TF_CompTips_MAINIs it your first competition season as a teacher?  You may surprised at all those extra things your teachers were lugging around each weekend.

Dances are polished, costumes are fitted, shoes are broken in, registration is complete, and now it’s time for your dancers to take the stage and show off their hard work. Dance competitions are a huge deal, so the pressure is on for you the teacher to be on your “A game” and show up extra prepared.

Here’s a list of items that you won’t want to leave home without on competition day:

  • Birth certificates. If the age of your dancer comes into question, you need to be able to prove that yes, the young dancer with sky-high grande jetes is indeed only 12, for example.
  • Bobby pins
  • Safety pins in ALL sizes
  • Nail polish remover and cotton balls – some competitions give deductions for nail polish
  • Baggies with dancers’ names on them for jewelry they forgot to take off
  • Lady time supplies
  • Advil
  • Nail file & clippers
  • Band-aids
  • Vaseline for teeth. Big smiles equal dry mouths!
  • Contact solution
  • Sewing kit
  • Gum and mints
  • Healthy snacks & water
  • Program book
  • Registration confirmations
  • Highlighters and pens
  • Clipboard
  • Emergency contacts for all dancers
  • Dance lineups and notes
  • Music and back-up music…and a back-up for the back-up (you might want to have it both digitally and on a CD)
  • Portable CD or MP3 player so you can practice.
  • Blankets to lay on the floor back stage
  • Depending on ages, some kind of waiting time activity, like coloring pages or iPad games

You know how hard you have worked to get to this point, and you know how much it means to your dancers to do well. If you can come into the competition craziness with some calm and organization, it will be a positive and amazing experience for everyone involved.