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Now that it’s the new year, it’s the start of dance competition season. Several weekends in the next couple months will be spent watching my oldest dance. While I do love seeing her on stage, because she loves being there, it can be exhausting and a lot of work for dance parents.

I use Cozi, which is an awesome app for keeping me organized (there is a free version, or click on the link for a free trial of the paid version). I use it for a calendar as well as having shopping lists and to do lists. I have one list on mine that is a checklist for packing. It has all the usual dance related items like hair stuff, costumes, makeup, and snacks. Some competitions have master classes or a convention, so you may also need class dancewear and different shoes. So much stuff! Cozi keeps me organized and ready for any competition.

I am excellent at packing bags, and here are 2 that we use for everything dance related

Dance Bag (we got it in teal, her favorite color):

Toiletry Bag (with removable sections!):

Because my daughter is in several competition groups as well as doing solos, she has a lot of costumes and sometimes needs to change very quickly. We bring a rack like this to hang them from because I haven’t spent the money to get one of those dream duffles. It folds down and comes in 2 pieces for easy transport. It fits into my rolling carry-on bag.

This is my competition checklist (click to view larger or save it)

I keep each costume in separate garment bags and label them with these hanging tags I made

What do you bring to competitions?