COMPETITION DETAIL

my DD loved Masquerade!!! We will do again real soon!!

Very fun comp.

Really disappointed with this competition. We had heard negative things on here, but it is huge in our area so we gave it a try. The actual day was fine, but everything leading up to the competition and everything since has been very concerning. We were given no information about encore performances, improv contest, etc and anytime we emailed to ask we felt like we were being an inconvenience based on short, rude responses. The competition itself ran smoothly, although there was some questionable interactions observed prior to one of the encore performances. Where it really broke down for us was with the scoring and critiques. Their awards were very confusing and seemed rushed. It was very strange to wait till the end of the day to get placement awards. Then when they did placements they announced very few and lined all divisions up at the same time. Dancers had no idea what they won, did not get to say their studio name, or anything. Several of our critiques were not appropriate for our dancers to hear. They were rude and not constructive. Their scoring system is very confusing and doesn't quite seem to make sense. All interactions since the competition have been very rude.

I have been to masquerade regionals and nationals many times. Things I love about this competition: Knowledgeable judges with useful critiques. Sensible 'title' competition...All dancers are entered (don't need to pay extra) and winner is the dancer with the highest combined score from two solos...Result is a truly talented dancer. Masked Media-Pictures and videos are amazing quality!! The lighting is beautiful, pictures are in focus and photographer(s) are skilled at capturing THE moment...And they are reasonably priced! Things that could be improved: Although the venue was a beautiful venue, it was too small and the competition went on for 5 days and required taking kids out of school. limit the number of dancers to fit into a 4 day competitions with evenings only for weekdays or book a larger venue. Competition is allowed to run too far ahead...sometimes over an hour. Between the unpredictable schedule and the limited seating, it's common to miss or not be able to find a seat. Please provide a live stream! Maybe consider having an all 'purple' or all 'green' and 'gold' competition. Please consider providing immediate adjudication results (dancer would pick up their 'platinum' etc medal near backstage shortly after performing) This would save a lot of time at awards. Could even consider updating the routine in the masquerade app with the result...that would be super helpful and the app already has a place for it :)

Masquerade dance has kept my boy loving dance. In his second year in competition they won the encore award and the trophy was six feet tall! He said no one in soccer can ever say they won a trophy that big! He named the trophy Betty and the studio proudly displays it in the dance room where they all touch it for good look after every class. I love how masquerade is an opportunity for all levels of dancers to compete at their level. The masquerade app is so great because it lets you know when your kids will be on the stage and if they are running on time. It relieves stress and you know when you have a break it is really a break. I also love the spirit contest between studios. It has become a real bonding experience for our dancers and parents to make our signs and be creative and artistic. The masquerade beads are fun too. It is truly a unique experience and different from all other competitions that we attend.

This is our third year attending Masquerade and I can't say enough about how much we look forward to it! My son always has an enjoyable experience. The atmosphere is very upbeat and low stress. We always look forward to competing here because we know we will receive very helpful, thoughtful, and thorough critiques from the judges. Our studio attends 5 other competitions during the season and I feel the critiques we receive at Masquerade are some of the most helpful and constructive ones we get. I also love that there's an overall top 10 that recognizes all genres! As a parent, I love the freedom and flexibility their app gives me because I always know exactly what number they are on and how much longer until our studio will be on stage - I can go grab a coffee or lunch or look at photos without worrying about missing a number! Also, this competition has some of the best priced photos and videos I've seen! I usually wait until we attend Masquerade to purchase. Lots of fun for the kids, and low stress for parents!

We have gone to Masquerade three years in a row, there are so many things about this competition and it's staff that I can go on and on about, but there just isn't enough space. First, the venue is awesome and the dressing rooms are so well run, and the dances always seem to run on time if not early. Two, the judging is fair and I appreciate how they can properly judge all aspects and genres of dance. Many competitions are more jazz or ballet focused and Masquerade appreciates all styles. Three, all levels are welcome which is so beautiful that you can have a dancer who is more recreational but still wants to take a stab at competing, go up against others at their same level. Versus having to compete against kids and studios that are more hard core. I also appreciate how there is a parent/crowd choice and we can vote on dances to be specially recognized, and all of the critiques are positive and constructing. AND have I mentioned the APP!!! That thing is a lifesaver! Thank you Masquerade for always providing an awesome experience, my kids can't wait for Cupertino to come around again this May!!!

I would like to commend Masquerade on their professionalism, energy and positive attitudes! My daughter says the people working backstage are so nice and helpful. As a parent, I love the App for your phone which tells the viewer what dance is onstage and which dance is next! Very helpful! I love all the pics on instagram and contests they run! Very fun! 5 star competition!

We skipped a year because it just wasn't that good! Just went to Mobile, AL and they were awesome. Critiques by 3 judges at once were extremely helpful. Positive experience backstage and onstage. Judging was fair and understandable. All kids were made to feel like their work was appreciated. Don't know what happened to this company, but it's way better than it used to be!! We loved it!

We have attended Masquerade in Florida for several years - always a great experience. The judges are tough, but fair and we always get super constructive feedback. The masquerade theme is a lot of fun and the kids always have a great time. Will definitely be attending again this year!

We have attended Masquerade in Florida for several years - always a great experience. The judges are tough, but fair and we always get super constructive feedback. The masquerade theme is a lot of fun and the kids always have a great time. Will definitely be attending again this year!

This is my daughters favorite! They are very fun and in my opinion pretty fair. The people are so entertaining and extremely nice.

In no order. 1. Rules not enforced. Several dances took longer than 2-3 min., up to 20-30 min for prop setup. Another is “No performer may stand/lay or be ABOVE 6ft from the stage at any time during the performance”. Several had dancers above 6 ft from the stage and one had a dancer at least 10’ high while being supported by another dancer standing on a bed. None of these should have been eligible for overall award, but they placed. 2. The audio and video of the critique videos are horrible. The video angle was directed at upstage on stage left, so many portions of our dances that were to stage left and downstage don’t even appear on the video. That makes the critique video basically useless. 3. Inconsistent judging. On two of our dances, Dance A was clearly better than dance B. Both got HG. B scored higher than A. Listening to critiques, A had not many comments; B lots of comments. Seems as if even the judges thought A was better listening to them speak. So we are really puzzled to why B outscored A. 4. Horrible scheduling. Be prepared to be at the competition site all day every day. 5. The competition was always running WAY early, like 45 minutes to an hour early. 6. Most other competitions that our studio attends give out category awards (e.g. top 3 in ballet) in addition to overall awards. Masquerade does not. 7. They list each dance by the age, level, size, and style (e.g. senior purple line hip hop). In the rules, line and production are listed as sizes (both being over 20 performers), which is how it is at most competitions we’ve attended. The only difference is line is 4 minutes and prod. is 8 minutes. However, several dances listed as “line production” (e.g. senior purple line production). Are they competing against lines or productions, and what style of dance is it? We asked a Masq rep and what we were told doesn’t match what’s stated in rules. I would not recommend Masquerade to any other studios. Would state more, but limited to 2000 char.

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I enjoy this competition and the staff, it is one of the few that have the girls names listed on the shirt you can buy there. Judging is known to always be very hard judging but usually fair in their judging. It is one of the first comps our studio does and we always enjoy it.

Best run competition of all we attend ! Professional staff . love that they actually go in order ! Refreshing Backstage girls are organized and smile. Make dancers feel welcome and excited Awards are run quickly. Special awards are truly special. And not just for the top dancers. Need to do top 10 though not top 5 Judges critiques were actual critiques. They had positive points and notes for improvement. Very thorough and the best is the dancers came off saying \"the judges were smiling at me \" !!! They liked me . Music was smooth. No glitches Spiritwear is fun Videos and pics are the best I\'ve gotten anywhere and are a great value Dressing rooms are always a pain. With any competition that has many studios attending. Not everyone is pleased. Definitely will return ! And will recommend to fellow peers.

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Masquerade is such a fun dance competition! The backstage staff makes it so fun for the dancers. They make every dancer feel important and special. Lots of extra bonuses with the Instagram and Facebook pages. Encore is a fan favorite!! Judges critiques are considerate,caring and helpful. You can tell the judges throughly enjoy their jobs and every routine is just as important as the last. My daughters have enjoyed this competition every time. Videos and photos are reasonable for purchasing.

Masquerade has always been one of our favorite competitions and this year was no exception! Well run, on time, friendly and fun staff, excellent and helpful judges\' feedback and beautiful and affordable photos. Special awards were so specific, you could see how much attention the judges pay to each and every entry. Their feedback was knowledgeable and constructive, extremely helpful to my dancer as she moves forward with her dance season and her dance training. Overall, a great experience, year after year!

Masquerade is always our favorite competition of the year! It is well organized, staff is very friendly, and the judges are nothing but the best. They give so many encouraging words to the dancers. Can\'t wait to see them again next year!!!

THIS is the competition that us dance Moms and kids look forward to every single year. THIS competition sets the bar for all other competitions. Judges are professional, nothing but the best. They give such encouraging words for the dancers, we love it. We even had a dance where one of our dancers had a top to her costume that came loose. The photographers and judges were absolutely perfect with this incident. The venue in Burnsville, MN is our favorite. When comparing this comp to others, this one is always our favorite.

Judging was incredibly disappointing. Comments like \"I hate your choreography\" \"Ugh, little girl in the middle your turns are awful\" \"your feet are ugly\" \"Why are you in this category, you don\'t belong here\" Unfortunately these comments were discovered while the student was listening and the rest were screened for approptiateness. These comments destroyed confidence in beautiful dancers. Was planning to attend Nationals and have since decided otherwise.

I loved it!!! We would\'ve returned this year if it wasn\'t during the students spring break. One of the best.

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In my opinion, solo judging did not take into consideration the difficultly of the routine. A perfectly executed single turn type solo scored much higher than a only slightly less perfectly executed triple turn type solo. Also, it seemed like they would limit the number of platinums from a particular studio. If you choreograph easy, clean solos and don\'t stretch your dancers in their choreography, this is the comp for you.

We attended their regionals and nationals and had a wonderful experience. The competition did start on a Friday at 12 however they did give the option to return the money if the parents did not want to check their kids out of school. Sunday\'s awards did not start until 11:00 pm that night and our hometown is an hour away. That was one of the biggest downfalls for us. We loved that they give judges awards but at nationals they only gave our judges awards to individual dancers that were in group numbers that took their classes at the workshop. We did not think that was very fair. We have never experienced rude comments but during one of our numbers they talked the entire time bc one girls tan bra was showing and the dance was dedication. This really bothered us because we never got one critique except for the girls bra and how they didn\'t like the style tights they wore. I understand they should look professional but to me correcting the dance and dance skills should be more important.

Very disappointed in this competition. The weekend ran smoothly dances were competed in order. Often ran early. Unfortunately the disappointment comes with judges comments. Students and parents could not be allowed to listen because of the inappropriate, unprofessional, and unhelpful comments that were made. Score sheets didn\'t seem to add up to coherent totals. Was planning to attend Mpls Nationals, but have decided on another comp after this experience.

Birmingham venue was awful. Staff in Birmingham was rude to our dancers, calling them liars. Awards were very inconsistent. Judges comments/critiques were not helpful and not appropriate for our dancers to listen to. Overall the worst competition we have been to.

Even though our studio and dancers did extremely well (many platinums and many overall 1st place awards) apparently the judges comments were so destructive and rude our studio refuses to allow us to hear them. What a complete waste! As a parent I look at these experiences as educational. The judges CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is what I\'m paying for when I send my child to compete, not the trophy. You do not have to be all sunshine and roses but you do need to be PROFESSIONAL and remember you are speaking to CHILDREN, many of whom are in elementary school. We had planned to attend your Minneapolis Nationals but after this, no way.

If your looking for a competition that conveys a love of dance and a love for children, this is not the place for you. Our Studio attended the 2016 Houston regional competition in February. My daughter had to miss school all day on that Friday because her solo was so early in the morning; she received a platinum and high score in her category. For her effort, she received a cheap high score medal medallion to wear around her neck. The competition went out ONLY 5 places and then sent us on our way. Our dressing room was the size of a bedroom and was impossible to squeeze 90 dancers in it. At this point I was less than excited about the whole thing, so I emailed Masquerade (and it turned out to be the owner) to let them know how I felt because as an owner of two small businesses I would certainly want to know how one of my customers felt about me. Not only was she not interested in what I had to say; she told me she only spoke to directors of studios or owners. As far as the critiques, they were absolutely worthless. I could not hear or understand one thing the judges said. So for me, it was a complete waste of time and money.

Fun atmosphere, nice staff, things ran smoothly, and most of all my child had fun! There were things that could improve for sure, but overall it was good.

So disappointed with everything about this competition. Staff was not friendly at all, very off-putting to the dancers. On stage judge giving awards was creepy and inappropriate. Reviews were demeaning and rude, not judging based on skill or technique, just feelings. Commentary was cut off before the end of routines. Could not even let the girls listen to them they were so unprofessional. And our girls even got platinums and high golds, so no sour grapes here. No times were given for anything and the whole schedule was so random. Groups, duos and solos mixed here there and everywhere. Awards were boring and no category awards for different disciplines. Clearly favored hip hop and contemporary so all others were out of luck for placement awards. We will never go back.

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Judges should be helpful in critiques, not rude. Rude comments to CHILDREN only hurt feelings & leave a bad taste for dance in their mouths. Need stricter security as well.

This used to be one of very favorite events. However, I would prefer we never go back after our experience in Stafford two weeks ago. The staff was rude and made the entire venue about themselves rather than trying to make this a pleasant experience for the kids...which I believe these events are all about. They put the largest studio attending in a dressing room the size of a broom closet, were rude to parents, kids and teachers.

A Disappointing, waste of money at best. One of the reasons dancers go to these competitions is to receive feedback and critiques to improve their dancing. It\'s not very helpful if the teachers can\'t review the DVD critiques with their students because of the rude comments the judges make. I\'m not talking about \"point your feet\", I\'m talking about \"Why are your feet so ugly?\" and \"Ugh. This studio again? Why are they even here? The competition is going downhill now.\" I understand if a judge thinks our dancers aren\'t up to par, but that\'s just mean! You also have to wonder when one studio is given consistently high scores, and our studio\'s title winners are given golds in their solos.

Our studio participated in our first Masquerade regional last spring and we enjoyed it. I would have preferred a better venue with better seating/stage, but overall we were pleased. Quality of photos/videos was excellent and staff seemed friendly. Dressing rooms were NOT adequate in size or location. I wish the company would archive prior year results on thier website as well as rules. It seems like that should be public information.

This competition is one of my daughters\' favorite! My girls are 4 and 5 and have a blast with this competition\'s theme. The big girls from our studio seem to really enjoy it, also! My girls had a blast and learned from the critiques. I do recommend this one!

This is our favorite competition we\'ve ever been to. It runs on time, is well organized, is judged fairy and it a lot of fun!

The girls always like this competition but as a parent it\'s not my favorite. Year after year they never seem to stay on schedule and always run over. Awards always take forever.

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Not a fan of only doing a top 3. I would like to see you review how many you have in each category for overalls and then decide on how many you will have in overalls. Kids get discouraged because most do a top 5 or top 10. It\'s not a lot more money and your competition is bringing in enough to handle it. Love everything else

Love this competition! Been to it several times. The staff is friendly and very professional. They are organized and on the ball. Competition runs as scheduled (even earlier)! These are people who know their stuff!!!!

Great competition :)

This is the best competition by far. During Nationals, I love the big trophies and all the amazing awards you give to dancers. I received one myself (Thank you Ms. Sarah!!). Masquerade was my first dance competition when I started a few years ago and they made it the best experience possible. I\'m glad my studio was able to go to Masquerade, and I love this competition so much, I\'ve entered their model search. I love masquerade dance

LOVE Masquerade!!! Especially Nationals in Ft. Walton Beach!!! :)

Not my favorite but definitely not awful! Judges aren\'t very well rounded in their knowledge of some of the genres of dances that were done. Staff, scores and overall competition were all great.

Overall I really liked this competition. I went to their 2015 nationals and I really had fun. The only part that I disliked was that the judges had favorite studios. Those studios always won all of the special awards because of the favoritism. Another dislike was that the critiques were either very snotty or we already knew them. I will hopefully be going back to regionals and Nationals though!

Just take a stand on studios who clearly place dances in the wrong level. Perhaps set up guidelines of your dances can\'t have more than a triple pirouette to be in this level. I don\'t feel you are the only ones allowing studios to misplace there dances but maybe help change this! Levels are great when used properly! And can be very motivational for kids that are in the right level.

First time attending this year. Found them to be professional and easy to deal with. Like the conversational critiques, although a dvd would be nice, to make it easy to show the dancers. Scoring on the tap entries was pretty off....otherwise tough, but consistent. LOVED the teacher Hospitality Room! That\'s a first for me! It was great having somewhere to go for a quick snack and some quiet! Loved the POSITIVITY they encouraged thru gifts and posters. The event shirts had every dancers name on back. I\'d go again...

I hope our studio never goes back. Favoritism at its worse. Same kids win year after year and when a judge says to the whole auditorium \"It has been amazing to see you grow of the last few years and to see how much this solo has improved since the last few times we saw it\" tell me how that is fair judging. This just screams \"Thank you for entering our competition many times and spending money with us so here you go, you win!\" Especially when you see the prop dads helping to load and unload their equipment and they know them by first name. Not that this studio wasn\'t great, they were, but not to the degree in which they seriously win everything. Especially when they are allowed to enter all their soloist advanced, but then have all their groups intermediate so they win everything. There is no regard to making sure everyone follows the rules. When it says if the judges deem a routine advanced they can move it, they should. No intermediate dancer throws out a turn combo that goes on for over 8 counts and goes with a leg left on the final turn into a step ariel and we all sit there and believe that is intermediate. Worse, they do nothing about it. Simply reward them with the win. These dancers would have won even at the elite level. They care about making money and getting studios to come back by allowing them to break rules. Terrible!

Our studio attends this comp every year and Nationals. I never understand why. Although it is well run, the judging and critiques are inexplicable. Favoritism is obvious. The same studios and dancers win the coveted titles and spots year after year after year. Critiques are more of a personal judgment or backhanded compliment than useful information. Then to top it off, we have to sit thru three to four days of over booked competition into the wee hours of the night and morning because a cut-off was not established, over-crowded dressing rooms, reduced miniscule awards, missed school & homework and nothing but the rhetoric from our MC in her hideous outfits and Louboutins to show for it.

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This competition only cares about the elite dancers. Our team did great and won a few awards but you could see the unfairness in the judging.

Changing space was ok. There is no practice area unless you count the halls. Masquerade used to be my favorite competition, until this year. It took the judges the entire weekend to finally catch on that some dancers/groups in the \"green/rec\" category really should have been \"purple/elite\". But it didn\'t seem to matter what category though because same 2/3 studios won every award. I guess it was more about how much $$$$ your studio spent and not based on how the dancers actually did. So disappointed.

Ran on time. Assigned dressing rooms, which was a nice change of pace, but crammed in! Oh, the judging. All 3 judges were extremely young, which is fine, but you need some consistency.having a judge with old school ballet, technique instead of picking hip-hop to win everything! Started on Fri @ 1200 and ran til 1000pm on Sunday! Kids have school! There comes a time when you have to cut off taking entries! Lets think about the kids and not the $$$$$ the man judge....it was nice for them to bring up certain individuals for an award, however, when a judge states to one young man that he \"killed it in all his dances and no one else did\" and he was \"MVP of his studio\" how does that make all the other dancers feel, let alone other dancers in his studio? I didn\'t know the young man, but everyone around me were talking how unprofessional that was! Please think before you speak! I will not be back!

Runs smoothly. The app is very helpful for knowing what\'s going on. Fairly predictable scoring. Nice, cheerful medal for soloists. The most reasonably priced media ever. $15 per video. I would have give. This a higher rating, but there was a number where girls were dressed like police officers complete with handcuffs and billy clubs. Reminded me of a stripper theme it a trashy Halloween costume. To each her own, I suppose. The problem I had was that they used the billy club several times where it looked like they were shooting at each other. While the comp had no control over this, the number was invited back for an encore performance! Guess the rule about no weapons as props was forgotten. The most inappropriate thing I have ever seen at a comp, not once, but twice. With all the violence in the world. This routine most certainly should have been disqualified and not asked back for an encore.

4 stars for the overall day of competition. Nice venue as far as dressing rooms, cafeteria, room to roam...although the stage was small and there were no wings. The app is great, you always know exactly what number is performing and it provides a countdown to awards. Our students and parents were engaged with the audience choice voting. Great merchandise and the photo/video prices are much better than at other competitions. The encore performances were exciting and a nice way to wrap up the day. All in all, it was a long grueling day, and we were initially worried that our young dancers would wilt, but they didn\'t, they hung in til the end and loved every minute of it. The scoring was tough but fairly consistent; however, the critiques were not as useful as we are accostumed used to. Often the judges would converse for 10 to 20 seconds on one point, generally something not technical (tights, costume, concept). Like most studios, we attend competitions as an aid in the educational experience of our students; expecting sound and balanced commentary on all aspects of a performance and encouragement to the students. Many of the critiques included condescending opinions directed at specific dancers. We will not be sharing those critiques with our students. 2 stars for the critiques provided.

Dissapointed in the competition. Judging was inconsistent. They rewarded costumes and fluff over sound technique. Also dissapointed in how the catagories are placed. With 35 dances in a catagory, why not place 10? Cheap pins and few judges awards.

Love masquerade!!! They care about their teachers!! And have shirts made with all the kids names on it! Enough time for quick changes. Their wasn\'t much room for props but they went and got a uhaul for us to stick them in. It was an all around awesome competition and we can\'t wait to attend their nationals!

Love the app so you always know where in the schedule they are at, the critiques very constructive and thorough. Awards nice too! Would be nice if they also gave category placings instead of just overall but otherwise a great time!

Assigned dressing rooms based on studio size. Staff was really friendly. I really enjoyed that they asked some of us to take selfies backstage for social media. Also had a daily social media contest for the best picture taken at the comp. Liked that they sold a shirt with all of the dancers\' names. Encore performers well chosen. Well thought out arrangement of dances (by ages genre). I loved that they have a free app in which the audience can vote for favorite routines. My favorite thing was that the emc gave a speach at all the awards about how the score you get doesn\'t define who you. Only complaints are: ran an hour early, went really late, and too much time between awards.

Not may favorite. For the price you pay, I expected more. They did not even throw necklaces for our awards. Some of the judges were so loud you could hear them during the dances.

We really enjoyed this competition. This was my daughters favorite of the season. Biggest complaints were the dressing areas and the fact that there were only two awards for a 16 hour day. Our little bitties had to be there all day and several even missed the last awards because they couldn\'t stay awake. Masquerade could have made this comp Sat and Sun and eliminated people having to driving home at 11:30 at night after having been at the venue since 8am. Please consider adding a few more awards ceremonies and break down to the ages.

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Schedule is on time. Backstage crew is nice to kids. Decent competition overall; but the more years we\'ve gone to this competition, the less I understand how the judges are scoring. Let feeling a little perplexed as to how some routines scored higher than others. Judges comments were in some instances mean & opinionated instead of constructive - so much so that I wouldn\'t share directly with students. They did have good points that will be addressed but \"Oh sister, you\'re killing me!\" is not professional. Also spent far more time addressing if they liked the costumes than critiquing steps. Then the next routine had really good, constructive comments. Pretty inconsistent. Questionable whether we\'ll be returning if there\'s another suitable competition next year on the same weekend.

Judging is fair. With so many of the younger soloists focusing on their tumbling skills now so glad to see judges not going for the \"wow\" factor rather looking for good technique/artistry or just beautiful/impressive dancing! The judges also chose entries from a variety of categories for the top 10 - including tap!

One of my favorites! So fun and always running smoothly. We are always excited to go back to this one!!

I like that they tend to run early, but can see how that can be a problem for people coming to watch that do not know that they run early. LOVE the App you can download. The staff is always friendly and having fun with the kids! Cannot ask for more that making it fun for the kids!

Love love love it!! Fun environment fun staff and love that you have an app to keep up with it ;)

I would give it zero stars if I could. Terrible competition. They put all the solos on 1 day so your soloists are performing for almost an empty arena, then they put all the large groups on another day so parking is a nightmare and your parents have no place to sit. Then they have staff going around yelling at fans who are standing up in the back trying to catch a glimpse of their dancer. And so expensive to attend! They ran an hour early so some of us were late to awards, because waiting for 8 hours until results, we had to go eat. I confirmed 3 times with staff when they would be announcing photogenic awards, and we had a small group of parents going up for it, and as we were getting ready to make the hour drive up, we saw on the live feed that they announced it 4 hours early. The judges favored\"cutsey\" & use of props over technique in every category. We will never go back to masquerade, it was awful.

We were not happy at all with Masquerade. Lots of technical problems, and judging was not up to par with other organizations.

Disappointing. While our studio did win some great placements and awards, judging seemed very inconsistent and it was very easy to tell the judges preferred cutesy and traditional choreo to modern or contemporary styles. Also, our studio owner discovered that one of the judges was a choreographer for one of the studios that entered this competition and complained about it. The competition owners blew off her concern. Weirdly enough, our teams the next day scored poorly-much more so than in previous competitions this year. Also, the awards ceremonies were inconsistent. Top 10 was awarded in overalls for mini advanced large groups when there were over 10 participants in the category, but top 5 was awarded at the older levels when there were 30+ entries in that category. I doubt we are going back, because inconsistent scoring as well as unfair practices. I also don\'t like that this competition doesn\'t post their rules online anymore and they are only available to the studio. What are they hiding, and why aren\'t the rules public information?

This was our last regional competition for the petite dancers. The judging was tough all around for this age level & Juniors. Really looking forward to the critiques to see what we missed. I think we were competing against ourselves (our own studio) because a couple catagories only gave out a 1st place award. Love the bead & mask concepts. The photography desk person on Saturday was really funny & helpful. LOVE the CD picture prices & quality!! That was my favorite part & I bought several. Still want a t-shirt because it listed all the kids names on the back. I hope they still have some left from Tampa to sell on-line :). The high school was HOT all day long!! The dressing room was not prepared to have dancers & their bags in them when we arrived. Parents had to move desks around. The promoters should get the rooms ready for the dancers & their parents before the competiton. We were divided into 2 different spaces. Overall it was a great 12 hour day :)

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We love this competition! The staff is very kid oriented and definitely encouraging. They have so much energy to keep the competition running smoothly for 3 days! The pictures and videos are very reasonably priced!

Great Competition experience this past weekend in Dayton! Really enjoyed to competition. Loved the judges and how involved they were with the dancers. Encore Performances were great!

We enjoy this competition. It is usually our first competition of the year. The scoring seems tough most years but I personally like that so we know what to fix/work on for the up coming competitions

This is our favorite competition! They are fun for the kids, well organized! Love the app for your phone so you can track which number they are on!

Great competition! Competition was well run and organized. Staff was helpful.

not for soloists. if you have large group numbers this is the place for you.

Judging is tough but mostly fair. The way they do title is a bit silly - highest score of two solos so 99% of time it\'s just another way for first place to win all over again. Seems like they did more judges choices this year making them a little less special. Staff is very nice and mostly ran on time or a bit early.

Not a fan of this one. They are either an hour early or an hour late. The staff is not very helpful and kind of rude. Only the studios with the most numbers did well and were included in the \"encore\" performance. The schedule is just insane, we had some people in our category that danced at 8am and they didn\'t have the awards until 7pm. What if that\'s your only dance? Are you supposed to hangout all day? Won\'t be coming back to this one.

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It is very obvious at this competition that they know who they see at their Nationals and judge accordingly. Smaller studios are basically ignored. Their schedule is done by genre not age, so you have to be there way longer than you should and they usually run behind.

Fun competition that attracts a lot of talent. Fair judging, it is rather large and does run late into the evening.

Below, I said \"fun, but way too big\" - and then we went to nationals. Masquerade has three levels of competition. I\'m not sure why. The leveling down - blatant leveling down by studios that were clearly not intermediate (or novice) was ridiculous. There\'s no way that the staff and/or judges didn\'t notice. I know it\'s hard to regulate, but cheating was almost encouraged at this competition. It was way too big and any studio with less than 70 kids on team shouldn\'t even have bothered showing up. I doubt we\'ll be back. I have to say that it was a really, really disappointing nationals experience.

Love Masquerade both regional and Nationals. Staff is considerate, kind and the judges are fair.

Fun competition, ran a little behind at times. Over all well organized. Lots of energy.

Really enjoy this competition! It is usually our first one so we get a lot of information and critiques for the next ones. :)

We really enjoy going to Masquerade! Lots of energy and fun with the frequent bead tosses during awards.

Didn\'t care for the odd performance order..I know our 4 yrs were there all day and that is really hard on them. Instead of by age they did by type of dance.

Least enjoyed competition of the season. The staff didn\'t seem to enjoy the \"theme\" and just tossed the beads before awards in a very lackluster way. The whole thing seemed tired and old.

Our studio was a smaller studio compared to the ones entering 65 numbers per day. It was very obvious that those studios were going to do better and were treated better. Our \"dressing room\" was literally the utility room. The judging was awful and the feedback from the judges was almost non existent. Would never return!

We were not impressed with this competition. They seemed to be geared to the larger studios as well as the studios who attend there yearly. I felt like we weren\'t being respected on the same level as those other studios and thats not a feeling you want to have when your dancers are paying so much in entry fees to attend. My dancers also brought tons of posters to cheer on their fellow dancers, they had the best behavior back stage and consistently said positive things to the other studios (just like they are encouraged to do at every event we attend) and some of my dancers even brought tons of mardi gras beads to pass out to other studios. So it was almost a shock when we didn\'t win Most Spirited and a larger studio who didn\'t go out of their way to do anything positively \'spirited\' won the award. Their scoring was consistent and we appreciated that aspect of the weekend. However, we just were not impressed with this competition and have no plans to attend again.

I have been a studio owner for the past 14 years and a lot of my dancers have grown up attending this competition! The \"family\" environment is what keeps us coming back! Great atmosphere, qualified judges, fabulous merchandise and a show that runs on time . . .definitely a favorite in my books!!

Great competition with normal length awards and great judges with good critiques. Ran on time or ahead. Love their mobile app.

LOVED it in the past. Just ok this time. Lost a little of it\'s sparkle. Judging much harder - which is fine; but sometimes it\'s hard to understand why when only a few comments are given. It is a huge competition in MN - 2 dates, the earlier is smaller than the latter.

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Judging was the hardest I\'ve seen in 4 years. Feedback was 1-2 comments per routine about costumes or liking choreography. No backstage staff to assist with getting on/off stage or regulating dancers. Difficulty with our props and entrances/exits because other dancers were in the way.

So-So run competition. Judging was inconsistent and the critiques were worthless.

My daughters had so much fun at this competition.

A bit cheesy. MC told all the girls they weren\'t paying attention to technique...very confusing for the girls (and boys)