Our Position on Competition for Students

As a serious ballet student or the parent of a serious ballet student, you are likely familiar in some capacity with ballet competitions. However, as an organization, we have intentionally made a choice not to participate in competitions.

Dance is a beautiful, subjective art form. While there are clearly technical and artistic areas that can be evaluated, each student progresses at their own rate based on a number of factors. Factors that we feel should be carefully nurtured and encouraged without the additional stressors that external judgment places on a young person.

We provide up to four optional productions to prepare students for professional or collegiate work without the subjectivity, and extreme cost competitions carry. As an organization that focuses solely on Dance Education for young people, with a youth Ballet Company in residence, the productions we offer provide students with excellent opportunities for growth.

In their work with Scripps Ballet Theatre and our Summer Intensive programs, with talented guest faculty, our students receive the same benefits: individualized coaching, opportunities to work on and learn classical ballet repertoire in a rehearsal/performance setting and work with guest teachers and choreographers.

 

Our pathway for personal excellence speaks for itself. A few years back, we did have one student who really wanted to see what it was like to compete, and at 15, in her very first competition, with just one variation, she was awarded Top 12 at YAGP, an invitation to New York for the Finals, and 3rd place and a special award and scholarship from California Dance Classics. After that, she felt no need to compete again and continued training through high school. In the years prior, she was awarded several other scholarships to Summer Programs with Miami City Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and others. Our students have managed to secure contracts and Summer Intensive scholarships without competitions and enter the dance “workforce” with joy and excitement, still passionate about their craft and art form without the disappointment, overexposure, and burnout.

Some training programs are built around participating in competitions. Many students will feed off the adrenaline rush and use that for external motivation, which is not sustainable over time. A smaller number may even go on to professional careers, using a connection made through the competition. Unfortunately, many students experience mental and physical fatigue and quit dancing prematurely before achieving their full potential, including those who may not have been pursuing a dance career.

The cost of private lessons, costumes, and competition fees can be tremendous. We feel that the family’s financial resources are better served by investing in private lessons to work on technique, cross-training in Pilates, Gyrotonic or Feldenkrais, strength coaching, and other activities that benefit dance careers.

Many training programs include competitions as part of their practice for several reasons. What you must determine is whether the culture and cost is a good fit for your dancer’s whole-person development and the best use of resources for your family.

If the next question that comes to your mind, is how you determine your dancer’s progressing without competitions, be sure to stay tuned for our next Lower and Upper Division blog post!