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Phx115

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
I hate props!

Why does everything have to be complicated?

DD's solo is to Black Tree. Sounds simple enough, right? A tree painted black. Nope. For starters, while I love crafting, I really am not all that creative. On top of that I don't like stoning, crafting and, now, building props when it comes to things that will somehow be judged.

Anyway, my husband made this great tree from some old wood we had around and his many different electric saws and woodworking gadgets. It's 6 feet tall and about 2- to 3-feet wide. He did a great job. It is supposed to be relatively simple to put the tree into the base. Today, I try to put it into my Jeep Liberty so DT can see it, and one branch breaks off. It was not a clean break, either. Grrr!

I am totally responsible for transporting this thing to every comp, and setting it up on stage. What if it gives me trouble before DD's solo and it takes too long? What if more branches break off?!

From now on, my only request will be NO PROPS!
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tendumom

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 

That would drive me up a wall. 

Dd only competed a short time, but there was a number with garbage cans. Only the girls who popped out of the cans had to transport them. Dd was initially disappointed not to pop out of a can but I was SO happy when I learned that she wasn't popping out of a can so we wouldn't haven't transport one!! I had a very small car at the time and it would not have fit in the trunk. 
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mandyx3

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
I despise them too. I rarely find they add anything to the dance and they're always more trouble to make than they're worth.. more trouble to transport and more trouble to put on stage... I've now started to have my DD say "no props" for solos before they even start rehearsing.
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dancermom128

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
I don't like props for solos. I really don't see the point.
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cynmckee

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
I hate props with the white hot intensity of the sun.
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trinitymomof2

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Neither DD has ever had a prop for their solo.....until now. Older has 3, count them 3! I am in full on freak out panic mode. After changing the song choice 3 times she has just finished choreo and our first competition is next weekend. Add to that the 3 props: a coat rack, a men's coat and and envelope. It is entirely possible I may stroke out. Of course DD and DT are cool as cucumbers. The consolation is I love the dance, and I love the song ( can't let go by Adele, I know Adele collective groan) but it just seems like a lot that could go wrong out of her control.
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tapstermom

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
I am not a big fan of props either, but some times they are needed and as long as they involved in the dance, then I am ok with it.   My dd used to have to lug a large desk every where for her solo one year--yeah that was fun.   Sorry for all the trouble and that the rest of the season goes sooth!  Oh, a glass of wine helps with the stoning   [biggrin]
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Suzit42

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
I'm fine with props, as long as I don't have to lift a finger lol.

DD once had a duo with a prop. Since her partner already had a prop for her solo, I was in charge of the duo prop. It was a desk. An antique iron, flip top desk. It was adorable and well used during the dance. The problem was that it weighed a ton. They don't make them like they used to because no one could lift it. Since I did not want to buy an industrial Dolly, I used my brothers old paper route wagon to lug it around. And when I say lug, I mean pulling it across a parking lot the size of a football field during a sleet storm, good times.

SO seems to add more props and costumes to our production every year. This year DD has a shoe change, three costume changes, large wings, exercise balls and a boat. Ugh! I will never get to see this dance.
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ChelleB70

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
I am so glad I'm not the only one!  I always worry something is going to wrong with props....can't stand them!  Dd and a friend have a duo to Don't You Want To Be Evil.  They use tumbling mats stacked up with a canvas cover that the other mom sewed and the SO/dt painted to look like a stone wall.  I didn't have to do anything and it sounds simple enough.  First comp of the season my dd went to step up on it and the props guys hadn't stacked the mats squarely so the top one was slightly askew (which you couldn't tell bc they're covered).....dd nearly went off BACKWARDS!  Thankfully her friend, who was already on them, reached out with both hands, grabbed dd's arms and pulled her up.  I don't care that it was pretty obvious I nearly had heart failure thinking she was going to go down hard and hit her head.  HATE props!
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My2DanceLoves

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Pretty much a prop despiser myself.  Always have been.   And our studio has never used them at comps.

Until this year. 

We have 1 dance with props.  This was a routine that was performed at our recital last year by the advanced modern class.  It was one of my very favorites last year at recital.   SO decided to compete it this year.  Last year the piece did not have props.  This year it does.  And it really adds to the piece IMO and I think ensures that any given audience will "get it"  as far as what the piece is conveying. 

But alas , props do not always add to routines , in my experience they often distract and detract from them.

OP, I would be going nuts over a possible breaking prop that I was responsible for.  Yikes.
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Twinkletoesx2

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
I don't mind props in dances and think that they can add something to a dance but I hate having to cart them around. Some years we have none, other years we have a lot. Our soloists rarely have them.
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5678StarMom

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Our studio itself is really not big enough for these gigantic monstrosities we see at some competitions, lol! They wouldn't fit in the rooms!

This year our production number has small handheld props to the dancers grab off stage in the wings and then use in the dance. It's really fun but there have to be several moms backstage to help manage the piles, which stinks when you don't get to watch. The stage manager of the competition we went to this weekend was very confused about how we didn't actually have to set up the props on stage. We told him we needed a minute to get everything set up and he couldn't understand why we were just backstage in the wings. Or why we needed another group to stand back a little bit away from our prop piles.

Two other years DDs have had props. One was a small piano, the other a doghouse. Luckily the choreographers transported them. Unfortunately I still had to get them on the stage at some of the competitions. I really prefer not to be backstage at all at these things!
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Klba37

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 

I don't mind props if they go with the dance/song. DD12 has a prop for Musical Theater and Production this year. Our oldest team has a prop for every dance. 2 of the other teams have 2 props out of 3 dances. We have stairs they use, but they are built to be used in different ways so you don't know it is the same prop. We don't have to transport our props, we have a trailer that carries anything large and our "Prop Dads" take care of it at the Competition.
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carriesmom

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
I am not a fan.  DD had a prop for her solo several years ago (SO's idea - definitely not mine or DD's) and we had Nationals clear across the country, such that I had to either ship that d*%$ thing or find someone that was driving because there was no way we could take it on the plane.  Fortunately we found a family that was driving and had room, as there was only room for the group props in the small truck SO rented and soloists were told they were responsible for their own props.  Unless they really add something to the danced I think they are sort of an unnecessary complication.

Side vent but one thing that always bugged me at competitions were the studios that had gigantic props that took up the whole backstage area and took a ton of time (and an army of dads) to set up.  I remember DD being in a group number several years ago that involved some of the girls having to switch sides of the stage behind the curtain in the middle of the dance - the girls raced over only to smack right into a group of dads wheeling an enormous black (ie not really visible in the dark) spider web thing right in the dancers' backstage path.  One of our dancers got hurt in the collision; the dads apparently jumped the gun in wheeling the prop in and the backstage manager for the comp had no idea that the thing was coming right in the dancers' path.  When the "spider girls" came onstage after a huge delay so they could finish the prop they didn't even use it at all in their dance, just danced in front of it in costumes with webs on them.  Unnecessary.
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kmpmom

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Every once in a blue moon, a big prop adds that special something that completes a group number or production.  Then again, blue moons are pretty rare.  

We do have props in our studio but they're all small.  Annoying when you have to pack/remember them, but nothing that needs a truck to haul.  For that I'm thankful.  However, I've certainly had chairs, small tables, rubbermaid bins of hats, etc. in the back of my car over the years.  If the studio gives you a prop, the studio should have to transport it.  

My pet peeve - prop parents who use the backstage area as a prep zone.  Few years ago they were SPRAY PAINTING a prop backstage!  A door was open nearby because it was May and the day was hot and the spray/mist was going everywhere.  Dancers had to cross through that zone to get to the stage.  The kids were trying to time it to get through when it settled.  The idiot woman who was doing the spraying was getting annoyed AT THE KIDS!  Eventually I suggested she "go outside" to paint and she was ...not amused.  A little while later I noticed she was outside so either she figured out she was being an idiot, or someone with a lot more clout than me sent her packing.  But if they didn't have that huge prop there in the fist place, none of this would have happened.
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prancer

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
So many props this year.  Don't know what they were thinking!  No props in only 1/4 of the dances.  In 1/4 of the dances the prop adds directly to the dance IMHO.  In 1/4 of the dances the prop adds a level and is nice for staging.  In 1/4 of the dances, I wouldn't mind if we lost the prop all together.  And one of those props that I don't think we need is going to be a disaster to get on stage quickly. Ugh!  I'm getting curious to hear what the judges will say about the props.  
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Dancinandlovinit

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
100% agree!!!  Especially for solos.  My dd had a chair in her first solo and all season long I was dragging around this dA*% chair. After that I told dd that I didn't care what her song or genre or anything was but NO PROPS. 

Very rarely do I see a dance where a prop is a worthwhile part of the dance. 
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brightblue

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Last year DD was assigned a prop for her solo. It was fairly light, on wheels, and made sense with the dance. Still hated dragging it around all season. Hopefully no more solo props in our future. We have not historically done a lot of props though we seem to have some largish risers for production this year.
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dirtchic

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
Dd had a prop for her Acro solo. I hated it so much I figured out a way for her choreographer to choreograph it out. In the end dd scored better without the prop than she did with the prop. I had to cart that thing around to all the comps. Ugh did I mention I hated it?

At our current studio they typical use a lot of props but the studio is responsible for transporting them so I don't mind them. This year they have none because we are traveling for nationals.
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dncemom01

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phx115
I hate props! Why does everything have to be complicated? DD's solo is to Black Tree. Sounds simple enough, right? A tree painted black. Nope. For starters, while I love crafting, I really am not all that creative. On top of that I don't like stoning, crafting and, now, building props when it comes to things that will somehow be judged. Anyway, my husband made this great tree from some old wood we had around and his many different electric saws and woodworking gadgets. It's 6 feet tall and about 2- to 3-feet wide. He did a great job. It is supposed to be relatively simple to put the tree into the base. Today, I try to put it into my Jeep Liberty so DT can see it, and one branch breaks off. It was not a clean break, either. Grrr! I am totally responsible for transporting this thing to every comp, and setting it up on stage. What if it gives me trouble before DD's solo and it takes too long? What if more branches break off?! From now on, my only request will be NO PROPS!


It sounds like it is too big, Can you scale it down to make it more manageable and easier to transport?
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melissa745

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
We are still new at the competition thing, but three of the four dances my DD has this year have a prop. One of them is huge. I'm not looking forward to that.

I will say that they are all used a lot, not just decoration or backdrop. But still...lots of stuff to move around. Luckily, the studio transports everything. Even the solo props.
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2dornot2d

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
Our studio used to have some big props for group dances. Not any more!!! Yay! I haven't seen any props this year and last year. It must've been too much to arrange a ground transportation for our nationals when everyone traveled on plane.

Do you have plans for the prop if you are taking your DD's solo to nationals or other competitions that you have to fly?
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gandalf

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 

Who decides whether a routine has props?  In our Studio, it is the creative decision of the Choreographer.  If you are saying you don't like props, you might as well say you don't like the choreography.  I just don't get all the "hating" of props.  When I read your replies, its not about the prop, but about YOU.
"I'm responsible for", "I'm not looking forward to" "I hated it so much"  Umm, it's not about you, its about the Dancers and their art

And how are props any different than Costume?  Why not have every dancer dance in a plain grey leotard?
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dancedaughters

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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
We haven't had many props.  Older DD had a chair one year for her solo.  It was just a folding chair and I velcro-d a tulle skirt to it.  It worked well with the dance.  One year she danced to Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend and had a big diamond ring (like bigger than a bracelet) that she danced around with a bit - it was cute and easy.

Best prop ever was a very simple bench used for older DD's trio two years ago.  The choreographer made beautiful use of the bench in the dance.  She also transported it everywhere - we didn't have to do anything with it.

We do usually have props for production numbers but usually not as many and not as big as some studios.  Last year I had to cart the house from our Wizard of Oz number to all the comps.  It was a pain but it was a small house and I could carry it.  
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dancedaughters

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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gandalf

Who decides whether a routine has props?  In our Studio, it is the creative decision of the Choreographer.  If you are saying you don't like props, you might as well say you don't like the choreography.  I just don't get all the "hating" of props.  When I read your replies, its not about the prop, but about YOU.
"I'm responsible for", "I'm not looking forward to" "I hated it so much"  Umm, it's not about you, its about the Dancers and their art

And how are props any different than Costume?  Why not have every dancer dance in a plain grey leotard?



Sometimes people hate the costumes, too.  Or at least certain kinds of costumes.  Sometimes people hate certain kinds of moves in a dance or certain kinds of choreography.  To each his or her own. 
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