title competition, that required a dancer to receive a target score or higher to qualify to compete at nationals, might be a better system. That way, all qualified dancers would have the opportunity to compete at summer nationals, not just the 6 or 7 dancers that won the crowns, but had no intention of attending KAR nationals. Many parents who were upstairs in the dressing rooms were also frustrated over the number of soloists that were obviously "out of category" in level, yet the judges gave them overalls. When you have a dancer turning 8 fouette's, perfect front aerials , and five pirouettes, they do not belong in the primary or even secondary division. Overall there are some things I would like to see KAR take into consideration before summer nationals this year, and for the 2018 competition season. We do love KAR for their range of categories and divisions, the time they put into announcing the top 5 winners, and the diversity of awards. Thank you for all the positive aspects you offer to parents and dancers.

We've been attending KAR for 10 or 11 years. Usually a pretty great, fun weekend. Not this time!!! WORST judging panel we have ever been STUCK WITH for the weekend! Entire panel had a completely one track mind, no recognition across the different genres. Please offer a diverse judging panel that is qualified to judge, appreciate and recognize the nuances, skill and technical abilities required to perform different dance genres. Just because you "like" a certain type of dance better than others and it's your personal preference, doesn't mean those dances were "better" in terms of performance... and they CLEARLY weren't better! And STOP REWARDING SUGGESTIVE DANCES and dances that are SO CLEARLY NOT PLACED IN THE CORRECT DIVISION!!! And to top if off, the schedule was a disaster. We are the last weekend (PHX - June 2017) before nationals, so maybe they were just distracted... but dances were scheduled on different days in the same division, all the teens and seniors were so close together it was impossible to be ready or even keep track of what was coming up next. I paid sooooo much money for all these dances this weekend and it was a complete waste of time and money. KAR you've got some work to do to win me back!

I wish KAR would consider using platinum, high gold, etc. for their adjudication awards just like almost every other competition. The elite top first, top first, first, etc. is confusing and unnecessary. I also don't see the point of having four levels instead of three like most other comps, since people still level dances down to secondary when they should be intermediate or elite.

We took a break from KAR bc we found the curve adjacation scoring that they had been using obnoxious. So we gave them a chance this year and NOPE! Never putting my studio through that circus again. they are in it for the $$$. And I noticed that KAR seemed to attract quite a few nasty studio's to our area that don't come around for any other competitions. Fees were high, there was an Friday 8am start (not a thing that happens on our area), and that goofy top studio award is of course going to go to the studio with the most entries (especially if the judges are only really giving out the top two adjucation awards). The only studio's that were placing their dances in the appropriate levels were the ones we competed against all season and all of the out of town studio's dropped their kids way down. So when you see dances in primary and Secondary that could have easily won in elite, there's a problem. The only bright side of the weekend is when we overheard the parents at the BIG studio that won everything complain about our little studio messing them up from sweeping the top 5.

Purely revenue driven. Raised fee prices, so I pulled dd's solo. After many years of attending this comp, I am very happy to say I will NEVER be back.

Definitely a revenue driven competition. We have gone to KAR for the past 4 years and finally decided not to return. Very, very political (just read through some of the reviews). Also, (and I know this is a personal preference) they do not assign dressing rooms. This can make it difficult to find a room that isn't overtaken by another studio.

After reading the reviews, it amazes me everyone is saying the same thing. This is so true they favor the studios who brings the most dancers. They also favor musical theater and I call it a cute competition versus a dance competition. Many cutesy. not so technical or intricate numbers where scored higher than those that were more about the art of dancing. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the unfairness is plain to see. We are doing it again this year, missed last year, I do hope it is a lot better experience than 2015. Way to many levels of dancing, does it take that many. Dancers who should clearly be in elite are competing in lower categories which is unfair to the kids who are in their right category. By the way although we are a smaller studio, we did well as we always do, just not my favorite comp.

Our studio has attended this competition a couple of times but we will not be attending again. This last experience was not a good one. We have noticed a pattern in the judging. There are definite "favorites" as certain types of dances were scoring in the overalls every time and scoring much better than others even when the technique and choreography was just not there.

KAR is my favorite competition by far. Reading all the other reviews it seems like studios and teachers have a problem with the judging and say that judges favor tricks. I completely disagree with this and think that the judges favor clean technique. My students have been to KAR numerous times and each time have won their division with a tap dance. No tricks, just clean tap technique. Our lyrical dances and jazz dances have also won several times with no \"tricks\" or acrobatics at all included in the choreography. I love KAR and their judging and will return every year!

We just went to the KAR Convention in Chicago and it was amazing! The instructors could really \"see through\" the Divas and called them out when they were disrespectful. I\'m proud to say our studio took 12 dancers and they were all well behaved and worked a day long. The Talent of the instructors and their teaching methods was phenomenal, my daughter can\'t wait to go back.

So many reasons they only get one star... If your dancer is strong in technique but doesn\'t do any flashy tricks, then this is clearly NOT the competition for you. If you are expecting qualified judges, then this is clearly not a competition for you. If you are a smaller studio, and not well \"connected\" then I would look elsewhere. However, if your dancer knows how to twerk, flip, tilt their crotch to the world while wearing very age-inappropriate costumes, then I\'m pretty sure you will have a great time. I wish I lived near a bigger city with better options for competitions....

Impersonal but well run.

If your studio owner is friends with the owner of KAR you will do just fine, otherwise don\'t waste your time.

KAR is all about the money, the more you put in their pockets the better you get treated. No brainer the more numbers you bring the better your chances are to get in the overalls or a top studio award. Everyone gets first place and if the judges don\'t like your number you might get a 2nd place. The award ceremony goes on forever and all you can hear is Elite Top First, Top First, first place it\'s ridiculous, do something besides all first place. The directors hang out talking to the studio owners who have brought the most numbers and spent the most money, they don\'t care to talk to the smaller studios. The Dancers against Cancer is a great idea but how much of the donation actually goes to the cancer fund? How do I know when the plate is being passed around that the guy next to me didn\'t take a $20 off the plate. My daughter did well and had fun but I came away feeling like it was about the money and big business. The no video rule is not enforced. Everyone has recording devices these days, just let people record and if they want a professional video they will purchase it. KAR needs to stick by it\'s own core values.

this is my second review, only because my first was from a regional and now I am back reviewing the Nationals. I feel the same way. 2 Stars about sums it up. I have the same complaints as other posters, ridiculous placement where everyone gets some form of 1st place and scoring based on a curve. There were some amazing schools at the Nationals competition, so KAR does attract competitive schools. I didn\'t go to nationals expecting much, so I wasn\'t that disapointed. If your studio is into flash and tricks, then this is the comp for you. If your studio is about technique then maybe find another comp

Wow! I have been to countless (literally!) competitions with my girls. This year my last is a senior and we are saying goodbye to comps. I have to say that KAR is one of the BEST! They run on time, the judging is fair and they have a positive environment. They don\'t nickel and dime you either. Gotta love that pricing for video and photos is $15 per for the entire number. We have done their regional and just recently returned from nationals in Myrtle Beach. My daughter had glowing reviews of the backstage staff and by the end she felt like the judges \"knew\" her and gave her positive vibes. That\'s all I want as a mom. The Sheraton Myrtle Beach however, is gross and dirty. They booked a simultaneous cheer competition overlapping the 1st few days of our nationals and it was terrible chaotic and crowded. LOVE the KAR app and especially love that they take and post photos of awards. Those are so hard for parents to capture and it\'s an extra nice thing to do. Additionally, the front of house crew at the merchandise desk and at media were friendly and polite. Lots of times at comps, the people at the counters can be standoffish like they\'ve \"had it.\" Not so at KAR! The whole environment feels like a happy celebration of dance. Although our competition days are ending, I truly hope our studio continues to compete at KAR,

I will not be returning to another KAR competition. The scoring system makes no sense & is hard to explain to students & parents. We attended KAR nationals and at the lyrical workshop the instructor (who was also a judge) requested no tricks in the improv section of the music before her choreography started. She said several times that the judged are aware of your tricks and everyone has the same skill set so they want to see you move. She said they want to see something different instead of all the tricks. What a hypocrite because the dances that won the overall high scores were full of tricks. It\'s ridiculous when every dance from the same studio has the same choreography & then the same studio wins the overalls. We did amazing and won some overalls so this isn\'t a case of a sore loser. My lyrical soloist bombed her turns yet placed in the overalls while another soloist was flawless and didn\'t even get an elite high gold. I had some very unhappy parents and if they\'re unhappy they won\'t pay. Bye Bye KAR.

I have been attending dance competitions for 15+ years and have never been so disappointed in a competition as I was with KAR. The awards they give out are incredibly confusing. Everyone receives a first place award,followed by a Top First and Elite Top First. This makes recording the scores extremely difficult. They do not even show the point break down in the program. Next, they score on a curve, which means Elite dancers may not receive an Elite. This is so frustrating to have to explain to young kids. Finally, they truly are more impressed with tricks than they are actual dance. At one point I thought I was at a gymnastics meet and the dance scored highest overall. I will not be attending this competition next year for those reasons.

We didn\'t like this competition. The judging was on a sliding scale, which was disappointing for our dancers. Ones that usually got High gold or platinum received Gold. Won\'t be attending again.

It was an ok competition prefer their \"sister\" competition rainbow over KAR. I didn\'t like the awards at all! Don\'t like the entitled feel it has to it. Judges seemed to be more about tricks than the actual technique of the dancer.

This is a competition that does not judge on actual skill. Horrible event that is only about how much money you bring into the studio. BTW, have 2 daughters with 5 years of competition experience and not too mention a ton of money and time spent. Unfortunately, seems like almost all competitions are like that. Some just more than others...

The WORST Competition EVER. One of the judges, used to be a coach to our child. This person was verbally abusive to our child. We pulled him from the studio. This judges best friend is one of the directors of the event. 2 years in a row, our child received the lowest score out of the division and for our new studio. Our child walked off the stage when they received their award. We were so disgusted that they would be so political. Last year we thought maybe it happened, but to happen two years in a row...it\'s not a coincidence. Our children will NEVER go back to this competition. Beside that, extremely politcal to studios that consistantly go to to this competition. Don\'t waste your studios money. I would give it a ZERO if it let me.

Worst competition experience we have ever had. They have too many levels and do not enforce dancers to compete in appropriate levels. It was the most political competition we have ever participated in. I made a verbal complaint to the Director that this one studio in particular from Pittsburgh were putting their elite dancers in primary and secondary levels, whipping out back tuck layouts and Ariel\'s in a primary level... The director\'s comment to me was, \"this is our number one complaint and it always comes from honest people like you with smaller studios, if I could get you all together you could drink wine and talk about it... \" a little later I find that same director sitting and laughing with that large studio\'s owner and teachers. To top it off that studio had the rudest dancers and parents, to the point I had to tell one of the teachers how rude her dancers were being to mine on stage. After that, the parents from that studio surrounded themselves around where we were sitting yelling louder as if they were harassing us just like their dancers had been behaving. At the end of the whole competition the director who was obviously friends with this studio who misplace all of their dancers throughout every level, comments how respectful all the dancers were that day. It was this moment that I completely realized, I had not imagined the political moves throughout the entire weekend and it was then verified this large studio was definitely friends with this director and there was nothing I could do but accept we had thrown our money away, and I will NEVER participate in a KAR competition again and will share my story with everyone!! Hopefully enough people complain and this one studio can continue to have their \"fake\" competition only they will be the only studio at KAR. Our scores were high but yet we got the lowest rating because they base their overall ranking off of the other studios scores and curve it. It is so unfair and political.

First off, my child did great . This is not sour grapes. This was one of the worst competitions I have ever had to sit through. Award system was ridiculous . Everyone received some sort of a first place award : first place elite , top first, or first place. Comp ran early , so early that people missed their children or grandchildren. Staff was friendly , caring back stage. However through the whole competition audience members were taping the event which was against the rules as with most comps. They were taping other people\'s choreo . The mc kept announcing all weekend their rules on this- that points would be deducted if you are taping your own kids, you would be escorted out if you taped another studio. All weekend the staff had to reprimand the audience . They had no intention of carrying out their punishments so people just kept taping away . The worst part of the comp was the lack of qualification by the judges. One judge coached dance teams for middle schools, hs, and college . Another was a baton twirling cheerleader. The last judge looked like they were asleep the majority of the comp. there was no one who specialized in contemporary or modern. Needless to stay, the studio that looked like a hs dance team did the best . One large studio attends 3-4 of their regionals each year definitely did the best. Their choreography was very old fashion and simple. It may have been appropriate to win lyrical numbers but not contemporary . There was no one qualified to judge the contemporary numbers . Last complaint is the levels of the dancers . The comp discouraged placing students in their highest level of elite . So there were studios placing students in intermediate and secondary who were obviously over qualified . However this gave studios more of a chance to spread the opportunity to their students with at least 5 levels to dance at. I pray that our studio does not waste our time or money here again.

This is by far my least favorite competition. I will list the pro\'s and Cons. PRO:Nice Venue, plenty of dressing room space and nice large stage that KAR brings. PRO:Ran on time. This was nice because we didn\'t feel rushed. However, the last night of the comp (Sunday, with school the next morning) it would have been nice to have them run ahead. PRO:Dancer for Cancer. Great cause, that was a plus. CON: The levels. Ridiculous, way to many...it seems like a way to make it so that everyone gets a win of some sort. CON:No matter what you get 1st place. I know we live in a world now where everyone seems to be entitled to first place and to get to go home with a trophy, but it just became way to confusing. They have Elite top 1st place, then Top 1st place, then 1st place. When the MC is rushing thru listing everything off, you really just miss out on what the heck is going on, you just hear \"1st place\" over and over. CON: They sell a program, but nowhere in the program does it list how scoring is done or what the placement\'s mean. A lot of comps will say 290~300 is Platinum, 279~289 High Gold....etc. This comp seems to score based on a curve. CON:Overstimulation everywhere I looked, Between dances what was on the screens was loud, bright and too much writing, I never felt compelled to read what was going on. Their website is also way too much crap just glaring at you. Too much color, too much flash, sometimes less if more. When my dancer looked at the clothes they were selling, they didn\'t have anything that was simple and sedate, even if a sweatshirt had something simple on the front, the back was full of big loud designs. I guess its a matter of preference, but nothing about this comp ever felt calm. Sunday night as all the parents were dying to go home the MC started to read off the results from Friday night solo\'s. Not his fault, he was given the wrong results to read by someone. But that was even more waiting. I give the MC credit though, he did a great job of filling the open awkward time. He called the seniors up and asked them what thier college plans were. I thought that was quick thinking on his feet, and the senior dancers moving on next year deserved some spotlight. After ready many reviews, I think I am in the minority, as people seem to love this comp, and I had really high hopes. This was our first year attending, and I hope our last.

I would have liked to have seen/heard more comments on technique versus presentation only in the judges comments. The reason for going to these competitions are not just to get an overall impression. I was hoping for more critique on technique.

Where do I begin? First and foremost, the score ranges are not provided in the program or to studio owners prior to the competition. Judging was horrible. The judges were partial to studios that regularly attend their comps. There was one studio that apparently \"travels\" with KAR. Placement of dances was unfair and made no sense. No dances were bumped up for technique. Rules are not followed. We recieved many awards that were misplaced as in given the wrong trophy or placement. We later found that many of our dancers recieved higher scores and we\'re given a lesser trophy. Shame on the judges and the owners of KAR. You should be fair and have an adjudicated scoring system like the other reputable competitions. I\'m very disappointed. When it comes to children you should always remain impartial and fair. I feel like this is nothing more than a money making scheme. There is no rhyme or reason for the scoring or placement. I completely understand subjective scoring but this was like a lottery drawing with preference toward specific studios. The most inconsistent judging and inadequate judging I\'ve seen. Approximately 1/3 of our dancers were given the wrong trophies and placements. They were even announced incorrectly. Many dancers were incorrectly placed in levels who were clearly more advanced in technique. Some were placed in primary levels and shouldve been in intermediate. Others were in secondary and intermediate and were clearly elite dancers. I blame this on both the studio owners and the competition. Maybe so many levels and so much rhetoric to make it confusing so no one will question.

Where do I begin? First and foremost, the score ranges are not provided in the program or to studio owners prior to the competition. Judging was horrible. The judges were partial to studios that regularly attend their comps. There was one studio that apparently \"travels\" with KAR. Placement of dances was unfair and made no sense. No dances were bumped up for technique. Rules are not followed. We recieved many awards that were misplaced as in given the wrong trophy or placement. We later found that many of our dancers recieved higher scores and we\'re given a lesser trophy. Shame on the judges and the owners of KAR. You should be fair and have an adjudicated scoring system like the other reputable competitions. I\'m very disappointed. When it comes to children you should always remain impartial and fair. I feel like this is nothing more than a money making scheme. There is no rhyme or reason for the scoring or placement. I completely understand subjective scoring but this was like a lottery drawing with preference toward specific studios. The most inconsistent judging and inadequate judging I\'ve seen. Approximately 1/3 of our dancers were given the wrong trophies and placements. They were even announced incorrectly. Many dancers were incorrectly placed in levels who were clearly more advanced in technique. Some were placed in primary levels and shouldve been in intermediate. Others were in secondary and intermediate and were clearly elite dancers. I blame this on both the studio owners and the competition. Maybe so many levels and so much rhetoric to make it confusing so no one will question.

There are many things I like about KAR and there I some things that I feel need to change. We attended KAR St. Paul April 21-April 24. I like the feel of the venue and the staff is friendly and helpful. I like that KAR tries hard to stay on schedule or ahead of schedule. My biggest complaint is the performance categories for younger dancers. It seems like this is an issue in other cities as well. Everybody 8 and under signs up to dance in Primary, despite the fact that we have seen several of these dancers competing solos, duets, etc. for four years. Many of these kids homeschool for dance and devote a considerably larger amount of time to dance. It is great fun to watch these kids, but frustrating if you pay to have your child compete at the same level in a field of 61 acts. I would not recommend paying a penny to have my 8 or under compete at this level unless dance is your child\'s life. If studios do not follow their guidelines, could the kids be bumped up a category or docked for breaking rules? I am not sure how this should be handled, but clearly with two more levels above primary, these kids could and should be spread out a bit better.

Very fun event for the kids. Awards are lively and encourage dancing and comradery. They tend to be a bit long, particularly after long days. The younger kids really enjoy the trophies given to solo numbers. Recognition is great. Biggest complaint the past two years is the venue. The restrooms have been dirty on day one, and lack basic supplies (Toilet paper, paper towels, soap). Over-flowing toilets are another issue. The auditorium was beyond hot, leaving audience members dripping in sweat. The other areas were slightly better, but, on team days, dancers were easily over-heated as a result. I understand KAR doesn\'t have full control over this; however, perhaps choosing another venue would eliminate this issue (seeing as it has been the same for both 2015 and 2016). The changing areas for the dancers were fine last year, but having LARGE studios share a small space with other studios when very quick changes are needed, makes for unnecessary challenges and creates tension between studios. Adjudication seems fair and feedback and critiques fairly good for the most part. I really appreciate all the levels they have and that the guidelines are pretty clearly stated and available for parents to see. Wish there was some more enforcing or questioning of appropriate placement though. Seems there was quite a bit of sand-bagging going on.

one of our favorite competitions because it is usually held locally and isn\'t extremely huge. Less plaques given for alternates than in previous years. Love the plaques that overall high score winners receive--they are very colorful and different each year. overall - we enjoy this competition

Love the venue but the competition and awards feel so rushed. It seems they are trying to squeeze too much into one day. Awards were said so fast that I couldn\'t follow along and understand what was even being said. Seems larger studios get preference. Not a fan!!

This is our second year at KAR. I definitely had mixed feelings about it. Pros - The staff was super nice. Pics are great quality and price. The trophies, plaques, pins are all really nice. Judging was fair, and we were a medium sized studio. Cons - KAR had three comps going on this weekend in our area. They had some sort of issue with their truck. So Friday night, our comp was scheduled to start at 6:00pm but it didn\'t start until 8:00pm. Awards went until midnight. Most of those kids had to be back in the morning for Lines that started at 8:00 am and were scheduled all day and night thru awards at 11:00pm. Saturday morning, the comp was scheduled to start at 7:00am. They did not open the doors until 6:50 am. There very little time to get our soloist ready. I was super happy about the app, but it stopped updating numbers Saturday morning. My biggest complaint was that this comp had way too many dancers for the size of the venue. This made dressing room space, hallways really tight. And getting a seat in the theater nearly impossible sometimes. I missed production and awards after because there was literally no room. Even the Fire Marshall was there towing cars and clearing aisle ways, etc.. Either cut the number of entries or find a bigger venue. And please stop allowing strollers in the theater!!! I really liked KAR last year (it was at a much larger venue) and I liked a lot about this weekend but I\'m afraid SO will not want to go back based on the over booking and over crowding. You will have to do better next time.

Loved our 1st experience with KAR this past weekend. Very, very organized, ahead of schedule, fair judging. Loved the venue. Dressing rooms were super tight but there were a bunch of them. My only complaint was the awards that took over an hour every single time.

Everyone on the staff was very friendly and helpful. The venue was not big enough to support the number of dancers at the competition. The regular dressing rooms were up three flights of stairs and very tight. The large conference room held a lot of dancers, however the hallways were also needed and it made it very difficult to get through. Awards, I have a few problems with those. First the names of awards (Elite Top First, Top First and First), it was it sound like everyone got first place!! I understand that you want your own names for each level, but these are just wrong!! Second, because we all know that the competition does not always go from 1-600 in that order it would be helpful for them to be read #363 Lean in n Me Top first. I can understand calling up teachers for the winning act or choreography award, but not all of the top five dances!!

KAR is always our first comp of the season and we love it for a lot of reasons - it is always organized and well-run, the venue in Baltimore is beautiful, the staff is awesome. I just wish the awards were a) shorter (I believe calling up the choreographer for the whole top FIVE is a big much) and b) more consistent. KAR is always the one comp of the season where the placements seem to be SO different... though that isn\'t the worst thing, and i wish the adjudications weren\'t called \"First Place\" etc. I find that super confusing. Overall though I do love KAR :)

For the most part, our studio loves KAR. They are super friendly and professional. This past weekend I had a 10 year old who competed a solo at KAR. She fell during the first 30 seconds of her dance and spent the rest of her solo crying tears of humiliation. HOWEVER, she stuck it out and did fabulously. And when she got off, the MC or director came up and told her how amazing she did. He helped dry her tears and gave her a free t-shirt for being \"the most professional dancer he saw all weekend.\" She felt so special that she is no longer nervous for the next competition. In my book, this is the heart that makes a competition. The only thing I really would like to see KAR improve upon is their scheduling. 2 years in a row now, KAR has sent out a tentative schedule, asking studios to check it out and submit changes by [deadline entered here]. Then they send out a final schedule saying no more changes may be made. However, they continue to adapt the schedule to meet the needs of the studios who did NOT meet the deadline. This cause an incredible disorganization. I feel that this rewards studios who do not pay attention to deadlines and details, while asking the studios that do to pay the price. This does bother me incredibly. All in all though, we really enjoy the experience of KAR and will continue to go back.

Very disappointed for the second year in a row. On the positive side, the kids enjoy it and the staff are good to them. On the down side is the judging. And to be clear, my daughter did very well at these events. Last year, everyone from our studio who danced at the secondary level received 34 points for technique and everyone who danced at the intermediate level received 36 points for technique. There is a huge variation in these girls\' technique!! This year, we all danced at the same level and all received between 36.5-37.5 points for technique with only one exception out of over 20 solos. Some of these girls with lots of experience and some with very little and a huge amount of variation in technique. Very unfortunate as these girls work hard and deserve thoughtful, pertinent judging. The judges critiques had very few comments at all and lots of dead time. There were very few words of encouragement or praise, if any and the couple of remarks of constructive criticism consisted of \"stretch\" and \"push\". Almost nothing to help the girls improve. Two different people announced different award sessions....one was good, the other was very difficult to understand.

Excellent competition.

We recently attended KAR with a VERY small number of acts. I have to say I was so pleased with the whole competition!! Each and every member of the staff that we encountered was extremely pleasant and helpful. The scoring is a bit confusing to figure out at first. All of the judging seemed very very fair. I read reviews where only studios with a large number of act placed high and from our experience this was not the case at all! The awards ceremony is a lot of fun for the dancers!! They really take time and pay attention to each dancer. It is also very nice that they take photos of the top scores. I feel as though KAR really makes these dancers feel special and they recognize dancers with special awards even if they didn\'t place in the overalls which I have never seen another comp do! We loved KAR and cannot wait to go back!! The venue chosen was very nice as well.

A good competition--could give better prize money.

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We just attended their one day convention and really enjoyed it. The teachers were great and our students had a fantastic time. The big drawback was that there were too many dancers in the ballrooms provided. There wasn\'t enough room for the kids to do things full out for fear of kicking or hitting the dancer next to them. If they would have booked a bigger venue, I would have given it 5 stars.

Staff is excellent! Event is run smoothly. Best run comp we go to. Plus- amazing photos to pick from.

regional competitions was well organized, professional, and entertaining. A great challenging competition for dancers of all levels!

Both regional and national competitions are well organized, professional, and entertaining. Events are well attended and the competition is fierce. A great challenging competition for dancers of all levels!

We have done this competition the last 4 years and it is one of our favorites. Great overall experience

Worst most political competition I have ever been to. If you attend nationals and conventions they will score you well or if you work for them your students will score well. Basically a joke

Competed in KAR back when I was a kid! Great competition. Looking forward to bringing my dancers to it again this year!

A good competition overall. I enjoy the video snips of the winning entries. However, scoring seems bizarre and dysfunctional and awards take an excessively long time to complete.

Very helpful staff! My daughter really enjoyed her first out of town competition!

I love this competition they give out great awards to the dancers.

By far our Favorite Competition to be at

♡ that you have an overalls for title competition. This definitely you ahead of the other competitions. You always give out fun light up things in stage and the kids have a blast at your competition. Definitely my favorite to attend.

We have been to both KAR competition and convention and have had very good experiences at both. The teachers at convention were extremely well qualified and were very attentive to the kids. KAR is a fun competition and I have found the scoring to be very fair, it is one of our favorites every year.

NOT HAPPY W/ STAIRS TO DRESSING ROOM :(

Our 1st convention of the new season & our 1st time at KAR. It was quite a relaxed atmosphere. She didn\'t compete, but went to experience the classes. Everyone was nice but it seemed a tiny bit disorganized & the workshops did not challenge my dancer. Great environment for beginner to intermediate dancers!

Went to KAR nationals in myrtle beach! Best experience ever for any dancer. Loved it!

I was really disappointed in the competition. I did really well at the competition including being invited to nationals but I had no interest after regionals. The scoring was very confusing as everyone got first. Not to mention it was too long. Maybe they can limit dance submissions from studios. I guess I was just expecting more as all my friends recommended this competition and I was not excited to be there at all.

We love Kar , staff are awesome , setup is easy, we\'ve been doing for 2 years .

We enjoy KAR!!! :)

I like many aspects of the KAR set up. The multiple levels for placement are great- unless there\'s that ONE studio that always places their dancers down and they sweep everything. Didn\'t happen too badly this last year as it did the year before though... Having just moved from a large market to a small market I\'m interested to see what the KAR competition here is like...

Hmm. Seemed to be more of a moneymaking scheme. Judging seemed based on something other than actual dancing. Long event.

meh. This seems more revue driven than some others. Just going through the motions.

Pretty good but I\'ve seen better. I sent them multiple emails and no response!

Mehhh. The last couple years we have felt like it didn\'t matter if we were there or not, just another number. The event was well done though.....

I am a big fan of KAR overall! I do wish they would be a little more strict on the dances that are entered in the wrong levels... but it\'s probably not their job to be the ethics police with studio owners that place their dances waaaaaaay under what they should be. They didn\'t run super early this year... which is awesome! I love a well planned, on time event. (I think running super early is a sign of poor planning.) One thing this year that was really, really disappointing was the photography. Every year I wait for KAR to buy photographs... but this year I was sorry I did! Their photography was just plain BAD this year! :-( They missed MAJOR moments in every single dance my kid was in (and there were 10+ numbers... so not an isolated incident). I wish I could get my money back on the photos and go back and spend that money with one of the other comps we did earlier in the year.

Overall I thought this competition was well run. The awards ran smoothly and not too long. There are different levels based on years danced and competition experience as well as age that make the competition a little more fair for less experienced dancers.

I love the different levels based on competition experience! Super friendly staff! Takes getting used to awards. I love that they clear the stage and play the music for the top 5!! Makes it that much more special!!

1st and hopefully last time at KAR. 5 levels is out of control! When you only have 4 groups enter in the Elite (highest level) then there is obvious leveling down to win. Scoring is ridiculous with everyone getting a \"first\" of some sort. Too difficult to understand as they announce because \"first\" is in every adjudication. What happened to the days of gold, silver and bronze. In life, not everyone gets first. It seemed very obvious that the studios that brought the most numbers won everything and these studios should not have been competing in the levels they were. Costume award is a joke! The one that won was an ordinary body suit. I saw several that were obviously had made and these were not the winners. Again - to a studio that brought lots of numbers. No surprise there. I think it is nice that they try to raise money for kids with cancer, however, spending a half hour each at 2 awards ceremonies on fundraising is crazy. They had girls from 2 studios go through the audience to \"pass the plate\". Again, the large studios with lots of entries who won everything. Why am I not surprised? How did these girls get picked? Why not some from each studio? Lastly, it seems rigged when an award is being announced for top studio and the teacher starts to walk out before they are even announced.

Overall a decent competition. However, having 4 levels of competition was ridiculous. The highest level was Elite, and very few studios put dances in that category; almost everyone was in Secondary and these dances had individuals who have been competing for 10+ years in them. Soloists who I had seen at other comps this season in the Elite category were for some reason placed in Secondary or Intermediate at this competition. Weird. Two levels are helpful; four levels are just opening it up to less than ethical studios going for the easy win rather than being in the highest level. Awards were well run and fun for the kids; however the number of special awards were really high and led to a lengthy awards session. Scoring seemed consistent with other competitions we have been to this season.

Well run and fabulous! Love the different levels allowing all to compete fairly! Love love KAR. In CDA, ID!

Have liked KAR in the past but the venue was terrible. Very old building(west Memphis), very crowded, no where for my child to warm up. Ran an hour early so we were frantic to get on stage. The stage was very slippery, my daughter does an acro solo and fell during her front aerial. Lots of kids were slipping it was dangerous! We spent all that money and time for her to fall on stage and have the judges favor musical theater. Very biased judging! Not happy!

our studio does very well, considering it is very new and growing ... BUT, the judges seemed to award everything to only tap and musical theater in over alls, for three days straight. Nothing in contemporary or jazz seemed to do well at all, and the judges were very critical of appearances instead of critiquing the dance itself. or the dancers, and their technique. Some corrections were helpful, but they were very simple, like point your feet, or shoulders down. The rest were about wanting a certain shade of lipstick instead of the color they were wearing, and saying they didn\'t like french twists for hair at all, etc. These aren\'t helpful for 11 and 12 year olds just getting into competition, in their first and second year, who need technical and performance critiques and guidelines from professionals. My girls were very interested to hear NEW advice and corrections, and they didn\'t receive much to apply. Biggest issue of whole weekend was DEFINITELY running over 2.5 hours ahead, and expecting my soloist to perform as soon as she walked through the entrance doors, straight from school, (she is in high school), without letting me know they were running ahead until AFTER she went on, and did awards. I got an email alert 40 minutes AFTER all of that telling me they were ahead of schedule and to get the soloists there asap. She was scheduled for 7:40pm, and they wanted her on stage at 5:05pm- calling over and over for her, saying they were waiting for her and the whole competition was stalled because of her being late... when they clearly scheduled the whole day (Friday) completely wrong, starting at 8am with the tiny ones, and ending up 2 1/2 hours ahead on a school day for older girls! It was so stressful for my soloist, who has never had a solo before, and it was a rough experience to get thrown on stage and feel like a burden to the whole competition. Her own mother didn\'t even make it, even though she was 2 hours early to see her daughter dance.

It was good. There was an amazing amount of talent at this competition. I was concerned about their being so many levels, but it was really done right. We are from a very small studio & still placed well. It ran ahead of schedule which is always nice. Good job.

I honestly love KAR every season... My only complaint is that awards take FOREVER. I think it\'s nice that they recognize every winning dance, but every awards ceremony is close to an hour if not longer...Makes for a LONG weekend, especially if you\'ve already been dancing all day and then have to sit through awards forever. But I like the way they do their levels and it\'s super organized and well-run!

Best comp of all of them. Best awards. Best announcers. Best organized, best award ceremony. Really care about all the dancers and studios. Bring up the studio owners no matter what size the studio is. Outstanding judges. No other compares

The scoring is ridiculous.

What I do not like about this competition is that there is no clear cut designation for the scoring system. I have asked for an explanation and all I could get was there was some sort of formula they use, but no one could tell me what the formula was. I have twins that of course both have solo\'s, one got an Elite top 1st and the other a 1st which made her feel horrible because she felt like she scored like a 3rd tier dancer when there was only 8 points difference between both girls scores. In 8 points my daughter dropped down to a 3rd level adjudicated award and it made her so upset because before we got the score sheets she thought the judges must have hated her and previous to awards felt really good about her performance. She now knows that she scored very well. It was just extremely confusing and I still don\'t understand how they came to that designation. Otherwise the competition ran very timely and ahead of schedule and the girls enjoyed the rest of the weekend.

Liked KAR years ago, but this comp has changed so much, and it doesn\'t have that family feel that my studio loves. It seems to be about bigger and better- and while bigger and better is fine, don\'t leave the wholesome caring aspect out of the door. Staff seems less interested than they used to be. Go back to your old ways KAR