Accountability & Transparency in Pro-Am Competitions
Competing at any Pro-Am competition is expensive. Period. For many competitors, the cost of one competition, especially if it is not local and requires plane travel, can cost more than 1 month’s salary. It’s a huge commitment that requires careful thought and research to ensure that the money being spent has the best value for you and your goals, especially if it is the ONE competition you can afford to attend in an entire year.
I am a Canadian Pro-Am competitor who used to compete in the U.S. until the rising prices combined with the increasing exchange rate made it cost-prohibitive. I now try to limit myself to Canadian competitions, but even that takes a lot of pre-thought and planning.
Stephen Marino Photography
“No Prices for Students”
I, along with other Pro-Am competitors, regularly sift through competition information available online to try to determine what competition might be best to attend. The process can require hours of searching through websites, and more often than not it turns out the information is just not openly available—it has either been taken down with previous year’s information, or you see something similar to this:
“Wholesale package prices are not publicly posted. It is customary for Studios, Teachers & Professionals to add a surcharge to the standard pricing to compensate for the loss of income and teaching time due to the attendance at the competition. These fees may vary and are encouraged and supported by the organizers of this competition.”
I want to be clear and up-front. As a Pro-Am student, I 100% support the practice of charging to compensate for loss of income, it just makes sense. However, what I do object to is the implication that competition prices are kept private to enable studios, teachers and professionals to inflate them without any accountability.
Stephen Marino Photography
Personal Experience
Early in my competing career, I fell victim to this. It does happen. For me, it came down to naivety of the Pro-Am system and a lack of understanding about how competitions are priced. While I batted an eye at the rather large package price, it didn’t occur to me that the studio had inflated the price on top of their other listed fees to compensate for work and lost time. It took two competitions costing me much more than $10,000 each before I started doing research and asking questions. What I learned, shocked me. Needless to say, I no longer dance at that studio.
Stephen Marino Photography
Small Progress
That was more than 5 years ago, and I am happy to report that I have seen some changes in this area. More and more competitions are openly posting their prices or making them available to whomever asks without question (despite their website saying differently), and research shows it is more common for prices to be openly available in Canada than the U.S. Even 3 years ago, if I requested wholesale prices I would have been grilled about my status (Are you a Pro-Am student? What studio do you represent? Do you have a registration number?) and even denied access as a Pro-Am student.
“Our Events are Always Well-Contested”
Another area where it is commonly difficult to find information, especially in Canada, is previous year’s results. If you are similar to me, you prefer to have an idea of whether or not you are likely to be contested at a competition before signing on the dotted line. However, it appears to be common practice in Canada for organizers to remove previous year’s results from their website about 3 months after a competition is over, and especially when registration for the following year is open. Those familiar with compmngr by Richard Douglass will also know the frustration of trying to find results for a specific event vice an individual competitor.
I have heard examples from credible sources of instances where students are assured by their instructors (via the organizers) that a competition is well contested (5-6 couples or semi-finals) only to arrive and find themselves virtually uncontested in every event. In talking with some American competitors, a negative experience such as this has led or would lead them to rule out competing anywhere in Canada again. It’s disappointing to hear this when there ARE fun, strong, and well contested competitions out here in Canada that are attended by some of the top pro/am competitors in North America (many of whom live and train in Canada). The actions of a few have the potential to undermine the system as a whole.
Stephen Marino Photography
Being Part of the Solution
How can organizers be held accountable for the transparency and honesty of information related to their competitions? I used to be part of the group complaining about the lack of transparency and accountability, and felt that as a Pro-Am student, I was powerless to do anything to address these issues. But I refused to accept that, and instead I decided to take some action.
My solution has been to create a website – ProAm Dance Canada, that compiles and organizes information in one place for all Canadian Pro-Am competitions that is available YEAR ROUND, regardless of what happens with individual competition websites.
I have also begun compiling entry number information for multi-dance events into easy-to- read charts on each event’s page. The information is openly available without cost or need to ask for it. Pro-Am in Canada is growing. Good things are happening. It’s hard work and a huge investment to train and compete in Pro/Am, wherever you do it. Be openly and honestly informed. Here is the website again, and can’t wait to hear from fellow Pro-Am competitors!
Photo from 06 January 2016: Back to my morning routine! Currently planning my month and making a survival plan for the second semester because my classes go on from 07:30 am to 06:00 pm everyday.
++ If you’re interested, the January calendar printable can be found here!
A blank slate. It’s 2021 and it feels weird, but also right, to be back home. I decided to take the remaining days of 2020 to rest (and by “rest”, I mean still do some work but not vigorously ) Will go back to being a productivity machine by 2021. What are your plans in the remaining few days of 2020? I hope you plan on taking a rest too! We all deserve it. PS: The printables I personally edited are still up for grabs! The photo on this post is one of them. Fill out this form to grab a copy! https://forms.gle/TeKEyy67EY9HpcJX9
Linked to this post is a free google slides document I’ve designed for the purposes of character and plot development. You can use this in several ways, including:
Making a copy to your google drive and editing it digitally
Downloading as a Microsoft powerpoint document
Editing in google slides and then downloading as a printable PDF
This document includes technical instructions and guides to the planning models I integrated. The included pages are:
Here I am after more than a month of vacation. I have thought a lot about the past academic year during this summer. It was a tough one, and it challenged me a lot.
In the university that I attend, exams are very close and, to do all of them in time, you must study for two or three exams simultaneously. It requires the ability to prioritize, to dedicate the right amount of time to every subject.
Prioritizing was not immediate to me, and I had to train myself. Here are a few tips that I use when planning the study of multiple subjects at the same time:
1. Split the day:
This technique is good if you are preparing exams of different importance and complexity. Identify the moment of the day in which you are more productive, and dedicate that time to the most complex subject. Then, give time to the second most productive moment for a less complicated exam. If you have a third subject, split the day into three parts, and so on.
For instance, I am more productive in the morning, a bit more distracted in the afternoon, and way less active in the evening, so I base my plans on this scale.
To know the time of the day in which you are more productive, I advise the chronotype test. We all are classifiable as four animals, with different features and routine inclination. For example, I am a dolphin, so I am more productive late in the morning, after some workout and a cold shower. To find your chronotype, do the test here: https://www.doctoroz.com/quizzes/whats-your-chronotype. After having done the quiz, you will periodically receive emails deepening your chronotype.
Also, splitting the day makes studying less boring. I tend to fall asleep if I spend long hours on the same topic while switching from a subject to another waken me up. I would not be able to study for eight hours for the same exam, while I can study four hours for one exam, three for another and one for a third one. By the way, this point is very individual: if you do not fit into this type of planning, look at point 2.
2. Make weekly plans:
This is good whether you are studying for exams of the same importance, or if you prefer to dedicate all day to the same subject.
Dedicate every day of the week to a different exam. You can choose to assign more days for one exam rather than another, based on their complexity.
I use this technique a lot during classes when I do not have all day to study. When I still have to get familiar with the subject, I prefer to give it all day, without any time limit.
3. Match topics:
Generally speaking, the semester’s exams have criteria. You are likely to have similar subjects, or at least with some points in common. Identify the repetitions and the joint topics, and study them together. It will make you save time and have a complete view of that specific argument.
This is all! Let me know if you have some more suggestions that you would like to share. Good luck to all of you with your exams
The dark of our long New England winter is the perfect time to clear what no longer serves us well, and to listen to our heart as we set our goals and aspirations.
The last couple of years, I’ve found it really helpful to work withDanielle LaPorte’s Desire Map process, Ink + Volt’s planners, and returning frequently to the wisdom of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estesto stay grounded in my…
hey everyone! if you’re just stumbling upon this post and are new here, i’m going into my 3rd year of undergrad in bio for health sci a.k.a pre-med sorta deal! i did this post last year and u guys loved it, i also think its a great ways for us #studyblrs to share more . this is just an update into what courses i’ll be taking this year, life updates, tips i learnt from last year + more!
PICKING COURSES
my courses:
I’m a health sci bio major with a double minor in chem + business! so here is what my full-time year of studies looks like (5 courses per semester)
physiology of neurons & muscles
human development
structural biochem
metabolism & bioenergetics
neurosci
statistics
lab in cell & molecular bio
molecular bio
fundamentals of marketing
managing projects & business plans
for freshman, your courses are pretty set and you likely won’t have much choice around what you actually want to take, so unless you’re an upper-year, you likely won’t see more interesting course titles like what i have above. not much for an update in this section, i planned most of my courses last year, but the most frustrating thing that happened was 9/10 courses i wanted to take were in my fall semester originally, so i have to do A LOT of rearranging, anywho…..
scheduling:
i’ll link last years post here as i went into pretty deep detail of how i schedule my courses and how you can too!
other tips + updates:
it’s always okay to change your programs!! (ie. major, minor, specialist) don’t let the standard of “a 4-year degree” fool you into thinking you can’t take longer. its always a good idea to look ahead and try to plan, but this age of our lives is when we’re changing the most and really finding who we are and what we want to do with the rest of our lives. it’s definitely not something to rush.
if you have to do summer courses, or retake courses, or take an extra semester, don’t beat yourself up. it happens to 99% of people!
take me for example!! i went into school thinking 100% i wanted to go down the med path, now here i am starting my 3rd year and I’m not so sure. I’m more so looking at doing my masters in physical therapy. you change, life changes, and you find what works BEST for you and the path you want for your life.
ALSO your path doesn’t have to be linear, or the typical; if you want to go to med/law/other post grad school, but your grades or extra curricular didn’t necessarily cut it, that’s okay! maybe you’ll work somewhere for a year or two and go back to school and get in. basically what I’m trying to say is if there is a career path that you love, don’t give up, and don’t think you have to get there the same way as someone else did.
currently, my fall courses are all completely online (minus 1 in-person tutorial) i hope most of you will be in-person, unlike me. but i’ll continue to post both online and in-person study tips as the year progresses.!
LIFE BESIDES SCHOOL
this summer i was lucky enough to work as an online PT, and this will probably continue part time into the school year. besides my other social accounts kinda blowing up, working on Syrse Dawn, I’ve been crazy busy with everything. I’m a little worried about balancing everything come the school szn, but as usual, i always prioritize my school work
we love academic validation haha….no but seriously, i love learning and school, and doing well has always been important to me, so while my work is important, mental health and school come first.
right now some passion projects and summer bucket list things I’ve been working on are finishing a current novel I’m writing (haven’t finished writing one since 2015), reading 1 more book, filling a sketchbook, going for a sunrise swim and honestly just spending as much time with my friends as fam as possible!
• • • • • •
like last year, i’d love to create a chain of studyblrs doing an update like this, sharing their courses for the year, how they organize them, updates + more! so if you get tagged, add to this chain + tag 5 more studyblr accounts!!
With 2022 right around the corner, I wanted to share a little holiday gift with everyone!
I designed a 100+ paged digital bullet journal/planner template that works with Goodnotes and Notability on iPad. Fully hyperlinked with unique monthly and weekly spreads.
Includes:
Table of Contents & 2021 Reflection 目录
2022 Yearly Calendar 年历
Goals 人生计划
Wishlist & Books List 愿望和阅读清单
Movies & Shows 观影清单
Academic Plan 学习计划
Monthly Quotes 每月计划
Habits 习惯养成
Goals & Favorites 目标&爱好
Sentences 每日一句
Meals 每日饮食
Calendar 月历
Brain Dump 自由日记
Weekly Spreads 每周计划（包括黑和白色版本）
Free Notes 笔记
Journaling Prompts 日记题目
If you’re interested, just like, reblog, follow, and personal message me! I’ll try my best to respond as soon as possible with the link to download :)
10 quotes, the corresponding information and the process and techniques to use for each of them:
1. “STOP POINTLESS JUDGEMENT’
‘we will challenge each other and the world and we will stop pointless judgement’ is the manifesto of the Happy Hippy Foundation, a charitable organisation founded by Miley Cyrus. Their mission is to ‘rally young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBTQ youth and other vulnerable populations’.
I will use a mixture of letters cut out from skin, and stamping the letters then embossing them creating a textured effect.
2. ‘BEAUTY AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS PERPETUATE FEELINGS OF SELF HATE.’
quote from Tyler Ford, agender writer, model and LGBTQ consultant. The media and society continually portray the idea that you have to look and act a specific way in order to be viewed as beautiful. These ideals are often unrealistic and unattainable, which is harmful because people are left feeling inadequate and unhappy with how they and their bodies look.
I will use one of the skin photographs as the background, embroider the words on and add glitter, embossing powder and ink, and burn into it.
3. ‘WE LIVE IN A DEEPLY MISOGYNISTIC SOCIETY’
Misogyny runs very deeply within our society, and men and boys often act towards women and girls in an extremely predatory manner. Men continually oppress women, and treat them like objects for them to own, it’s a man’s world that we live in.
I will use a blue background, then use a bold black font with the letters individually cut out, and then collage it with ink, embossing powder, glittery nail varnishes and heat it up, burning into the paper.
4. ‘YOU SUFFER TO BE BEAUTIFUL FOR A CERTAIN GAZE.’
Quote from Fanny Sosa, artist and activist. The male gaze is the idea that men are active and dominant whilst women are passive and submissive, and attempt to full fill the ideal expectations men set up for them. Feminine beauty practices show the extent that women go to, to make themselves acceptable for the male gaze, because ‘looking good is a caae of looking good for men.’ - Gender and Popular Culture
This will be on a background of a photo of skin with sewing, glitter, embossing powder and heating it up.
5. ‘RAISE BOYS AND GIRLS THE SAME’
It is important to raise children the same regardless of gender in order to break down these harmful gendered stereotypes. Children are very impressionable and breaking down these expectations of what it means to ‘be a man’ or ‘be a woman’ is an important step to achieving a more equal society.
I will make a background using inks, different embossing powders, glittery nail varnishes, and wax crayons and heat it up in different areas creating lots of texture, and then use a bright pink paper and cut all the letters out individually and lay it over the textured background.
6. ‘WE ALL HAVE INGRAINED MECHANISMS THAT ARE SEXIST AND RACIST.’
-quote from Fanny Sosa, artist and activist. The Western society is controlled by the patriarchy and white supremacists. In everything we see and do, ideal and expectations are continually forced upon us and many of these stem from sexist and racist frameworks. This is something that is important to recognise, and we must work together to fight against these ideas.
This I will also do using the skin photograph with embroidery and texture with glitter and embossing.
7. ‘THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO GENDERS.’
Gender is a social construct and it is very ignorant to say that there is nothing beyond ‘man’ and ‘woman’. Rather than viewing gender as these two distinct categories, it should be viewed as a spectrum, with a‘multidimensional array of possibilities.’ For more information visit genderspectrum.org.
8. ‘THERE IS A SPECIFIC WAY THAT SOCIETY EXPECTS YOU TO BEHAVE.’
Gendered stereotypes are continuously used in the media, for example in advertisements, often in subtle and overt ways but these fuel the idea that there is a specific way that society expects us to behave, which enforces conformity. Concepts of masculinity and femininity are social constructs and are not something that individuals should feel that they have to conform to.
This also will be a photograph of skin as the background with embroidery, glitter, embossing powder, ink and it heated up burning into it.
9. ‘COLOURS ARE NOT GENDERED.’
The gendered stereotype that is constantly reinforced says pink is for girls and blue is for boys, which is something that clothing companies aggressively market. It is harmful to push these gendered stereotypes onto children as it enforces the false idea that there is a specific way that boys or girls must be.
This will be done creating a textured background with ink, embossing powders, glittery nails varnish and crayons and heated up, then another layer in blue with the letters all hand cut out and layered over the top.
10. EDUCATION SHOULD NOT BE LIMITED TO THE HISTORY OF WHITE MALES.’
Education is hugely shaped by colonialism, placing white, Eurocentric writers, thinkers and activists and artists etc. above others. Many women and people of colour’s voices and histories are silenced and erased, in the place of white, Eurocentric males. Curriculums greatly need to be diversified. For more information visit www.nus.org.uk Why Is My Curriculum White?
This will be done on a pink background, with the text in a large bold font and the letters individually cut out, then texture created around it with inks, embossing powder and glittery nail varnishes, heated up and the paper burnt into.
For the front cover I am going to use FUCK WOMEN* with their consent. This bold derogatory statement will hopefully draw in people’s attention. By using this I hope that it will make someone look at the product who would otherwise be unlikely to view something on feminism. I want it to be something that spreads a message, to people who are less educated on the subject, ignorant or who take Emily Hill’s stance that feminism is no longer needed, to teach them how this is not the case. The cover will either be like a sleeve with the letters hand cut out and a glittery background underneath, or I will make it in pink fabric and cut the letters out in felt. I will bind it like a flip book with a metal hoop so that each of the pages can potentially be unattached and taken out and displayed as individual posters. I am also going to print out an insert to go at the front.
In 2022 getting results and getting your business means doing things differently or tweaking what you know for improved results! Taking chances means doing something where the outcome is uncertain and the rewards can be just what is needed. Every time you step into an action be aware of the potential outcomes and what it means to the…
