Tag: competition

It’s no secret that competition dance is expensive. Like, really expensive. Add in a global pandemic that has left millions of Americans unemployed and it can seem downright outrageous. Still, dancers need to dance! Dreams need to be chased, technique needs to be honed, and vital career relationships need to be established. So, how can […]

Since its inaugural season in 2012, Leap! National Dance Competition has been all about the little things. “I wanted to have a ’boutique’ competition. One where we went out to only one city every weekend, so I could be there myself, and we could really get to know the teachers and watch their kids progress […]

The competition world is filled with so many talented dancers that for one dancer to stand out, they need something special—not just legs up to their ears or seemingly never-ending turns, but something more. For many comp world standouts, it’s a certain, special confidence: The confidence in what they, and only they, can offer. Dance […]

As conversations about racial justice have continued across the country, members of the dance world have focused inwards and reflected on how we can all do better. The close-knit competition and convention community is no different. Dance Spirit had the chance to talk to five judges from National Dance Showcase, as well as one of […]

Commercial dancer Kaitlynn Edgar was in Travis Wall’s class at NUVO when she realized that competitions and conventions could lead to big things. Like joining-Shaping-Sound big. “After class, Travis started asking me all these questions, like when I was graduating,” she recalls. “Everything fell into place, just because I happened to be a senior that […]

For years, it was hard for competition dancers to find professional jobs that made full use of their technical polish, astonishing versatility, and onstage ease. But recently, some (smart) companies have begun recruiting comp kids, drawn to their adaptability and fearlessness. We’ve compiled a list of nine companies that are fit for comp queens and […]

Last weekend, Youth America Grand Prix took to the internet, hosting its first virtual pas de deux competition. Over the course of three days, YAGP streamed videos from its regional events’ highest-ranked competitors for a panel of esteemed judges. And, drum roll please… YAGP has just announced the winners, spanning three categories: Senior Classical, Junior […]

“I wish I had a better story about the name,” says Molly Long, founder of the Orange County, CA–based dance studio Project 21. In truth, it’s a play on the fact that she was born on the twenty-first of August, and 21 is her favorite number. “I was away on a teaching tour, the audition […]