Greetings, on this page (new this year) you will find: ideas, opinions, answers and just off the cuff thoughts on today's hottest dance, and dance competition topics. After spending more than 40 years in the "dance world" and receiving many emails and phone calls on numerous dance subjects, Eric and I thought we would attempt to tackle some of those issues here in this web site blog (when the inspiration hits). As we embark on our 10th season we will hopefully share here some of what we have learned, our observations and opinions, and some of what we are still trying to understand about the dance competition world. Over the years Eric and I have been asked to share "our story" of how we ended up on this dance highway (much too fast paced to be called a path). We have never included much about ourselves in any of our materials because we believe that TOP is much more about the performers then it is about us. But, in order to share ideas and thoughts on a subject one must have a certain degree of expertise to be respected. Therefore, I (Kim) will start our new blog by telling you how we found ourselves "along for this ride" 10 years ago. Our story ....Like so many of you, I started dancing at a very young age (3 years old), in Picayune, Mississippi. My teacher was 1st runner-up to Miss America, and I was hooked the minute I put on my black and pink leotards. I danced in Mississippi until I was 8 when my dad was transferred to Kansas. We quickly found a new studio (or two) and I spent the next 4 years concentrating on ballet, tap, jazz and gymnastics. At the age of 12 I was introduced to the competitive world of baton twirling (yes, we do have that category at TOP, even though it is a dying art), dance competitions, pageants and local ballet productions such as The Nut Cracker and Swan Lake. I spent my teen years in those endeavors. I opened my first and only studio at the age of 16 in my parents (tiny) garage. I maxed out teaching 42 students while also working at a department store and attending college as an elementary education major. During my college years, I did a lot of work as a regional choreographer, national competition judge and state pageant director. During these years I had numerous students competing in dance competitions and did choreography for acts that opened for country entertainers like Brooks and Dunn and Ricky Skaggs. I graduated from Friends University (Wichita, Kansas) with a degree in Elementary Education and a few years later earned my Masters in Elementary Education. I was also a college cheerleader and feature baton twirler. Eric and I met and during my Senior year on a blind date, (his Junior year, so yes, he is a year and a half younger). Eric was involved in the music/theatre department at Kansas State University doing university and local theatre, and involved in bands as a trumpet player. We married in 1986 (20 years last May). Eric received his degree in journalism. As a young couple we spent the first ten years judging for competitions (many that are still around today) and I continued to teach dance and take students to competitions on a "hobby level". We also judged for the Miss America system in the Midwest. Eric spent 15 years at The Wichita Eagle (Kansas' largest daily newspaper) and I taught school for 13 years, grades 1st-5th. Our son Kyle (now 13) was born in 1993. Shortly after Kyle was born we began to notice that competitions were no longer coming to cities like Wichita (market was too small), so we came up with the wild idea to do 4-5 shows in smaller cities to bring competitions to similar markets (as a hobby of course). Thus TOP was born. A funny fact... I came up with the name Talent On Parade while in the bathroom at one of our favorite restaurants. Six months later we hosted our first competition in our hometown with 56 acts. We did 3 other cities that year with numbers from 32-64 acts. Our first nationals had 99 acts, (oh, how we prayed for just one more!). From there we "added just a few more" each year and our little hobby turned into full time jobs for us. We found we loved it (at least most of it) and still both continue to remain full time hands-on in our "hobby". I hope this sheds some light on the events that have placed us where we are today. As you read through these little blogs you will no doubt have some thoughts and opinions of your own. Email those comments and we may post them as we see fit. Please know too that there are real hearts and feelings that go into every aspect of Talent On Parade. We hope that some of that will be revealed here. Some topics that we hope to cover include, age appropriateness, costuming, weight and nutrition, how much is too much, parents and competition, careers, training techniques, ways to improve and more. I hope you will enjoy our thoughts, ideas and opinions.