I've covered a lot in the last few years in these blogs concerning things I think you would like to read about and things that interest me. Now I need your help. What else would be interesting and/or helpful for you to read about? I would like to address new concerns and new topics and I would like to hear what you have to say about us, and the dance competition world in general. Please email any questions or comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it I'm willing (and occasionally eager) to give you my sometimes-twisted view on a variety of subjects in this whole mad world of dance and competition. I was on the phone with a director the other day and she called us "different." Now different can be good and different can be bad. In her case I pretty sure different meant good. Yes, TOP strives to be different in many ways. It's this reason we continue to watch the actions of The Federation of Dance Competitions from afar and still feel it is not for us. We are different in that we still feel that the kids should come first. We are different in that we feel supporting a children's based charity is important. In the coming season we will continue to support Dancers Against Cancer and return to our support of the Juvenile Diabetes Association. One charity collects donations through child sponsored dance events and the other supports affected children everyday, (including two of our family members and many dancers on our stages). What else is new this year? Glad you asked. This year we will have a recycle box for those teens who would rather give back trophies than to add to the dusting issues in their bedrooms. For each trophy left in the box an additional dollar will be donated to the charities. This year we are also working on some new projects including professional performance ops for pre-professional dancers (more coming soon) and we are working to update our critique systems. We had cantankerous machines the last couple of years, which has been frustrating for all of us at times. We are different (there's that word again) in that we truly listen to our teachers, kids and parents. You asked for three separate competition divisions awarded independently with cash prizes in all levels, and now you've got it. Teachers please follow the rules on the website when leveling students and gives us a call if in doubt. We know each studio is "different" too! We are also going to look to cap show sizes where possible, especially in certain markets. We have found that some markets do not struggle with Thursday and Friday shows as much as other markets. This will make it more important than ever to get your entries to us on time. One of the other things I've noticed that make us different is our tendency to have a large number of studios represented at most of our shows. I love that. In my opinion, only 2-3 studios at an event don't make for much actual competition. Please send me your thoughts and questions so I can blog more often. My brain shuts down a bit in August, but I'm back on my game and ready to go again. Miss Kim