It’s Competition Season | Your Score Does Not Determine Your Value

hances are, you probably have a dance competition coming up and you may be feeling a little anxious about it. That’s totally understandable and the nerves and anxiety you may be feeling are completely normal.

Sometimes dance competitions can become “catty” and dancers (and sometimes the observers) can forget what competition is all about. This can add even more pressure to the nerves you may already be experiencing. So, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves what competition is really about.

What is the purpose of competition? Competition was designed for you to:

1. Get feedback on your dances.
2. Recognize and award the top performances and dancers for their hard work and talents.

Competition can be a great tool to help improve your dancing. It’s an opportunity for you to get an evaluation and feedback from professionals, you can see where you align with other dancers your age, plus it can help inspire you to reach your full potential.

Just make sure you are pushing yourself to be YOUR best, not to be better than anyone else. Do not use competition as a means for you to feel “better” than another dancer OR for you to feel like you are not good enough.

Ask any professional athlete, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. The point of a competition is to applaud your hard work, establish areas of improvement and continue striving towards your goals.

Remember these 3 things to maintain a positive outlook when you’re at your next competition.

1. Your value as a person is independent from your dancing. You are an amazing person and you would be amazing whether you danced or not. Don’t get us wrong, we know that dancing is part of your DNA and you love it, but you’re not an awesome person because you are a dancer. You are an awesome person simply because you are YOU.
2. You’ve worked hard this season. Your dance season is already half over and you have worked HARD. Take a moment to be proud of yourself! If you don’t believe me, take a few minutes to watch your solo from last year. See, I told you! You’ve come a long way in just one year and you are going to continue to do just that.
3. Enjoy the moment. Dance is a GIFT and you are lucky to have this opportunity to share your passion with the audience. Dancing is what inspires you and makes you feel alive — don’t let a trophy or score take that away from you. When you step on that stage, try your best to enjoy the moment doing what you love.