The Unknown Life Of A Competitive Dancer

Arizona State University
Wed, 06 Jun 2018 16:31:22 +0000

Behind the closed doors of the average dance studio, people quickly imagine small children in tutus with their hands over their heads as they spin in a circle or skip around. It's easy to imagine that dance class is something so easy and care-free, where people learn how to hear the rhythm and look somewhat coordinated when at a school dance or family event.

Strangely enough, the work put in by a fully committed competitive dancer is a lot more than what is shown in the classic recitals you see all over the most famous movies and TV shows. What is seen on TV fails to accurately represent the time and work put in to be a successful dancer in the competition world.

Dance is a lot larger than just jumps and "spins". Competitive dancing consists of factory-like studios: training anywhere from eight to twenty hours a week, multiple technique classes, hours of ballet, relentless drilling of choreography, and regular stylized classes. After some classes, toes are broken, and feet and knees are bleeding, but it's an enjoyable pain. The feeling of improvement and hard work is more rewarding than anything else.

Any serious competitive dancer knows the classic answer, "Sorry, I have dance." Although the famous reality show, Dance Moms, tends to address the ugly and catty side of the competitive dance world, there is so much more than just angry mothers and emotional children that seem to be "over-worked". People choose to dance for more reasons than to form a fame-based career.

"My main motivation is the good of the team! As well as the fact that doing well helps validate the time and effort we all dedicate to dance. Obviously, it’s a sense of pride, and dance is individualistic, and team-based mixed with the athleticism and artistic side needed to be successful," said Emma Coleman, Senior at CB East Highschool and long-term dancer of Libra Dance Studio, in Warminster. People put in hours of work for a result bigger than just a trophy or a metal, and the hard work will go unrecognized none the less.

What goes into being a competitive dancer? Besides the relentless training and drilling, a competition weekend goes as follows: be prepared to show up two hours in advance to your first performance. It is possible you will have to be there around six in the morning and the next performance could be at nine at night, with three award shows in between and a final award show at midnight. But wait, there's more, you could have to be there the next day at six as well.

The weekends are long and drawing but the hours of work put in could pay off completely, or the judges will not be in favor of your stylized performance, thus, resulting in a lower score and the feeling of "wasted time".

It is all subjective though, judges at one competition could love two of your styles and give you judges awards galore; on the other hand, they could despise your choreography and give your favorite dance an oppressively low score.

"Competitive dancing is very different from other sports because not only are there a variety of categories to differentiate between at competitions, but it is also judged on the key aspects that make up good dancing like technique, stage presence, and choreography. Whereas other sports are all about physicality, dance is the ultimate sport in that it requires some of the most difficult physical tasks as well as the ability to convey a story or emotion," described senior dancer Megan McDevitt, a student of Central Bucks West High School.

Holding onto patience is extremely difficult when being a competitive dancer; the scores won't always reflect the magnitude of the performance. Yet dancers persist! "Because the drive of doing well and being proud of how far I have come means so much more than what some judges think of me. The hard work and dedication I put into this art will teach me more things than a judge ever could, and that’s why I can't quit."