Eagen, MN National Trip Recap

First off, sorry this blog is a few days late. We just got back from nationals the night before last! It was such a successful trip for our team. I am beyond proud of each girl and all the Staff/Coaches who have worked so hard to prep these girls.

This year we attended Masquerade Dance Nationals, which was a first for us. We have attended their regional comps before, but never their Nationals. I think out of all the Nationals we've attended over Kamdyns Dance career, this was by far my favorite and most put-together. 10 out of 10, would recommend.

Prep Week:

The week leading up to Nationals was the team's last week to work on things before they hit the stage for a final time. The team had to make some last-minute changes and reblocking due to some absences from Nationals, but they handled the changes like the champs they are! I would even say the dances looked the best they ever had!

While these girls busted their butts working that final week, they did find some time to relax, goof off, enjoy each other's company, and have some sweet treats. It's a TDF tradition to have Kona Ice come and surprise the girls the week of nationals prep, so the owner did just that!

While in Minnesota, our schedule was pretty busy and we were pretty much at the competition venue each day. Kamdyn had some early-morning rehearsals and late-night rehearsals for the Parade of Stars that she was a part of (can't wait to share the video from that!!). The Parade of Stars is a special performance that opened the final show. In order to participate, you have to receive an invitation during a regional competition. We had 3 girls from our studio that received those invitations and all were a part of the opening number. The show they put on was fabulous! The venue (which holds close to 1200 patrons) was sold out, with people waiting in the lobby! Not an empty seat in the house. This was probably one of the biggest audiences Kamdyn has ever performed in front of, not counting everyone streaming the show online.

Mall of America!

Yes, we did get to spend a day at the Mall of America. Im pretty sure Kamdyn fell in love with this mall. We got her the unlimited ride pass so she rode rides for probably a solid 5-6 hours! I made Brozden a Lego version of himself (this was the only thing I purchased while in Minnesota. I think I was missing my boy ). We ate dinner at The Rainforest Cafe with our group and then ended the day with some shopping and Ice Cream. Anyone who knows Kam knows that she has a weakness for Ice Cream. As we were on our way out of the Mall (I was exhausted by this point. We had been at the MOA for a solid 9-10 hours by this point) she saw the sign out in front of Sugar Factory Express and HAD to have some. It was nice to just be us two girls, getting a sweet treat. Perfect ending to an exhausting day!

Here is Kamdyn with her Milkshake!!

Also, here is the best video of the whole week! This was her and her friend on one of the rides ( plug your ears lol they scream!)

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a7380c_7bef105bacb2404787aa9e9dae42b65a/720p/mp4/file.mp4

How we managed the trip

So, as you know, I'm a budgeter and try to save money where I can. The first thing I did to cut back on our costs was book a room with a full kitchen. We stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott in Eagen. Another 10 out of 10 would recommend. The staff was AMAZING, the hotel was super clean and quiet. It had a grill set up outside (which we did use!) and our room had a full kitchen with a breakfast bar, pull-out sofa, and a King sized bed, with plenty of space in the room. It was perfect for just the two of us. There was also a Hyvee and Aldi right next door. We were able to get our groceries and cook in our room, which saved a lot of money. There were a few days where we did have to Uber eats lunch here and there at the venue and we did go out to dinner with our friends once to celebrate how well the girls were doing.

This trip was an 8-day trip for us. We drove... all the way from Arkansas to Minnesota! It wasn't as bad as you would think. Our car was packed to the brim and we only stopped twice for gas. We did pack a tote full of snacks (to last the car ride and the week) and a small cooler full of our current favorite drinks (flavored smart water and Propel). We also managed to fix her extra Large Glam-r-Gear bag, two suitcases (one for her and one for her), my work bag with my computer and tech stuff (since I was still finishing up the recital photos), her dance backpack, my "Kitchen Tote", my personal bag, 1 large case of Dasani water, two cases of flavored smart water, 1 case of propel, other odds and ends, and a large Prop! Did I mention I drive a Mazda cx5!! So it's not a huge car hahahaha!

Car Essentials

The Obvious is to give your car a good cleaning, inside and out. No one wants to travel in a messy smelly car. You want to make your ride as comfortable as possible, especially when you're going to be in the car for long periods of time. I also like to keep my car very organized, so on the regular, I have a car tote that has things like my roadside kit, first aid kit, a mini vacuum (for small messes and crumbs), and other car essentials.

Some of our car essentials I want to mention that we brought, that I would recommend for ANY road trip are:

• Chargers for all tech items

• Trash can/bag that is easily accessible (no one wants to sit in a car with loose trash for hours on end)

• A roll of quarters and a 20 dollar bill in the glove compartment (you never know when you might hit an unexpected toll or moment when you need some cash)

• Tissues (good for spills and runny noses)

• Plenty of Water (gotta stay Hydrated)

  • I like to bring my Stanley cup full of ice and just refill it as needed

• A tablet or something to entertain your passenger

• Personal Pouch (I keep a pouch in my center console with the below items, at all times)

  • Chapstick

  • Lotion

  • Hand sanitizer

  • Advil

  • Bandaid

  • Travel size Deodorant

  • Ponytail holder

  • Floss picks

• Car Air Freshener (I changed out my freshener before we left so my car smelled nice)

• Good listening material (I opt for Podcasts while Kamdyn is sleeping)

Now for the best part of our nationals trip... how did the girls do?!

Well for starters, I want to point out that our studio was pretty much the underdog in this competition. We came with 11 girls. The next smallest studio had almost 40, and they just got bigger from there. This was also our first time attending this Nationals, while others have been regulars of theirs. When I tell you they did great, that is an understatement. Other studios left these Nationals knowing who the Dance Force was and having good opinions of the dancers and staff. The girls made friends with other studios and left a positive mark in Minnesota, that's for sure. Our 11 girls looked better than they had all seasons, and that's saying something. Especially considering they had last-minute changes, one of their large groups had to change to a small group at the last minute, and they took everything in a positive light and did nothing but grow and succeed. The Dance community in that part of the country is nothing like I've ever seen, and our 11 girls kept up with the best of the best.

We took a total of 10 group dances. Out of those 10 groups' dances we came home with:

• 8 Unmasked Elite's

• 2 Platinum

• 6 Top 10 Overall Placements

• 2 Groups made it into the final show, one for the Encour and one for the Dance off section.

1 soloist made it into the Dance off competition, a Titlelist finalist, and Teen Dancer of the Year Winner!!(Gabbi is a rockstar!)

The Studio as a whole took 11 solos (3 of which were Kamdyns) and 1 Duet (which was Kamdyns and her friend).

They came home with 4 Unmasked Elits and 8 Platinum (Kamdyns solos and duet all earned Platinum Awards), and 2 top 10 placements (one of which was 1st place!!)

I will say, I was such a slacker and didn't get hardly any photos this weekend, so I stole some of these from fellow families :)

Once Masquerade posts their videos and photos, I will for sure be sharing them! I cant wait!!

Ok, well I think I'm going to wrap this up for now. I know this was a little scattered, but hey, its done!

My Blog for July 1st will also come a day late as we are taking a legit family vacation to the Island of St. Johns and won't be back until right before the 4th of July. Sorry, Not Sorry. I'll have a good update on July 15this for you all about our trip and Tremain Nationals!

-Rothrock Mom