Ballet Competitions

Thank heaven my career did not hinge on my performance in a competition, or I would be writing a blog on archaeology or whatever field I would have gone into.

Or not.

No dancer's career hinges on their performance in a competition.

There, that's all I need to say.

Need to, but I want to say more.

I am currently co-coaching seven young ladies for the upcoming YAGP regionals. Each one of these wonderful students has learned a lot about themselves as dancers and people in the course of their preparation for the competition. They have all spent hours and hours working on their variations in the studio, and hours and hours stressing about their variations at home, in the car, in school and in their dreams. They've all improved because of the work they are doing, now; the actual competition is almost meaningless. I say "almost" because there is a definite point to the actual performance of their variations in the cauldron/gladiatorial arena of the YAGP. Setting a goal, prepping costumes, makeup, music, planning to "peak" for the performance, all these things are important for their careers. The meaningless part is the result of competing. If someone offers you a job because they saw you, awesome! If you place well and go to the finals in New York, fantastic! If you win, you get money AND a job!

So, what happens if none of that happens?

Nothing. Okay, there will be tears, frustration, maybe even throwing and breaking things. I have consoled some dancers who have not done well; they're dancing professionally now, and that had nothing to do with the competition.

Nothing. No one is going to see you in an audition in the future and say, "Oh, you didn't do well in the YAGP, so we don't want you." They won't know and won't care.

Every dancer who goes to the YAGP has already won. Every dancer. The time they've spent working on their variation has been well spent. The effort has been well worth it. They have learned, matured, gotten stronger and better.

In the competition, there are dancers who treat it like life or death. They're 15 going on 40. They look at other dancers like a hungry wolf looking at other predators who are going to steal their food. I'm not certain, but I think I've heard some of them growl. All the joy of dance has been drained from them. Before they dance, all the ladies in an age group are on stage at the same time. This is supposed to be time used to warm up, to prepare yourself, but with the stage packed with people, there really is nothing you can do. One of my former students, now dancing with Grand Rapids Ballet, Hannah Wilcox, had the perfect attitude for a competition. When all the other young ladies were trying to do fouettes, or trying to psych each other out, Hannah just stood in a corner of the stage, watching with a "You're kidding, right? You think you're intimidating me with your $2000 tutu?" expression on her face, then just turned and walked away. None of that silliness bothered her; she was very professional about it, just did her variations and had a great time.

My hope for our ladies is that they have fun, dance to the best of their abilities, and are proud of the work they've done to get to the competition. I don't care where they place; to me and their other coaches, they have already won.

See you in class.