JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Prior to the twentieth century, dance was a purely social activity or was theatrically performed. Dance turned into genuine sport at the beginning of the twentieth century, when French entrepreneur, dancer and choreographer Camille de Rhynal and a group of dancers added competition to what had been purely a social activity, when they converted ballrooms into venues for their dance contests.
The first Tango tournament with international participation took place in Nice, France, in Ballroom championships in Paris, Berlin and London were soon to follow. France, Germany and England continued to assume the lead in fostering the emergence of a sport that seemed to fit in perfectly with the roaring twenties.
In the sport split into professional and amateur levels and more complete competition records exist. An inaugural world championship truly deserving of such title was held in Bad Nauheim, Germany, in Couples from fifteen nations and three continents were involved. Even though World War II then brought most of the competitive dancing to a halt, a new sport was born. Dance in America is bigger than ever. It seems nothing has had an impact on the mass appeal of dance more than television.
In fact, dance on TV goes back to the earliest days of the small screen. How It Began In , the first dance show waltzed onto the airwaves. Each week, the couple performed a mystery dance and the viewer who correctly identified the dance would get free lessons at a local studio. For nearly 40 years, kids from around the country would tune in to see the hottest new dances, the fashions and the regular couples on the show.
Finalists compete for a new car, cash, and a Las Vegas dancing contract. To make this easier we have a printable PDF checklist available to all email subscribers to get you started.
Use your checklist to make a plan so that you prepare, pack and are ready for comp day. Set dates for when things need to be finalized, started or completed and tick them off when they are.
I am going to be truthful here. I love making plans, but I hate following through with them. Just looking at everything that needs to be done can make me anxious, especially if I set a date to start or complete something and that day goes past without it being done. I made a free checklist pdf available to email subscribers and you can easily write a date next to the items if needed. SOLO, DUO or TRIO If you are reading this because your child is doing their first solo, or even a duo or trio make sure you organize costuming as soon as your teacher has come up with the music and concept for the dance.
If you need to order the costume make sure the shipping time is well before the competition date. Whichever you choose, make sure you have fittings well before the competition date and give your child a chance to rehearse in costume with their teacher. But you need to be aware that there will be a cost for this on top of your usual recital costume fee. Some studios might ask you to embellish the costume by sewing sequins or gluing rhinestones or by making a headpiece to ensure no one else will have the same costume as your studio and so your team stands out.
If this is the case make sure you attend any meetings or watch any video tutorials the studio makes to explain what to do and start the process as early as possible. This will cause unneeded stress which will carry onto the day especially if you are still sewing on sequins minutes before you need to leave, or like I once did, was sticking embellishments onto a costume on the way to the recital.
Just to be clear it was my teacher who had left costuming to the last minute in this case! You might need to paint, clean or buy new ones and knowing this in advance can be extremely helpful. Once you know shoe type and color make sure you are also aware of what tights are too be worn so you can purchase them in advance as well.
At my dance studio, we wore two pairs of regular gussetless pantyhose in a certain shade under a pair of jazz tan fishnet stockings — every studio is different so make sure you know what you need. Do you need to buy costume bags? Or have you been thinking of buying a bag specially made to store and carry everything? Ideally, you should make this on a computer so you can reprint it. Each time you need that costume you can use the list to check everything off and make sure everything is there.
Most dance studios have a specific uniform that their students are required to wear to represent their school at competitions and other events. Some parents like myself do not order this part of the dance school uniform until they have to, which is usually some sort of track pant and matching sports jacket, not just because of the cost, but because their child tends to flit from one activity to another and so they purchase this item only when it is needed.
Two good reasons to start looking to get one as soon as you know your child is doing competitions is that you might get lucky and find one second hand from another family. Also, you need to think about what your child will wear under the uniform. For most schools, competition hair and makeup is exactly the same as for their recital or concert. For others whose studios require no or little makeup, stage makeup for competitions will be quite new. Many dance teachers like to do something a little more special or dazzling with makeup or hair for competitions to help their school stand out from the rest.
If this is the case, your teacher will provide you with the instruction you need, but you as the parent will need to follow through and practice the instruction. So set aside time with your child to practice as necessary, trust me on this one.
Secondly, do you have all the products you need such as eyeshadow, lipstick, false eyelashes, hairpins, hair spray and more… you might just have to stock up on some of these items if you are running low or out. Make sure you add these items to your check and packing lists. It is important to find out where the dance competition venue is located way before the date of the big day. Competitions are usually held at convention centers, school theatres, and similar venues and some things you should look for online are:.
Ask other parents at your school who have been doing competitions for a while for their advice, as they might have been to this venue and competition before.
Someone might offer to carpool or to meet you so you can follow them. Even so, it is always good to check these details yourself in case something falls through or you lose the car ahead of you. For some studios performing in competitions means a lot of travel, therefore, you need to also look at:. And from an experienced dancer, I can tell you that the more your child safely rehearses their routine the more it will be ingrained in their muscle memory which will take over when they get on stage.
Regular rehearsal will also help your child be able to get through the routine without being overly tired and puffed out by the end — it increases their strength and stamina. Rehearsal of entries and exits as well as practicing smiling or any other facial expression needed in the dance is just as important as rehearsing the routine, so make sure your child is getting plenty of tuition regarding these aspects of their performance as well.
Find out from your teacher how many lessons they recommend your child take and set the time for the lessons. Some studios might take students for weekly lessons year-round, others might only have solo lessons for a set amount of weeks during the competition season. Whether they are performing in a team or a solo, your teacher will generally film the routine and load it onto whatever communication platform they use with their parents and dancers so it can be practiced at home. I generally airplay this from my phone to the tv so my girls can practice with a big screen in the lounge room.
Some dance schools arrange an evening for solos, duos and trios to be performed in front of family and friends at the studio, or get students to perform at midterm, year or fall recitals for the experience.
If none of these events are available before the competition, round up family and friends for a performance in a space large enough for your child to perform and an audience to sit. Make a big enough deal out of it so your child experiences some nerves but not so much so they know if they screw up, they can always start again or do an encore.
Note: There is zero possibility of someone seeing a sideways glance as a random act of encouragement. So instead, remember that you are your only competition, and everyone is attending the event to improve in some way.
Stop someone, tell them they made a great choice to participate, share something that you appreciated about their dancing, and let them know you'll be cheering for them the next time they pass by. When you finish a dance, there's a part of you that will want to calculate the mistakes, the two dozen seconds where you couldn't hear the music, and if you continue that way, you'll quickly eliminate any possible benefit to participating.
Instead, think of the word calibrate. Your teachers are like ringside coaches at a boxing match. Before you make any wholesale assessments, ask a question, "How did I do? Your teacher may not be prepared to dance the next one because those two questions could cause them to cry spontaneously and lose all composure.
It sounds weird, but the sooner that you scream and cheer, the sooner that you're going to laugh and smile. It's as simple as that. A showcase is your dance hobby version of summer camp, or a pep rally, and you just won't get the full experience if you're quiet.
The sooner that you walk on the floor, the easier it will be for the judge responsible for your feedback to find you. Not only does this keep the event running smoothly, but it's a bold statement that can help you shed your nervous exterior even quicker. Remember that little bit about Floorcraft? Or all those times your teacher explained the importance of the Practice Parties?
Well, it's events like this that really put that to the test. But no matter how much you've prepared, bumps will happen. This won't require a long drawn out apology and an exchange of your insurance information, but a quick wave, nod, or mouth the word sorry and get back into dancing. For more major collisions, you may want to stop to see if the other person is okay, but in general, treat it more like Bumper Cars at the fair, and less like a fender bender on the freeway.
Every now and then someone will fall. This happens once or twice at events like this, and aside from a bruising of the skin, or your ego, getting back up and finishing the dance will usually net a bigger applause than anything you did dance-wise before you fell.
Because every single dancer - student, teacher, or judge - has been there. So get up, keep dancing, put it behind you, and you'll be applauding even louder for the next person it happens to. So if anything like 27 or 28 happen, or you just happen to blank out or you are trying your best to avoid a collision - it's good to have patterns that help you get reset that are familiar and effective.
In each case, these lateral moving patterns can help hit the refresh button on any clutter in your execution, and get things reset with a clean slate. Your teacher is going to be pretty busy at events like this. If they've got students, they will be managing multiple schedules, and if they've got more than that, they may even have other teachers assisting.
It's a lot to juggle. You'll have a copy of the dances you're doing on what's called a "heat sheet". Treat this like a precious manuscript, or the login credentials to all of your social media accounts - very carefully.
If you aren't dancing for 20 more heats, let your teacher know that. If you're within 5 heats of your next dance, let them know that you'll meet them at the lineup area. The better you are at your schedule, the lighter the burden becomes on your teacher. When all your dancing is finished, it will be time to take a well deserved bow - and drink a well deserved celebratory beverage of your choice. It's not just the dancing that you did, but what the dancing did for you.
By this point, you're leaving the floor in a much different physiological state than when you first entered it. The nervous energy is replaced with enjoyment, and, hopefully by that point, you're too tired to care about the pessimistic voice in your head. It's this point that unlocks your ability to dance in front of people with no hesitation. Whether that is an audience of dance students , or your friends and family. As important as it is for you to create your own personal proof of progress, hearing feedback from an outside opinion can help to shed light on areas you hadn't considered, or validate feedback from your teacher.
The critique is designed to pinpoint trends, offer areas of improvement, and act as a launch point to the next chapter of your dance program. Not to mention, it replaces any speculation you may have had about the judges' opinions with a conversation to clarify your next steps. Many students load up their lesson schedule the week before their big dance event, but reduce it drastically the week after.
The students who lock in the most progress maintain the pre-event schedule in the week following the event. This allows you to follow up with the feedback from your critique 32 , and build on any feedback you and your teacher may have shared from the event while it is still fresh in your mind and body. Imagine talking to a plumber about a leak, but you're not sure where it is on your property.
That would be an expensive consultation. That's a little like a coaching lesson immediately following a dance event. Any areas of your dancing that need to be addressed are backed by recent, specific experience instead of a general feeling.
We noticed that our head position was great in closed position, but when things got crowded, our promenade wasn't as strong. Regardless of what your points of emphasis were going into this dance event, you made major strides in your dance program In your week following the Showcase or Dance-O-Rama, sit with your teacher and have them show you the ripple effects in dance, style, or technical knowledge this event has created.
It would be weird for a newly married person to plan their Anniversary party, or worse - their next wedding, immediately after their wedding was over. But for athletes of all genres, they already have their next game or match on the calendar. As soon as you lock in the next few dance events on your dance calendar , you'll be able to start this checklist over again a lot sooner. If you enjoyed this article, we would love to include you as a subscriber. You'll receive one email, once a week, with all of our best dance advice.
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