Why We Don’t Have Competition at Dance For Fun

By: Charlotte Bass, At Age 12

During my middle school years I met a lot of friends who shared my passion for dance. I was invited to watch classes, competitions, and recitals. Competitive dancers are often the best dancers in the studio.  They knocked my socks off and I know your little ones want to be just like them.

But what is competition really about?

1.  A sneaky trap: Competitive vs. Recreational:

All studios have competition and recreational dance classes. A good recreational dancer is often lured into trying a simple, inexpensive, local competition at first.  When a teacher approaches a parent and says how talented your daughter is… how can you say “no!”?

2.  Time consuming for the child, the parent and the entire family!

Competitive dancers are then required to take additional classes often 3, 4 or more days a week.  But at what cost?  No time for family, schoolwork, even to eat a normal meal-forget about trying to make time for other sports or activities.

3. Teacher’s Pets

The more classes a student takes, the more they seem to become the teacher’s pet. This is not fair to the recreational dancer, who feels left out or may want to participate in competition just to be a part of the “cool” group.

4. Expensive

Competitive dancers take multiple classes then have to purchase additional costumes, often unique (which means custom made, with prices starting at $100/costume).  Competition prices start at approx $100. to register for only one number. Most dancers compete in several numbers. Sometimes the competitions are worked around a seminar, intensive or dance classes too. ($$). Competitions are held on weekends, requiring dancers to incur additional expenses with traveling, hotels and food.

5. Inappropriate

Many dancers were bare skinned with scandalous tops doing inappropriate choreography to bad music.  One group even danced provocatively around a bed!   All of the competitive dancers we saw wore false eyelashes, and tons of rhinestones (yes, even the babies!)

6.  Camaraderie

Dancers compete as a group against other dance studios as well as competing against the very same girls they dance with each week. Then the Mom’s get into it.  Stage mom’s critique other studios, other dancers within their own studio, and even scream at their own child. With all the money, time invested and the sheer exhaustion of it all, everyone tensions’ are at an all time high.  Even winning is ugly!

7.  Burn Out

With the constant pushing for perfection, eating disorders and injuries abound. Is it any wonder that competitive dancers (even the real good ones) get tired of it all. Many of my friends lost interest or even quit because dancing was no longer fun and became WAY to intense.  Less than 1% of competitive dancers turn professional.

8. What is Dance

Dancing is an art form, and an exercise.  Could you compare the Nutcracker to the Rockettes?  Or for you non- dancers, imagine having to judge a Picasso vs. a Monet vs. a Rembrandt.

9.  Competitive vs. Recreational

Don’t even start at a studio where they have both.  You’re little ones only see cool music and the rhinestones.  As a parent, it’s up to you to make the best decisions for them because if they were in charge they’d eat candy for dinner.