Archive for the ‘2011 | 09 | September’ Category

Columns 
Ask Rhee Gold
2 Tips for Dancers
A Better You
EditorSpeak
Teacher to Teacher
On My Mind

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Thinking Out Loud | Choreography and Copyright in the Digital Age
Strength in Numbers
Teacher in the Spotlight | Erin Jefferson-Foley
Bright Biz Ideas | Art of the Silent Auction
Mindful Marketing | Back-to-School Momentum
Classroom Connection

Feature Articles
Ballet Scene | Birth of a Competition by Karen White
Altitude by Barbara Stowe
A Leg Up on the Pageant Competition by Diane Gudat
Conquering Conventions by Danie Beck
Dance Teacher of the Future by Diane Gudat
Voices of Dance by Karen White
Competition Directors Tell All
Long Road to Grand Prix by Joshua Bartlett
Competition Wish Lists
Trips Without Tears by Marlise A. Cole

Dear Rhee,
My uncle owns a building, and he’s been telling me for years that he would rent me the space to open my own school when I was ready. The second and third floors are big, open spaces that could accommodate at least two studios and some office space.

Until now, I have been content teaching at a school that is not too far from there. Over the past year the owners of the school have been going through a divorce that has caused a lot of dissension among the employees (and the students). Both of them own and work in the business, and both are trying to get the studio people to side with them. It’s a very uncomfortable place to work right now, and I have seen a drop in enrollment because everyone can feel the negativity. It is obvious that neither one of them is going to give the school to the other. I’m pretty sure that the finish will be the end of the school as we know it.

Both owners have been very good to me and I am not about to choose sides; instead, I simply want to slip away and hope no one notices. I’m thinking that it’s time to take my uncle up on his offer, but I don’t want to hurt anyone by opening my own school. I just want to do my thing in an atmosphere where kids can be happy and learn the art of dance without the negativity.

Am I turning my back on the people who gave me my start in teaching? Will I look like a traitor to the community? I’m torn between loyalty and doing what I know will be better for me and my future. —Cynthia

Hello Cynthia,
I am a believer in loyalty to those who have helped us get our start. I don’t think it is ethically correct for teachers to leave a school and open their own in the same town, especially if their plan is to take the students that they taught previously. However, your circumstance could be an exception.

The owners should have kept their issues between them and never gotten anyone in the school involved in their feud. School owners have an obligation to create an atmosphere in which their faculty and students are comfortable. Dance is joy and when the joy is missing, what is being taught has lost a key ingredient.

I do think you should consider opening your own school; however, to make your life easier, don’t solicit your current students. They will find out soon enough that you’re opening a school, and if they choose to follow you there, they will have done it on their own. Think of your new school as a fresh start, where you will build your own clientele from scratch, which is probably what your employers did when they began. Think about the ethics of your actions and do what you know is right—that way, you can make this transition without any guilt. Too bad this couple couldn’t keep their personal lives out of their business because it sounds like you would have continued to be loyal to them had they handled themselves in a professional way. Good luck to you. —Rhee

Dear Rhee,
I have been a school owner for 22 years and I have two locations in neighboring towns. Midway between my schools a woman has opened a school in the basement of her home. She is brand-new to the community, but I have discovered that she was a professional dancer in NYC and her husband’s family is from the area. I feel that she is going to pull my students or my potential students by being dead center between my locations.

My overhead is enormous and I can’t compete with someone who is teaching from her house without any extra expenses to run her business. I am thinking of going to the town hall to be sure that they know what she is up to and that she can run a business from her house. I have driven by her place a couple of times and it seems to me that she can’t offer much as far as training in what I see as a tiny space. She’s going to take money out of my pocket and isn’t going to offer the training that I can. Somehow I need to come up with a way to stop her from pulling my students and I don’t know what to do. —Patti

Dear Patti,
With two successful schools, you need more confidence in yourself. I happen to come from one of those basement schools, one that my mom started in 1964. It took her 12 years of working her butt off in that basement before she could financially pull off opening her school in a commercial location. I know for a fact that whether a child learns in a basement or in a huge space there is no difference in the training or the passion. The differences lie in the teachers. If they are good, then it doesn’t matter where they teach.

You write that you are thinking of trying to stop her and that you have gone by her place a couple of times. Imagine what you could do to make your own businesses more successful if you spent that same amount of time creating marketing plans or new programs for your own business. Forget about the new school and be thankful that you have two locations already filled with children who come to you for their dance training. Pat yourself on the back for what you have accomplished and focus on your own success.

This woman may very well build a business, but it will probably be a while before she has an effect on your business, if she ever does. Continue on with confidence and I have a feeling that you’ll soon forget about the competition. Good luck. —Rhee

Dear Rhee,
I have a dilemma with a family at my school. They have three children who dance, and one of them is mistreated as far as I’m concerned. I’ve heard of the “black sheep” in a family, but this is outright abuse from my perspective. Two of the children take several classes, but the third is only allowed to take one, if it is on the same day that the other two take classes. The mom outright tells everyone that she has a wicked child and has no problem saying that in front of her daughter. The two sisters make fun of her, too.

The two sisters have brand-new shoes and dancewear while the third child wears her sisters’ old leotards. This child seems unhappy all the time, but in class I can manage to get a smile out of her and sometimes I see a spark of confidence, but it is rare. I can see her demeanor change as she heads to the lobby where her mother is waiting.

I have a feeling that the child is both physically and I know for sure mentally abused on a daily basis. She is always bruised and tells me that her leg or her arm hurts. Although I want to help the child, I want this entire family to leave my school. Their dysfunctional actions depress everyone who comes in contact with them and I can’t witness what’s happening to this young person without taking some sort of action. I don’t want to interfere, but I feel like I must. How do I tell this mother that I disagree with the way that she’s raising her child, without creating hostility? Should I go to Child Protective Services, and if I do will this family know who turned them in? I can’t watch this anymore. —Rose

Dear Rose,
I am so sorry that you have to deal with this. My first instinct is to say you should go to Child Protective Services, and according to childwelfare.gov, 39 states forbid disclosure of the reporter’s identity to the suspected abuser. In most states, teachers have the legal responsibility to report abuse when we see it. It is one thing to witness (or suspect) mental abuse, but if you are seeing bruises and the child complains of pain, then she needs you to be the adult who does something to help her.

I would want this family to leave my school, too. But realize that you may be the only stable and nurturing person in this child’s life. If you remain loyal to her, encouraging her to have some confidence, then you have the chance to make a huge difference in her life—probably one that she will never forget, and in the end that’s what makes a great teacher. Maybe you should give her a new leotard or offer to let her take a second class at no charge. Help her in any way you can, because this child landed in your classroom for a reason. Thanks for caring about every child. —Rhee

By Mignon Furman

Tip One
With the emphasis on high leg elevation, kids think that this is the epitome of technique. Teachers should explain that high leg elevation is only as important as other aspects of classical ballet, such as beginning and finishing movements in fifth position, a good demi-plié, clean pirouettes, well-stretched feet, and height on all jumps.

Tip Two
Attention to detail makes a step, combination, or variation complete. Footwork needs to be accurate, and arms should coordinate with the movement. Think about the beginning and ending of each movement. In class, have students hold the end of each exercise for a count of three before moving away. This is a very important lesson.

For pain-free hands, look to your neck and arms

By Suzanne Martin, PT, DPT

As a teacher, think how many times a day you use your hands. As a dancer, consider the beauty of a delicate hand in a port de bras. Our hands are priceless, yet we don’t always think of protecting their health.

While we hear plenty of stories about injuries to feet, knees, hips, and backs, hands can also land in harm’s way. One dancer I know developed arthritis of the thumb after a partner squeezed her hand so hard that it was severely sprained. Another dislocated her thumb and fractured a nearby bone while performing a finger turn with her partner.

Most school owners do a considerable amount of desk and computer work, which can lead to hand pain. And those of you who are mothers might complain of hand and arm pain from handling children.

People often suspect carpal tunnel syndrome—a high-pressure problem due to swollen nerves and tendons—when their hands, wrists, or forearms ache, but that’s not the only possible culprit. Nerves run from the neck all the way into the hands, and tightness or irritation can cause pain anywhere along this route. Most hand pain comes from overuse and not traumatic injuries.

Body connections
Hands, neck, and arms go together as one unit. To have happy hands, you must have a properly aligned neck that allows you to breathe into the area above the collarbone. Letting your head jut out in front of your body’s center of gravity often leads to problems with the arms and hands.

The neck vertebrae are unique in that the bones can actually telescope forward like a giraffe’s neck. Watch someone giving a lecture or teaching—often, she’ll push her face forward as she works to engage her audience. The more animated the speaker is, the more this forward pressure tends to happen.

Proper head alignment is needed when you’re dancing, such as in spotting. But as teachers, you mark combinations more and dance less, which means that your neck alignment is sure to go if you’re not vigilant.

Nerve pain and pathways
Arms and hands are susceptible to pain from tight nerves. Nerves are encased in a sheath, and if they are tight they will not glide within that sheath as they are designed to do. As a teacher dances less and loses neck flexibility, her cervical (neck) nerves may become tighter and lose their glide. The nerves wind from the back of the neck down through the scalenes, which line the sides of the Adam’s apple, forming what’s called the brachial plexus network above the collarbone and ending in the armpit or arms.

Dancing and performing require a great deal of respiratory diaphragm use, and the scalene neck muscles work in opposition to the diaphragm, just like the biceps muscles in your arm works in opposition to the triceps. When the biceps flexes, the triceps has to relax (extend). The diaphragm and scalenes work in a similar fashion—if one is at work, the other will relax.

Because dancers spend hours holding their arms up or out to the side, the deep neck muscles (the scalene muscles) can become tight. Tightness in the scalenes can cause the major nerves of the arms (all the way down to the fingers) to experience pain or tingling. Working the diaphragm can help to lessen the tension on this area.

To have happy hands, you must have a properly aligned neck that allows you to breathe into the area above the collarbone. Letting your head jut out in front of your body’s center of gravity often leads to problems with the arms and hands.

Dancers tend to have a tight thoracic outlet (a small area above the collarbone where the scalenes are; if you lift your arm in port de bras, you’ll feel these muscles tighten). Teachers work these muscles a lot. They hold their arms up demonstrating, pick up small children in class, do hours of computer work, pick up barres, and sweep the floor. And because dancers often have loose joints, their forearms and wrists often aren’t very strong, so other muscles pick up the slack.

Taking steps to healthy hands
We’ve discussed how posture, the muscles of the neck and collarbone, the tightness and gliding capacity of the nerves, and the full action of the respiratory diaphragm all play a part in healthy hands. Attention must also be paid to how the hands and wrists are used, and steps taken to protect them. Here are some ideas and tips to keep your hands happy while they work.

• Think of your head as a bowling ball. Keep it over your center of gravity in the pelvis. Notice how you hold your head as you demonstrate or watch your students. Keep your jaw a bit slack and relax your tongue so that the tip slightly touches the roof of the mouth.
• Stretch the sides of the neck. Reach behind your back and hold the elbow of the other arm. Gently tilt the head away from the side you’re holding and let the ear feel heavy while you take several deep breaths. Then open the collarbone muscles by lifting the clavicles and rolling the shoulders gently backward 4 or 5 times.
• Stretch the front of the neck and chest by performing the “butterfly” off the edge of your bed. Lie on your back with your armpits at the edge of the bed. Keep your knees bent and press your back firmly into the bed. Clasp your hands behind your head and point the elbows toward the ceiling in a closed-arm position. Then gently arch backward and open your elbows, supporting your head. Open your mouth and breathe deeply 4 or 5 times. Close the elbows and curl up to come out of the position.
• Lie down on the floor or bed and move your arms as if making snow angels, then cross your arms and mime pulling a shirt off over your head. Repeat the sequence several times.
• Place your hands on the floor or a counter so that the third fingertips point to one another, about a foot apart. Gently move one shoulder toward the opposite hand, then move the chest past the midline and move the other shoulder toward its opposite hand. End by rounding up through the chest, making a big curve in the breastbone (as if drawing an oval in space). Repeat several times and then reverse the direction of the shoulder oval.
• While standing, reach one arm up and the other down with the palms of each hand facing inward toward the body. Squeeze the shoulder blades together while simultaneously squeezing the front of the ribs. (Think about “making dimples” in the ribs below the breasts. This engages the upper abs to help balance the trunk in a correct posture.) Continue to reach up and down for 5 counts, then switch sides. Repeat several times.
• If you have painful arms and hands, take a brisk walk. Let the arms swing gently and don’t hold anything. (Unfortunately, walking the dog doesn’t count due to frequent stops and leash wrangling.) Just 10 to 20 minutes a day of therapeutic walking keeps your diaphragm doing what it does best.
• While sitting, try a simple roll of the shoulders, then squeeze the shoulder blades together.

Keep a light grip
Be careful how your use your hands and wrists. Use a light grip whenever possible, letting your palm and biceps do the work. The neutral position of the hand is a slight curve with a gently cupped palm. The back of the hand should form a straight line with the back of the forearm. Avoid a deep crease between the hand and the forearm while performing any hand work or computer use. If you use a laptop computer, rest your hands on its surface; for a desktop computer, try using a gel pad under your wrists for both keyboarding and mousing.

All that time on the computer, gripping a steering wheel, and juggling endless chores can catch up with the best of us. A little knowledge and due diligence go a long way to avoiding chronic hand pain.

I have faith in you.

By Cheryl Ossola and Karen White

Competing: It’s All About Connecting
In what’s become an annual feature in our September competitions and conventions issue, a Q&A with competition directors (see page 70), we included a question that brought some thought-provoking responses. We asked the directors to tell us an inspirational story about a student or dance team at one of their competition events. The answers ranged from stories about teachers battling degenerative illness or helping each other deal with the unexpected, to memories of young dancers with Down syndrome or cancer performing their hearts out, to excitement about kids who’ve been plucked from the competition stage and plopped into a role in a Broadway show or other kinds of performing jobs. And then there are the two kids who have more determination and perseverance than most of us can dream of, who struggled for 11 years to achieve their goal: a first-place top score.

I suspect that anyone who participates in competitions has a similar story to tell. To me, these anecdotes represent the best of the good about competing. Sure, there are other benefits: the stage experience, the camaraderie, the fun, the learning to cope with disappointment (or success). But really, what it’s all about—what anything in life is all about—is people connecting and touching one another in a profound way.

Before your next competition, why not sit your students down and share a few of the stories in the Q&A with them? You may find that they go to that event with their eyes wide open, looking for students and teachers who show by example what’s important in life. —Cheryl Ossola, Editor in Chief

Confessions of a Dance Mom
I’m a dance mom. In some circles, that’s a pretty ugly title, like “ax murderer” or “crazy cat lady.” But it’s true, and since they say admitting your weakness is the first step to a new you, there it is.

I wasn’t always a dance mom. A long time ago I was just a dancer, taking two hours a week of ballet and jazz, with maybe a half-hour of tap if my own dance mom felt especially flush with cash (which wasn’t often). In those days, dance moms were fairly meek individuals who never said “boo” about costume color or recital ticket cost and considered dance class just another activity, like Brownies or molding and painting at the local rec hall.

I grew up, got married, and then for many years was both a dance mom and a dance teacher, a kind of two-headed creature whom other dance moms don’t totally trust and neglect to include in things like tag days and bake sales. My hardest year was the one when I taught several of my daughter’s classes. Determined not to pick a nicer jazz costume for her class than I did for my others, I hemmed and hawed until the 11th hour, then settled on a pretty miserable choice. I had to avoid the other dance moms for months.

Now my daughter and I have “divorced”—I teach at two studios and she takes class at a third. What I’ve discovered is that being a calm, quiet, respectable “dance mother” instead of a dance mom is no pas de bourrée in the park. I try—I really do. I drive. I write checks. I remember to remember the false eyelashes. I resist the urge to go backstage and make sure everyone has bobby pins in their headpieces. (OK, I’m failing miserably at that. But one step at a time.)

Unlike soccer moms, who at least are considered a major political force, dance moms are pretty far down on the respect ladder. (I think it’s because of the makeup—not ours, the kids’.) Sure, there is always a crab in the ocean, but most dance moms have never heard of Mama Rose, are full of unconditional support and love, and think their dance studio is the greatest place in the world.

Still, being a dance mom is nothing to brag about in your obit. And I am making progress—I’ve stopped bugging my daughter about joining me for yoga and I only go on the studio’s Facebook page twice a day. All right, maybe three times. “Hello, my name is Karen, and I am a dance mom . . .” —Karen White, Associate Editor

By Carol Crawford Smith

My studio doesn’t participate in dance competitions. I never saw the benefit, when we compete with ourselves daily to improve on the last time we were in class or onstage. To me, it seems counterproductive to pit dancer against dancer or studio against studio. I’ve always thought it’s an injustice to qualify dance with a medal, prize placement, or ranking.

But then I talked to two dancers who regularly compete through other studios. And though what they said didn’t convince me to begin taking my students to competitions, I have also learned not to discount their value.

One of my students, Courtney Graham, 16, makes a five-hour commute twice a week to a studio that competes. She started competing at age 7, and though she thinks dance competitions are not for everyone, she sees competing as a “good dance experience for gaining confidence.” Through competing, she gets to see dance “in the outside world instead of just my studio and see what others are doing,” she says. Competing also allows her to “meet top people in the dance profession.”

Nick Grubbs, 17, who does not train with me, has similar reasons for competing. He says he wanted to “see what the world of competitive dance was like and get some more performance experience under my belt.” Studios that produce one to three shows per year may not satisfy the desires of someone like Nick, who says he appreciates “more classes and opportunities for more routines.”

Watching the TV show So You Think You Can Dance also helped me to see competing in a new light. I see the dancers improve from week to week, and I like the “fighter” characteristic that can surface when a dancer is challenged to improve.

Many of us are, by nature, competitive. Even though my studio does not participate in competitions, I have seen a few of my students display a superior attitude toward students of another dance studio, and that irritates me.

One incident that involved my students and those from another studio occurred at an event celebrating the life of dancer Reema Samaha and other victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. From the “he said, she said” reports and finger pointing, I couldn’t make out what had happened. It was clear, however, that students from both studios did some name-calling and flipping off of each other. It all sounded ridiculous and childish. Both schools were there to perform and celebrate togetherness in honor of those killed. Rivalry should not have overshadowed the purpose of the occasion.

Watching So You Think You Can Dance helped me to see competing in a new light. I see the dancers improve from week to week, and I like the “fighter” characteristic that can surface when a dancer is challenged to improve.

I generally nip this kind of behavior in the bud by calling a meeting of involved students, teachers, and parents to discuss the incident and what could have been done differently. This mind-set of rivalry often starts at the top, though, fostered by school owners themselves. I believe it’s the responsibility of school owners to recognize this behavior in themselves and their students and put an end to it.

The Nicks and Courtneys of the world thrive and excel as competitors partly because the experience gives them access to the larger world of dance outside the studio. Courtney seems to navigate the competitive world well. I’ve never seen her bring a negative competitive spirit to class. Instead she asks questions about how to improve, which suggests to me that she is focusing on healthy self-competition.

So while I haven’t changed my mind about participating in competitions, I’ve gained understanding about what they can offer. And if studio owners and students engage in them with a goal of self-improvement rather than taking home medals and trophies, they will help all of us move toward the common goal of demonstrating dance at its best.

by Rhee Gold

Hypocrisy is something that I have a hard time dealing with. It comes with judgment, and I think we can really deter our own success by judging others.

Not long ago I dealt with an old friend who had decided that I was not a good person, leading her to do all that she could to bring me down. Each time we would talk on the phone or converse through email, I would try to respond as kindly as I could, while I was hurting something fierce. I didn’t want to lose the friendship, but each time I received a response from her it was filled with sarcasm and just plain meanness. If her objective was to hurt me, she succeeded more than she knew.

Through this tumultuous period, my confidence was shaken and no matter what I did to try to forget what this person was putting me through, I couldn’t get it off my mind. After a while I started to realize that she was accusing me of doing exactly what she was doing to me, but she couldn’t see that because she was completely focused on her own desire to break me.

While all of this was going on, she was working on a big project at her school that I believed in, so despite my hurt feelings I continued to support her by promoting what she was up to in every way I could. Never once did she thank me, and when the big project was launched I was not even invited. So I bought myself a ticket. She saw me there but ignored me. I left thinking that I was an idiot for wanting this friendship and that it was time to let it go, once and for all.

I ended all communication with her and before long I felt better. I knew that not only had I tried to save the friendship, but I had gone above and beyond that to help her in hopes that her negative judgment of me would change. But that was not the case.

Several weeks after things had settled down, I landed at a dance event that this person also attended. I ran into her while she was with a group of mutual acquaintances. They all said hello and we shared some hugs while my former friend looked the other way. I was about ready to lose it and even said a couple of nasty words, but my professional judgment told me to shut my mouth.

Recently, as though nothing had ever happened between us, I received a birthday card from my former friend. I was tempted to open the door to friendship again, but then something in my gut told me I was better off just ignoring her. I realized that I had regained my confidence and that no friendship was worth losing it again.

Sometimes we need to move on and be more respectful of ourselves by not allowing the same cycles to repeat over and over again. When we embrace the idea that life is about change, and that change is a good thing, we end up better off in the long run.

I’ve learned that a true friendship has to be based on mutual respect, which can’t be turned on and off. The same goes for our professional relationships. I encourage all of you to leave no room for malice and judgment in your lives. You, and everyone you deal with, will be happier for it.

Words from our readers

Just wanted to let you know I was inspired by the article on the Estelle Dennis Peabody dance training program for boys [“Breaking Down Barriers,” October 2010]. I wrote to Estelle to get information on how we could start a program at the Jersey City Dance Academy. Along the way your Male Voices videos came out, which were a great inspiration. Last night we held auditions and 22 boys showed up! 
Robert Brown
Jersey City Dance Academy
Jersey City, NJ

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I see this as an excellent opportunity for upgrading dance education in the future [“Investing in Dancers,” May/June 2011]. The students who are awarded scholarships through this program may initially perform, but performing careers do not last forever. With a college education in dance, these recipients will have knowledge that most performers have not had access to in the past. Classes in dance history, kinesiology, dance composition, movement analysis, and pedagogy will give the graduates diversity to take the information they received into the dance world at large. As integration between dance and the media continues, opportunities will abound for increasing awareness of sound training tactics and improved levels of performance as well as creativity, and hopefully an increase in the demand for knowledgeable individuals. It will mean that the bar will be raised in the field of dance overall.
Suzanne Kirsch
via DanceStudioLife.com

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This is long overdue. I want to thank you so much for highlighting me in your fabulous magazine [“Teacher in the Spotlight,” January 2011]. It is wonderful for an average, everyday dance teacher like myself to be honored. I continue to read your magazine regularly and learn so very much.
Carolyn Dutra
Carolyn Dutra Dance Studio
Warwick, Cranston, and Greenville, RI

By Debra Danese

Have you ever browsed YouTube and come across a video of your choreography? Or spotted an excerpt from one of your dance classes on Facebook? You didn’t post them and you didn’t authorize anyone else to do so. What can you do to keep your work from being distributed without your knowledge or consent?

Because of advances in technology, school owners and choreographers may find that keeping up with technology and ownership rights is increasingly challenging. I’ve faced this issue several times. Once, some parents posted dances from my student showcase on YouTube without seeking my consent as the choreographer. Another time, after I taught a master class, the school posted excerpts on its website and Facebook page. In both instances, I had made written and verbal requests that there be no video or photography taken.

So I sought the expertise of an intellectual property (IP) attorney for guidance. I learned that the person who owns the copyright for a piece of choreography has the right to exclude others from five activities. These include reproduction, distribution, public display, the preparation of derivative works, and public performances. If a choreographic work is fixed in a tangible medium (meaning it’s been recorded or notated), it qualifies for copyright protection.

Once I was more familiar with the terms of copyright material, I needed to establish if I was the author, the person who creates a copyrightable work, and the owner. The Copyright Act of 1976 explicitly states that works of authorship include choreographic works. However, an employer or commissioning party may be the owner if a piece of choreography is considered “work for hire.” This would be the case if it was created by an employee within the scope of employment by a studio owner. It is also applicable if the work is made by an independent contractor and there is a written agreement that states that the work is for hire and falls under one of nine statutory categories. (For more information on this, see copyright.gov.) For this reason, it is critical to have a contract to stipulate IP ownership.

If you are hired to create choreography and want to retain ownership of it, ask that it be stated in your contract that it is not a work for hire and that you retain all rights to the work. Other terms to address would be the rights the employer or whoever commissioned the work has to it and any limitations you set. For example, you can specify if the work is to be presented as part of a public performance and whether the other party can make and distribute videos of the performance. Include any conditions or limits regarding videotaping, future use of photographs, and future performances.

Once I was more familiar with the terms of copyright material, I needed to establish if I was the author, the person who creates a copyrightable work, and the owner.

You don’t need to hire a lawyer to draw up a contract; there just needs to be a “meeting of the minds.” You can find guidance regarding wording online.

Once you have taken measures to retain ownership of your choreography, what can you do if you believe the copyrights to your work have been infringed? In the area of digital and social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter), consider utilizing the take-down notice to website providers. For example, YouTube has a copyright center on its site that includes copyright infringement notification. Facebook also allows you to report claims of IP infringement.

As artists, we want to share our work with a broad audience while also maintaining control over how it is reproduced. As technology develops, we will continue to face issues regarding copyright. Understanding rights of ownership and how to uphold them is the first step toward protecting your creative work.

Dance teacher organizations—where to team up, share ideas, and be heard

Profile: Cecchetti USA

Cecchetti USA is dedicated to the improvement of ballet training, encompassing the method developed by Enrico Cecchetti.

Cecchetti USA was founded in Los Angeles in 1971 by Olga Fricker, Sheila Darby (who had trained with Guillermo Del Oro, a student of Enrico Cecchetti), and Lucille McClure. These women had received their Cecchetti training from Betty Oliphant, Margaret Saul, and Celia Franca at Canada’s National Ballet School. Eventually Fricker, Darby, and McClure (along with Jean Spear on the East Coast) became the first Cecchetti examiners in the United States, and the organization continued to grow, especially on the two coasts.

The Cecchetti Method is a progressive system of elite ballet training from beginner to professional levels. Designed with utmost regard for the laws of anatomy, it prepares a dancer’s body to bear the physical demands of classical ballet without injury or harm. The method also stresses the essential qualities of balance, poise, strength, elevation, elasticity, musicality, and artistry demanded of all professional dancers.

 Cecchetti USA teacher members follow an established syllabus of orchestrated exercises that are introduced in a logical sequence, designed to grow in complexity and help each dancer build the strength necessary to move to the next level. Classic in its purity and clean style, the syllabus stresses teaching according to the basic principles that govern the art form rather than individual teaching styles. Cecchetti emphasizes training without mannerisms, which provides a clean slate for choreographers whether they are producing a classical ballet or a contemporary work.

Cecchetti USA is a founding member of Cecchetti International Classical Ballet (CICB), an organization of seven corporate Cecchetti organizations located around the world. The international connection keeps U.S. members in touch with the work being done around the world and assures uniformity of high standards.

Weekend workshops are held several times each year on both the East and West Coasts. A weeklong summer course is held each year for students and teachers, most recently at the University of California–Santa Barbara. Workshops are led by prominent teachers such as Kirk Peterson, former ballet master for American Ballet Theatre, who taught this summer at the UCSB workshop, and former Joffrey Ballet dancer Trinette Singleton, who has taught at several Cecchetti USA workshops, along with official examiners and qualified member teachers. Examinations are held throughout the country and examiners are available for private study and master classes. Cecchetti USA continues to train new teachers and examine students across the country.

November Events

Arizona Dance Education Organization (AzDEO) azdeo.org
Event: ASU High School Experience
When: November 5, 8am–4pm
Where: Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts School of Dance, ASU Tempe campus
What: AzDEO member teachers and students, along with other high school dance educators and students, are invited to attend student classes in diverse movement practices, creative process workshops, and topic presentations, with discussions and special development sessions for teachers, all led by ASU faculty. Registration and payment deadline October 20. Visit dance.asu.edu for information.

The Congress on Research in Dance  205.823.5517; cordance.org
Event: Joint conference of the Congress on Research in Dance and the Society for Ethnomusicology
When: November 17–20
Where: Sheraton City Center Hotel, Philadelphia, PA
What: Moving Music/Sounding Dance: Intersections, Disconnections, and Alignments Between Dance and Music, a conference that seeks to forge pathways of reconnection between the fields of dance and music in academia. Topics of discussion include advocacy and outreach, health and healing, globalization/localization, and creativity and consciousness. Early-bird registration until October 14.

Dance and the Child International Utah  daciUSA.org; daciutahdayofdance.org
Event: daCi Day of Dance: Sculpting Lives
When: November 5
Where: Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
What: A day of dancing and art collaboration with Gary Price, a local visual artist, for children and adults, beginning to advanced dancers, ages 8 and up. Held in conjunction with Utah Dance Education Organization’s fall workshop.

Florida Dance Masters   fldancemasters.org
Event: November convention
When: November 25–27
Where: Renaissance Orlando at Sea World, Orlando, FL
What: Convention classes by master teachers Tony Catanzaro for ballet, Nick Gonzalez for tap and hip-hop, Peter Chu for contemporary, and Susan Lyle for acrobatics. Royal Dance Festival featuring performances by students of member and non-member convention attendees, with title competitions for Miss and Mister Dance, Junior Miss and Mister Dance, Florida’s Rising Star, and Florida’s Twinkling Star. Other convention features include testing for FDM membership, dancewear exhibitors, and banquet and student dance party. For convention fees and further information, contact Gayle Ellerbe at 863.616.1950.

South Carolina Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance  803.786.3384; scahperd.org
Event: Annual Conference: Lighting the Way
When: November 11–13
Where: Kingston Plantation, Embassy Suites Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC
What: Professional education sessions Friday and Saturday 9am–5pm and Sunday 8am–noon. Awards ceremony and general session Friday at 5pm.

Utah Dance Education Organization   udeo.org
Event: Fall Workshop: Sculpting Lives
When: November 4, 6–9pm
Where: Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
What: UDEO fall workshop with presenters Charlotte Boye-Christensen and Donald McKayle, including special recognition of Aline Coleman Smith, Brigham Young University’s first modern dance teacher. Open to dancers, educators in private studios and school settings, interdisciplinary artists, PTA members, choreographers, presenters, collaborative artists, administrators, advocates, and anyone interested in networking, professional development, advocacy, and promoting dance as an essential educational component of lifelong learning.

Teacher, Pacific Dance, Irvine, CA

NOMINATED BY: Lori Murphy, owner/director of Pacific Dance: “Erin is a one-in-a-million teacher. She embraces the dancers as individuals and cherishes their uniqueness. She can choreograph an award-winning dance or work with a mentally disabled child and change her life. Erin gets the big picture as a teacher and I am grateful to have her on my staff.”

YEARS TEACHING: 15 years

AGES TAUGHT: All ages and levels

GENRES TAUGHT: Ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, and “Jazz Hop”

WHY SHE CHOSE TEACHING AS A CAREER: From as far back as I can remember I wanted to be three things: a dancer, a dance teacher, and a veterinarian. I was a vet tech for many years, on my way to becoming a doctor of veterinary medicine. I had retired from dancing and teaching for about four years when a friend called me who was desperately searching for a sub. Within the first hour of teaching for her I realized how much I missed dance and teaching and how much corporate medicine wasn’t for me.

GREATEST INSPIRATION: By far, my mother. She drove 45 minutes to and from the studio, helped the studio seamstress sew our costumes, and made every solo costume I ever had. She knew when to step aside and when to step in. She never forced me to dance but instead fostered my love for the art by exposing me to everything she could that had to do with dance. She is responsible for my discipline and dedication. People, including choreographers and directors, know I am reliable and that’s because my mother set a great example. My hope is that I can do what my mom did for me with my own kids. I’m reminded with each kick from my unborn son that I have huge shoes to fill!

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: If I’m not having fun, neither are my students. I love my job and I hope it shows. I feel that everyone has the right to dance. My mom gave me a little star with “We can’t all be shining stars but we can all twinkle a little” painted on it. I live by that [thought] daily.

WHAT MAKES HER A GOOD TEACHER: I like to think that I teach my students more than just how to point their toes. I teach them what’s important. It’s not winning every trophy; it’s what we learn in the process and how we impact others. Maybe it’s because I’ve already had a career as a dancer, but I don’t need to live vicariously through my students. Also, I’ve been told that I have the patience of a saint.

FONDEST TEACHING MOMENT: Coming back into the studio after that four-year break. I was wary and feeling out of shape, but within minutes a little girl tugged on my skirt and said, “Miss Erin, you’re beautiful.” I cried. Then in walks a former student of mine. She had grown into quite the dancer. I realized I had come home.

ADVICE TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS: Students: dance for yourself, not for anyone else. Teachers: remember that it’s not all about the superstar dancers; there are diamonds in the rough that with a little attention will sparkle just as much.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON STUDIOS AND COMPETITION: When the negative side of the competitive spirit causes disruption between students and teachers, it can be destructive to the business as a whole. To prepare these kids for the real world, it’s our job to instill in them the value of hard work and cooperation.

DO YOU KNOW A DANCE TEACHER WHO DESERVES TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT? Email your nominations to Arisa@rheegold.com or mail them to Arisa White, Dance Studio Life, P.O. Box 2150, Norton, MA 02766. Please include why you think this teacher should be featured, along with his or her contact information.

How to organize a fund-raiser with pizzazz (and profits)

By Eliza Randolph

Each year do you sigh at the thought of raising money, yet again, for your studio’s performing company? Does the endless cycle of bake sales and car washes weary your soul? If you’re looking for a way to consolidate and sharpen your fund-raising efforts, a silent auction might be just the thing.

Silent auctions usually take place during other events, such as banquets or performances or parties. Leading up to your event, you solicit donations of goods or services from individuals, businesses, artists—anyone who provides things that people might want to buy. But rather than having a fast-talking man stand at a podium and auction them off to your guests, you simply display the items during your event and encourage folks to bid on them by writing their bids on a sheet displayed with the item. After a set period of time, you take the sheets down and the items go to the highest bidders, who pay their money directly to your cause.

Not only do these events have the potential to raise substantial funds in the course of one day, but they can reveal support in your community where you might not otherwise have thought to look for it. With the help of some school directors who’ve discovered the joy of silent auctions, we’ve come up with a few basic guidelines to follow in planning your own.

Know your audience
For some, the term “silent auction” might conjure up an elegant evening of wine and cheese, with black-clad sophisticates gazing knowledgeably at pricey artwork and fine jewels. While this is certainly one approach, you may not find it the best fit for raising money for a youth dance company, competition team, or recital.

Deborah Mason, who runs the Cambridge Youth Dance Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, keeps her auction down to earth. “We keep it simpler than a big, grand auction,” she says. “We do a brunch on a Sunday morning, from 11 to 2. That way it’s more of a buffet, so people can mingle.”

Marilyn Chappell takes a different approach, also informal. Yearly fund-raisers for Springs Dance Company (at Holly Springs School of Dance in Holly Springs, North Carolina) take place at the studio in the form of an open house, with student performances, face painting, and pizza, along with the silent auction. “We make it like a family festival,” she says. “All the little extras that we have make it a really fun family event. All the girls in the company sign up to work. And then we have the actual auction itself in our largest studio.”

Use what you’ve got
When planning any type of fund-raising event, you have to keep costs down to make it worthwhile. What resources do you already have? Get to know your students’ parents. Does one of them own a venue? Run a business that could donate a high-value auction item or materials or services to the event itself?

Mason is fortunate enough to have on the board of her performing company a famous chef, Jody Adams, who donates her time and materials to create the food for the auction brunch. The hotel that houses her restaurant even donates space for the event.

Chappell makes use of her own studio space and sells food and drink (to recoup costs) at her non-ticketed event. And “we were lucky enough,” she says, that “one of the parents [whose child] was a part of our senior company had been working for a museum, and they had a lot of experience in doing silent auctions. So we used her as a guide when we first started.”

In seeking donations of auction items, first ask the folks you know. Chappell says her auction offerings vary. “It changes from one year to the next, and it depends on everybody’s resources, in terms of what the parents are connected to and who they know. It’s relatively easy in that everybody just goes to who they know. It’s not like you’re laboring over trying to find things; it all works out.”

Says Mason, “We target restaurants, museums, local dance companies. Airlines have donated tickets. People who make jewelry. Everyone and everything. We target people who are clients with businesses, to see if people might donate something from their business as well.”

Keep an open mind
Both women emphasize the importance of a wide range of auction items designed to appeal to many tastes. “You never know what’s going to be a hot ticket item,” says Chappell. “People can be finicky about what they’re going to bid on. Something that you think wouldn’t sell might have three people going at it, bidding back and forth. So just go into it with an open mind.”

Mason invariably includes some sports paraphernalia in her auction. “My favorite was a Super Bowl football from the Patriots, signed by Rodney Harrison,” the team’s retired Pro Bowl safety, she says. “I’m a football fan, so I was really excited about that one.” She points out that for “the guys, some of the sports stuff goes really big. It’s important to get the dads involved.”

“We keep it simpler than a big, grand auction. We do a brunch on a Sunday morning, from 11 to 2. That way it’s more of a buffet, so people can mingle.” —Deborah Mason, Cambridge Youth Dance Program

“We’ll have everything from basketball poles to mountain getaway trips,” says Chappell, whose auctions usually include about 50 items. “We do a VIP package to the recital—they get early seating, front row with their families, behind the scenes; they get to take a tour backstage at intermission. People really like things like that. It really runs the gamut. We had a lawyer who donated to do a will. Anything you can imagine.”

Even props from company performances can come in handy, Chappell says. “We’re doing a huge production this year, Alice in Wonderland. We built a tire swing that’s going to be part of the dance, and next year we’re going to auction that off. We got all the kids to sign the swing so that it would be a cool thing for someone to bid on and have in their backyard. You just never know. Any item could turn out to be a good moneymaker. 

Delegate
Of course, organizing an event and convincing 50 businesses or individuals to donate their goods and services to you can be overwhelming. Here’s where you put your board to work, if you have one, and the parents of your dancers, and the dancers themselves. Mason forms an event committee for planning and has board members make the calls to solicit donations.

Chappell rallies the troops, students and parents alike. “We put out a letter at our first meeting of the season in early August,” she says. “We let everybody know what our goal is and that they should start seeking donations. Go out in the community and ask their friends, ask businesses, anything they can do.”

Sometimes the students themselves make donations of babysitting or private dance lessons. “They have an opportunity to use their gifts and talents too,” says Chappell.

In terms of making their goal, she says, “We go on an honor system. We tell everybody in the beginning that we would love them to find at least two items, but no one is going to check. We’re not adding up who brought in the most. Everybody brings whatever they can.”

Nuts and bolts
The items collected for your auction can be a great draw for getting people to come to your event. Mason sends out a list of auction items in her company newsletter and posts it on her website in advance of the brunch. To generate interest and excitement (and hopefully amp up the bidding, once it’s time), Chappell displays auction items in her studio for the week leading up to her event. On the big day, it works best to open the bidding at the start of the event and close it out (take down the bid sheets) a half-hour or so before the end. Use pens for the bid sheets so that bids can’t be erased or otherwise tampered with. (Neither Chappell or Mason has had problems with this, but it can happen.)

Generally, you list the starting price of items at a percentage of their actual value—the minimum amount you’d want them to sell for, if only one person bids. (Chappell starts items at 50 percent of their value; Mason at 30 percent.) Since you paid nothing for your auction items, any amount can be considered a clear gain. Of course, the higher the bids, the more money comes to your cause.

At the end of your event, you can announce the winners and, if present, they can pay you then and collect their items. If any winners have left already, you can contact them to let them know they’ve won and make arrangements for payment and item pickup at the studio.

Give to receive
Any fund-raising effort gets its fuel from the fact that your organization is a worthy cause—that supporting your efforts in turn supports the community as a whole. Many schools and performing companies do a lot of outreach work, and through that the community learns to value them.

Mason sums it up: “You have to reach out to your community, basically. We’ve been around for a long time, and people feel that we’re prominent in the community and they want to keep us there. So they help a lot because of what we do with the children.”

By Misty Lown

September and October are prime time for dance studios. Schools are back in session and parents are busy signing kids up for after-school activities. Make the most of the momentum with these tips to maximize the back-to-school enrollment wave.

New and improved
Take advantage of our increasingly digital society by having your website up to date. On your homepage, include an easy link to fall schedules and prices. Replace any images of your competition winners and accolades of your advanced students with pictures of preschoolers and other beginning students. It’s important to take out the intimidation factor for potential new clients who are making a virtual visit. And don’t forget to put your web address on every promotional item you distribute or print. A website only works if potential customers actually get to it.

If you have a studio Facebook page, link to it from your website. Facebook is a great place to post pictures of smiling children from your summer camps, share inspirational quotes about teaching children, and issue a timely invitation to upcoming events such as open houses, the first day of classes, and “Try It Day.” You can also use Facebook to send personalized invitations to these events to local moms groups, preschools, and other organizations focused on parents and kids.

Another way to use Facebook is to run a “profile picture contest” to win a free month of classes. Invite friends to submit pictures of their little ones in their tutus and princess costumes. The child selected to be your studio’s Facebook profile photo for the month of September also receives a free month of classes. (And, of course you will probably give all of the runners-up a free single class, because everyone likes to feel like a winner—and the point is to get them through the door.)

Even if you are not savvy with a computer, you can take advantage of technology to bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to traditional back-to-school marketing techniques such as mailers. Gone are the days of laboring on a postcard design, printing labels, and fumbling with stamps. Today’s direct mail companies can take you through the process from idea to delivery with a few phone calls. Additionally, they have the ability to target your mailing to specific ZIP codes and household demographics. Now you don’t have to waste time and money mailing your materials to everyone if your information only applies to certain groups.

Tried and true
Some tried-and-true methods are still yielding good returns on time and money.

Put it on your calendar to host a “back to dance” open house with sample classes, studio tours, and performances. Because this is a free event for the community, you should be able to get it listed in your newspaper’s community calendar free of charge. If you really want to create a splash, you could rent a bounce house, offer face painting and free root beer floats, and call it a “Back to Dance Block Party.” The idea is to get families to your studio to see your facility and to interact with your friendly staff.

Print advertising is another traditional method that still works well during certain times of the year such as September and October because parents are already thinking about joining new activities at this time. If you choose to buy print advertising, don’t forget to include a call to action, such as “Only 10 spaces left—register now!” or an offer, such as “Register by October 1 to receive a free pair of ballet shoes.” The goal of investing in print advertising isn’t just to introduce the readers to your brand but also to get them to your door. If you have a choice, go for a local parenting magazine over the newspaper because of the narrow readership focus.

The best advice
The most effective way to boost your business is simple: answer your phone. Your marketing efforts won’t amount to anything if people can’t connect with you. We live in a get-it-now culture, which means that people will often keep calling until they talk to someone—and that someone might be at another school. Studio owners who answer their phones consistently during September and October (or have their phones answered by someone cheerful and knowledgeable) will get the lion’s share of the enrollment in these prime-time months.

Back-Pocket Questions

By Kerry Ring

Pull some questions out of your “back pocket” to share with your class, and a nice discussion may follow. 
 

For example, as my students finished doing 16 changements, I asked them what we had done so far that prepared them for this combination. Hands shot up. (I love this, because it means that I am establishing a positive learning environment in which students feel that their ideas are worth sharing.) “Pliés,” says one. “The slow tendu with the prance,” says another. “The piqués with the accents off the ground,” shouts a third.

“Yes, yes, and yes!” I say. Then I pointed out how core strength allows for better jumps (by connecting the lower and upper body) and the deeper plié, articulation, and accents the students had mentioned. They tried again and I saw huge improvement. I also felt a sense of cohesion, as if we were all working together on becoming better dancers.

Asking open questions breaks up the monotony of “do exercise, teacher talks, do again.” And it encourages students to think, engage, and share. The answers reveal how much your students already know, which can be very satisfying for teachers. You will hear corrections you have given come right out of their mouths. And as students describe their ideas, many more corrections are brought up in class than you could do alone. 

I often remind myself that if I am the only person in the room who knows all the answers, I am not doing a very good job of teaching. Sprinkle in questions occasionally so that dialogue is comfortable and the students increase in confidence. The process may develop better, smarter, more confident dancers and also encourage more critical thinking in dance class.

Here are some questions to keep in your “back pocket”:

• What are you working on today? 
• How can we make this combination better? Be specific.
• Who are you watching? And why? (I would say, “Who are you going to steal from today?”)
• What was a theme in class? (This may open your eyes as to how the students interpret the class material and overarching corrections.)
• What are you taking away from this class today? (Have them identify which correction was most important to them. Was it an individual correction, a group correction, or a comment from a fellow student?) 
 
 

Energy Conservation: Yours!

By Maureen Janson

I began teaching modern dance at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in a cavernous former gymnasium that swallowed my voice and dwarfed my movement. After my initial classes I felt physically, vocally, and mentally exhausted. I quickly learned a few ways to conserve energy, and these lessons still prove helpful, regardless of studio size.

To save my voice, I gather students close together when I want to explain something to the group. I limit my talking to times when I’m not competing with music. Rather than call out to individual students to give corrections, I’ll meet a dancer at the side of the room and personally mention the correction or praise. (Sometimes individual public praise or correction is helpful, so I try to save that for times when the music is not playing.) And instead of counting out loud, I clap or use a small percussion instrument (like a wood block) to keep the beat.

Wearing supportive shoes and doing a thorough warm-up before my first class were and still are crucial to my physical survival. In demonstrating movement, I show things full-out only once. I let the dancers know this and then challenge one of them to repeat the combination right away. This encourages them to pay attention while giving others a chance to see the combination again. Hand gestures, words, and marking help with longer combinations that need repetition. I focus the class on how they execute the movement, not how I do it.

To conserve mental energy, I prepare my classes and sometimes even write things down in advance. This helps me approach the class with a clear head, and there is still plenty of room for spontaneity if I’ve created a starting point.

After classes, I take off my shoes and lie on the floor with my feet up on the wall at a right angle for a few minutes. This restful pose gives me a moment to reflect on the day’s work and gather energy for the next day.

International ballet dancers take the stage in Boston

By Karen White

At the first-ever Boston International Ballet Competition, held May 12 to 16, dancers tackled classical variations with grace, beauty, and technical prowess, hitting gigantic double tours and spot-on fouetté combinations. By the time a South Korean couple flashed through a jaw-dropping Diana and Acteon pas de deux, it was clear that this inaugural competition—yet another entry in a growing industry—had managed to attract some top-drawer talent from around the globe.

And that’s just what BIBC founder Valentina Kozlova wanted. “It’s been an amazing three days of competition,” she said just before handing out medals and awards at the closing gala. “We were looking not for participants to compete against each other, but for an exchange of cultures, for unity, and for the discovery of talent.”

The gala drew an enthusiastically vocal audience, but a few days before, when the first competitors took to the tiny stage in John Hancock Hall, the theater had been painfully silent, with only a handful of coaches and moms separated by seas of empty seats, despite publicity in at least a dozen local papers and on news websites. But in an orchestra row filled with support staffers and organizers sat seven judges—with names like Verdy, Liepa, and Webre, some of the biggest names in the ballet world—so it was understandable that some competitors’ nerves were on display, from shaking hands to girls falling off pointe, from missteps to slipped lifts.

Eighty-five dancers from 20 countries traveled to Boston for the competition, where dreary skies greeted them and cold spring rains pelted them as they trekked between the competition hall and the nearby Boston Ballet studios, where rehearsals and class were held.

Junior and senior division dancers faced three rounds of competition. In the first, they presented their choice of two variations or one pas de deux selected from a very short list of classics such as Paquita or Le Corsaire provided by the BIBC. The second round focused on contemporary solo pieces—Christina’s World, choreographed by Margo Sappington, for the females, and an excerpt from As Above So Below, choreographed by Edwaard Liang, for the males. The dancers learned them in advance of the competition via a website video. Each round cut their numbers by 50 percent, leaving a select few to show their final prepared piece in the third round.

Only two rounds were held for the small student division of 13- and 14-year-olds (10 girls and one boy). And while the students vied for first-, second-, or third-place certificates only, bigger prizes were on the line for the older dancers, from cash awards of up to $9,000 to contracts with studio companies, summer intensive scholarships, and opportunities to perform in upcoming international galas.

On the final day, after the decisions had all been made and guest dancers, such as Alexandra Jacob and Samuel Wilson of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, rehearsed their pieces for the evening’s gala, Kozlova was beaming. “It went better than I expected,” she said. “The dancers were of exceptional quality. Everything ran so smoothly. And all the judges want to come back—they had a blast.”

Her one disappointment was the low attendance. “I don’t know why,” she said, adding that she had particularly hoped to see Boston Ballet School students in the audience. “I came here thinking that people in Boston love dance. I have a sense that it’s the first year. Hopefully as we educate the audience as to what this is, they will come.”

A former Bolshoi and New York City Ballet principal dancer with her own dance conservatory in New York City, Kozlova said she first thought of creating a competition about eight years ago. She says she was “upset with some rules and regulations” at other competitions where she was judging, and other teachers had suggested that she create her own. Since she had just opened her conservatory, she thought it would be too much to handle. “But when the seed is planted, it stays in the back of your mind,” she said. “I felt that one day I was going to do it.”

And the field is crowded. Olga Smoak of Panama, head of the BIBC artistic advisory board and president of the New Orleans International Ballet Competition, said she remembers when there were only four international ballet competitions.

Kozlova, though, had good feelings from the beginning. “When I first started to call or email people worldwide, they all responded immediately and were extremely positive. It showed me that I was doing the right thing,” she said. “I didn’t have to twist arms at all.”

Her involvement, in turn, was a draw for coaches such as Jacqueline Akhmedova, a former Bolshoi dancer and director of Akhmedova Ballet Academy in Silver Spring, Maryland, who brought a 16-year-old student, Deanna Pearson. “I have great respect for Valerie and I think this will be run professionally, and that’s always good,” Akhmedova said. “And the competition caught my attention because it is a new one.”

Pearson, one of 23 junior division dancers, has a training regimen that includes three hours of private coaching with Akhmedova each morning and another three hours of class each afternoon. She said entering competitions is one of the best things a dancer can do to prepare for a professional career. (She competed the previous year at Tanzolymp in Berlin.) “It’s about bringing every step you’ve learned to these two minutes of time, and added to that you have the competition, the lights, everything that makes you nervous, and you have to work past that,” said Pearson.

Boston was to be the first competition for Erika Delponte, a native of Italy. A first-year apprentice with Semperoper Ballett in Dresden, Delponte represented Germany in the senior division. “I’m excited to dance, but more so to experience the scene, to see how other people work, and to perform,” she said. “I don’t look for a prize, but if you can talk with an important director, that’s good.”

And important directors were everywhere. Mikko Nissinen, artistic director of Boston Ballet and its school, served as judging panel president. The judges included Washington Ballet artistic director Septime Webre; former Paris Opera and Boston Ballet artistic director Violette Verdy; Andris Liepa of Russia, director and producer of The Russian Seasons–21st Century project; Oleksi Bessmertni, founder and director of Germany’s International Dance Festival Tanzolymp; Hae Shik Kim, founding dean of Korean National University of the Arts, School of Dance, and a former prima ballerina with Korean National Ballet Company; and Maria Luisa Noronha, founder of Ballet do Rio de Janeiro and Ballet Dalal Achcar School.

 “I would like the dancers to understand that it’s not about the medals; it’s about the exchange of cultures, because the world is big and small at the same time, and the unity is the wonderful world of ballet.” —BIBC founder Valentina Kozlova

Working double duty was BIBC coordinator Margo Sappington, who had choreographed the contemporary piece performed by female dancers in round 2 and who, on the afternoon of the gala, set the lighting as the gala’s guest dancers rehearsed. In addition to the DTH dancers, the guests included Jennie Somogyi and Charles Askegard of New York City Ballet, Joseph Gatti and Whitney Jensen of Boston Ballet, and two students of Kozlova’s.

Sappington, a friend of Kozlova’s for 20 years, said the two would often discuss “things we found annoying about competitions, and what we would do differently.” One constant source of irritation was poor scheduling, which led to dancers bickering over rehearsal time, uncertainty about where to be when, or events that ran late.

“If people get antsy and upset it’s like a fungus, and it spreads,” Sappington said. “Our main objective was to have a calm, supportive atmosphere.”

That’s exactly what it was, said senior division dancer Brooklyn Mack, 24 at the time of the competition. “It was friendly and relaxed and amiable between dancers. People were helping each other out with makeup and sharing costumes.”

A dancer with The Washington Ballet, Mack finds competing very different from company life. “You set a goal to work toward, and your preparation for competition is meticulous. A lot of growth can come out of something like this, if you get used to it and can use it in your training,” he said.

Growth, and other good things as well. Mack tied with Rodrigo Almarales of Cuba for the bronze medal, but he seemed dumbstruck when Liepa presented him with an outstanding artistry award named for his father, Bolshoi legend Maris Liepa. The award came with an offer to dance alongside Bolshoi and Maryinsky stars at a gala next year in Moscow. As he received the award, Mack stood openmouthed, one hand over his heart.

But more good things awaited Mack. After the competition, a website announcement said that gold medalists Young Gyu Choi and Ji Young Chae of South Korea had donated $2,000 of their winnings back to the BIBC to send a dancer to the 2011 Seoul International Dance Competition. “BIBC extends this very special award of generosity and kindness from a dancer to another dancer to: Brooklyn Mack, USA.”

This sharing of dance across borders was another goal of Kozlova’s. During preparations for the BIBC she spoke of traveling as a young dancer to galas and events around the world. Wherever she was, she met the same group of select dancers, who were friends even though they hailed from different parts of the world. She wanted to bring that same feeling to her competition.

“I would like the dancers to understand that it’s not about the medals; it’s about the exchange of cultures, because the world is big and small at the same time, and the unity is the wonderful world of ballet,” she said.

 Indiana resident Lisa Hiday, who had watched the entire competition with her daughter, Demitra Bereveskos, agreed. “I was impressed with the world scope of the competition,” Hiday said. “There was a male from South Africa, dancers from Belarus—really neat places.”

Too young to compete, Demitra, only 12, had been invited by her coach, Kozlova, to lead off the BIBC gala performance. The miniature girl in a powder-blue tutu would generate loud “bravos” for her variation from Giselle, perfected during one of her twice-monthly trips to Kozlova’s New York studio.

Kozlova was obviously proud of her student. “She looks like 5 but dances like 16,” she whispered. “She’s the future.”

The idea of not only finding but nurturing talent is why she plans on ignoring comments from some of the judges to “not bother” with the sparsely attended student division. “But I would like to be bothered by it, and expand it,” she said. “When you start [competing] at age 13, 14, when you come to 16, you are so advanced.”

Kozlova is already looking ahead to next year. Just days after the competition ended, she announced the dates for the 2012 event.

“Some directors of companies here, now that they have seen what this is, said they will bring their dancers next year,” Kozlova said. “It was so important to me to bring cultures together for a celebration of ballet, and that is what we had—a celebration of ballet.”

One summer in the making of a dancer

By Barbara Stowe

Our Greyhound bus is climbing through the foothills of the Rockies, fir and pine forest, a monotonous beauty broken only by glimpses of the silvery-blue Bow River. Beside me my friend Joy shifts, sighing in her sleep. Her tidy bun has loosened with the rocking of the bus, and her face, framed by crinkly dark hair, is even paler than usual. Her cheeks are rounded with a childish softness most of us lost several years ago.

The competitive chatter of teenage girls increases with our proximity to our destination. High-arched feet are dangled over armrests and one girl is doing the splits in the aisle. I get up to stretch and other girls follow suit. Later today placement auditions will determine our rank: Elementary, Intermediate, or Advanced, and none of us can afford to be stiff.

Back in Vancouver Joy and I had huddled in the dressing room, poring over the program for the 1975 Banff Centre School of Fine Arts summer dance intensive. “Studying with other teachers before you’re ready is a mistake,” our teacher sniffed. “You’ll learn different techniques, and they’ll clash. That’s how injuries happen.” For three years she’d been grooming us for her budding company, and Banff would expose us to ballet masters from internationally renowned companies like the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and England’s Royal Ballet.

Banff was treason.

Upon arrival we clamber off the bus and tromp to the registration desk. At close to 5,000 feet above sea level the air is rarefied, and I feel a little breathless climbing the slope from the main building to the dance studios. But when I open the studio door I almost stop breathing altogether. This generous expanse, the massive windows, the afternoon sun pouring in to map rectangles on the polished floor! Our Vancouver studio is in a dingy basement with a ceiling so low that we bang our heads on exposed pipes in pas de deux. We water the floor to dull the slippery patches, and some of the boards now ripple like tiny waves. The floors here are perfectly smooth, stretching before us like a vast, uncharted country.

At the placement auditions that night we pin on paper numbers with shaky hands while the ballet masters, seated at a long table, whisper and point. We’re tired from our 14-hour bus ride from Vancouver, but the miles we’ve logged seem slight compared to the distance some girls have traveled, coming from across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

The ballet master of the Royal Winnipeg rises from his chair. He has wavy black hair and a stiffly waxed moustache, the likes of which I’ve only seen on villains in English pantomimes. Smile lines crinkle around his eyes as he comes out from behind the table.

“Demi-plié, and stretch, and rise, and lower.” As he demonstrates, his flared jeans hug his long legs and his high arches strain against the canvas of his espadrilles.

After barre we move into center. I fight to finish a double pirouette while in front of me a blond girl with an elegant chignon flawlessly lands a triple. Six classes a week for the past three years have clearly been scant preparation for me, an 18-year-old who started ballet late, and I vow to take the maximum five lessons a day while I’m here.

Blond Girl is the first to be chosen for the Advanced class. When I’m finally told to join her, I’m almost sick with relief.

Joy rushes over, looking distraught. “I’ve been invited to join the Master Class!” I start to congratulate her but her eyes brim with tears.

Her fears are understandable. For the Master Class, the summer will be one long audition to determine who’s ready to turn professional. It’s impossible to imagine that the other Master Class students won’t feel threatened by a 14-year-old prodigy. Still, to be chosen is a great honor.

“If you don’t like it, you can always drop down to Advanced,” I suggest, grabbing my towel off the barre. Reluctantly she agrees, and we turn to go.

But our long day is not over yet. “For those who want to stay, we will now have tryouts for the Banff Festival,” the Ballet Master announces, flashing his gold teeth.

Joy is quickly cast in Brigadoon, a Romantic ballet. I hang back, watching. I look like a ballerina with my small head, long neck, and petite frame, but I also have a stiff back, poor turnout, and one flat foot. Still, some wild, joyful part of me responds to music and when the accompanist plays a bar from Paquita, I can’t resist the saucy Spanish sound. I snap my feet up in retirés and whip my head around in pirouettes like a fan snapping shut.

Suddenly the Ballet Master points at me. I’m in! Joy is also chosen, and Blond Girl—and an anorexic. Someone nicknames her “Bones” and the derogatory moniker spreads fast in snide whispers.

The next morning in Advanced, Bones steps out of the back line where she’s been placed and marches up to the front. We wait for the teacher to discipline her, but her cold, hollow-eyed stare must intimidate even him because he doesn’t say anything. In adagio she balances on a leg so thin it’s ugly, holding the other leg straight out in front at waist height longer than anyone else, longer than the music asks for, an aggressive, offensively sexual gesture. I stare at her, trying to find just one beautiful quality, but she has none. No grace and no timing. Only strength. And not one flat foot, but two! How could she get cast in Paquita?

After class I rush to another building to see the Master Class. Watching Joy I feel a surge of protective pride. In her staid scoop-neck leotard and tights faded to a dull gray, she looks childlike beside the older girls with their cleavage and ripped T-shirts that fall as if by accident off their shoulders. The fragile beauty of her port de bras is somehow heightened, contrasted with these hints of seduction.

Unlike the other, all-female classes, half the Master Class is male. One boy pirouettes incessantly between each exercise. A girl beside me whispers that Pirouette Boy is one of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet apprentices. Another apprentice, a bony, broad-shouldered girl with exquisitely arched feet, has such unique timing that none of us can take our eyes off her. It’s a revelation, the way this goddess of ballet delays a movement until the last second. I feel like I’m hearing the familiar Bach, Chopin, and Mozart classroom standards for the first time. Our knowing source whispers that the Goddess’s feet are weak and that’s why she isn’t in the RWB company yet, but her frappés are as sharp as anyone’s, and I don’t understand why her mouth should be a constant moue of self-doubt.

The teacher is a grim vision: tall, thin, and clothed in black from head to toe.

“Et de peek, et de plip!”

It’s like Mr. Grim is discharging rounds from a machine gun, not demonstrating tendus. He stamps his foot so hard it has to hurt and whirls away from the barre, lowering his rigid torso onto a bench and staring at the floor. The dancers fidget and the pianist waits for a signal to begin, but none is forthcoming. Finally, violating protocol, the pianist begins of his own accord. After the dancers finish the exercise, Mr. Grim sits as if carved out of stone, morose and silent.

“Again,” he says at last, and 12 sweating bodies reposition, and the accompanist waits once more for a nod, an “and” that never comes. Ignoring etiquette yet again he plunges in.

Mr. Grim jolts to his feet. “Top. Top! Peek. What is peek?”

The music trails off and the dancers tug at T-shirts and pat their hair, trying to fix what is not broken.

Those of us watching are as bemused as the dancers. Can he mean piqué, which everyone from London to Leningrad knows to pronounce “peekay”? And he demonstrated tendus, not piqués. Is it his failure to communicate what he wants that drives his constant rage? Or perhaps a chronic injury, an ulcer, a broken heart? I rule out broken heart, for he shows no sign of tender feeling. Besides, who could love this dour man, this marionette who demonstrates in staccato jerks, spitting out the Gallic words with contempt?

Only when he looks at the Goddess does his face melt like a Salvador Dali clock. “Pointe tendu back,” he mutters, with surprisingly good pronunciation, and touching the part in her hair ever so gently, as if he’s afraid she’ll break, he coaxes her to bend back until her bun touches the knee of her extended leg.

In the second week comes a thrilling announcement: on Saturday mornings the Master Class and a few girls from Advanced will take pas de deux together. My name is on the list.

There is only one reason I can think of. At five-foot-two and 98 pounds, I’m one of the smallest Advanced dancers. Perhaps some of the men are not yet strong enough to lift the tall girls in the Master Class—the tall girls like the Goddess with the gorgeous feet! I’m going to be in a class with her? Saturday can’t come soon enough.

The day finally arrives. Standing at the back of the room, I gape at the Goddess and other deities I’ve only glimpsed from afar. Pirouette Boy starts practicing some lifts with her and then the teacher, a slight, shy man with wavy shoulder-length brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses, walks in and a respectful silence falls. He has just started to pair us off when in bounces a 20-something boy with silky blond bangs and a goofy grin. I smile as I recognize this friend from high school, now a dancer with Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. Before I can say anything he lopes over and flips me into a shoulder-sit, but the lift takes on so much fast-forward momentum that I almost bounce off his shoulder.

The teacher sighs. “Don’t take teenie-weenie.” He steers me over to Pirouette Boy, who stares over my head, refusing to make eye contact. My stomach begins to twist and knot.

“Flying fish,” the teacher commands.

The boys line up, inviting us with outstretched arms. The accompanist ripples off an arpeggio that sends us across the room, leaping into the air. Pirouette Boy catches me and sets me down abruptly.

“Again,” the teacher says.

My partner starts pirouetting.

I take a deep breath and start running and suddenly Pirouette Boy snaps into position, arm extended toward me. But he’s looking away. The bastard, I think, he’s not going to catch me, and I hurl myself into the air. And then I’m in his arms. He sets me down with a cryptic smile. I mimic him and something flashes over his face, a grudging respect.

I’m flying for the rest of the class.

*          *          *

“Girrrls,” says the jazz dance teacher, tossing her gold-streaked mane. “Take down your hair.” Her Hungarian accent is thick, but we have no trouble understanding her. We pretend not to understand.

“In ballet, we do not do this, yes? But in jazz? It feels good, we do it.”

Reluctantly we pull out clips and elastics and our tidy buns disappear in a cascade of hair.

“Your back is to the audience. Turn slowly . . . and, heeps!” The teacher thrusts her hips from one side to the other, moving forward on every third step.

These pelvic gyrations appall and excite us. Within the confines of our balletic world we’ve consecrated our bodies as asexual vessels, free of the taint of carnality. It’s as if, with our pink ribbons and plaited hair, we can regain what some of us have lost too soon.

The next day I take the Intermediate ballet class before Advanced, to counter the hip-loosening effects of jazz. The younger students eye me with respect as the teacher, a feisty Scottish man from England’s Royal Ballet, drags me into the middle of the floor.

“Fall!” he orders, and I drop sideways, body rigid as a plank. Just before I hit the ground he catches me.

“See? That’s what you need, ladies! Strength in the middle.”

I wish my teacher back in Vancouver could hear him.

*          *          *

Mr. Grim has come here from Cuba not only to teach the Master Class, but also to set Paquita on the Festival dancers.

“Peep peep peep!” he chirps, crisscrossing his trousered legs so fast they almost blur. “Puh-loop!” He drops abruptly off tiptoe, raising one arm in a haughty flourish above his head, frowning. The contrast between his delicate footwork and his glowering eyebrows is comical, but if we laugh he’ll single someone out to yell at. Anyone will do, except Blond Girl—but then, what could one say? Her every move is honeyed, smooth as her Texan drawl. At 16 she seems older than the rest of us, sophisticated, with her Grace Kelly chignon and that sniffing sound she makes, as if the rest of us were beneath her.

I certainly am. All I have is “feeling,” and sometimes I lose myself in the music. One late exhausting night I’m reveling in it, holding the top of a retiré too long, and Mr. Grim aims a long bloodless finger at me.

The ballet master of the Royal Winnipeg rises from his chair. He has wavy black hair and a stiffly waxed moustache, the likes of which I’ve only seen on villains in English pantomimes.

“Ju,” he says. “Ju! Always ju are arriving after ze music. Why ju so stupid? Ju rrrruining it!”

My face burns and I bow my head, fighting tears. He’s right—I’ve been luxuriating in feeling at the expense of rhythm. I’ll fix my timing, I think. Just don’t let him kick me out.

*          *          *

I forget my worries best in the air. We rise up at the end of every class. First, sautés to warm up the ankles, then entrechats, and finally grand allegro, split leaps at a slowed-down tempo that pushes us to throw ourselves higher and higher into the ether. There’s a moment between leaving and coming back when we delight in that flight from mortality. We stand suspended between earth and sky, tall as we’ll ever be, and it seems then that nothing can ever bring us down from those heavens. When we do finally come down, it’s as if we do so of our own choosing, on our own time, unpressured by such a mere thing as gravity.

*          *          *

I heap my cafeteria tray with food at every meal, but with classes all day and rehearsals at night, I’m losing weight instead of gaining it. One morning, as I’m piling eggs, toast, potatoes, and fruit onto my tray, I see the Goddess ahead of me, taking only a small muffin and a cup of coffee. I edge up to her.

“Is that all you’re eating? A muffin?”

“I’m not really hungry.” She smiles sweetly and moves away, and I wonder if that’s why she’s not in the company yet. Anorexic tendencies?

Bones and I are called to a wardrobe fitting together and as I gaze at myself in the mirror, resplendent in a black-and-red tutu from the Royal Winnipeg, the company I would most like to join in the world, her voice hisses from the next stall.

“What size is yours?”

“Four.”

“That’s impossible.” Her voice rises, sharp and shrill. “That’s the same size as mine!”

I tell her I’m taller, hoping this will appease her, but she narrows glittery eyes at me. I’m afraid of her. I wish I could help her, but I don’t know how. Nor does anyone else, it seems.

*          *          *

We leap higher and higher across the studio, then giggle in the corner, airheads whose spacey euphoria is intensified by the altitude. We’re so high we can’t sleep.

Our exaltation is heightened by the fact that art is normal here. Every night after dinner we’re encouraged to stroll over to the Eric Harvie Theatre complex where—for free—we can watch jazz legend Oscar Peterson play piano, a virtuoso coordination of two feet, two hands, and a head nodding to a fifth syncopation. The most famous string quartets in the world arrive, including a Hungarian violinist whose playing sounds so like the ocean that Joy runs out of the theater in tears.

I follow her into the washroom. “The beauty?” I ask.

She nods and cries harder, and I suspect there is an additional reason for her tears. Joy is homesick. What a cold, unfeeling person I must be. I’ve never felt so at home as here, dancing down the corridor of Lloyd Hall to the glory of Purcell, played by a quartet of music students who commandeer the lounge. At dawn an artist sets up his easel on the lawn, and in mid-afternoon a circle of poets converges there too.

The obsessive drive of others spurs me on. Sundays when there are no classes I practice in an empty studio. Once a pianist strolls in and plays a haunting Chopin nocturne while I dance shyly, ecstatically, despairingly with my imperfect reflection in the mirror. Another Sunday a flute player with a long, dark braid and violet eyes invites me for a walk. We climb alpine meadows, both of us exulting at the sweetness of the air, the delicious feeling of sun on our pale skin. Summer is going on without us, but we console ourselves by saying there will be time for summer other years.

*          *          *

One night in rehearsal, I think I finally understand why Mr. Grim is so dour. He brings in the understudies, well-kept secrets, and now we see why—the understudy for the female soloist is the Goddess. I can only imagine how the soloist—a short, tense workhorse who lacks the ethereal line and musicality of the Goddess—must feel. She must have been cast for political rather than artistic reasons.

Watching Mr. Grim snarl at the soloist and then turn to the Goddess with an adoring smile, I think how enraged he must be at the imposed casting. But my train of thought is interrupted by one of his tirades. He demeans the soloist viciously and she runs out. He motions to the Goddess to take her place, and for the rest of the rehearsal his voice is soft and something resembling a smile plays about his thin lips.

*          *          *

The Ballet Master pads into our studio in his espadrilles. “Okay, everybody.”

He smiles, a warm, gold-toothed gesture of approval that makes the tips of his astonishing mustache rise up as if in salute. We scramble to the barre, feeling for loose hairpins, pulling up legwarmers. Blond Girl drapes her towel beside mine and I glance around for a spot where my faults won’t be as noticeable as in the shadow of her perfection. But every place is taken.

We stand in first position. Our feet seem very far away all of a sudden. We lift our heads and wait, muscles tense with anticipation. The whole room is stillness and attention.

“Demi-plié, and stretch, and rise, and lower.”

In an hour we’ll be onstage in Paquita. Across the room the soloist marks the sequence diligently. She’s sewn the back of her leotard down, revealing delicate shoulder blades and bony vertebrae snaking up to a braided bun. In front of me, Blond Girl marks lazily, copying the footwork with her hands instead of her feet. As we turn around to do the other side her eyes meet mine and I see hesitation and fear in her gaze. Suddenly I realize that her sniffing is a nervous habit, that this cool, elegant dancer feels as imperfect as the rest of us! The revelation makes me blush, ashamed of the envy that sits like bile in my throat, and then the bile evaporates, replaced by a surge of joy, a wave of love for everybody here. For the first time in my life, I’m in company class.

Class ends and we descend to the dressing rooms with just enough time to change, get made up, and slip a few stitches through the knots of our pointe-shoe ribbons.

At the five-minute call, most dancers are already in the wings, stretching feet nervously, glancing at the curtain through eyes widened with liner and mascara. The makeup artists have transformed us and I feel extraordinarily beautiful. I wish my mother was in the audience.

“Places, please.”

In the semi-darkness I place my arms in a low, open position, and Bones and Blond Girl cross their arms over mine, joining hands with me and with each other.

“Stand by.”

The lights dim until we are in total darkness. Then the curtain opens, the music begins, and we glide out into the hot lights to open Paquita.

*          *          *

I’m looking out the window of the Greyhound, but I don’t see anything out there. I’m caught in an emotional landscape, a six-week country of such power and beauty that I don’t see how anything can ever equal it. I’m crying, silently and very hard, from grief, happiness, and exhaustion, and as we roll down the winding mountain road, I finally know what it feels like to be homesick.

In September, after our first class back, my teacher pulls me aside.

“You’re stronger,” she whispers. “Thinner.” She looks around, making sure the studio is empty save for us. “I wouldn’t say this to anyone else, but Banff has been good for you.”

It’s like tasting something beyond summer, this acknowledgement that I’m one step closer to becoming that sinewy fortress of muscle and bone, of satin and air, of music made flesh: a dancer.

Miss New York’s dance roots

By Diane Gudat

When Claire Buffie was crowned Miss New York 2010 by the Miss America Organization, I was more than excited and proud. After all, I had been her dance teacher since she was a young child.

I’ve seen many students leave for college with no interest in pursuing a dance major yet sad to leave their talent and love for dance behind. Claire was one of them, yet she found a unique outlet for her talents. Her experience led me to wonder how much of a role all those years at the dance studio and on the competition stage played in her being chosen as Miss New York. So I asked her.

What led you to begin competing in the local pageants?

Dance! I had danced for 15 years and after high school graduation I thought I was finished. But at a university where all of my friends were performers, being around their artistry and energy motivated me to dance again. Miss Ball State University, an Indiana preliminary, gave me the opportunity to perform immediately. I took it. After winning my title, Miss Duneland, in another local preliminary, and competing for the first time in the Miss Indiana pageant, I learned what the Miss America Organization was really about. It gave me the opportunity to have a voice about my passion for equality while being surrounded and challenged by intelligent, service-minded women. It was then that my goal of becoming Miss America developed.

What about your dance training has assisted you in your goals?

So much of what I learned growing up in a studio has translated to my Miss America preparation and success thus far. I have a leg up in the competition, literally, because of great legs from years of dance, back muscles that a normal female may not have, and the walk that some just can’t acquire. And I have a comfort level onstage that allows me to really shine.

I was so busy in high school, jumping from school to student council, to dance and of course, homework. I needed to maintain balance and major organization in my life. That need is more important now than ever.

Was participating in dance competitions valuable in your pursuit of the Miss America title? Were the losses as valuable as the wins?

My dance training influenced me mentally more than anything. I learned two very valuable lessons: the idea that you’re never competing against someone else—you’re competing against yourself, doing your personal best—and that excellence is a habit. Anything judged rather than timed or measured is subjective, but pageantry is a whole new level of subjectivity. So, you must bring your best you to the table, prepared with no stone unturned and confident in your presentation, regardless of the opinion of the seven judges.

How did you prepare for your dance entry in the talent portion of the competition? 

I am lucky to be in New York City and to have Laurie Kanyok from [the Broadway shows] Movin’ Out and Come Fly Away as my choreographer, sponsored by JUMP Dance Convention. Phil LaDuca donated my LaDuca heels and my costume was custom made by [fashion designer] Jody Pelletier from Atlanta, Georgia. 

Jeremy Roberts [an orchestrator with Broadway credits] made a completely new arrangement of my competition song, “Bye Bye Blackbird.” In addition to rehearsing at the gym or in the studio, I took dance classes at Broadway Dance Center. I needed to break in those heels, but we all know that ballet is the foundation. My second runner-up at Miss NY 2010 and preliminary talent winner was a third-year student at The Juilliard School, and she invited me to rehearse alongside Kandice Pelletier, a former Radio City Rockette and Miss NY 2005. I had an incredible team behind me!

So much of what I learned growing up in a studio has translated to my Miss America preparation and success thus far. I have a leg up in the competition, literally, because of great legs from years of dance.

What did you take from your experiences?

I have experienced tremendous growth in the past few years. In order to succeed in an interview with five to seven judges, you have to know what you believe and why you believe it. That interview preparation makes you aware of yourself and the world around you. I have had opportunities beyond what I even imagined and have been able to have an impact beyond what I would have been able to do [otherwise].

Will you continue your dance training?

For a while, with a bit of extra scholarship money left at Broadway Dance Center. I will always be involved with the performing arts. I am a photographer and graphic designer and will always work to promote the performing arts because that is where my heart is. At five-foot-nine and all legs, I’ve been recommended to audition for the Rockettes—we’ll see!

Postscript: Claire did wonderfully as one of the Top 12 at the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas in January. As I watched her on TV, I was so impressed with the maturity and charm of this once skinny little tomboy who had graced my studio. It makes me wonder if a future Miss America might have a hand on my barre right now.

How to make the most of the workshop experience

By Danie Beck

Dance conventions offer both teachers and students a great way to broaden their dance horizons. You’ll gain knowledge; learn new techniques, teaching methods and styles; make new friends who share your Terpsichorean interest; and expand your personal horizons. And the right convention can recharge your own energy and enthusiasm levels along with your students’.

To make the most of the experience, encourage your students to be open to training in various dance genres and to encountering diversity in instructors’ personalities and teaching styles. Every dancer on the floor should be a chameleon, taking on the look of the choreographer. That kind of adaptability serves teachers well, too. If you are flexible in adapting to different styles, you will become a more effective educator and produce versatile dancers.

Choosing a convention
Take some time to consider all the variables—such as location, cost, dates, and class offerings—in determining which conventions will best meet your students’ needs. Get information from websites or directly from the convention organizers, ask fellow teachers to share their experiences and recommendations, and understand that every workshop might not be appropriate for all levels of dancers.

Some conventions present only one genre, while others offer a variety. Ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, and contemporary are typical offerings, but some conventions include modern dance, acrobatics, musical theater, or character. A varied curriculum exposes the dancers to classes they might not yet have had the opportunity to take. Dance conventions are like academic advanced-placement classes, gifted-students programs, and professional extension courses all rolled up into one event. And they’re facilitated by master teachers who might face your career-oriented students across an audition table one day.

Who should go?
Choose students who are mature and advanced enough to adapt to workshop instructors’ teaching methods as well as various styles of choreography. Most conventions cater to students ages 9 and up; however, a few do offer classes for younger dancers (but not beginners).

For intermediate to advanced dancers, conventions are both educational and social get-togethers, and they’ll need your guidance to balance these aspects of the experience. Show your trust in them, but let them know that they are expected to attend, be on time to, and pay attention in all required classes—and that socializing and using their cell phones are permitted only during breaks and after classes. Let them know that a lot of great information will be presented and they will need plenty of rest to do their best.

In addition, they’ll be exposed to numerous master teachers and choreographers or even agents, all of whom could be helpful in your students’ dance futures. If handled properly, conventions can become stepping stones for students—to the next level of their training or even to an audition or a job.

Don’t overdo it
Just like anything we do in life, we benefit from conventions when we contribute our best. Encourage your students to give it their all without overdoing it and risking injury or exhaustion. Convention schedules are designed to maximize the day. Classes, time for visiting exhibitors, and lunch breaks are usually well spaced to provide adequate downtime in typically long days. 

Class options
Meet with your students every morning at least 15 minutes before the first class to brief them on the day’s activities. Make your expectations clear: if you want your dancers to be on the floor on time and participate in all of their daily classes, they need to know that. If multiple classes at the same level are offered simultaneously, you’ll need to advise your students about which one to choose. Place them by ability, not simply their age.

Encourage the dancers to venture out of their comfort zone and try something new, thus enlarging their dance scope. Relay your confidence in them and acknowledge that you want them to be challenged and not just go into their favorite class where they can shine.

Behavior
Guide your students as much as possible, but let them know that you will not be by their side at all times and that you expect them to make sound decisions, based on your studio’s standards. Remind them that you expect them to be friendly, cooperative, focused in all classes, and on their best behavior at all times.

Supervision
If the convention permits, assign a parent monitor to be responsible for each class and check on the dancers throughout the day. You’ll want to make certain that the students get adequate nutrition, drink plenty of water (but never during classes), and are participating in class with a pleasant attitude. Assign your parent chaperones to arrange a nighttime curfew for those staying at the same hotel and make a room check for “lights out.” If anyone gets the homesick blues, offer a hug, smile, and some compassionate chat.

Preparation
Conventions are held year-round starting in the fall. Dancers who are convention veterans need minimal class preparation, usually only some technique review and drill. For those new to the experience, start in-studio preparation for convention-style classes about two weeks ahead of time. If your studio space permits, combine a few classes of students who will attend the workshop and are similar in age and ability to allow them to experience working in a larger-than-normal group.

Explain the format of convention classes and what protocol the students will be expected to follow. Make sure they know that the “classroom” is often a hotel ballroom with no mirrors, with a small section of dance flooring surrounded by carpet that they will be expected to dance on, and that there will more distractions than they are used to.

Conduct your classes in the method they will have to follow. Students often struggle with the pace of workshop classes. Convention dancers are expected to pick up steps quickly, so review the material you’re teaching less than you normally would. Teach the combination, go over it no more than twice, change the lines in the room, and move on. Explain that with as many as 200 students in one class, they’ll need to line up for across-the-floor combinations quickly and in an orderly fashion. Warn them that they will be expected to reverse to the other side on their own. Then demonstrate the combo and keep the flow moving.

What to bring
Find out if the convention requires a dress code for any of the classes. If your studio does not require a dress code or if you plan to allow students to wear whatever they want to, make sure they understand that their personal choices of clothing, hairstyle, and makeup should reflect their sense of self-discipline and their respect for the art form and themselves.

Prepare a checklist (handed out to students and emailed to parents) of what to bring for your students. Include the following: personal toiletries; clips and accessories to secure hair; medical wraps or elastic supports if needed; sleepwear; a leotard or dancewear outfit for each day of the convention plus two spares for changes; a plain, long-sleeved T-shirt for layering; all dance shoes (except pointe shoes, unless they’re required), labeled with the student’s full name; team uniforms or cover-ups like sweatshirts and jeans; outfits for evening or other non-dance social activities; and sneakers and street shoes.

Explain that hotel policy states that cover-ups must be worn anytime dancers are outside the classroom and that even if students are used to dancing barefoot at the studio, they could be required to wear shoes in class and elsewhere in the hotel. Remind the students that hotel rooms are always crowded, so they should only pack a small suitcase and their dance bag (labeled with their name).

Remembering what you learn
Find out if taking videos in the classes is allowed. For teachers, video recording is definitely the best way to remember everything presented, but permission will be based on individual convention policies. Teachers are always allowed to take notes and a few workshops still give teachers handouts of choreography notes. Since so much material is offered in a few days, you can’t retain it all, so take good notes. A small voice recorder can be a great help.

Once back at home, in the first class for students who attended the workshop, review the combinations they learned and video them if you were not allowed to do so at the event. Ask them which classes or combinations they liked the best and why. Be positive and encouraging about how much they learned and retained.

Wrapping it up
Schedule a wrap-up session with students and parents to be held immediately after the last class when the experience is fresh in everyone’s mind. Limit it to 15 minutes and include your praise (and/or a mention of how to improve) for students, staff, and parents. Ask them to respond (by raising their hands) to simple yes-or-no questions about the overall experience.

Within three weeks, follow up with an email survey asking for more detailed comments from students and parents about the teachers, classes, disciplines, accommodations, and overall event. Include a deadline date to turn in the completed printed form to the studio. This anonymous evaluation allows attendees to speak freely and relate all their experiences, both positive and negative.

Tips for Class

• Advise your students not to dance together as an obvious studio group, especially if they’re dressed in the same attire; that is not always beneficial for them. Dancers should stand out (in a positive way) at conventions. If they are one of the “burgundy leotard studio” group, they will get lost in the crowd. And an interaction, either positive or negative, with one of the “burgundy girls” could influence how instructors deal with others in that group if they’re clumped together.
• Tell students that convention teachers tend to notice those with the best technique and pass over those with the busiest mouth.
• Remind students not to jam up in front of the stage where the teacher can’t see them.
• Let them know they will receive no individual attention and that their success in getting the most out of the class depends on paying attention to the instructor at all times.

Blame evolution for her flat feet, huge knees, and receding hairline

By Diane Gudat

I heard something the other day that scared me to death: a group of scientists studying human evolution said that due to the constant overuse of the thumb for tasks such as texting and gaming, they expect thumbs to become longer and more agile. The actual physical structure of the thumb will change!

Why does that frighten me?

Think about it: if physical features can change to better serve our future needs, what might the future dance teacher look like? Have we already begun to evolve? I am a third-generation dance teacher and my daughter is the fourth. Is my poor, unsuspecting daughter exhibiting the first signs of this inevitable evolution? And if not, will her future children suffer from the consequences of years of overuse of body parts specific to our profession?

I think it’s time to explore the dangers. What might dance teachers look like by the end of the century?

There is no question that they will have larger feet, which will be forced to expand due to the countless hours spent standing, jumping, and stamping around in tap shoes. (My daughter’s feet are already a half size larger than mine.) We have beaten our feet flat like a cheap tenderloin and sooner or later they will be as wide as they are long. We might very well be born with calluses and bunions already in place.

Our craniums will enlarge to allow for the extra brain power we require for multitasking. A new lobe will form to allow processing of to-do lists and to help with the intricacies of scheduling, fee collection, costume ordering, and music selection. Mental music recording and cutting may one day become a reality.

A new mouth will grow over our existing one. While our original mouth will continue to express our true emotions, the new mouth will always sport a warm, welcoming smile.

As an adverse reaction to years of body-squeezing Lycra and Spandex attire, the dance teacher of the future might very well develop patterned, almost snakelike skin that sheds and replaces itself in the event of weight gain.

Our pituitary glands will learn to produce and excrete high-octane caffeine at eight-hour intervals, along with Sominex if the body is not at full rest by midnight.

The knees will become larger to support excessive amounts of stress and strain. They will develop a second set of tendons and cartilage much like a second set of teeth, ready to take over when the first set begins to disintegrate.

All nerves surrounding the hip socket will become numb. This will allow many teachers to postpone mandatory hip replacements until well into their 60s. With any luck, the human body will learn to spontaneously produce titanium to replace its own joints.

The ears will grow larger as our hearing worsens. Meanwhile, the ear canal will develop a flap that will close (in the ear closest to the stereo speakers) to help block out damaging noise.

Hairlines will inch farther and farther back due to the constant wearing of ponytails and tight headbands. We might eventually be born completely bald.

Our index fingers will grow longer from years of pressing the “play” button on stereos and mp3 players. I would like to see one thumbnail evolve into a box cutter (for easy opening of pesky costume boxes) and one index finger become a felt-tipped marker. I can never find one when I want it.

I had an illustrator sketch my concept of what my future dance teacher grandchildren or great-grandchildren might look like. It was horrifying!

I’m not sure what we can do to change the course of evolution, but I will keep a sharp eye on my dance teacher daughter. In the name of science, I encourage all the generations of dance teachers out there to do the same and report back.

UNITY members speak out each January

By Karen White

UNITY’s goal is simple but ambitious: to represent all the varied voices in the dance community. And many of those voices get the chance to speak up loud and clear each January when the organization’s annual meeting rolls around.

Founded in 1995, UNITY is a coalition of member groups, from merchants to teacher clubs to charitable foundations, all with a vested interest in the wide world of dance. Before the coalition was founded, many of these organizations went about their business on their own, often facing similar challenges but with no way to share those concerns or find solutions to problems.

With UNITY, all that changed. Now not only do member representatives communicate frequently by email or phone about any or all subjects concerning the dance industry, but their annual January meeting in New York City offers them the chance to tackle those topics head on. During one weekend (January 21 and 22 in 2012), UNITY member representatives—at least one from each of the 14 member organizations—get together to write educational materials, network with colleagues, discuss issues and concerns facing the dance industry, and hash out solutions.

Debbie Werbrouck, immediate past co-chair, is a member representative from Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. “There have been some topics that have come up in Chicago and I’ll say, ‘Hey, that’s a UNITY thing,’ because it’s not just about us—it’s everyone,” she says.

 One UNITY discussion prompted a United Dance Merchants of America symposium on age-appropriate costumes, music, and choreography. Another led to the negotiation of music licensing rates with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. If it has to do with dance, there’s a chance that UNITY members will want to talk about it.

“We have an agenda set out a few weeks ahead, but there are always surprises,” Werbrouck says. “The meeting is always interesting, and I always feel very gratified when I leave. I feel like we made a contribution to the dance community.”

Members spent part of each January meeting working on educational papers, which are then placed on the UNITY website for use by any dance studio owner or educator. Addressing topic such as “Why Dance?” or “Choosing a School,” the papers can be reprinted by dance educators and passed out to potential customers. “Early Childhood Philosophy and Guidelines,” for example, addresses concerns of parents who might feel dance class for small children is “just playing,” Werbrouck says. At least one new paper is added every year.

Scholarship programs, both old and new, will be on the January 2012 meeting agenda. Members will select the second annual recipient of the Business Development scholarship sponsored by Creations by Cicci, which offers $500 each year to one dance studio owner to be used for business-related study. (Previously, for two years, Curtain Call Costumes offered a similar scholarship.) A $500 Professional Development scholarship from UNITY itself will be available for the first time this year to a teacher who is not a studio owner to pursue continuing-education studies in dance.         

Details will be finalized on a new scholarship program to be provided by UNITY’s dance teacher organizations. These scholarships, to be granted to dance educators who are not members of any dance teacher organization, would allow them to attend a club event such as a workshop or seminar.

“We’re trying to provide an extra incentive for teachers to expand their knowledge,” Werbrouck says. “We’ve found that quite a few teachers out there don’t belong to dance teacher organizations. This is a way to connect the individual and the organization.”

Presently, UNITY dance teacher organization members include Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, Florida Dance Masters, Dance Masters of Wisconsin, Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston, Dance Alliance of Rhode Island, National Dance Educators Organization (NDEO), Southern Association of Dance Masters, and the Tennessee Association of Dance.

Making up the rest of the UNITY membership is the Andréa Rizzo Foundation, Creations by Cicci, Curtain Call Costumes (The Perform Group), the Rhee Gold Company, National Registry of Dance Educators, and United Dance Merchants of America.

Possible January topics include a discussion about new media and intellectual property (prompted after a video of a workshop lesson popped up on YouTube without the teacher’s permission), or how UNITY can show support and assist independent dance artists who teach workshops in public schools or other non-studio settings.

Some of these meeting topics are settled far in advance while others arise as the UNITY members chat during breaks or over lunch. One such discussion broke out when some studio owners began voicing frustrations about costumes, Werbrouck says. The presence of UNITY costume company representatives meant that the studio owners were able to talk to them directly rather than engaging in a useless gripe session.

 The costume companies, in turn, not only defended themselves and offered explanations but were able to voice their own frustrations with studio owners. The entire discussion led to the adoption of what UNITY calls its “Principles of Professional Cooperation” (available on the UNITY website for perusal), which encourage both sides to communicate clearly and in a timely manner.

Werbrouck says she doesn’t know if this discussion “brought everyone up a notch,” but she has noted less complaining about costume companies from studio owners she knows. “One of my pet peeves is the fact that dancewear sizing doesn’t correlate to street-wear sizing,” she says. “We haven’t made much headway yet, but it’s a forum. Instead of one person calling up and voicing an opinion, we have the voice of UNITY.”

What they think about TV dance shows, what teachers need to know, and lots more

Dance Studio Life asked dance competition directors across the United States to share what’s on their minds—and did they ever! Their candid responses to our questions (some directors did not answer every question) appear in alphabetical order by company name (sometimes abbreviated). We thank them all for their participation:

REY BARCENA, executive director, iHollywood Dance
DAN BARRIS, executive director, Dancers Inc.
BRENDAN C. BUCHANAN, owner/director, BravO! National Dance & Talent Competition
MELISSA BURNS, president/director, Turn It Up Dance Challenge, Inc.
ROBIN DETTWILLER, director, Celebration Talent Competition
RON DeVITO, president, Access Broadway Inc.
GINNY FAUBELL, director, Beyond the Stars
TERRY HAZEL, executive director, On Stage America
APRIL JACKSON, operations manager, Platinum National Dance Competition MICHELLE KRESGE, national director, Spotlight Events, Inc.
RHONDA MARCHANT, founding director, Encore Dance Competition for the Stars
KIMBERLY McCLUER, owner/director, Talent on Parade
KIM McKIMMIE, international director, I Love Dance
CHRISTINA MIRIA, director, Energy National Dance Competitions
CATHY ROE, owner/artistic director, Cathy Roe’s Ultimate Dance
DAVID SANDERS, CEO, Legacy Dance Championships
CHRISTOPHER SMITH, CEO/director, Hollywood Vibe Dance Productions, Inc.
NANCY STONE, vice president, Dance Olympus/Danceamerica
SHARI TOMASIELLO, national director, and IRMA ZIEGLER, president, Headliners
STEVE WAPPEL, president and founder, StarQuest International
DAVID WESTERFIELD, CEO, Westerfield Management, owner of Showbiz National Talent and Prime Time Dance

What has been the noticeable effect of reality dance shows on participants’ performances?

Access Broadway (DeVito): They’ve had a good impact on the quality and diversity of acts that we see at our regional competitions. By viewing the country’s best up-and-coming dancers and choreographers weekly, our competitors and teachers have increased their range of knowledge and skill.

Beyond the Stars (Faubell): I think they have expanded people’s concepts of costuming and choreography, opening up new ideas.

BravO! (Buchanan): Reality shows have brought celebrity status to professional dancers and given the best ones the ability to be role models for younger dancers. In performances you see many young dancers really taking the craft seriously, trying new tricks and moves. And you see many out on the stage who previously might not have been there.

Dance Olympus (Stone): Reality dance shows have had a positive influence on the performance level at competitions. The performances on TV are polished and well rehearsed and the choreography is sound. I think this has made an impact on the dance teacher as well as the student.

Dancers Inc. (Barris): Competition kids often attempt to do too much at a young age. Choreographers push a bit too much, too soon, sometimes. Ten-year-olds don’t need to dance in a string bikini top and pop-’n’-lock to Beyoncé—can’t they save that until the kid is 12?

Encore (Marchant): The biggest effect I have seen is the impact on costuming, music selections, and the popularity of contemporary dance. These shows have boosted the competition industry by encouraging students to strive for the excellence they see on television.

Energy (Miria): Reality dance shows have really put competition dance on the map. I see dancers pushing themselves beyond the norm and really doing exceptional work . . . and their stage presence is phenomenal!

Headliners (Tomasiello and Ziegler): The shows have encouraged dancers to set higher goals. The majority of dancers on So You Think You Can Dance are great technicians, which is great for a competition like ours where we focus on good foundations, proper technique, and realistic scoring.

Hollywood Vibe (Smith): The level of skill has greatly increased due to the popularity of these shows, and male dancers are now more numerous. Dancers are inspired by what they see on TV and are challenged to push the envelope.

I Love Dance (McKimmie): They have turned everyone into a critic. We now formulate our opinions very quickly if we like a certain dancer or performance—or not. I think participants get “to the pointe” (pun intended) a little more quickly now as they’ve watched how the very short performance time allotted on the dance shows forces contestants to sell themselves and their abilities from the moment they hit the floor.

iHollywood Dance (Barcena): Once, dancers’ expectations were right in front of them; they could see everything firsthand either at their studios or at competitions and conventions. Now television dance shows have exposed dancers to some of the world’s finest artists and choreographers. This has a huge effect on the smaller studios that don’t have opportunities to branch out and travel. 

Legacy (Sanders): Presentation has improved.

On Stage America (Hazel): They have inspired the dancers to achieve higher goals and choreographers to be more innovative and creative.

Platinum (Jackson): Competition performances are different in a couple of ways. First, the choreographers seem to be pushing themselves to be more creative and innovative. We’re still seeing a lot of tricks in routines, but I have noticed more artistry emerging as well. In addition, the dancers seem to be more connected and invested in performing their pieces, not just dancing them.

Showbiz/Prime Time Dance (Westerfield): I think the shows are pushing kids harder—especially the ones from smaller towns—because they’re able to see what’s really out there. You take kids from, say, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and they may think what they’re doing is as good as what’s done anywhere in the country, but when they see these shows, their eyes are opened. Another effect is that contemporary has become one of our top categories. When we started 25 years ago, it wasn’t even a category.

Spotlight Events (Kresge): While the overall style of dance, costuming, choreography, and music selection that we see on stages throughout the country noticeably follows the trends of what reality dance shows present, I think the influence actually runs a bit deeper. A benchmark has been created for what the highest level of dance and choreography is, which we didn’t really have before. Seeing someone celebrated as America’s favorite dancer or best dancer has provided the young dance community with a mainstream example of what it takes to be the best within this competitive industry. Additionally, with such a high level of talent appearing on these shows, I believe dancers have been influenced in a positive way to push their limits, challenge their abilities, and take the level of talent within studios to a higher echelon. Fortunately, these shows have maintained positive and uplifting storylines to inspire dancers and promote the art of dance. It is also rewarding to see and know so many of the contestants as past competitors in our competitions.

StarQuest (Wappel): All the dancers have “stepped up their game” as performers. Choreography is evolving faster with more innovative combinations. There is now a stronger emphasis on performance skill and personality. It is one thing to be a fantastic “studio technician” with strong technique. Now, instead of watching a dancer perform steps, we find ourselves watching the vision of the choreographer more and more. Competition has always offered dancers the opportunity to cultivate performance skills. Teachers, choreographers, and performers are pushing the envelope more than ever and, although the boundaries of appropriateness are sometimes overstepped, the entire dance industry still prospers from that push.

Talent on Parade (McCluer): These programs have introduced dance in a huge way to a whole generation. Kids watch these amazing dancers and want to be one of them, and dancers are inspired and encouraged by watching their dance idols on TV. Dancing is now cool. These shows also have increased the number of boys going into dance, which is wonderful for the dance world. 

Ultimate Dance (Roe): Creativity! Innovation! Competition dances were becoming formulaic. Choreographers felt there needed to be a checklist of tricks and vocabulary that would bring home the trophy. Now, with the reality dance shows, innovative choreographers inspire us all with new vision and innovation. Also, they dive into many genres, making them cool again to young dancers.

How have your ideas about what makes a good performance shifted over the years?

Access Broadway (DeVito): It hasn’t shifted. A good performance is a good performance in any style of dance. When a performance entertains, excites, and moves you, that’s a good or great performance.

BravO! (Buchanan): For me, it used to be so traditional. Now people come up with creative ways to stand out by turning something traditional on its head. I’ve seen a comedic performance of “Blackbird” with dancers dressed as Elmer Fudd and carrying rifles. Back in the day, you picked a two-minute number and did some cool stuff. Now everyone is striving for the next big idea. Neither approach is good or bad—they’re just different.

Celebration (Dettwiller): No, not really. Good technique coupled with artistry is still what stands out in a dance performance.

Dance Olympus (Stone): Clean, well-executed, and well-rehearsed work has always been the key to a successful performance.

Dancers Inc. (Barris): Dancers are so strong today; they’re so capable and fearless. I just wish today’s kids would realize that sometimes walking and convincing an audience is more impressive than a boatload of pirouettes and tricks.

Encore (Marchant): I don’t feel that my ideas of a good performance have changed dramatically over the years. The key element to a good performance, in my opinion, has always been passion. A passion for dance always creates magnetic energy that reflects a great performance.

Energy (Miria): My ideas on what makes a good performance are simple, regardless of the dancers’ age, level, or division at competition. In a good performance the dancers excel in everything they do, from smiling to acting to the physical dance, from the minute they take the stage. It doesn’t really matter how advanced the routine is; it’s all about the individual performers and if they did their personal best. I know our judges like to see confidence and performers being comfortable with what they are performing.

Headliners (Tomasiello and Ziegler): We do not believe our ideas have shifted at all. Headliners has stayed consistent with our original standards. For a good performance, dancers need a strong technical foundation combined with enjoyment in performing for themselves, which in turn is enjoyable for an audience to watch.

Hollywood Vibe (Smith): Our opinion of a good performance has not changed that much; we are still looking for the core elements that we have always stressed. Even though dancers have upped the difficulty level with tricks, they still need strong technique, strong stage presence, and the ability to dance through the movement.

I Love Dance (McKimmie): Music selection is a huge factor and continues to grow in importance. I think the judges (and audiences) take notice of an unusual piece of music or a piece of music they really like but haven’t heard for a long time. I appreciate teachers who spend a lot of time coming up with clever musical selections, ones that aren’t too popular or overused. However, I am totally over “dark” performances. I do not like seeing choreography with titles like “Disturbia” and “Schizophrenia” that depict mental illness with dancers in straitjackets. If a performer comes out to “Get Happy,” I think it feels like a good performance because of the positive, upbeat music. When I see my judges bouncing in their seats, it’s clear that the musical selection has made the performance much more enjoyable.

iHollywood Dance (Barcena): The standards for a good performance have risen immensely. The level of talent is increasing exponentially; younger dancers are achieving feats that were unheard of 10 years ago, hitting the most gorgeous lines and nailing the biggest tricks. With older dancers, the expectations are different—the performance should come from a completely different place of maturity.

Legacy (Sanders): They haven’t. I say: “Entertain me. Make me feel something. Leave it all on the floor.”

On Stage America (Hazel): They haven’t: a good performance requires showmanship, presentation, good choreography, and solid technique.

Platinum (Jackson): Less glitz and glam and more substance in a routine are what I look for in a good performance. Good technique is still at the top of my list. It must be accompanied by age-appropriate choreography, especially for dancers ages 12 and younger and in the lyrical category. How can a Petite or Junior dancer relate to relationship-type songs or super-sad lyrics? Why can’t there be “happy” lyrical, with age-appropriate messages?

Showbiz/Prime Time Dance (Westerfield): They have not changed. I never felt that the strongest technical dancer was necessarily the one with the best package as a performer. The package comes from everything from costuming to showmanship, not just technique. My background was in musical theater, so I’m accustomed to seeing the personality as a bigger part of the package.

Spotlight Events (Kresge): Where I might have looked for flashy, eye-catching routines with inventive tricks in the past, I now prefer to see creativity, good technique, and tasteful choreography. The limit of what is acceptable on stage seems to be pushed more and more, especially with younger dancers. And often it seems being showy and provocative takes precedence over showcasing technique and a creative concept. I like to see choreographers and teachers get back to the basics while adding a modern twist with their own personal style, as well as sending a message or telling a story with their choreography. This includes complementing the strengths of the dancers and staying away from using the latest and greatest tricks just because they’re popular or difficult.

StarQuest (Wappel): For me, a good performance includes solid technique, seamless and inventive choreographic combinations, an “intention” or strong choreographic vision, and strong performance skills. I believe every great performance must possess all these characteristics. Always. Since I come from a musical theater background, I find that the ability of a dancer or group to make me forget about the outside world by keeping me transfixed for those three minutes of performance requires a high level of commitment from the performer(s) to showcase the choreographer’s mission. If the performance can hold me the entire time, I deem it great. That is what I have always believed, so my ideas have not changed one bit. Remarkableness is timeless.

Talent on Parade (McCluer): I believe a good performance has never really changed. When you watch dance you want to be entertained, or you want to see a story being told or feel a certain piece of music. You must captivate your audience in some way, through showmanship or technical aspects. You must sell yourself onstage to the audience.

Turn It Up Dance Challenge (Burns): We constantly ask judges what they’re looking for in performances, and for years we’ve heard them talk about how they like routines that have a uniqueness to them, the ones that take an unexpected twist. It is creativity that is cherished as the years go on.

Ultimate Dance (Roe): My ideas have not shifted, because I learned long ago from my mentor that a good performance needs three elements. First, technique. Get to class (especially ballet class). You can’t just practice your dance. You must take class and constantly work on technique. Second, precision. That means rehearsal—lots of it. Third, stage presence. Give of yourself and shine your light!

In an ever-expanding field of competitions, how do you make your competition stand out?

Access Broadway (DeVito): In a market of primarily dance events, Access Broadway is the very first “all-inclusive” competition, workshop, and talent search in dance, acting, and voice. Our “Broadway Experience Event” has always given performing enthusiasts a much wider range of choices than just dance.

Beyond the Stars (Faubell): I try to meet every studio director and work with them to create a positive, stress-free competition environment. From scheduling (and consistently running early) to giving a wide range of judges and special awards, we strive to make everyone feel valued.

BravO! (Buchanan): We really try to listen to what people want: a schedule with a comfortable timetable, often running ahead of schedule; not having competition on Thursdays so students can attend classes; cutting off the routine entries at reasonable numbers so the competition weekend isn’t over-strenuous, etc. We also really stress personal achievement. At every O!wards ceremony, we remind the dancers that on a different day, at a different time, with a different judge, the score would be different, too. What matters most is how they feel and that they did their personal best. That idea carries over to the overall atmosphere of our competitions. And that is what stands out.

Celebration (Dettwiller): I think all competitions appeal to a certain set of people, which is one of the reasons why there are so many.

Dance Olympus (Stone): I think fairness to all is one of the elements that a Dance Olympus/Danceamerica competitor expects from our competition. Danceamerica gives awards for first, second, third, fourth, and fifth place, so clearly there is only one winner. I believe that we are one of the few competitions that still stick to that grading system. Also, our competition is different from most in that we require a workshop registration in order to compete. We feel that dance education is the stepping stone to a great performance.

Dancers Inc. (Barris): We still offer gold, silver, and bronze—how’s that for a standout? Michael Phelps is fine with gold and he’s the most decorated American athlete. When my competitors are better than he is, I’ll buy them platinum at Tiffany’s myself. I say that onstage all the time and audiences love it!

Encore (Marchant): We always get a lot of positive feedback about our friendly staff, Southern hospitality, family atmosphere, use of a professional theater as opposed to a hotel, free master classes at all of our competitions, nationally recognized judges, punctuality, quality trophies and awards, and special audience involvement during all of our judges’ breaks.

Energy (Miria): We pride ourselves on being one of the only national competitions to stick to a one-day schedule. We realize that our studio directors and parents are busy and that sometimes a whole weekend isn’t feasible. Our one-day event starts very early in the morning and goes until evening. We usually can accommodate 10 or more studios. Sometimes, if time permits, we do optional convention classes on the stage in the morning. Those are always a big hit.

Headliners (Tomasiello and Ziegler): We provide opportunities that no other competition does. Our exclusive relationship with McDonald Selznick Associates in New York City gives dancers who attend Headliners events the opportunity for representation by a leading dance agency. Also, Headliners has provided more than $300,000 in college scholarships for the past three years. Finally, we offer the opportunity to become part of the U.S. Dance Team and represent the United States in world show dance and hip-hop championships.

Hollywood Vibe (Smith): Our event stands out by offering faculty master classes by the judges, bringing the best of Hollywood to dancers everywhere. We also offer unique scholarship opportunities, including possible agent representation, which opens doors for aspiring young dancers.

I Love Dance (McKimmie): Certainly, I Love Dance stands out for longevity; we are going to be producing our 34th season. The staff and I are all dancers and dance teachers, so we have always been able to relate to our participants, and they in turn have confidence in us. Our competitions are very well attended—and we have never cancelled, so being dependable is a huge factor. I also think we stand out for having kept our prices very economical. I ask teachers to compare prices before selecting any competition.

iHollywood Dance (Barcena): iHollywood comes from a different place than other conventions and competitions. Penny Barcena and I [Rey Barcena] and many other members on the iHollywood team have worked in the film industry, so our dancers get to learn from our unmatched firsthand experience. Also, because I’ve grown up as both a convention and competition dancer, it’s my mission to bridge the small gap between these two. Thus, iHollywood is the first convention/competition to offer unlimited classes and competition numbers, which has proven to be a ground-breaking addition for all participants.

Legacy (Sanders): By awarding thousands in scholarships and cash prizes at every event. No-nonsense award ceremonies. Three levels of competition. Hand-tailored competition schedules that keep us on time and the dancers, teachers, and parents happy.

On Stage America (Hazel): Our scoring and variety of levels and divisions. And, most important, we send Team USA to China each year on an expense-paid trip, and we award a Caribbean cruise at every competition to a lucky studio director.

Platinum (Jackson): It is so important to be a family-friendly competition. That means no early start times and late nights, no competing on Thursdays, and remembering that it’s about the kids. We wouldn’t be in business if we didn’t spotlight all the dancers and make them feel special. Also, we are very conscious of the need for age-appropriate choreography and clean music. Our judges are instructed to comment and deduct if they feel a dance is inappropriate.

Showbiz/Prime Time Dance (Westerfield): With the entry fees parents pay today, we try to give people a top product, a professional staff that knows what it’s doing, and a first-rate venue. At Prime Time, we have a finals with every regional we do in which the top three dancers in a category come back and compete again.

Spotlight Events (Kresge): We stick to what we’re good at but never rest on our laurels. Spotlight has always been extremely organized, fun, fair, family friendly, and forward-thinking. While I want to see the company grow and stay competitive, I never want to compromise what made it so successful in the first place, nor do I want it to become complacent.

StarQuest (Wappel): Consistency. We have always understood that 95 percent of the time a performer spends at a competition is not spent on the stage performing, and that distractions and stressors can hamper their performance. We combine solid production value with a calm, professional environment that gives the performers every possible chance to deliver their best. This is combined with solid judging critiques from respected professionals in the industry. Consistently.

Talent on Parade (McCluer): All of our staff members are part of the dance world in some way, and they love dance as much as the teachers or dancers do. It doesn’t hurt that we’re organized, run on time, and present a product that we are proud of. We have also worked hard to be more relaxed and fun than the rest. After all, it is all about kids on our stages. 

Turn It Up Dance Challenge (Burns): Turn It Up prides itself on being an overall fun experience, not just a competition. Also, thanks to detailed planning, we are able to run our competition according to schedule to the minute, thus enabling parents and teachers to plan their weekend. Finally, we offer a fair and challenging scoring system and a positive judges panel that challenges and encourages our dancers.

Ultimate Dance (Roe): My competition stands out because it’s personal. I am backstage watching and meeting the dancers. My sister is my manager and we are devoted to families and customer service. I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the stage because I had my own dance team and took them to competitions. I know that every one of those dancers is somebody’s baby and they are dancing their hearts out, and it’s not for a trophy. It’s for the people they love sitting in the audience. And it’s for me.

If you could speak to all dance teachers privately for five minutes, what would you tell them?

Access Broadway (DeVito): By sharing the knowledge of dance and the performing arts, you have a very important responsibility for students’ growth artistically and for passing on life lessons generally. Your teachings will stay with them for a lifetime, so be creative, demanding, constructive, and—most important—honest with them. They may not be able to grasp your knowledge right away, but they will certainly thank you for it later.

Beyond the Stars (Faubell): I’d thank them for being a role model and a positive influence on so many kids. I’d let them know that their hard work and effort are appreciated.

BravO! (Buchanan): I think the biggest thing is that I would remind them to keep a positive perspective on why we are here. This is about the kids and their growth. Not every dancer spends an equal amount of time in the studio or has the same skill, but the important thing is the confidence that is built. Perhaps 2 percent will stay with the craft and go on to be professionals, but the confidence every dancer gains will stay with him or her wherever they go in life.

The other thing I’d tell teachers is that they shouldn’t get carried away with the idea that “the judges got it wrong” or that a certain routine scored better at a different competition. Judges have opinions, and opinions are always going to be a little different. How many dancers remember the exact placement they received? And how many of those same dancers remember the fun they had while performing, the moments they shared with their classmates, and the overall experience they had with their friends? The kids don’t focus on the score unless the teachers do. They are a product of their teachers, so stay positive and remember that we’re all here to have fun.

Celebration (Dettwiller): Please, please give us feedback, both the good and the bad. We can’t improve without our customers letting us know the things they like about our competition as well as the things they’d like us to improve or consider.

Dance Olympus (Stone): I would stress how important it is that they and their students look at themselves objectively. It is important to be a good winner as well as a good loser. Respect your fellow dancers and praise them for the qualities that they have that you admire.

Dancers Inc. (Barris): Please give the dancers passion to go with these great contemporary solos. I had a 10-year-old tell me that “Wild Horses” was about a horse. Made me cry. Where is their connection to the music and emotion?

Encore (Marchant): As a former studio owner and dance teacher myself, I feel one of the most important jobs of a dance teacher is to instill a love for dance in their students at an early age. I would also encourage all dance teachers to never stop learning themselves. It’s critical to stay on top of the latest trends, styles, and techniques.

Energy (Miria): I would ask them, “What can we do at Energy to make it better for you as studio owners?” and I would listen to their comments and concerns. I would then try to implement those suggestions where I could.

Headliners (Tomasiello and Ziegler): That we are always willing to listen to make our events the most positive for them and their students. No matter what you do in life, you should always be willing to learn and grow.

Hollywood Vibe (Smith): I would tell them to not put so much weight on the results of the competition but rather the experience their dancers took from the performance and how it made them better dancers. Also, I’d urge them to attend events that offer master classes by top professionals because contacts with choreographers are crucial to a dance career.

I Love Dance (McKimmie): Don’t get hung up on technique too much with young dancers. If you instill them with the love of dance, the performance skills naturally grow along with technique. The main thing is to have students who can’t wait to get to the studio. To keep them enthused, working toward goals (like competition) really helps. Also, don’t hesitate to bring your beginners to I Love Dance. Since we offer ability levels, we are very encouraging to your beginner students.

iHollywood Dance (Barcena): I would talk with them about the different things they could do to make their dancers stand out. In touring all over the country and watching thousands of dancers a year, I find that the ones who stand out are refined and finished dancers who have mastered body awareness and movement clarity. It’s that extra hour a week of technique that will separate the unfinished dancer from the finished. 

Legacy (Sanders): Everything you say and do has a profound effect on the young lives in your care. Be inspirational, but don’t be afraid to be demanding. Spend more time in class teaching kids how to dance and less time in rehearsal teaching them how to execute a routine. Routines come and go, but knowledge gained in dance class stays with the young dancer forever.

On Stage America (Hazel): I’d say, “Back to the barre! More ballet training!”

Platinum (Jackson): First, when choosing costumes, keep in mind the body type of all performers in the group. The fact that half the group looks fantastic in a two-piece costume doesn’t make it the best costume choice. Putting dancers in costumes that fit properly and that they feel comfortable wearing will allow them to perform at their best.

Second, when selecting music, please listen to the words and, if necessary, do an Internet search of the lyrics. Sometimes the song sounds great and may be fun to dance to, but the lyrics aren’t appropriate for the dancers’ age group. You can edit a song so that you’ve removed the profanity, but the message of the song may not be appropriate for the competition stage.

Third, dance teachers should remember: you are the professionals. Don’t allow parents to make your decisions concerning choreography, costuming, rehearsals, and other areas. They’re paying you to train their child in dance, and you’re the ones who know dance. If the parents did, they would be doing the teaching.

Showbiz/Prime Time Dance (Westerfield): I’d say, “This is not life or death. We’re not looking for a cure for cancer. We’re looking for an outlet for release. It’s not like pro sports, where you put the ball in the hoop and points go up on the board. If you feel good about your performance, let’s just close the book. We’re done.”

Spotlight Events (Kresge): I’d remind them that their overall attitude at competition is the number-one factor for influencing the dancers’ competition experience. I find that teachers sometimes don’t realize that their students (and often parents) are watching their every move during a competition. The way a teacher handles a CD skipping, a lower-than-expected award, a cramped dressing area, etc., sets the tone for how everyone else will react. The teacher can keep the mood positive and stress-free or she can create a hostile and negative environment where anything that doesn’t go perfectly signifies the end of the world. Keeping a cool head and a positive attitude can make a competition season a positive learning experience for dancers and will be that much more enjoyable for the studio as a whole.

StarQuest (Wappel): Compete. Going to competition offers your students an opportunity to experience an environment in which they can grow as performers. We are here so that your students can cultivate and enhance their performance skills. These skills will follow them through the remainder of their life. Whether onstage or offstage we can help them improve those skills. We complement each other. You teach and train your children for 362 days of the year; we see them for 3 days. That is an important one-two winning combination that exists between you and a competition owner. Together, we can help these students grow in a positive atmosphere and show them that no matter what award they get, it should always reflect their best effort. We are in this together. We can evolve the dance industry and nurture mature adults at the same time.

Talent on Parade (McCluer): I’d tell them: Don’t take the competition world too seriously. Open many doors to them, not just competition ones, and take pride in letting go of students when it is time. Respect other dance professionals and share and receive opinions. We can all grow from reaching out to others who love the same things we do. 

Turn It Up Dance Challenge (Burns): Do what you believe in your heart is the best thing for your students. You cannot please every dancer or every parent. However, if you can truly say you did what you believed was right for your students, that’s what success is.

Ultimate Dance (Roe): I’d say the obvious: that competition is supposed to be about fun and not about the trophy. But the kids want success, so the not-so-obvious answer is that I would tell them how to raise their scores in five minutes of practice. And that is to pull up and walk on stage with confidence. The entrance and the exit are part of the dance, and so many kids enter and exit with bad posture and no focus. This is easy to fix and so impactful.

Tell us an inspirational story regarding a student or dance team at a competition.

Access Broadway (DeVito): One of our studio directors for our Long Island event is Allison Bryant from Huntington, New York, who continues to teach despite having multiple sclerosis. She gives many of her students professional-level classes for free, has paid for their group to attend our Nationals in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and has even made some of the costumes. She is a role model of determination, courage, and generosity and an inspiration to our Access Broadway family.

Beyond the Stars (Faubell): I appreciate the little things that dancers do for each other, especially for a dancer from another studio or one that they are competing against. At our nationals last year an independent entry came without the right version of her music. A dancer from another studio spent several hours downloading and then editing her music. Those are the moments that show the best side of competition.

BravO! (Buchanan): This year at our Athens, Georgia, competition we saw a wonderful musical-theater performance in which a young dancer portrayed Ursula in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid. She performed with so much gusto that at one point her set tipped over, but she kept on with the routine. All of the people stage left rushed to hug her after that performance. This routine and dancer were inspirational not only for that dedicated performance, but because the dancer has Down syndrome, and you can tell her whole studio embraced her as one of them, not as anyone different. She ended up being very good at being a showperson and I believe took home a gold. Seeing that performance hit close to home as my youngest son has Down syndrome. We can learn a lot from kids with disabilities. They push on with their lives and conquer their fears.

Celebration (Dettwiller): We encountered a studio this year that blew us away at awards. Every time a special award or overall high score award was given, this studio’s dancers stood up as a team and applauded the winners. Keep in mind, these weren’t dancers from their studio they were applauding, but dancers from other studios. In our years of attending, working for, and owning a competition, we’d never seen anything like that happen before. This particular studio had shown courtesy and support to all of the other dancers during the competition, but this was the icing on the cake. Best of all, by the end of awards all the other studios were standing and applauding as well. It was like one unit—and each winner would receive his or her trophy to thunderous applause. We wish that every city’s awards ceremony was like that—for a moment in time, exhibiting full support of that thing we all love, dance.

Dance Olympus (Stone): Training includes more than teaching technique. Training is teaching good manners. The dance team that sits on the stage during the awards ceremony and applauds for every team that receives an award and pays attention to all the announcements is an inspiration to me. If I had trained a team like that, I would walk away from that competition with my head held high no matter how many trophies or ribbons I had in my arms.

Dancers Inc. (Barris): A senior-level dancer, recently diagnosed with cancer, was on medications that made her nauseous. In the middle of her dance, she got violently ill but continued to perform. As she walked off at the end of the dance we all cheered and it was cleaned up. Her next dance was done without her wig. How empowering is that for a 16-year-old? Sometimes we can all learn a lesson.

Encore (Marchant): I will never forget sitting in the green room with my Grand Finals judges panel in Charleston, South Carolina, two years ago. One of my judges, Josh Horner, had been on tour with the musical Billy Elliot and commented that his casting director had been looking for a replacement for the role of Michael in the national tour. Josh was so excited because he felt he had found the perfect talent on our Encore stage. He immediately called the casting agent and set up an audition for this young boy, Dillon Stevens, from China Grove, North Carolina. The special part of the story was that Dillon, for family and financial reasons, had been taken under the wing of his devoted dance teacher, Sandy Overcash at Center Stage Dance Company. This sweet little boy had achieved great honors at our competition and many others during the year, but his whole life changed when he was chosen by one of our judges to audition for this big part. Because his mother had other children to care for, Overcash flew with him to the audition and Dillon landed the role. He is currently on tour in Billy Elliot in Canada with Overcash. We are so proud of this special little boy who always had a contagious smile, and we know he will never forget his humble beginnings in China Grove.

Energy (Miria): A teacher of a top competitive school told me of a girl who had her collarbone broken at birth and had a slightly deformed arm. The teacher says that in working with this girl, she tries to emphasize her strong points—her beautiful legs and feet, for example—and that in ballet pieces, she turns the girl so that her problem arm is less prominent. I thought it was so extraordinary that a teacher chose to allow the girl to perform and showcase her strengths. That, to me, is a great teacher!

Headliners (Tomasiello and Ziegler): There’s the student who was spotted performing at our Nationals, was hired by Disney, and is now a successful choreographer. There’s the dancer who was seen by a casting company performing at a Headliners competition on YouTube and is now a lead on Broadway. But the stories that are truly inspirational are the ones about young dancers who were ready to quit dance because they felt they weren’t good enough and then won overalls or a National title. It is so amazing to be a part of their light-bulb moment where they realize that if you work hard and set goals, your dreams can come true!

I Love Dance (McKimmie): The inspiration of many of our past and present participants is that they use the experience to hone their performance skills and that so many go on to careers in movies, television, and dance companies and on cruise ships. Best of all, many dance studio owners and teachers who competed with I Love Dance in their student days now choose to bring their own students to participate. That inspires me to keep producing competitions.

iHollywood Dance (Barcena): A dancer who started attending our events in 2006 hadn’t had much experience or training, but she was adamant about attending every iHollywood Dance event every single year. From one year to the next, the growth I saw in her was unparalleled. Now she lives in the Los Angeles area, where she is one of the busiest dancers in the industry and teaches at Millennium Dance Complex, one of the best-known studios in the area.

Legacy (Sanders): There are so many, but I am most inspired by a young woman with Down syndrome who comes to our events and competes every year. Her performances remind us of what the joy of dance truly means and why I dance and do what I do in the first place.

Platinum (Jackson): One memorable story happened at our Nationals a few years ago. A fire had caused considerable damage to a studio, and the students and a couple of the parents wanted to recognize the teachers and studio owner during one of the awards presentation. Onstage, they presented the studio owner with a box of salvaged photos and thanked the owner and teachers for continuing classes under difficult circumstances. It was a complete surprise to the studio owner and a joy to witness.

Showbiz/Prime Time Dance (Westerfield): This year, teachers told me about a girl of maybe 13 named Clare Blase who dances at a St. Louis studio. She’s mostly a tapper. She has a very rare cancer and they were doing fund-raisers at the event, selling these little bracelets. Later in the afternoon, here comes this mother pushing this bald-headed child in a wheelchair. I had made a donation to her fund, and this girl came rolling up to thank me. Our whole conversation was about life. Nothing about dance. Then that little girl looked at me and said, “I live to come to your events. I’m going to live until I come to Nationals in Dallas this year.” She and I continue to correspond. As a cancer survivor myself, I feel like she did much more for me than I did for her.

Spotlight Events (Kresge): Dance Emporium, of Spokane, Washington, and one of its dancers, Hannah Bowman, are both examples of inspiration. This studio consistently bands together to support the causes of individual dancers as well as its community. Hannah was battling lymphatic cancer at a time when her father was without employment. The studio, under the direction and example of Camille Camp, supported this family in every possible way—through fund-raisers, benefit concerts, providing emotional support, and doing all they could to ensure Hannah could still enjoy the one thing she loved—dance! Hannah helped raise money for Spokane Children’s Hospital through this ordeal, while maintaining a positive and uplifting attitude, keeping her grades up, and touching the hearts of those around her. This is just one example of the care and compassion demonstrated by this studio and its director and students.

StarQuest (Wappel): Eleven years ago a teen duet, “Dust in the Wind,” won first-place top score at our Virginia Beach World Finals “Quest for the Best.” The moment their routine was announced the two girls jumped up, hugged each other, and began crying, completely ignoring the large trophy and cash award. It was startling to everyone else, but I was actually not surprised. I told the audience: “Four years ago these two girls were at one of our regional events and achieved a silver. After that awards ceremony they walked over to me and said they intended to eventually get a first-place top score. I reminded them that you never know how long that can take, but they were willing to put in all that time, effort, and focus on achieving that goal. The next year they got a gold. The following year they aged up into Teen Division and this time got a high silver. They were depressed but, once again, reminded me they were not done yet.” (By now, they had stopped crying and were listening too.) I continued, “Last year they got 11th place. They still stuck it out. This year their technique, their hard work, their choreography, their performance skills—it has come together. You see, they aren’t crying because they have won; this marks the fulfillment of their journey. It’s not the three minutes, it’s everything that leads up to it. My congratulations to both of you for this accomplishment.” They hugged me. Then I cried. I will never forget that.

Talent on Parade (McCluer): We at Talent on Parade have been inspired by the dancers and people of Joplin, Missouri (one of our competition cities), who were devastated by a recent tornado. Talent on Parade had the chance to participate in Convoy of Hope in Branson, Missouri, and the response from the dance world was so swift and inspirational. It once again confirmed just how small but close and caring this dance world is. 

Turn It Up Dance Challenge (Burns): At one of our events we had a team that had a spirit doll that traveled to every competition they entered. Before each performance the teacher had the spirit doll dressed in a handmade costume like a member of the team, which helped add a fun and exciting environment before each performance.

Ultimate Dance (Roe): Two young sisters once collapsed in tears in the wings after dancing their hearts out on my stage. They told me their dad was in the audience and was leaving for duty in Afghanistan as soon as he saw them dance. I rushed to the podium and had the lights turned up, asking him to stand. I introduced him and told the audience that the girls’ performance was a goodbye to their father. The entire audience gave him a standing ovation as he departed. That was a great gift to those sisters, to see an entire auditorium of grateful citizens applauding their hero.

Behind students’ moment in ballet spotlight lie months of intensive prep

By Joshua Bartlett

In March of this year, Gabrielle Chock, a focused 13-year-old from Hawaii, warmed up backstage for her chance to dance Giselle’s first-act variation at the junior age division final competition of the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City. The following day, long-limbed Mollie Daniel from South Carolina sailed through her contemporary solo, The Brave One, as a senior age division finalist. Those were just two of the many pre-professional competitors who made it to the New York City YAGP finals in 2011. But the story hardly begins there.

Before they step onstage to dance their short classical or contemporary pieces or to vie for the attention of the who’s who in the ballet world, the dancers put plenty of work into preparing for a fleeting chance to be seen in the spotlight. The process leading up to the performance—and the lessons learned afterward—equal or surpass the performance results in terms of importance to a dancer’s growth.

Now in its 12th year, it would be safe to say that the YAGP has become a juggernaut of a competition. More than 5,000 dancers entered the competition globally this year, with 328 junior and senior competitors and 77 pre-competitive children making it to the New York City finals. Open to students ages 9 to 19, the YAGP annually awards $250,000 in scholarships to renowned dance schools. While the competition is known for rewarding the dancers with the most polished routines, the educational benefits of the YAGP are sometimes overlooked. Before any awards or prizes are handed out, the backstory of how the dancers got there comes first.

Ilka Doubek, Mollie Daniel’s teacher and YAGP coach at the Litchfield Dance Arts Academy in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, says that her students start prepping early in the fall. “If they want to compete, I say, ‘Let’s go with it; let’s get an early start and let’s be consistent,’ ” says Doubek. “For me to prepare children to go to the YAGP means that they have to take a lot of private lessons with me. To coach the child, one private lesson per week is needed; as you get closer, two private lessons are even better.”

Patricia Dubois, director of Heritage Ballet in Rhode Island, began intensely coaching her dancers full-time, six days a week, after their run of The Nutcracker had finished. That kind of concentrated work helps the dancers to improve and grow in ways they wouldn’t normally be able to do.

“I think it pushes them forward with their technique because you have to be so specific—every fifth position and legs turned out, feet stretched, making sure the head and the arms are working together,” says Dubois. “Whatever you are doing wrong technically shows up in a classical variation. Practicing these solos ingrains in them the natural things that you find in classical variations that are constant, so they just become muscle memory.”

Kelsey Greene, 18, from Heritage Ballet, was the only dancer from Rhode Island who qualified for the NYC finals. She performed Gamzatti’s jumping variation from the first act of La Bayadère and a contemporary solo, To the Point. “There was a lot of repetition of steps, and making everything crisp has helped my technique,” says Greene, who planned to attend Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy 2011 summer intensive. “The coaches focused mostly on transition steps and doing everything cleanly. It also helped with my stamina.”

Feeling every movement fully, and “plié, plié, plié,” were the corrections that Mollie Daniel took to heart. “And also telling the story,” says the 17-year-old, who danced Odette’s adagio variation from Act 2 of Swan Lake. (Daniel was offered a summer scholarship and trainee position at Orlando Ballet and a summer scholarship at Boston Ballet School, and she was accepted into the summer programs at San Francisco Ballet School and the School of American Ballet; she attended the latter.)

Pamela Taylor-Tongg, director of Ballet Hawaii, worked with her student Gabrielle Chock to explore the artistic avenues in her contemporary and classical solos. “I emphasized her personality and her communication with the audience in taking on the role of Giselle,” says Taylor-Tongg. “I tried to get across to her that it’s not just about technique, but about embodying the actual character and facing herself as a young girl. That’s the hardest part, because in this computerized, text-messaging world, the imagination isn’t as emphasized as it was in my younger days.”

Marat Daukayev, the director and founder of the Marat Daukayev School of Ballet in Los Angeles, entered 26 students in the Huntington Beach regional YAGP this year and took 14 of the 16 students of his who qualified to the New York City finals. He feels that practicing for the competition hones the students’ stage skills. “Dance is a performance art. The YAGP gives children the opportunity to do what they are trained to do, like [variations from] Paquita or The Sleeping Beauty,” he says. “It gives more opportunities for children to dance solos. When you are making productions, it requires a huge amount of effort on the part of the studio. When the children go to competition, they can all choose a principal role.”

Once they get to the competition, a new set of lessons confronts the students who participate. (Semifinal regional competitions were held in 11 cities nationwide and 4 cities abroad to determine the NYC finalists.) “Your primary motive is having your eyes opened to other dancers who are your age and are competing from around the world,” says Taylor-Tongg. “In Hawaii we are cut off from a lot of dance and we don’t have a professional company. Being able to experience and see the worldwide composition of dancers of all nationalities and techniques is major.”

Chock, who had made the NYC finals three times before and was accepted into both the American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet summer intensives this year, learned that she is “a perfectionist, and when I’m dancing I need to let go more and be more expressive.”

Doubek describes the students in the finals as an elite pool of dancers who should feel good about themselves and grab the opportunities that are out there, like the YAGP job fair and school scholarships. “It’s like preparing for a college education, except in dance,” says Doubek.

The educational benefits of the YAGP are sometimes overlooked. Before any awards or prizes are handed out, the backstory of how the dancers got there comes first.

For those who don’t make the finals or have the makings of a ballet superstar, she has found there is plenty for her students to learn. “I love the side of the YAGP where they do the contemporary variations,” she says. “They can do something different, move in a different way, express more than just as a bunhead. I try to tell these kids to be more open to other forms, like musical theater or contemporary dance, or becoming a choreographer. I want to give them the perspective that there is a spectrum of possibilities out there for them.”

The question of winning or losing at a competition can be one of the trickiest parts to negotiate in terms of furthering a student’s education. “It really depends on a child’s personality,” says Dubois. “I’ve been backstage where some girls cry for half an hour after they get offstage. And then I’ve seen girls make four or five mistakes and they come off and say, ‘Oh, I was fine.’ If they go with a healthy understanding about performing, and that this isn’t about winning or losing, they’ll be fine. They need to understand this is a wonderful opportunity, it’s a learning experience and [they should] just go with it. If you’re going to be crushed if you don’t win, please don’t go.”

“It all depends on if you call going to regionals and not making it into the top 12 losing,” says Doubek. “We don’t look at it like that. We approach it as a process.” For students, the shock and disappointment of not doing well at a competition can have an upside. They can learn where they need technical strength or what is lacking in their dancing. Competing in the YAGP can help them focus on where to steer their career goals.

Some have criticized the YAGP for encouraging children to compete on pointe at too early an age, undermining their dance education and physical development. The pre-competitive division allows children from ages 9 to 11 to dance classical and contemporary variations that were choreographed for adult bodies.

“It is something the teacher has to be comfortable with, knowing that the child is strong enough,” says Doubek. “You see these phenomenal children out there at 10 or 11 doing ballerina variations. I remember making the comment that we have to be training these kids out of the crib. Sometimes when you see those young, talented dancers at that age you have to worry about burning them out as well. Where is that child going to be at 13 or 15 or 18 and entering a company? Some make it and some don’t.”

Age can be an issue in another way. The sight of a child flirting with the audience in Kitri’s variation from Don Quixote or banging a tambourine as the street dancer in La Esmeralda can draw squeamish comparisons to child beauty pageants. Pamela Daukayev, executive director of Marat Daukayev School of Ballet (which had several semifinalist winners in the 2011 senior, junior, and pre-competitive levels), says her studio is careful about choosing roles that are age appropriate.

“We would never have a little girl dance Kitri,” she says. “Something like the Fairy Doll variation is very good for a little girl. I think a lot of it is up to the teacher’s sensitivity and taste and respect for the innocence of children to select something appropriate for the child. I must say, sitting in the audience and looking at some of the contemporary pieces, we are not happy. But I don’t think there is any screening process for that.”

But preparing for and attending the YAGP has provided some of the most valuable lessons for the teachers, as well as the students. “I have learned to become a better coach in the classical vein,” says Doubek. “I’ve learned what the YAGP is looking for. You have to be very realistic going into this. I think it has also taught me to prepare for the fact that some students won’t make it into the finals or the top 12. In no way does that define them as dancers.”

Taylor-Tongg feels that just experiencing the diversity of the participating dancers and teachers delivers an extra helping of wisdom itself. “You see all different styles and techniques of coaching,” she says. “You see what works and what doesn’t work.”

Another added bonus: the networking opportunities among the teachers and students to continue their quest to become better.

Marat Daukayev says that as a teacher, you get to see your work in action. “It’s like a painter,” he says. “You go to a competition and you sort of have a perspective. You can see the work of every child in the school. So much of ballet is about God-given talent. A child with natural facility can do well in any studio. Any school can have a winner. But you need to look at the broad spectrum of all the students and see how every child dances.”

Dance teachers speak out on how to improve the competition experience

We asked our readers who take their students to competitions what they would like to see done differently, what they think works well, what could stand some improvement, and what they’d like more or less of. Here’s what they said.

Melanie Boniszewski, director, Tonawanda Dance Arts, Tonawanda, NY 
We started participating in competitions about five years ago.

Competition A is not very organized; however, each student is recognized and receives some type of award. This is important to me. Competition B is very organized and on time, which shows respect for the client.

Competition A still uses written notes for judging while Competition B uses voice recordings. I prefer the recordings because judges can still watch the students while critiquing them.

Competition A has accepted “day of” entries, which hurts the time schedule and, in my opinion, hurts the integrity of the competition since the rules state that there will be no “day of” entries.

Both competitions have “studio spirit” awards. Competition A gives an award each day to those studios that show support and are friendly to other studios. Competition B gives an award to the studio that has the most entries. I agree with how Competition A does this and 100 percent disagree with Competition B’s procedure. I don’t think school spirit has anything to do with how much money you spend.

Competition B uses online registration, which I think is great. It would make it easier for both the competition director and studios if this were available from all competitions.

I would like competitions to allow us to email music files instead of having to worry about CDs or another form of music. (Studios could bring CDs as a backup.) This may create a little more work for the competition staff, but it would help with organization. They would not have to worry about instructors having to get their music backstage.

Pamela Sue Fox, instructor, Wilmette Center for Dance, Wilmette, IL
We have been attending competitions for several years. I work in a recreational setting, with a performance-focused (not competition-focused) company. I permit my intermediate tap dancers to attend competition, mostly to get them excited and interested in studying other dance forms.

Likes: 1) the opportunity to perform on a big, professional stage; 2) open viewing, so we can learn from others; 3) assigned dressing rooms.

Dislikes: 1) the cost. It should not cost $38/dance to perform for less than three minutes. It’s price gouging. 2) The over-sexualized costumes and routines, which are rampant. 3) The “recreational” category gets abused consistently. It is truly unfair. 4) The judges almost never seem to know about tap. Fouetté turns do not belong in a tap routine, people! 5) Children 5 years old and under do not belong in a competition. 6) The companies say they will disqualify inappropriate dancing, yet it never happens. Watching a group of preteens hump a pink Cadillac is still burned in my memory. 7) No regulation—we need oversight by an impartial organization.

Jenny Samuelson-Jangula, owner, Let’s Dance Studio, Fargo and Bismarck, ND 
The schedule should be designed around the students. It is hard when your groups perform late into the evening and the same dancers are expected to dance by 7am the following day.

The schedule should also have teachers in mind. I attended a competition that seems to understand. Day 1: 9:30am to 5:30pm. Day 2: 8:30am to 5pm. Unfortunately, one competition I attend every year usually has a schedule as follows: Saturday 7:30am to 10pm; Sunday 7am to 7pm. Those are long hours without a break for teachers, and I am the type of teacher who is with every one of my groups and soloists backstage. We had 80 soloists this past year and 30 groups.

Dressing-room space seems to always be a stressor. At one competition we were supposed to share our assigned dressing room (about the size of a walk-in closet) with another group twice as big. My girls ended up using a storage closet.

I’ve attended nationals where they put everyone in one big room and you have to scramble to find a corner for your dancers. For the thousands I paid in fees, I felt that I deserved a room to prepare my dancers. Locally, the competitions use the cafeteria [as a dressing room], but it is on the other side of the school from the auditorium. Besides being crammed in with other schools and having costumes stolen, my dancers were worn out before they could perform because of the costume changes a block away. Each studio should have a space where they can prepare at a reasonable distance from the stage.

I do not like the announcing of individual rankings. Some dancers get diamonds or five stars and of course they want to be announced. Other dancers receive rubies or four stars or lower, and to them this is a disappointment. Calling these children onstage in front of a crowd to acknowledge their disappointment is cruel. I had 20 soloists at the last competition and 18 of them got diamonds; the other two got rubies. These girls had to sit in a sea of diamonds feeling like failures, which they aren’t, but I had no way of comforting them or making them understand that getting a ruby isn’t failing.

I think if you give out top 10, then you give out top 10 no matter what. I don’t even care if there is a trophy; it’s the acknowledgement. Many times we do not receive an award because there is only the minimum number of groups in our category. For example, at a competition that gives awards to the top 10, they announced that since there were only 10 they would only give the top two. I had three teams out there that all worked equally hard, not to mention 18 dancers in each, so the competition got a big chunk of my money to not recognize the top 10.

I once had a ballet teacher travel to nationals and perform a pas de deux with one of my students in the teacher/pro category. The award ceremony came and went and they weren’t mentioned. We were told that there was only one other routine and the minimum was four, so no placement was given. What do I say to that student, who spent probably $1,500 in travel, room, food, and fees?

I’ve expressed my concerns to competition directors over the years, but nothing has ever changed.

Anonymous studio owner
All competitions should follow the same schedule. Friday evening: Mini/Junior Solos. Most studios must travel one to two hours to get to the theaters and then be there early enough to be “ready to perform one hour before your scheduled time.” So the dancers need to miss school that afternoon. It’s easier to pull the younger dancers out of school early, and they have less homework to make up later.

Saturday: Should begin with Mini/Junior Duets and Trios since fewer dancers would have to be up at the crack of dawn to perform. Next should be the Small Groups (for the same reason as above), then the Large Groups and Productions. Following the Mini/Junior Productions should be the Teen/Senior Productions, next the Large groups, and close the day with the small groups that don’t have many entries. This way most of the younger ones will be able to leave the competition earlier.

Sunday: Should begin with the Teen/Senior Duets and Trios, then move into the rest of the Small Group categories and close the day with the hundreds of Teen and Senior Solos, allowing most of the dancers to go home at a reasonable hour.

All competitions should follow the same time limits. Solos and Duet/Trios should be limited to two minutes. I’m so tired of watching the same dance twice! The kids do their choreography (about a minute’s worth), then repeat it. No paying for “extended time limits.” All time limits should be monitored. The threat of point deduction is always there but never enforced.

All competitions should be required to have four qualified judges, one each from ballet, jazz, modern/contemporary, and tap. I’m tired of hearing judges’ comments about tap routines when they obviously know nothing about tap. And even worse is being beaten by studios with no ballet technique! Just because the entire group does their leaps or turns the same way does not mean they are doing them correctly.

All competitions should use the same scoring criteria, score sheets, audio/video judging.

There are too many awards. It’s a competition; not everyone wins. There should be first, second, and third in each age division, category, and dance form.

There should be tougher standards to attend the nationals. Going to nationals for any competition is nothing more than attending another regional in a different city. If each competition allowed only those dancers who earned platinum at the regionals to compete at their nationals, this would upgrade the meaning of attending nationals for every parent and studio director/instructor. Then the top three to five dancers from each competition’s nationals could compete again at a true National Dance Championship. The best dancers from each competition would represent that company. This competition should be televised and sponsored by companies other than the competitions. 

If all competitions were standardized it would be more difficult for the competition directors to favor the studios that bring the most dances or those whose owners who are related to someone in the company.

Hannah Celinski, owner, Aerial Dance & Acro Academy, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Taking the studio to competition is where all the hard work comes to life and is finally rewarded. It is also hell on wheels for many of us.

My studio prefers to attend competitions outside of our local reach so that the kids are exposed to new adjudicators and contestants. My husband and I shell out money for gas, hotels, meals, bringing the props and sets. I miss work at the studio, he misses work at his firm, and for the most part, families do not appreciate the strain it puts us under. When we couldn’t afford a hotel room at a competition an hour and a half away, we drove home and unloaded props at 12:30am and then had to leave again at 6am.

A parent once mentioned to me how much he likes coaching his child’s hockey team. The players pay for his travel, meals, hotel room, and other expenses. If hockey parents respect their coaches and wish their involvement so badly, why don’t dance parents? In hockey, there are one or two coaches, but in dance there can be so many more. When teachers can’t attend because it cuts into their salary too much, parents get really agitated.

If I could make something different, parents would compensate the teachers for going to competitions. Travel expenses, meals, and lodging can eat up more than a month’s salary for a lot of our staff. We love our students and would do anything to help them succeed. But the cost is so high that I am going under trying to hold them up.

Holly Costa, director, The Hazel Boone Dance Studio, Canton, MA
Each year we submit just two group routines to local dance competitions. We do not participate in nationals because they’re too expensive and it’s too difficult to coordinate the calendar for all of the families.

We prefer the competitions that run on time. Since we only enter two routines, we don’t stay all day. Dancers and their families are busy, so running on time is a must.

We also prefer it when there’s a mix of everything throughout the day instead of being divided by genre/age groups. It makes the experience much more enjoyable for the audience. No one wants to sit through a 45-minute segment of lyrical solos.

The scoring has gotten too easy over the years. What happened to the bronze medals? Everyone can’t win! Giving weak dancers or poorly rehearsed routines a gold medal rewards the dancers for mediocrity. What does that teach them? 

We very much appreciate the role of the “specials judge” who chooses standout routines or dancers.

Most competitions now give teachers the judges’ comments on DVD. This is fantastic! Moving forward, I would only choose competitions with this option.

Kristen DeFrancisco Miller, instructor, Donna Frech School of Dance, New Berlin, Norwich, and Sidney, NY
My studio only does two small competitions. We like our students to use competing as a learning tool, to help them develop as individuals and dancers. Competitions should ditch the high golds, platinum, platinum encrusted with Swarovski crystals and diamonds. It should be bronze, silver, and gold, as it was long ago. It should be a learning experience, and judges should not favor studios that have a reputation at a competition they have been attending for many years. Many competitions purposely hand out higher awards to studios they know will continue on with nationals.

Also, judges should judge on appropriateness. Vulgar movements and lyrics should not be allowed. I am appalled when I see children who are 7 to 12 years old not wearing tights and doing pelvic thrusting movements. It is totally possible to use age-appropriate music and choreography. Why must we push our students to act and dance older than they should be?

And costumes—two pieces all the time? What is it with the sparkly bra tops, booty shorts, and no tights?

Jodi Fera, director, Moves & Motions Dance, Manhasset, Middle Village, and Glendale, NY
Some take the competitive aspect too far and that includes the event hosts. I tell my students that it is not about the win but the road we travel to get there. We strive to do our own personal best. I try to find competitions that encourage my philosophy, do not promote negative energy, and do promote healthy competition. Some profess to promote positive camaraderie among their attendees, but I have found that ultimately they love the drama. I think they find it gets their name out there and makes it appear as though they attract the stronger, more competitive studios.

I would like to find more competitions that are more about the dance community as a whole, that spend time, money, and energy uniting these students and studios. I would like to see a win as a true win and not a ploy to get you to spend more money by being invited to participate in something else. If you are given the honor to be part of an opening number or a team, I would prefer that recognition to be less costly. Fees should be minimal. Competitions can offset these additional costs through sponsorship.

Titles get me crazy. It doesn’t make sense for a dancer to have to enter as a title contender. I love the competitions that select their “Miss Whatever” based solely on technique, overall score, and performance. I don’t want “Miss Moves & Motions” to be the winner simply because she paid an extra $15 to be part of an exclusive group. Often dancers are apprehensive about entering as title. Some competitions do not allow dancers to be part of overalls when entered as title, while others do not even give them a medal standing.

But my biggest complaint is scheduling. It is not OK to have dancers dance at 11pm, let alone 9-year-olds. I am tired of competitions accepting a ridiculous amount of entries. I would be fine with my entries being declined if it meant a stable environment for the children. We attended a competition that was three days long, and our teams had their routines and divisions set within roughly an hour and a half. So in three days’ time, we had to have a major rush. The changing room was very far from the stage and the stage manager was intense. We had to compromise our “look” and concept in order to throw [the dancers] back out onstage. One student had to go to the bathroom, but we were told there was no time and the poor thing had an accident. Another time our 9- and 10-year-olds were scheduled from 8:30pm to 10:55pm, with awards beginning at 11:15pm. We were all expected back at 8am. How are these children to perform at their best when most of them are usually in bed by 9?

I thought I liked divisions, but I don’t. We went to a competition where they had their title winner and three other strong contenders in intermediate groups. They had no business being in the intermediate group division. It was unfair to the children who only dance a few hours a week. It’s on the honor system, and most events don’t have strong enough guidelines. I say do away with divisions or have better guidance and rules.

Spread the wealth! The larger schools are always included in awards, overalls, titles, etc. Then there are these little precious faces that seem so sad. Their teachers work just as hard; their parents are just as committed. They deserve to walk away feeling accomplished, not defeated. 

Stella Palumbo, owner, Stella’s Dancers’ Studio, Cooper City, FL
My studio usually does three competitions per season, and a nationals every other year.

I would like to see a category for routines with elaborate sets. All of my routines with sets score very high at competition, and I feel this is the only way we can stay competitive with studios that have dancers of equal strength to mine. If I cut out the sets, we will lose to studios that are equal or less than us because of a beautiful prop. We all know how using a prop in the choreography adds to the overall impression on the judges. I don’t blame the judges; it’s just a reality.

If those routines were in a separate category, then those of us who cannot afford to design, build, and move these elaborate sets would not have to worry about competing directly against them. We might not win the ultimate championship awards, but we can still be top scores in our categories.

The other thing I find missing at a lot of competitions is the fun. How many kids don’t remember what they won at a competition last year but do remember catching a Frisbee, or when the dads got onstage and had a dance contest? Competition is not about the trophies; it’s about the experience. I loved the competition we went to last year that had a great backstage manager. He was so funny and joked with the kids. We got our butts kicked when it came to awards, but we had so much fun that the kids couldn’t wait to go back.

This year we went to a competition where the MC was as interesting as watching paint dry. We swept the awards against some strong studios, but unless some changes are made we probably won’t go back.

Marissa Salemi, director, Breaking Ground Dance Center, Pleasantville, NY
I would love it if the competitions would have stricter rules on age appropriateness and stick to them. A lot say in their rules that if a dance or a costume is inappropriate there will be consequences, but I have not yet seen them stick to the rules. We need to protect the innocence of our children.

Also, I love that some competitions recognize good sportsmanship. This is a great incentive for the kids to remember that we should support each other.

I would like to see more competitions limit the amount of entries allowed at a regional. There are a few that start on a Wednesday, which makes it very difficult for the kids to go to school the next morning. We have had to back out of competitions because of this. The competition doesn’t look credible by accepting that many.

We love competitions that keep the awards short and sweet. The parents always appreciate this. The competitions that do this seem to always be on or ahead of schedule.

I would like more time for the dancers to change and get ready. I have had backstage managers throw my dancers onstage without any time to breathe and get ready, and the kids have come offstage crying or injured because of it.

Dulcey Fuqua, dance division director, Old Dominion Performance Arts Studio, Waynesboro, VA
This year we attended two competition/convention weekends. At one, I feel that while the classes are wonderful, the judging can be frustrating. I do not feel that technique is a focus, and awards/recognitions are based more on which studio students are from rather than the performance quality. I have even observed studio teachers/directors acting as if it is a popularity contest. 

We have come to expect that our style of dances (more artistic and technical) may not match the style of this organization; however, we continue to go due to the location and quality of the classes. We tell our students and families this competition is a great way to get good feedback and stage practice and participate in great classes, instead of going with the desire to win awards. Our students’ parents continue to request this event, stating that while they see the difference in the two organizations we attend, they feel the classes and overall experience are a good “dress rehearsal” for the second organization’s event.

The second organization has everything we look for. The classes are focused on technique and learning, the teachers are positive and supportive, and the competition is focused on an educational approach. We score lower at this event, but I feel it is fair and gives my staff and students inspiration to strive not to win, but to achieve their personal best.

This organization has developed an atmosphere of collaboration and support among teachers. Their teachers’ classes are wonderful and I always find other studio staff and event staff/instructors approachable and friendly.

I think competitions that focus not on quality of training and performance but on studios that bring more students or teachers who have jumped through hoops to get their studio noticed (and not because of their program’s quality) need to evaluate the effect they have on the students. It can be very discouraging for dancers to see sloppy dancing “beat” technical and artistic dancing because of a studio’s name. Dancers from the more “popular” studios (that focus on winning) win all these awards, but if they pursue dance in college or professionally, they will be competing in auditions against students who have strong technical training. These dancers often feel like failures and walk away from something that they loved. It is the responsibility of the studio directors to be aware of their students’ overall experience when they participate in such competitions. 

I would love to see competitions reward the dancers’ technical and artistic development. If they put a focus on quality, then dance training would feel the impact all the way down to small schools and recreational programs. When students are taught how to understand and utilize their unique bodies, safely and correctly, they will find a sense of personal growth and accomplishment. When that is partnered with artistic, musical, and skills development, a quality dancer is born. This is what we should reward in all aspects of developing future generations of dancers. Competitions can have an impact on this process.

Finally, I think a nurturing approach in developing supportive interaction among studios’ staffs would be an amazing benefit to all competitions. Wouldn’t it be nice if we felt more of an alliance with other studios? I notice that often, when an example of positive interaction is set, others are quickly to follow.

For example, at one competition all performers had to wear shoes to walk from the warm-up area to backstage. Two girls (who were dancing barefoot) realized they had left their shoes in the hotel. Without any prompting, two of my students offered their shoes to them. A competition staffer was so busy telling the girls that they were going to be disqualified because they were not going backstage without shoes that she didn’t realize what was happening, and when she did she told them they were late. The girls returned the shoes and were very thankful. The adult in this case was not a good example, and yet the teens worked everything out on their own. If only things like this happened more often at competitions and were acknowledged by the adults as well. 

Gwendolyn Agee, director, Saukville studio, Lake Shore Dance, Cedarburg and Saukville, WI
We take our dancers to two to four competition events each season. We teach our dancers that it is not about the end result, but about the journey. We present artistic or entertaining pieces that challenge our dancers and help them to grow as artists.

That being said, we understand that competitions are businesses and need to please their clients—the studios, but moreover the parents. The result is outrageous and sometimes meaningless adjudication levels. Whatever happened to bronzes? Silvers? Even gold has become a low-ranking adjudication. Why was it necessary to create platinums, much less double platinum or other high levels? I’ve been at events where the only scores were platinums or higher, and I know that some of our own dancers did not perform at a platinum level.

While it is beautiful to see them so happy, how can we continue to help them grow, to set goals, to push harder? How do we validate the scoring if everyone receives the same adjudication levels? My biggest frustration is that the elusive platinum is now commonplace; it loses its value. So I expect soon that a new level will be created, and the cycle continues.

Keep the platinums, but maybe the point spreads need to be smaller on all levels so that the medals have meaning again. Yes, some dancers may get bronzes, but the few who get that platinum will be so proud to know that they worked to earn it.

Erin Jefferson-Foley, teacher, Pacific Dance, Irvine, CA
Pacific Dance has more than 20 competition/performing groups and I think we are a well-rounded studio with great ethics. The owner, Lori Murphy, makes it clear that we are not of the “do whatever it takes to win” mentality.

What I would most like to see changed is age-appropriateness. I’m so over the bra and booty shorts, not just for the little ones but for everyone. And I’m horrified when I see 7-year-olds grinding to music with inappropriate lyrics. And I’m also tired of seeing 6- to 10-year-olds in lyrical solos that are way beyond their capacity of understanding. How is a little kid supposed to connect with a song about domestic abuse? Whatever happened to letting little dancers stay little? What happened to keeping the “edgy” stuff for high school dancers who understand more than their younger starlets? Can’t my little kids just dance to a pretty song?

I know the dance world is evolving and so are the children of today. They are much more savvy than I was at their age. But don’t we as teachers and role models owe it to our students to give them a green light to enjoy being young? Why can’t kids just go onstage in a great costume and live in the moment without having to worry about expressing fear, anger, heartbreak, or worry through their choreography? Studios and teachers need to let their kids be kids!

How to dodge the potholes when traveling with students

By Marlise A. Cole

Lost reservations. Not enough rooms booked. Scheduling conflicts. Broken-down buses. Whiny, bored kids. Was your last trip with your dancers so stressful that you’re threatening to say the heck with going to competitions or other performance opportunities? Don’t give up yet. We’ve got some ideas to help make your next travel experience less stressful and more enjoyable.

Problem-free travel
Dance competitions can be fun for all involved, but first you have to get there. If the competition is close by, you might choose to travel by car or bus. But if the event is a significant distance away, you might have to fly. And chances are that you will have to book hotel rooms and think about meals.

With so many logistics to consider, mishaps can arise and ruin your experience. But anticipating potential problems and giving yourself extra time are two ways you can reduce the possibility of stressful snafus. Arrive the day before the competition to relax and prepare. Also, carefully plan the trip to ensure that your focus is on the kids and the competition and not on problems.

Trudy Scott, an event director for Four Seasons Tours/Contest of Champions in Ocoee, Florida, has been working with the dance studio market for 15 years and has come up with some travel tips to reduce your chances of incurring difficulties.

According to Scott, school owners, or whoever is coordinating the trip, should develop a checklist of “must-have” items each performer should pack, such as shoes, hats, or other costume accessories and props. Coordinators should also have their own checklist of things to remember to bring, such as performance music and copies of all the paperwork regarding the trip. Paperwork typically includes:

• the itinerary, rooming list, and arrival and departure information for everyone traveling in the group;
• medical information such as health insurance and allergy alerts;
• emergency contact numbers in case a family or individual does not arrive as scheduled; and
• any contracts, such as those with the tour operator if a travel agency is employed.

Another planning task is lining up chaperones well before the trip and giving them an outline of their responsibilities, which may vary depending on the age group they are assigned to oversee.

Chaperones for young students need to help them follow the schedule, do their makeup, and have them ready on time, says Adriana Nassiff, owner of Dancing In XS in Doral, Florida. For the older students, chaperones serve a different role. The veteran dancers can get themselves ready but may need more supervision during the non-competition part of the trip such as going shopping, visiting amusement parks, or attending shows.

“If the kids are 9 years old or under, I have one parent, usually a mom, per child,” Nassiff says. “With the older ones, I put four in a room and have two to three chaperones per 20 kids. I know they want privacy and to have fun, but [I keep them] close enough to be checked. I’m lucky. I have good kids. They know me and they know if they don’t follow the rules, they don’t compete. Before we go, the kids sign a contract that outlines everything that’s expected of them. It talks about things like teamwork and good expression and I never have any problems. It also helps that I know the moms well.”

Also, when booking hotel rooms, remember that teens need to be “blocked,” or have their hotel rooms all together, so that chaperoning is easier.

And don’t be stingy on the chaperones. In addition to making sure students are on time and where they are supposed to be, extra chaperones can come in handy when the unexpected happens, like needing someone to stay with a student who becomes ill.

Help from an outside source
Booking flights and hotels and purchasing tickets to entertainment venues such as amusement parks are very time-consuming and can be stressful. Studios that have a long distance to travel and lots of people to organize sometimes enlist the help of a travel company.

A travel company takes care of everything before the trip and handles any problems as they arise, leaving school owners and their staff free to be with their students or have some time alone. Hiring a travel company is not mandatory, but it can take some of the pressure off.

Normally, travel agencies provide information and organize and implement the trip before a group arrives. Some also have a representative on site to take care of needs during the trip and follow up with clients once they have returned home. Travel agencies also work with vendors such as hotels to ensure that rooms are ready or blocked as requested. They can make sure booked buses are on time and where they need to be to transfer the group, and can manage schedules so that everyone is on time and at the correct locations for performances.

Agency costs
Whether an agency is worth the expense depends on individual needs and values. If you employ a travel agency to plan your trip, you might pay for the organization service, but in the long run it might save you some cash and give you more time and fewer headaches.

Quite often, agencies can get better rates for things like hotels, says Scott. “This is because agencies will build relationships with hotels, and the more business they provide to the hotels, the better the rates they can get.”

Scott explains that a hotel might charge $139 plus tax and resort fees per night to a studio making its own reservations, but a travel agency might get the same rooms for $120 plus tax, with no resort fees. Also, some hotels may have a 10-room minimum but will waive it for companies that have done continued repeat business.

Tina White-Huddleston, owner-director of Tina’s Dance Studio-One in Parkersburg, West Virginia, has been in business for 29 years and is very happy letting Four Seasons Tours, a service offered through Contest of Champions, handle her arrangements.

“This is our 12th year going [to Contest of Champions], and everything always works out,” White-Huddleston says. “If we have any questions or problems, we call the company and they take care of it. If I get behind in my paperwork, Trudy Scott throws me a reminder email. One time, at the last minute, my husband decided to go to Disney [World]. Contest got him all his passes, took care of everything for him right there on the spot, and it was cheaper than if I had done it myself.”

Picking a travel agency
If you decide to enlist a travel company to handle your arrangements, do some research before you sign on.

Scott advises looking for a single contact person to take care of your needs. You shouldn’t have to go to, for example, Steve for travel and Rhonda for competition scheduling and Terry for entertainment. One person should be able to take care of purchasing your tickets, explaining the policies, and preparing the arrangements.

“That person should also be able to help you decide what will work best for your groups and their families,” Scott says. “You should be able to make one call to one person who will handle your travel, meals, rooms, and everything else.”

You also should see if the company you’re considering provides a travel escort who will be where you are if you do need assistance.

Scott also advises studios to watch out for companies that offer “cookie-cutter” packages and then tack on a lot of à la carte items later. Know your costs up front and look for a company that creates individual packages based on the needs of its clients, in which everything is included.

Items likely to involve additional charges include food, hotel upgrades, souvenirs, workshops, tickets to shows, and local transportation.

“I advise studios to read everything and understand everything they read, especially when it includes money and package inclusions,” Scott says. “For example, transportation for a performance may be extra depending on the needs of the group. Although it is not included in the ‘Package Inclusions,’ it is most likely indicated in another section as an additional cost.”

 When comparing different packages, ask questions and make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Some companies may be cheaper, but what are they offering in the packages? Are the hotels comparable? Do they provide the same type of service? Are they getting the same number of meal functions and attractions tickets?

 Scott says she asks about complimentary package ratios. “If they offer a 1/20 ratio, then your 21st package is complimentary,” she says. She also asks whether studios are required to travel with a certain number of people in order to get the offered package price. “I know of companies that indicate that a package will be $350 per person based upon 150 purchased packages. If the studio travels with more or less people, will they be charged more money per person?”

Don’t be stingy on the chaperones. In addition to making sure students are on time and where they are supposed to be, extra chaperones can come in handy when the unexpected happens.

Scott also advises coordinators to “watch out for companies who are paid commissions based on ‘up sales.’ The more options a salesperson can sell to the studio, the more money the salesperson makes.”

More bang for your buck
Four Seasons Tours has been servicing every aspect of the performance, educational, competition, graduation, and “just plain fun” travel needs for youth groups across the country since 1984. One of the benefits such longtime companies can offer to their clients is a voice of experience.

“We might advise studios to book air on their own to get a cheaper rate,” Scott says. “People usually think that you get a better price when you buy at a group rate, but that’s not necessarily true for airlines.”

Scott also cautions studios to watch out for hidden fees and hidden agendas. “If you initially get a quote for 70 people, but later you have only 50 people, some places might make you pay a penalty for dropping the numbers,” Scott says.

You can never ask too many questions, especially when competing and traveling for the first time. Read everything thoroughly, including the small print. “The small print might include a fuel-surcharge clause that might say that if fuel goes past a certain cost nationally, they will increase your cost,” Scott says.

But Scott’s best advice when considering a travel company is to feel comfortable with the person who will be making your arrangements and not to make assumptions. Instead, ask questions.

More than competing
With or without a travel company, everyone seems to agree that traveling with students creates precious memories. You want the kids to remember the joy of competing and interacting with hundreds who share their passion.

Nassiff travels to only one national competition a year and tries to make it a memorable experience for her students. “The first night I meet with them and give them gifts with messages of good luck,” she says. “The second day is the competition. They know when it’s time to work and time to play. I schedule a couple of days where the kids can do things other than compete. We go to the amusement parks or outlet malls. I say, ‘This is your weekend. Tell me what you want to do.’ ”

Some of Nassiff’s students, mostly the younger ones, like to return to Miami right after the competition. “That’s fine, but they are required before the trip to let me know in writing of their plans to leave early.

 “Travel is a lifetime experience,” Nassiff continues. “Kids learn how to handle lots of things when they travel. A lot of kids can’t pay, but I know it’s a beautiful experience, so we hold fund-raisers so those who want that lifetime experience can participate. One day when they are grown up, they will remember this experience forever.”

Travel Options
Contest of Champions, which is affiliated with Four Seasons Tours, is located on Disney property, so families who decide to make a vacation out of the trip can have parks, restaurants, and entertainment right at their fingertips. Here’s an idea of what you might get for your money with a typical seven-night tour package.

• a 25-minute performance (competition entry fees are separate and based on the number of routines and the number of participants in each)
• 5-day Disney Premium Park Hopper Ticket
• 5 visits to Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and DisneyQuest
• 12 meal coupons for use at the hotel and parks
• 1-day/2-park admission to Universal Orlando
• 2 meal coupons for use at Universal Orlando
• group round-trip transfer
• tour escort staff with 24-hour emergency service
• hotel, 7 nights

Estimated package cost: 4 people/room = $851; 3 people/room = $958; 2 people/room = $1,127; 1 person/room = $1,601.

If you’re just looking for help with booking a hotel, try Staylink, a hotel booking service that negotiates rates for dance, cheerleading, and corporate travel groups.

The company does all the work of negotiating rates and getting extras like breakfast thrown in for free.

The best part? You don’t pay Staylink a cent. You get a Staylink group rate and the company gets a commission from the hotel for sending it business.

“The biggest mistake a group can make is to book a room with a host hotel without first checking the pricing on nearby hotels,” says Staylink owner Brian Kleiner. “Many times a hotel within walking distance will be significantly less.”

The average savings on a run of the hotel room (any room with the lowest price) is typically 20 percent, according to Kleiner. So if you’re looking to stay at the Venetian Las Vegas, the normal rate is $179 and the Staylink rate is $159. For a room with a view, the normal rate is $249 and the Staylink rate is $169.

The company can also set up transportation to and from events and sometimes, depending on the amount of rooms booked, can get the hotel to shuttle for free.