When Kamille Upshaw entered Juilliard in 2007, she had already been dancing competitively for a decade. “There’s still some stigma around competition dancers,” said Upshaw, who attended the Baltimore School for the Arts and trained at Spotlight Dance Studio in Millersville, Maryland. “We are thought to be all about legs and turns – but that’s not the case! I have to fight that stereotype. Yes, I can do the leg thing, but I can also offer something deeper. Select The horn director agrees: Since graduating, Upshaw has performed in three Broadway shows.
The image of the “kid” has come a long way. Competitive dancers were once viewed as top performers who prioritized technique and trophies, but today they are ranked among the top universities, conservatories and companies around the world. Competition studios are training dancers who are not only ready to win, but ready to work professionally. The dance community is now creating space for them to flourish.
The bar keeps rising
How does competitive dance achieve this image upgrade? One factor is that competition technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years. “Every time someone takes action, whether it’s a studio or a dancer, a whole transformation happens,” Upshaw explains. “You’re only as good as who you’re competing against.” And versatility, always a strength of the compound kid, is now even more impressive. To win, today’s competitive kids must do more than master the latest trendy moves: They must also learn different dance styles and perform innovative choreography.
Competitions and conferences have also changed their priorities, with many now emphasizing their educational aspects rather than focusing on titles and trophies. Choreographer Jessica Lang competed as a child and teen before attending Juilliard and launching a career that included running her own company and performing for Twyla… Twyla Tharp dances. Long said education-minded competition directors help competition dancers “transcend what the outside world thinks of them.”
The studio is also bringing in more guest artists. “Competition dancers have direct contact with the professional world from an early age,” said Katie Langan, chair of the fine and performing arts department at Marymount Manhattan College. Often, this connection comes in the form of successful alumni returning to teach and choreograph.
Competition and competitive dancers tend to be very active on social media, providing a wealth of information and footage of top performers and schools, which helps to improve the overall technical and artistic standards of the scene. “Students can easily search for competitions, see who won last year and watch those performances,” said Michele Larkin, co-owner of Larkin Dance Studio in Maplewood, Minn. Larkin’s niece, McCann Mackenzie Larkin Symanietz, an instructor at Larkin Dance Studio, added: “We can all look at what other studios are doing, and not imitate it, but appreciate it. I can do that What our Can dancers do their best?
Social media visibility helps people in other areas of the dance community understand what competitive dancers are capable of. “The competition uses the winning dance as a marketing tool,” Upshaw said. “That way people’s names will be published.”
Dance culture is changing
Langan admits she was skeptical when she first entered the competition about a decade ago. Then she saw the performers. “These students are very, very talented,” she said. “They were fearless, and their solos were well choreographed.” Langan isn’t the only president of a university dance program whose assumptions about competitive dance have been challenged. Scholarship programs within competition events have led to the intertwining of the competition and university fields: more competition students are choosing to major in dance, and in turn, more dance departments are welcoming them.
There has also been a change within Those dance departments. “We’ve been breaking down hierarchies,” Langan said. “No one style is better than the others.” This often involves incorporating cultural and social dance into the curriculum; it also means no longer treating concert dance, especially ballet and modern dance, as the be-all and end-all. Dancers who compete in jazz, modern, tap, hip-hop, theater dance, and acrobatics may feel more welcome on campus if all aspects of their training are taken seriously.
Versatility is an asset in today’s dance climate when it comes to getting a job. Even the most classical ballet companies are looking for well-rounded dancers, a trend that started decades ago and is becoming increasingly common. Madison Brown is now a dancer with the American Ballet Theater and competed regularly as a teenager. While she recalls some teachers wondering why she continued to compete in contemporary ballet after announcing her intention to become a professional ballet dancer, Brown said she was grateful for her extensive training: “I heard a lot of people say they wished they had Can be a ballet dancer.
Looking to the future
Just as professional dancers often revisit the studios of their childhoods, many former contestants are now affiliated with well-known shows and organizations, returning to teach and judge at events they attended as students. Increasingly, graduates are earning positions of power in the dance community and are able to mentor and even employ the next generation of members.
“When I was attending conventions, I met choreographers like Andy Blankenbuehler, who I ended up working with,” said Upshaw, whose Broadway credits include Ensemble hamilton and assistant choreographer for musicals hell’s kitchen. Now Upshaw is the man of influence. As a judge on “American Stage” a few years ago, “I loved being behind the desk,” she said. “I see huge potential in these young artists. The confidence they exude makes me hopeful for the future of dance.
The “Dance Moms” Effect
From 2011 to 2019, the reality show “Dance Moms” won huge ratings with its talented teenagers, domineering teachers, and cunning stage parents. Unfortunately, “the show made competition dance seem full of negativity and drama,” said Mackenzie Larkin-Simanitz. “It gave the competition a bad name.” Now that it’s been several years since the show ended (save for the recent reunion special), the shadow cast by “Dance Moms” has finally faded.
“It doesn’t represent the community that most of us are trying to integrate into,” Simanitz said. “You have to have a positive competitive relationship with your opponent. You have to appreciate what’s happening on stage.
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As more and more competition dancers enter higher education and the professional world, directors and choreographers are seeing first-hand what they have to offer:
Confidence on stage: “Competitions give you stage experience,” choreographer Jessica Long said. Broadway dancer Kamille Upshaw agrees: “Competing every weekend makes me feel comfortable in front of an audience. I know how to control my nerves. I make mistakes on stage and Learning how to correct these tools is very important.
Strength and Endurance: “As a professional, you might dance all day long, with only a short break for lunch,” says Madison Brown. “For me, it was like a conference day! When I joined ABT Studio, I wasn’t that overwhelmed because I had been exposed to this kind of workload at a young age.
Quick thinking: Because of the experience gained in a fast-paced conference environment, “competition dancers are able to learn a lot of material very quickly,” Long said. “They’re very musical and very rhythmic.”