Why We Don’t Compete

Sara Malloy

As a student, the tail end of my studio years before college were taken over by the sweeping trend of competition.  I can remember feeling very special to have been selected as part of the team and the undertone of importance adding the “competitive” to everything.  There were certain venues we came away from feeling great about ourselves while others left our self-confidence crushed.

No two people will ever look at a dancer or piece of choreography and value the same things.  Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion…that is hardly an appropriate ranking system or a valid way to build or destroy self-esteem.  Feedback on choreography or proper technique can be constructive, but how do you rank dancers and choreography fairly when there is so much personal preference involved?

Dance is art and art is subjective.  Passion for winning shouldn’t be more important than passion for dancing.  We believe that all of our dancers should feel good about themselves if they are working hard and making progress.  We need to embrace what we think our flaws are and turn them into positives because what makes a good dancer is unique to each individual.  Proper technique, meaningful choreography, and genuine performance are what we are striving for at Artistry Dance and that…is why we don’t compete.