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08/29/2017 12:00 AMThey work relentlessly to perfect their craft, they push their bodies to the max by learning physically demanding techniques, and then they execute those techniques amidst the pressure of competition. They deal with injuries, they sacrifice, they sweat. They do everything athletes need to do to perform at the highest level. However, they can’t take a timeout if they make a mistake, because they have to stay in character and continue telling their story. They are competitive dancers—and they’re combining athleticism with artistry in a unique sport that’s exploding across the globe.
I first heard about competitive dance in 2007, when the Branford High School dance team won its first in a long line of state titles. Now, there are about 25 high schools in Connecticut who have varsity dance squads. There are also several local studios where people of all ages learn dance on both the competitive and recreational levels, and these studios are shining, too, when it’s their time in the spotlight. With so much success spread throughout area, I wanted to learn more about the essential components that come with being part of the competitive dance world.
What is Competitive Dance?
In competitive dance, students from different studios compete against each other by performing routines in genres that include tap, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, musical theater, and acro. Dancers perform as either solos, duos, trios, small groups, large groups, lines, or productions. Accompanied by music, the routines typically last between 2 ½ to 3 minutes, or longer for productions and lines, and are graded by judges whose scores determine where a person or group places within their division. Competitions are divided based on age, as well as the experience level of the participants, and are contested at the regional, national, and world levels, primarily in the spring and summer months. Typically, dancers who compete on behalf of studios are between the ages of 4 and 18.
There are a few differences on the high school circuit. The four genres for competitive high school dance in Connecticut are hip-hop, jazz, kick, and pom. Teams perform two-minute routines as large groups that usually feature between 12 and 15 dancers. The high school season takes place during the winter and culminates with the State Championship, followed by the New England Championship for squads that qualify based on their performance at states.
Stamina and Strength
Competitive dancers need to be in excellent physical condition in order to execute what are often non-stop, high-octane performances. One of the ways this is achieved is by rehearsing a routine hundreds of times throughout the season, although dancers frequently do other exercises both with their teams and on their own to ensure they have enough fuel in the tank for showtime. Brandi Andrade, who recently completed a 10-year tenure at Westbrook Dance Academy, knows that any performance can suffer if competitors aren’t conditioned to leave every ounce of energy on the floor.
“If you’re not physically ready to be dancing fast-paced at a competition, even for a single dance, it can really get you down in many ways, emotionally and physically,” said Andrade, a Westbrook resident. “If you aren’t fit and not strong enough to do the dance, keep your stamina, and really hit the ending, then it just won’t come out as well as you want it to be. You have to be physically fit and emotionally prepared.”
Strength is just as important as stamina when it comes to competitive dancing. Heather Kenney, an Essex resident who is going into her 15th year at The Dance Corner in Killingworth, said that she and her fellow students do pushups to strengthen their arms and also work on their calves and feet. Kenney added that everything stems from the core, and that’s why dancers spend plenty of time building strength in their abs.
“The core is where everything comes from. You always have your core engaged, and all your strength comes from your core. Being able to balance on your foot comes from a strong core. It’s really important for turns,” Kenney said. “You have to work out your core and get your abs to do certain tricks and stuff, and you have to build a lot of muscle. You are doing kicks and leaps and turns and moving muscles in a different way, and there’s a lot of strength and ability that goes into it. People think it’s just like a hobby and doesn’t take much, but it does take a lot.”
An Artistic Endeavor
While athleticism is an integral part of competitive dance, the artistic aspect is just as important. Performances feature specific themes and storylines that can run the gamut of emotions, and dancers need to sell those emotions to the audience and judges through their movements and facial expressions.
“Similar to acting in a movie, you have a character to portray, and you have to make the audience believe your character,” said Julie Reed-Russo, the director at Westbrook Dance Academy.
Sandee Juliano, the associate director at The Dance Connection in East Haven, has seen kids grow confident from expressing themselves by adopting various personas in performances. One of the unique things about dance is that music is a critical piece of any routine. Juliano said that music makes performers feel more comfortable and that the experience of succeeding on stage often has a positive impact in other areas of their lives.
“Artistically, [dance] really helps get kids out of a shell and express in a way where they may not with words, but you put music on, and people relate to music...and each child has a way of expressing how music makes them feel,” said Juliano, whose mother Linda is the studio owner. “I’ve seen kids shy standing toward the back totally transformed in a year, in the front, knowing how to speak in front of an audience. They budget their time better when they give a school presentation. They carry themselves more expressively, not afraid to try new ideas and a new approach to things.”
“The artistic side of dance is so great,” she continued. “You can do something that makes somebody laugh, makes somebody think, raises awareness on so many different avenues and styles, something that appeals to everybody. And there’s no age limit. We’ve had people dance at two and dancers who dance their whole life.”
The Dance Corner’s director, Carrie Smith, said that the combination of arts and athleticism forms the foundation of competitive dancing, and so she emphasizes both of those things to her students.
“I have a T-shirt that’s become a popular phrase among dancers that says, ‘Athlete + Artist = Dancer.’ That sums it up beautifully,” said Smith. “These young people are athletes physically working with their bodies—that is an instrument—training daily, but they have an added piece of the artistic side and working with musicality that makes them a dancer. You need those two pieces to come together to make a competitive dancer a success. You can’t have one without the other. You have to work on both sides of athletics and artistry.”
Branford High School dance Head Coach Jacqui Montano is well-versed in both sides of that equation. Montano discusses the importance of effectively meshing the physical and emotional components of dance in order to deliver a show-stopping number.
“You’re not just going out and executing movements, but there’s also an acting element to it, and that is how you convey the story and emotion of the performance,” Montano said. “You really have to be connected to the music and the audience, and dancers need to connect with their teammates and sell whatever emotions, whether it’s lyrical or sassy jazz or hard-hitting hip-hop. You have to figure out the performance element to match that style of dance’s range of action and need to be doing it in a way where you make sure the face matches the feeling of the dance as you’re literally projecting emotion to the audience.”
The Show Must Go On
One of the biggest challenges for dancers is projecting those emotions if they make a mistake on stage. A slip-up may result in a deduction of points, but a performance can really go off the rails if anyone visibly indicates that something went wrong. No matter what, the show must go on.
“If you mess up performing in front of a crowd of hundreds, it’s hard not to stop, get mad, or cry or whatever, and that is really an element of professionalism—to keep going like you just didn’t make a mistake,” said Coach Montano. “And usually, when you make a mistake, you can go to the sidelines, huddle with your team, or get a pep talk with your coach, but none of that happens in a performance at a competition.”
Melissa Brennan, a senior captain for Branford, said that even though there’s no way to know when an error will occur, dancers prepare themselves to deal with them through the repetition of rehearsal.
“It’s really hard to train for a mistake, because they’re so unpredictable, but you really have to have muscle memory when you’re out their performing to know that if you make a mistake with your muscles, that your face has to do the same as what you practiced, and that comes naturally if you practice it enough,” said Brennan, who’s also competed for Shoreline Dance Academy, a studio in Branford. “It’s really letting that muscle memory and instinct take over. After practicing the dance so many times, stepping on stage—it’s just another dance. It’s in your blood and in your body.”
The Payoff of Dedication
Competitive dancers spend a ton of time practicing how to put on premium performances. For many, it’s a year-round cycle that has them training multiple hours a day several times a week. Then there are the weekend-long competitions. On top of that, this is all happening while dancers deal with other things like schoolwork. This type of packed schedule often prevents dancers from participating in other social activities, but recent Westbrook Dance Academy graduate Victoria Holton said the sacrifice is worth it, because of all the influential people she’s met throughout her career.
“As a competitive dancer, you spend more hours in the studio. It’s a lot of dedication, and you miss out on things in high school that you don’t get to do sometimes...but I don’t regret it, because I’ve met amazing people as a competitive dancer, and those people have formed me as a person,” said Holton, who lives in Westbrook. “Everyone I’ve met through the competitive dance world, the people I dance with on my team, are my family. I go with them to see other dancers once a year at competitions and experience meeting people of different backgrounds and ages and everything.”
Samantha Dunsmore, who’s entering her ninth year at The Dance Corner, said that sharing a common passion with dancers from around the region makes traveling to a competition an enriching experience.
“It’s hard at competitions, because you’re always running around...but you meet other people that you might be totally different from you, but in the end, you’re both doing the same thing, because you both love dance,” said Dunsmore, a Madison resident and senior at Daniel Hand High School. “Then you share your Facebook and your Instagram and go watch their videos, and it’s cool to see them do the same thing as you, even if you have nothing else in common. It’s our own cool little world.”
One of the most rewarding things for any dancer is the rush that comes with performing. Brennan said the feeling she gets from wowing the crowd alongside her teammates is unlike anything else.
“Competing is probably the greatest thrill you will ever get, on stage with the bright lights and not being able to see anyone in the audience, but feeling everyone around you and feeling the vibration of the music go through you,” she said. “It’s exhilarating, probably the best feeling you ever had in your life, and that’s something I feel every time I step out on the floor.”
It’s also a tremendously gratifying feeling when dancers they know that they poured their heart and soul into their performance and provided a little sunshine for the people in the seats.
“You want to captivate the audience and, hopefully, make someone’s day better and make a lot of people’s days better,” said Kenney. “If you make one person smile because you are up there, that is enough to make your day, especially when you hear people applaud and hear your friends and family cheer you. You feel loved and supported. You made their day better, and they made your day better.”