I’m writing this the day after a fun filled first competition weekend of the season. Our 30 competition team dancers have been working hard for months and finally got the chance to show their work to professional judges and a big audience.
Dance competitions are wonderful in that they provide a chance to see other dancers perform and get exposed to and inspired by new moves and artistry. They also provide a way to get feedback from professional dancers, outside of the teachers they work with weekly.
Sometimes the dancers hear a correction or idea that their Liberty Dance Center teacher has told them 100x before but hearing it in a new way, from a new voice can make all the difference. And at the end of the day, progress is what we are working towards and this is a great way to do so!
Good Sportsmanship
But as much as we stress the importance of strong technique and artistry when they compete, we also really strive to relay the message of good sportsmanship. What does that look like at a dance competition?
Well, it can be as simple as telling a dancer from another studio that you think their costume is really cool. Or that their dance was really beautiful. It’s about learning to handle disappointments with grace. Dance is an art form and you may have performed your absolute best and not scored the way you think you should have.
So when your number gets called and it’s not what you expected to receive, do you pout and have a disgruntled look on your face? Or do you smile and say thank you (and work a bit harder when you get back in the classroom)? It’s about leaving the dressing room as clean, if not cleaner than it was when we arrived. It’s also about treating your teammates, parents, teachers and venue staff with respect.
More Than Just Great Dancing
Our dancers earned MANY special judges awards and overall placements this weekend. They truly rocked the dancing aspect of it. But what a wonderful surprise it was when Liberty Dance Center was named the Sportsmanship award winner out of all the studios that competed this weekend.
Our dancers were noticed not only for their amazing dancing but also for their behavior when they were not on the stage dancing. We talk a lot about this inside the walls of Liberty Dance Center and how we always take the high road, even when it’s hard to do so. So for these dancers to get recognized by a big competition, is so special to us all. And while we were genuinely shocked when we heard our name called, we also weren’t…because we know our dancers (and teachers) at Liberty Dance Center are about More Than Just Great Dancing. Well done team!!
“We don’t teach kids to make great dancers. We teach dance to make great kids.” ~ Misty Lown
PS. We feel very blessed that our dancers are BOTH great dancers AND great kids.
~Miss Kate
