Questions about dance festivals/competitions

[Dancemum23]

My daughter attends a dance school which does not enter festivals/competitions. They do a show every other year and offer other smaller performance opportunities as well as ballet exams (but not exams in the other styles of dance like tap, modern etc). 
 

Through other dance classes and workshops my daughter has become aware of the world of competitions and festivals and would like to do these, but as this isn’t something her dance school do I don’t know how we would enter? And I get the impression that they don’t approve of festivals, but don’t know why this is? 
 

Can anyone enlighten me? Why do some dance schools enter competitions and others don’t? Are they worth looking into for my daughter? She is happy dancing where she is and wouldn’t want to change dance schools!

[Ruby Foo]

There’s a whole load of reasons why some dance schools do festivals and competitions and others don’t.

Usually a dance school becomes fairly well established before deciding to to do ‘extra stuff’ like festivals and comps. Some schools find it enough work to do exams once a year and maybe a show the following year. It all depends on how well established a school is, how many staff and pupils they have and hours they are able to rent studio space. It’s a whole lot of work to do exams in Ballet (sometimes 2 different styles and syllabus), Jazz, tap etc, plus shows and then competitions on top!  Competitions require time to rehearse, costumes, music etc. and although many dances are handed down through the ranks and through the years, it’s still a lot to organise. 

 

My own school changed completely once we started doing competitions.

It became increasingly complicated and produced a two tier divide between those who did comps ( a clique) and those who didn’t. Some schools just don’t want that type of ‘competition’ to stand in the way of children finding joy in their learning of dance where everyone is benefiting from the same tuition. Although some will argue, that for those competing, there is added joy and benefit. Although most schools and students are super friendly about the competition type stuff, there are some who aren’t.

 

On the positive side, competitions provide legitimate performance opportunities and build confidence in pupils. It’s also a great deal of fun. Some pupils really need that and yet others seem to progress well without. 

You can always go to your local Festival to watch which is a great learning experience in itself. There’s a lot to be learned from watching others. Why not approach your school and ask if there would be any possibility of entering in the future? Maybe they will offer their opinions of why they don’t do them.

[Ruby Foo]

Sorry, forgot to mention that it would be perfectly acceptable to go to another school to learn a different style of dance- one that her own school doesn’t offer, say jazz. She could possibly do competitions that way.

I would definitely speak to her own school about your intentions beforehand though.

[Dancemum23]

6 hours ago, Ruby Foo said:

Sorry, forgot to mention that it would be perfectly acceptable to go to another school to learn a different style of dance- one that her own school doesn’t offer, say jazz. She could possibly do competitions that way.

I would definitely speak to her own school about your intentions beforehand though.

This is all really helpful, thank you for taking the time to reply.  

[Kerfuffle]

I think it depends on the child’s personality if they enjoy doing festivals. They can be stressful and add an atmosphere of competition between dancers at a young age if in solo categories but some  dancers really thrive on that. Being in groups can be a nice compromise as you’re working together or duets. If your daughter is performing in school shows and enjoying that then that might be the best  option - it’s a totally different experience being adjudicated rather more like a ballet exam and your audience is totally on your side! My DD did group stuff at her first school then  moved to a school with a youth ballet  company which performed full length ballets. Her first solo competing in YAGP in Paris but by this point she was ready. 

[HopelessMummy]

Agree with all the points above. Festivals can be lovely for children to gain stage and performance experience with feedback from adjudicators but it is a test of how they can perform, remembering the dance and who they're against. Ultimately, if you don't take it to seriously and let the child enjoy themselves, they gain more from it. I've seen kids that have a million solos and spend most of the time being coaxed to get on stage or in tears because they can't remember the dance or didn't get a medal. You can always seem to tell apart the ones who genuinely love it and those who are pushed into it.

If you want to try doing a festival, best to talk to dance teacher honestly about it. They may be able to choreo a solo or two in a few private lessons and allow you to enter her privately into comps. Good luck!

[Dancemum23]

21 hours ago, HopelessMummy said:

Agree with all the points above. Festivals can be lovely for children to gain stage and performance experience with feedback from adjudicators but it is a test of how they can perform, remembering the dance and who they're against. Ultimately, if you don't take it to seriously and let the child enjoy themselves, they gain more from it. I've seen kids that have a million solos and spend most of the time being coaxed to get on stage or in tears because they can't remember the dance or didn't get a medal. You can always seem to tell apart the ones who genuinely love it and those who are pushed into it.

If you want to try doing a festival, best to talk to dance teacher honestly about it. They may be able to choreo a solo or two in a few private lessons and allow you to enter her privately into comps. Good luck!

Thank you, she is really keen so I’ll speak to her teachers and see what they suggest. I think she’d love to enter as a group with dance friends but loves performing and would just like to give festivals a go if possible! 

[HopelessMummy]

Group dances take a different sort of commitment and would involve a lot of different challenge for your dance teacher. Solos might be best to be begin with and test the water