You can identify the others by the following traits:
- They move your stuff in the dressing room!
- They stand in front of you when your child is on stage!
- They give you dirty looks!
- They save entire rows of seats for hours and no one ever shows up!
- They're usually wearing a jacket or t-shirt that says "Special Princess' Mom" (don't worry if YOU wear this...YOU aren't crazy. It's THEM!!!)
- They run their dancer's solo at least once more even after the teacher has done it.
- They've been known to scream at teachers, other parents, and even strangers!
Unfortunately, there isn't a darned thing we can do about these people. Your only options are to assimilate (Please only choose this option as a last resort! Think of the puppies!), develop a sense of humor about them, or to pull your child out of dance and let them start a career in competitive Backgammon.
We can stick together in other ways though. One of the things I've discovered through Twitter is a site called Dance Competition Hub This is a competition and convention rating site. (They have a fantastic vendor rating section as well!) And it has a very thorough list of competitions, conventions, and vendors. Teachers, parents, studio owners, and dancers are all invited to review the competitions with which they have experience. They've only been operating since April 2013 (according to the news section on the site) and I have heard myself that the competition directors have taken notice. I highly recommend that you take the time to check them out - because one way that we can stick together as crazy (some of us more than others) dance parents (and dancers - hi!!) is to keep the people we give our hard earned money to honest and fun for the kids.
P.S. They're on Facebook too! Go show some love! Dance Competition Hub
P.S. They're on Facebook too! Go show some love! Dance Competition Hub