Everyone says they want a diva until one shows up

oh idk of any well-known studios by name, but I'm in a dance teacher discussion group on facebook and it came up there!

oof yeah I've had to choreograph duets and trios like that at my original studio years ago, it's rough. those always end up being the pieces where you just have to bear down and put together something that looks presentable on stage, rather than the ones that are this whole artistic journey where you get to support and guide the dancers through personal development. and obviously the latter is more enjoyable and beneficial for everyone involved, but a lot of dancers (understandably, because they are children) and parents don't understand that.

I haven't seen that group from Mather so I can't speak to that specifically, but in general I think the choreographer/studio owner should always get written consent from parents of all dancers involved in religious-themed dances. It definitely can be done in a tasteful, appropriate way, but I think it's inappropriate to spring that on your dancers as a mandatory dance.

I know people love Fever but personally I had a HORRIBLE experience there. The host had his young son handing out awards late at night, and paused the awards session to openly scold his son over the microphone for handing out an incorrect medal. It was extremely uncomfortable and off-putting.

Yeah I agree with you for sure, I would say those 3 you named are among the most "prestigious" Canadian comps, but still not at the same calibre as BTF/NYCDA, etc. I also might put Elite in that same group of high-level Canadian comps, but I think they've gone downhill in the past few years, a lot of favoritism issues.

no i just went for fun

yeah I’m in a professional program there so it’s not unusual for me to be secular. Vast majority of their regular undergrads are Christian but they also offer a few direct-career degrees and those cohorts are a pretty mixed bag in terms of religion. I don’t study religion or attend any religious services or clubs at my school, I’m just there to get the degree.

idk people don’t do that where I’m from!! I even lived in Ontario for a bit and taught at a studio where half the kids went to catholic school and they didn’t do that either! Could be a regional difference. I was also raised super secular, my parents are both ex-Christians and are pretty opposed to religion, so I was very sheltered from that stuff growing up. But believe it or not I actually go to a Christian university now lol.