2/20/15: Dance Mom Experiencing Her First Competition

Lauren has been dancing since she was two and this year has joined the Dance Competition Team at her dance school.  She is competing in Tap and Jazz and I am learning what it is like to be a Dance Mom.  I will admit it is not like the show and our dance school is nothing like Abby Lee Miller's dance school.

The weekend before the competition we had dress rehearsal.  The kids got to practice in their full costumes and makeup and had their pictures taken.

Plus it was a great time for me to practice her hair and makeup.  I had never put eye liner, foundation and lip liner on her before so this took some practice.

The two routines are super cute.  In this one she is a nurse and the song is Doctor Doctor.

This past weekend was StarQuest.  It was our first experience at a Dance Competition.  Well other than when I was young and used to compete.

Things I learned during the Dance Competition as a new Dance Mom:

It is nothing like the show Dance Moms.  Our moms are very nice and helpful.

Dance competitions are an all day experience.  In some cases it may carry over multiple days.

You do not find out which day of the weekend you are performing until about a week before the competition.  Most go from Friday to Sunday.

Most of the hair you see on the girls is fake.  We made a bun and covered their hair with this piece of curls.  Much easier for styling as I am used to curling her hair with a curling iron for baton twirling and it takes me about an hour to do.

A lot of bobby pins and makeup is required.  Having a checklist of what is needed is best.

As a Mom you are needed to do hair, makeup and get your child dressed but then the kids stay with the team and teachers and parents stay together separately.

Listening to awards is similar to listening to an auctioneer.  They announce awards so quickly that I had no idea what was going on.

There are Adjudication awards.  This includes Platinum, Gold, High Gold, and others.  These are strictly based on your teams score.  Then there are overall awards per age range, size of team and experience level.

Be prepared for many hours of practice, but for someone like Lauren she loves going to practice.

Moments like this at competition make you know it is worth it.  Bonding with team members and having fun.

Here are all the kids from Ellens School of Dance on the stage after awards.

Here is Lauren ready to go in her first routine which was a tap routine to Bellhop Boogie.

I love this routine.  They tap on suitcases, plus they use bells in this routine.  We were not allowed to take video or take pictures but luckily they did at the competition and they did a great job with pictures.

The costumes are adorable and a kick line is always a crowd pleaser.

Here they are tapping their toes on the bells.

They did awesome and took High Gold in this number and 1st place overall for Petite Large Group.

The other routine was Doctor Doctor.  This jazz routine is also adorable and high energy.

The girls had a quick change so they were partnered up with older competition members to get them changed.  Here is Lauren with her partner Sarah who she loved.  Sarah did her headpiece which I was thankful for as the nurse's hat was tough to get to stay in.

Here are the nurses dancing away.

I love the little boy in this routine who plays the Doctor.  He is awesome and has great charisma.

There are so many super cute parts in this routine.

 Here you can see Lauren close up.

 Adorable!

 They did awesome and got High Gold and placed 2nd overall in the Petite Large Group.

It is hard to believe how grown up she looked.  Here is a little flashback from her first year dancing.

 She has grown in to a beautiful dancer.

She is looking forward to her next competition!