Dance competitions are a double-edge sword in terms of the overall experience. On the one hand they are fun and it is a chance for all the students to showcase what they have worked so hard for earlier in the season. It is a time when the entire dance school can unite and focus on representing itself in the most optimal way possible. However, what happens when you participate in a competition and your students feel that they were not properly rewarded for their performances? At our dance school, the students pride themselves on their high level of technical ability. They train so hard in every single discipline so that they can be the best they can be. So what happens when judges in a competition decide to reward a group number that is more accessible or more entertaining and not necessarily represents dancing that is synonymous to excellence? Here in lies the problem with dance competitions in general. As artistic director, I have seen countless dance companies from all over the world. When I was a professional dancer, I was fortunate enough to work with some of the most brilliant choreographic minds and dance alongside the most incredible and talented dancers. I know dance. In fact, I know it so much and I am so passionate about it, I can’t help but keep on researching about the art form even after I have retired from the stage. When I see judges reward dance pieces that are less sophisticated in terms of choreography and technique, it often baffles me what these adjudicators are thinking. Worst of all, the students are so affected by certain misjudgments, they get depressed, think they don’t amount to anything, and I have to calm them down and let them know – “Hey! It’s not the end of the world. You were still amazing and beautiful onstage.” Why is it that these competitions are so important to so many dancers and parents? Although I can see the value in it, how fun it is, how it builds confidence and provides stage time for the dancers, there is also a lot of poison that is associated with it. In fact, sometimes altogether too negative to where it can destroy a young person’s perspective about their abilities. In addition, parents get so sucked into the dance competition culture they often think it is the ultimate measure of success. Sometimes as a parent who knows nothing beyond the dance studio life, the competitions are the only thing that they expose themselves to. Parents, unless wanting to invest in further educating themselves and their children with a well-rounded perspective by attending dance concerts, researching about dance history, etc. don’t really have a realistic perspective on what the professional dance world is like. They mostly think the trophies, the double platinums, and 1st overall placements in competitions are the true measure of successful dancers, when in reality this is not necessarily the case the majority of the time. I have been in the business long enough to understand that competitions, although they showcase tremendous talent, who they reward and what they reward are heavily based on politics and sometimes ill-informed subjectivity. After all, the bottom line is, it is still a business. So when I see huge dance studios participating in competitions, it always feels as if they have to reward these organizations the top rank because they are also the ones who spend the most money in fees. But if competitions are supposed to represent something more valuable than the trophies being handed out, shouldn’t the judges reward the dancers and choreography that truly challenge and push forward the art and overall premise of dance? Audiences and dancers that witness amazing performances at these competitions and don’t get rewarded appropriately sometimes wonder what the judges are thinking. Often times there are murmurs in the audience of dismay and confusion, wondering why certain dances just aren’t appropriately rewarded. So is it really politics or is it a matter of taste? If these judges are supposedly professionals and experts in their respective fields of dance, why aren’t they rewarding appropriately? These are questions that have constantly loomed and are always apparent when participating in the competition world. I have learned never to have any expectations when entering any kind of competition. What may have done amazing in one competition, ranking at the top, may place 10th in another. There are so many variables that go into the judging process, some legitimate others ill-informed, that it is important to explain to the students that the best they can do is what they should be very proud of. I have had several students flub on stage before and win; then in the next competition perform perfectly and not even place in the top ten. Sometimes dancers can just shrug it off and other times it really affects or hurts them. This is the double-edged sword I am referring to. What is most important is how as teachers and as dance educators we inform parents and dancers that although competition is an important aspect in dance training, it is also not the real measure of what the movers and shakers are looking for in professional circles. For instance, I have a former student who won every single national title imaginable and is still currently looking for a job. She was renowned for being amazing in dance competitions and she failed to get accepted at the most prestigious dance school in America. I have witnessed several of these cases throughout the years and it really takes these dancers on a psychological loop. Is there a solution to all of this? I certainly don’t encourage NOT participating in competitions as I also see the tremendous value in it. But we have to constantly remind our students and parents that the real value isn’t training for a trophy you pay for but the countless hours of hard work that is put in the studio on a daily basis. Having impeccable training, developing life long relationships, character and self-esteem are the real rewards, the invaluable trophies these dancers will obtain for themselves throughout the years. The most important thing is that we remind dancers of the value of their commitment and desire to be the best they can be. If they train hard and correctly and become the best dancers they can be, it is this journey that is the ultimate and most valuable trophy of all. I always instill within my students to give 100% when approaching dance training and no matter what happens, the most important aspect of all of this is to “dance because you have nothing to prove and everything to share.”