Possible to take part in comps/festivals with two different dance schools?

[lovea]

My son attends two dance schools, he's nine years old. He currently only does festivals at one of the schools, though it's only one a year, though last year was two. The other school does several over the year, and I wondered if it would present any problems to also join in with the festivals at the other school, as they're always asking if he's interested.

They don't compete at the same festivals, the schools. Just to add.

Does he do different dance styles at each school, and are the two schools aware that he dances elsewhere? Might it be better if he moved to the school that does more festivals, and just had his classes there?

We've never been involved in festivals, so don't know about whether there are any problems regarding competing with more than one school.

He does the same styles at both, but an extra style at one school. One of the schools knows he dances elsewhere, the other does not ( I know that's not ideal).

Yes, it might be better if we dropped the other school and/or their comps.

who gets precidence when two competitions happen on the same day or when (more likely) you have rehearsal for one & a comp for the other?

DD attended 3 (2 associates & 1 school) & logistically it was a nightmare

I agree, it can get really problematic when you are supposed to be in two places at once!

We had this situation with a girl at my daughter's dance school a few years ago - this girl arrived at a festival and took part in a group dance then announced she was off to a rival school's dressing room as she was in their group dance too. The dances were in the same section. After this happened our school Principal said that if anyone was dancing for another school they wouldn't be allowed to be part of our Festival team.

Now that is pushing it a bit, wheresthehoney I wouldn't be brazen enough to do that.

It really is only usually one festival a year with one school, so if there happened to be a clash then that school would probably come first

I wondered also if there would be a problem with the judges, or if they would mention it to the other dance school if they recognised him (he's won some big overall award with the small school).

He just wants to do more, suppose for the sake of just one or two it might still be worth dropping the small school comp (s), though he's not keen to do that he said.

Your ds sounds talented, and I can't help wondering whether he would be best off staying with whichever school offers the highest quality of training in his chosen discipline?

This might be more beneficial for him in the long run, rather than choosing a school purely based on whichever offers more festival opportunities.

How does he feel about it all?

If he is dancing with two schools and you plan on him doing competitions with both, then I strongly suggest that it is honestly and openly discussed with both schools, so that everyone knows where they stand.

Most dance teachers object to children double schooling to start with and when you put competitions into the mix, it causes problems. It is almost fate that something will inevitably clash! Then not only does it mean letting down their team mates, but it also reflects badly on you and your child when you prioritise one school over the other. We have a child who does ballet, tap and jazz with us, but she also competes heavily in ballroom and latin. This was all talked about when she came to us and as a result, we have regular contact with her ballroom teacher, to plan ahead. It does mean tough decisions have to be made that neither the child or parent likes (they want to be able to do it all), but the communication means that she gets to do both, without causing problems for either teacher.

My advice would be, that if your son has ambitions of being a dancer, that you look for QUALITY and not quantity. The best option would be to choose one school where he is going to get the best training. If you want to compete more and the school can't offer that, then perhaps it's time to shop around for a school that can fulfill both needs, good quality teaching AND an active competition schedule.

Thanks Taxi, and fortunately the school offering the most festival opportunities is also probably the school with the better quality training. I think, after further discussion, he has more sentimental attachment to the other school and doesn't want to give it up entirely.

My dd was just the same, and had a close attachment to her first dance school, the teacher, and her friends there. It took her a couple of years of inner soul-searching before she felt able to take the decision to move to her current one. With hindsight she knows that it would have been better had she moved earlier, but she wasn't emotionally ready at the time.