**This post has been updated to include a sneak peek at what we have planned for our series on ballet competitions that will be launching in mid-September!
If it’s the beginning of the school year, it’s also the beginning of ballet competition season! That means it’s time for everyone’s anxiety closet to open. Every year, we get questions about whether or not ballet competitions are worth it and if they’re necessary to have a career. Like with everything in ballet, it depends.
Let’s start by saying you absolutely do not need to compete in order to have a successful ballet career. However, there can be some real benefits to competing that have nothing to do with how your dancer places.
There are several competitions in the U.S. The biggest and most well known is the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP). It holds nearly 40 regional competitions around the U.S., and approximately 12 overseas, between October and March. Competitors are chosen from each regional to attend the YAGP final that takes place each year in April.
There are other large competitions such as the Universal Ballet Competition, ADC IBC, World Ballet Competition, etc. All of these function in similar ways with some sort of regional selection and then a final later in the year. Entries into summer programs are offered at all of these.
The Downside Of Ballet Competitions
Competing is expensive. Not only are there entry fees, but there are costumes to be bought or rented, private coaching that takes place and sometimes travel required to get to the venue. Consider these expenses when you decide whether or not to enter a competition.
There is also a perception that the larger ballet competitions are rigged. They might be but there really isn’t anything that can be done about it. Short of boycotting these events, this is really the way they operate and we don’t see much change coming.
There are clearly the “favored” studios that attend and succeed at the same competitions year after year. However, these studios often have excellent teachers who provide excellent training. So, what looks like favoritism may simply be that these studios turn out strong dancers every year.
Think about it – wouldn’t you want your student at the school that can provide the best training? It’s usually pretty clear which studios are the strongest in any given area and they usually attract the best dancers. This may not be the case everywhere, but that’s been our experience.
One thing that you will find as your student gets older is that the ballet world is EXTREMELY small. So, what may look like a rigged system is more something akin to a family reunion. The people who run ballet studios are usually former professional dancers. Guess what? So are the judges. And, often, all of these people danced together back in the day. If you see them chatting with each other or even headed out for dinner, it’s probably because they knew each other long before they teamed up for ballet competitions.
And, speaking of a small world, your dancer will see the same people over and over and over again. At auditions, summer intensives, master classes and yes, competitions. With my son, it became a bit of a running joke.
He didn’t compete much once he got older, but did do competitions for about three years. At every one, he’d see the same kids. You could almost predict who was going to place before the competition started. This wasn’t because it was rigged. It was because these boys had watched each other dance so many times, they knew exactly how they stack ranked against each other.
The Upside Of Ballet Competitions
Remember our blog post about where your student fits? Competitions are a great way to see the talent that’s out there. The one time my son went to YAGP finals, he was surrounded by really fantastic male dancers, both his age and older. Not only did he get to watch everyone else perform, but he also got to attend master classes with loads of talented boys his age. He realized that he was nowhere close to being one of the better dancers there. In fact, he was toward the bottom. But, it gave him a sense of where he fit and the amount of work required of him to get better and better. This was exactly what he needed to see at that age.
Competitions also provide opportunities to get on stage. Your dancer chooses a variation, spends several months perfecting it and then gets to go out and perform it on their own. After they’re done, they usually receive feedback, either written or oral. Each competition does things slightly differently, but all provide feedback of some sort. Although stressful, it can be a great learning experience.
Dancers also get a lot of exposure at competitions. If you live in an area that doesn’t have a large ballet community, this is a great way to get seen by lots of different ballet programs. Most of the judges and master teachers represent a variety of company affiliated ballet schools. It’s not uncommon to have spots at summer programs offered to dancers at the end of the competition or master class.
Finally, competitions can be great for networking. Remember what we said about seeing the same kids over and over again? My son is still in touch with kids he met at YAGP finals and they’re now all 18 or 19 and just venturing out into the job market.
Like we said before, you absolutely do not need to compete to have a ballet career. Furthermore, just because someone did compete a few times when they were younger, and they’re now dancing professionally, does not mean that the competition was responsible for them having a career. You will have to decide what works for your dancer’s individual situation and there really are no bad choices when it comes to this.
Our Series On Ballet Competitions
In our upcoming series on ballet competitions, we hope to demystify a bit of this. During the month of September and into early October, we’ll be launching both blog posts as well as podcast episodes that feature interviews with a variety of people involved in the ballet competition world. Our first set of interviews will be with studio owners and they’ll be talking about what their philosophy is around competitions. Directors will discuss the process they go through to prepare their students, how they counsel them on what to expect and also how they help their students set goals for what they want to accomplish when they’re finally on stage.
Look for podcast episodes from two different studios who have been down the competition road for years!
In our second week, we sit down with teachers from two large conservatories to talk about why they have their students compete and what their dancers should expect at a regional.
As a follow-up to that, we interview a longtime judge from YAGP and other competitions to hear what she looks for from competitors, what they love to see on stage and in master classes, as well as what they would prefer dancers not do. We might even feature more than one judge!
Finally, may have a surprise guest or two joining us for our last segment in early October!
So, buckle up! We have a great month of stuff coming your way!
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