Children's dancing - lessons and competitions

[LateNightTalking]

DD has danced since she was a toddler. She enjoys it and I know that's the main thing before I get started!

She's obviously not the best dancer because she's never picked for the troupes for festivals or entered into competitions. Luckily I can keep most of that away from her as it tends to be posted on social media, which she doesn't see.

It is always the same girls picked and who go to the festivals and competitions (and they have their special uniform which is different to the standard uniform) and I just feel sorry for the others, which does include my daughter. They get to do one show every two years, which doesn't seem like very much in comparison.

Is this the standard for dance schools? I of course appreciate they want to do well to pull in medals etc, but it would just be nice for anyone who wanted to have a go to be included.

Ask the teacher. At my dds dance school everyone did the groups but solos and duets kids were picked or they asked the teachers if they thought they'd be able to do them.

At my daughters dance school you audition to be in teams and then they practice on different days to your normal lessons, the auditions are judged by independent people so it is very fair!

Not all schools do festivals or competitions, they concentrate on the exam syllabus of whatever dance style, and have an annual dance school show.

What sort of dance is it? Maybe moving elsewhere might be the answer.

Festivals are a MASSIVE commitment and cost an absolute fortune, so often the children who get asked are ones who the school know are reliable, will turn up to the private lessons and practice at home. They also expect the parents to be able to do hair and makeup, do all the driving to and from the festivals and pay through the nose for costumes, private lessons, festival entries, the list goes on and on. I'm not saying you're not able to do all of these things but I just wanted to point out that it's not all about the child's ability, it's the whole package! But definitely let your school know that your DC is interested in doing more than the weekly classes as that may help get her on their radar

Thanks all! I appreciated the replies.

To be honest, thinking on it, we couldn't afford extra lessons and costumes etc. so I'll pipe down!

lol
Yeah be careful what you wish for.
DD4 has been dancing for 6 years (since 3yo) and the last 2 years she has suddenly flourished and become really good and attracted attention from the teachers. I was over the moon for her when we were approached and she was offered the chance to dance on stage in a show about an hour away from us last autumn. Three performances.

Ye bloody gods. The expense! The hours! The commitment!

She loved it. I hated it didn't.

I'm wondering what we're in for this year ... i'm proud of her but i feel bad for dreading it!

At DDs dance school anyone can do comps but they need to take private lessons in order to learn their solos.

DD (10) has danced in competitions for the last few years. She loves it as its a day out with her mates but for me it's hell on earth. We're up at half 6 tomorrow to do hair and make up then driving for an hour (with a suitcase full of props which we have to remember plus a costume bag - I'm just glad she doesn't do ballet anymore cos the tutu was massive) for her to do two dances which are 5 hours apart.

It's really expensive too with private lessons, costs of the costumes, entry fees, spectator fee, programmes and then an extra cost for medal ribbons.

@Laiste that's for the POV from the other side!

I'll stick to regular classes 😂

DD started (Irish) dancing just as a hobby as she didn't like ballet / tag rugby / tennis / football / the many other hobbies that she tried. She turned out to be pretty good at it but Jesus the cost (both financial and time) that I sank into it was unreal...dresses over a grand; several pairs of shoes a year / wigs / hideous pageant style make up etc etc not to mention the flights / hotels etc for competing.

I wouldn't ever undo it as it gave her so much more than just dancing but be careful what you wish for!

It needn't cost a fortune, OP, if you think she'll enjoy it. Just ask the teacher or school owner.
Some schools might require you to audition but I know of few who do.

She may need to join comp classes if she wants to join troupes, trios or duets. Private lesson needed for solos. This need not be expensive. My child's weekly private lesson is currently 36.00 but that's for an hour. One school, when she first started in competitions, charged £6.50 for half an hour, another was £10.00 and dôme will offer 15 minute private lessons. IDTA schools are cheaper in my experience.

Costumes and tutus need not be expensive. You can get them second hand or borrow from the school.

So I wondered the same thing, so I just asked her dance teacher and she started doing solo lessons as well as group.

It is a massive commitment but if your daughter is talented it is well worth it.

You might want to look elsewhere as a pp said? If she's unable to join.

We left one school because the comp parents and teachers were dreadful (it was like the Dance Moms programme - other children left too I've since learned). Some children would get better solos or preferential treatment. In the ordinary grade classes the competition students would receive corrections and attention to the detriment of the other non competition students.

One of the mothers spotted my daughter crying backstage, in one of the dressing rooms, after a competition (she was upset as she'd felt she hadn't done her best and I was comforting her and assuring her she'd gone just fine) and she told the school owner about it who then told DD off in her next private lesson and not to cry again. Lots of similar lectures (I only heard about afterwards or I'd have removed immediately) about how her performance skills weren't up to scratch and she'd never make it in the industry and she was an amateur. There were more examples but it's too long already. She was only 7 years old. .

We joined a new school and it was lovely and supportive, and no pressure. The early experiences were damaging for a while though. Just sharing as it helps to be alert to bad schools.

Festival entry can start around £2.50 depending. £5.00 is typical for a local festival solo here.

We paid £12 for entry at last comp and £6 per dance. Was only a local one too. I was 😱

I paid £7.00 parent entry for a local one last year and thought that was expensive, £10.00 including the program. £10.00 for a championship-type entry, not local comp.

It's often daily entry with wristband.

Find a dance school where they don't do the competition stuff. DD danced at two lovely schools tap and ballet who taught her good technique and did contemporary at school.
She is now at Italia conti doing a musical theatre degree the competitions are no indication of likely industry potential.

I agree @Lonecatwithkitten Some of the best dance schools I can think of (unfortunately not in my locale) don't bother with the local festivals and 'championships' and I agree they're not an indicator of industry potential.

Thanks for the extra replies, sorry I'd missed them!

I'll keep her where she is as her teacher is lovely, and we'll just stick to the biennial dance school dance shows!

@juneyroo that's so sad 😞 your poor DD .

Does anyone else’s daughter still do comps? Mines just getting into them, it’s a whole new world 🫣

Yes my DC still do comps. It's definitely an interesting experience. Not always positive, but not all negative.

There's uproar and drama at the moment as a full-time vocational school student has been spotted in the half term competition schedules trying to join in with the local dance school comps . That's not generally allowed, for obvious reasons. Very sneaky of them to try, though I don't think they'd beat the locals in this case - it's not someone from Royal Ballet or Elmhurst.

What I don’t get is what do the dance schools actually gain from it? Is it a big money maker for them? As surely the costs of comp fees, spectators fees etc go to the competition companies?

Apart form a few extra privates is it really worth all the vastly for them?!

The privates can be expensive, depending on the school and length. £30+ p/h here, and a friend in London pays £58 p/h. There are often competition classes offered also.
They also put photos of wins from these comps on their social media and it's good publicity for them.

It's also often schools who run the competitions, and they make money from those. Apparently they make most of their money from the food served at these events.

My daughter's school doesn't do competitions it does exams plus dance shows. She loves the shows so also is part of a musical theatre school and does extra shows with them. She loves the social side as well as the performing. I couldn't be doing with competitions though, they seem to take up enormous amounts of time and cost