“I want to give them what I wish someone had given me,” says former competitive dancer, choreographer, teacher and mentor, Brittany Markle. Now, as a competition judge, she hopes to offer a new generation of dancers more than just a score, but thoughtful guidance and critique. In this episode of Dance Dad, she shares some of her best advice to competitive dancers, how they can stand out and be remembered among a sea of other dancers, many of whom are the best in the country. What’s more, she’ll talk about accepting disappointment, keeping things professional and appropriate and how children can maintain healthy boundaries with judges while still feeling empowered to use their voices.  Brittany explains how she scores points according to category and how she stays organized throughout the long days of a competition. She’ll explain what responsibility dance studios have and where the ethics get blurry. She also shares how her points of view toward dancing as well as toward competitions—which are very different from performance showcases—have evolved. Tune in to hear Brittany give a live critique of a “mini” dancer and to hear host John Corella reveal what inspired him to co-create Dance Moms.  Quotes“I feel like I have so much understanding and so much patience and so much grace I give kids whenever there’s a mistake that happens or a stumble. I want to give them what I wish someone had given me.” (“I love the energy I get back from sitting there and knowing that I’m engaged—and that could be because of the way I grew up—but it’s very honest for me to sit there and watch a kid dance all day long and still have something to say at the end of the day. I feel like there’s always something productive to be giving back.” (“My last judging weekend, our highest score of the whole day, which I think is hard to do as there’s a stigma around being number one and being first—not winning first, going on stage first—and I feel like everyone thinks, ‘Ugh. We’re on at  LinksConnect with Brittany Markle:https://www.instagram.com/brittmarkleDance Dad with John Corella on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancedadwithjohncorella/John on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_corella/Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm