Competitive dance has become more and more popular over the years, commercialized by shows like Dance Moms and So You Think You Can Dance, but most people don’t really know what it’s like to be on a competitive dance team.
There are many different forms of dance; most competitive studios offer ballet, tap, jazz, acro, lyrical, and contemporary/modern. Larger studios usually have a style that they specialize in and focus on in their choreography and technique training. For example, I dance at Perkins School of the Arts in Norwich, NY, which concentrates on modern and partnering, for which we have weekly classes. Our partnering consists of partner lifts and counterbalancing between two to four people. As a result, we also have about three hours of conditioning a week. Our male dancers and strongest female dancers are expected to lift and cross-train during the week.
To be on the competition team, most studios have a required number of ballet, conditioning, and technique hours that they have to fill. Depending on the intensity of the studio and the dancer, students train between three and 15 hours a week, not including choreography. Most studios bring a combination of solos, duos, trios, small groups, and large groups to competitions. Depending on the level of the dancer, about four to 16 hours are spent for choreography and cleaning solos, duos, and trios. Larger numbers require blocking and are usually rehearsed weekly or every other week for an hour or two starting in the fall until competition in the spring. Competition dancers at larger studios are each usually in seven to 15 dances, not including solos. At my studio, we choreograph and block until March, after which the teachers come in with different alumni and artists as an extra set of eyes to help clean our dances. We perfect them for two more months before heading to competition.
Dance is an art and a sport, but the competitive side of it is an industry. Competitions are not regulated like school sports are; they come from companies created by choreographers, teachers, and entrepreneurs. There are probably around thirty dance competitions that I can recognize by name and even more that I have never heard of. With that said, there are a couple that are well-known, and the best dancers and studios attend them. In my opinion, the current best is Dance Awards, followed by Showstopper, Hall of Fame, Dancer Palooza, Candance, and American Dance Awards.
Each competition consists of a certain number of regional competitions followed by one or two national competitions. For example, many larger competitions have about 10 regionals all over the U.S. (and sometimes Canada) and one national. Dances usually have to place at regionals in order to make it to nationals, but some competitions allow all dances because it brings in more revenue. At each national there is a solo competition that involves interviews, classes, auditions, and performance. To compete in those, you need the money to pay all the fees and you need to score in the top 10 solos at regionals. Some schools send dancers to multiple regional competitions to increase the chances for them to place in the top 10 and compete for the title.
While competitions are businesses and can be monetarily biased, there are good ones that are known for unbiased, high-quality judges and are attended by schools all over Canada and the U.S. At nationals, the pressure is high. Not only are you performing in front of thousands of people daily, but there are famous choreographers and recruiters in the audience or watching live streams from companies and colleges. Beside the personal career opportunities, there is usually $20,000 to $50,000 in prize money available. Individual studios rarely get more than $5,000 for award-winning large dances, but solo and class prizes, as well as choreographer, costume, and People’s Choice awards, add up.
My studio brought back almost $10,000 from nationals this year. The money isn’t the only reward for the hard work and high pressure of competition, however. The bonds created on dance teams are very tight, and the training and networking brings many dancers through college and into the professional world.