Rant - Don't mind me...

DancingMommy

DancingMommy

Active Member
Sorry I've been MIA for the last <ahem> few months but life has a way of getting in the way....

So I get this brochure from a semi-local competiton run by semi-local studio owners.... And I think... This could be interesting... And as I'm flipping through it all... I notice something REALLY bizarre... The scholarship section....

To be eligible to compete in the Pro/Am "scholarship" ($75), one must compete in a minimum of 30 Freestyle events ($30/each) and/or Solo Exhibitions ($55/each) AND be on a package (minimum of $645/person/dbl occupancy).

First place wins a whopping $200 and it goes WAY down from there... So I did the math... And came to the conclusion that one would have to spend a MINIMUM of $900 for freestyles and/or exhibitions, the bare minimum package price AND the scholarship entry of $75 (total $1620 not including instructor fees) to win $200. And this is NOT a humongo comp, either.

Why? Whywhywhywhywhy?????

Maybe my pregancy hormones are all out of whack or something, but somehow this seems wrong. Way wrong. Somebody tell me I'm not smoking crack....
 
DancingMommy said:
from there... So I did the math... And came to the conclusion that one would have to spend a MINIMUM of $900 for freestyles and/or exhibitions, the bare minimum package price AND the scholarship entry of $75 (total $1620 not including instructor fees) to win $200. And this is NOT a humongo comp, either.

Why? Whywhywhywhywhy?????

Maybe my pregancy hormones are all out of whack or something, but somehow this seems wrong. Way wrong. Somebody tell me I'm not smoking crack....
Click to expand...
well your sig line IS...everyone let's get STONED darling;) ...seriously though...I guess I have come to realize in my own case that pro /am dancers have got to just love what they do b/c it is an assualt on the wallet and no one really cares, its a business.....even if I win my studio's probably gonna grab my check so I have just learned that the only one who cares about my dancing is me...and that's enough.....and trust me I am not pregnant
 
am dancing 38 heats in my next comp and it is over 1000 bucks without hotel...and I suspect that the reason I am not doing a scholarship is b/c I am not on pkg...and that other folks who will only enter if they can dance scholarship...and my pro knows I dont care...I guess thats just where I am now...I don't really care about any of that crap anymore...just my dancing and my enjoyment...may sound selffish but am finding it a whole lot healthier than caring....go figure
 
i wish i were in your enviable economic position so that i "didn't care." i think i might start selling blood or something to fund my dancing. or selling.... i don't know, hmm, let me think.
 
How can a single person compete in 30 individual events? The only math I can muster is 5 dances x 2 styles x 3 levels = 30. Or maybe a single heat counts as a single event?
 
Oh my, that seems very excessive. Dancing is an expensive hobby, but I wonder if the organizers can really justify that expense. Oh well, that just reminds me why I don't attend pro-am comps and won't unless they can get their prices a little closer to what I pay at amateur comps.
 
tanz15 said:
How can a single person compete in 30 individual events? The only math I can muster is 5 dances x 2 styles x 3 levels = 30. Or maybe a single heat counts as a single event?
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1 Freestyle = 1 dance, one age group, one style, one level. So presumably, if I were (hypothetically) dancing the Int'l Std. 5 Dance Scholarship... I would dance each dance separately (5 freestyles) in multiple levels (let's say 3) for a total of 15 entries. Let's assume I can dance in two age divisions... That brings me to a total of 30.... Or I could throw some of those "Solo Exhibitions" in there (what a joke) and dance fewer freestyle events asuming I had the energy for ANY of it....

Then let's NOT forget that the prices I quoted were direct from the organizer. If my pro decided not to charge me anything, I might be able to conscience that kind of outlay.... But if not... After all, the pro has to make something, too, right? So the $1700 give or take is only the cost paid directly to the organizer.... BAH!
 
trust me...I care about the economic part...I have a kid going to college in the Fall...but I just mean I am tired of caring about what the pro thinks and how other people dance and what I am doing versus what they are doing and studio politics and blah blah blah...I guess I have just learned that when you are in an enviable economic position the only thing many folks really care about is your wallet so you'd better care about yourself or you will try to buy affection that no one really has ...its a business...I think learning that has made me rediscover my own personal sense of dignity...no one else has my interests at heart...ya know?...but yea...I am fortunate...and I know it...
 
tanz15 said:
How can a single person compete in 30 individual events? The only math I can muster is 5 dances x 2 styles x 3 levels = 30. Or maybe a single heat counts as a single event?
Click to expand...
I am dancing in three styles...
 
Somehow, in light of the past year.... It seems so ridiculous... These people are local Floridians.... And somehow I feel like they are trying to rip off their fellow Floridians... And after the last two years??? WHY???/ I know they aren't responsible for the wrath of hurricanes past, but you'd think with all the major catastrophe that people have dealt with and all...... Ack. I better quit....
 
wyllo said:
Oh my, that seems very excessive. Dancing is an expensive hobby, but I wonder if the organizers can really justify that expense. Oh well, that just reminds me why I don't attend pro-am comps and won't unless they can get their prices a little closer to what I pay at amateur comps.
Click to expand...

Amen...although once I win the lotto....
 
DancingMommy said:
Somehow, in light of the past year.... It seems so ridiculous... These people are local Floridians.... And somehow I feel like they are trying to rip off their fellow Floridians... And after the last two years??? WHY???/ I know they aren't responsible for the wrath of hurricanes past, but you'd think with all the major catastrophe that people have dealt with and all...... Ack. I better quit....
Click to expand...
when money becomes king ...morality is the casualty....but hey...we can support it or not....there is something to be said for social dancing....
 
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