How Platinum National Dance Competition Bridges the Gap From the Competition Stage to College and Career

When Chris Suchan aged out of the competition-dance scene after high school, he felt a bit lost. “There was no support system there,” he says. Eventually, he found work with cruise ships, jazz-based dance companies, and Broadway national tours. But he didn’t want other competition dancers to experience the same anxiety-inducing moment of “Now what?” So he took over Platinum National Dance Competition, where part of the mission is to help students figure out how to transfer their competition skills to the professional stage. 

“One of our key goals here is to bridge the gap to college or a career,” says Suchan, Platinum’s owner and executive director. Liz Borom, Platinum’s executive creative director says Platinum aims to create connections that can sometimes clue dancers in to opportunities they (or their parents) hadn’t even thought of.

 Platinum’s New Event for High Schoolers

This October, Platinum is introducing Launch, a weekend expo for high schoolers looking to take their next step in the dance industry. The schedule will be filled with classes taught by faculty from college dance departments and continuing-education programs. “Not only can they see what the dancers can do, but the dancers can also get a feel for ‘Well, do I want to go to this university?’ ” Borom says. 

Each registrant may have one of their parents accompany them to the seminars to ask questions. Representatives from schools and casting directors from places like theme parks and cruise ships will have booths set up to share what they’re all about. There will also be an open audition that culminates in a scholarship ceremony.

Apprenticeship Program for Platinum Dancers

Aside from Launch, Platinum also offers an apprenticeship program for select dancers who attend the convention to become classroom assistants for the following year at as many Platinum events as they’d like. (Last year, there were 217 apprentices.) Once they graduate high school, former apprentices can apply to become one of 14 paid pro apprentices, who help manage the younger apprentices, teach choreography, set up and load out, and more. “They get this backstage view of how this all operates—and a paid opportunity in the industry to do what they love,” Suchan says. 

Jillian Krekel, an Ohio-based dancer and dance teacher, competed with Platinum throughout high school, became an apprentice, and then a pro apprentice while earning her BFA in dance at Wright State University. She now works for the company at regional events and has taught classes at Nationals. She believes the challenges of pro apprenticing—like learning choreography from a video and taking charge of a room—prepared her to be a successful dance teacher today. “It taught me how to teach effectively and how to pace a class so that you get all the choreography taught in the amount of time you have,” she says. 

Going the Extra Mile for Dancers

Krekel says Suchan and Borom have been personally invested in helping her get her dance career off the ground. Aside from the helpful part-time starter job as a pro apprentice, Krekel says Borom has offered feedback on her audition videos and connected her with people in the industry, including a pom expert before an NFL cheer tryout. “They’re so willing to go the extra mile and be like, ‘Here’s a person you can reach out to that will be helpful,’ ” Krekel says.  

In addition to producing over 60 events a year, Suchan and Borom also host a biweekly podcast, The Great Dance Debate, in which they invite guests to duke it out over a hot topic. The conversations often cover “What next?” topics, such as the benefits of working in Los Angeles versus New York City, or how to decide whether to go to college for dance. “It’s additional access into this industry,” Borom says, who explains that she and Suchan see the podcast as another way to continue dancers’ education outside the studio. 

Platinum pulls all this off without losing sight of the reason artists want to get a dance degree or start a career in this industry: the joy of dancing. The lighthearted atmosphere at Platinum is unmistakably fun, Krekel says, even during high-stress moments like the awards ceremony. Suchan says he takes making things fun seriously because, ultimately, the goal is not only to help kids make inroads into this industry, but to keep them excited about it every step along the way.

Learn more about how Platinum National Dance Competition helps dancers launch into college and careers here.