Competing at conventions.

It is midnight in the ballroom of a New Jersey hotel at a recent dance convention, and competition judge Jefferson Baum, a New York City teacher and professional ballet dancer, wearily watches the 280th act. Dancers in sparkling Lycra costumes prance, high kick, and spin; cameras flash, families cheer and applaud, and trophies gleam in the lights from the stage.

Welcome to the world of conventions and competitions. At best, they can expose students to new teachers and styles of dance, motivate them to work harder, and provide opportunities to demonstrate their talent. At worst, they can be expensive, interminably long, sometimes completely disorganized weekends that overwork both teachers and dancers.

Thousands of dancers attend an array of conventions and competitions each year. Many schools, referred to as "competition schools," go to an average of seven different events per year. Not to be confused with such ballet competitions as the Prix de Lausanne and the New York and Jackson competitions which cater mainly to preprofessional and professional ballet dancers, these conventions and competitions welcome dancers of all abilities and degrees of experience. They are traveling events which attract dancers who are interested in jazz and tap, as well as in ballet.

Most conventions and competitions follow the same basic format. The competitions are an opportunity for students to perform, to be judged and critiqued, and to win trophies, cash, and limited scholarships. Conventions generally include a shorter competition, a day of classes, and occasionally a faculty performance. Entrants are between the ages of six and eighteen, with a wide variety of dance ability and training. In the winter and spring, competitions and conventions crisscross the country for semifinals. Winners from semifinals are invited to compete in grand finals. Each competition holds its own grand final. Held in the summer months, grand finals are expanded and glorified versions of semifinals; some are even televised nationally.

Why attend a convention or competition?

Conventions offer students who live outside of major metropolitan areas an opportunity to take classes with well-known teachers from major cities. "I think that the conventions have a tremendous influence in keeping dancers and teachers very up-to-date and current on what is happening in the big cities," says Joe Lanteri, director of New York City Dance Alliance. "I bring five of New York's established teachers on the road--people who teach every day in New York City in a professional-level class." Michelle Kowalski, director of All That Dance, a school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, agrees. "[The students] learn from other teachers and they get experience from different backgrounds. They come back into class and are excited about what they have learned and who they were with, and they try the different things that they learned. It increases their enthusiasm to participate in my classes." Some conventions schedule classes for teachers to keep them current in the newest trends, showing them a lyrical jazz combination or demonstrating the latest in hip-hop style.

The thrill of competition and the opportunity to perform draw dancers to competitions. "I like performing, I like getting awards, and I like the achievement I feel," says Janna Oberdorf, age twelve, from In the Spotlight, in Red Bank, New Jersey, interviewed between her competition numbers at the Tremaine competition in New York. Tom Karaty, director of In the Spotlight, explains the need to compete: "If you played basketball or soccer and all you did was practice, you'd eventually quit the team. If we get these kids to take lessons and improve, well, why are they going to do it unless they get a chance to display their talents?"

Competition experience can strengthen performance skills. Baum, who also directs a summer dance program in Blue Lake, Michigan, noticed the performing abilities of one student, who attended a competition school the rest of the year. "As soon as I put this girl onstage, she was in heaven. She was fearless, while some of the other kids were petrified. Some of the kids who go to these competitions really learn how to perform onstage."

Students are evaluated and critiqued by professionals in the dance field; in many competitions comments are written or taped for the students. "The critiques from Headliners competition were excellent," says Dawn Bess, director of Steppin' Out in Red Bank, New Jersey. "They were really helpful to me and to the children." Competitors also have the chance to compare their ability and progress to that of their peers. "They see the other kids their age, and they see how they stack up against them," says Karaty. "The hardest thing is to keep it in perspective, that it is amateur and it is a learning experience."

The most successful competitors become representatives of the conventions and tour, when they can, with the organization, helping out with classes and performing in the faculty show. "The experience has helped me a lot," says Ashley Chin, age fourteen, Tremaine's Teen Dancer of the Year, "and I've improved from being at all of the competitions, because it's more performing than just taking classes." These dancers serve as role models for younger students. "When the dancers of the year teach, it's fun for the kids, because they are really close in age," Bess remarks. "They are really excellent dancers, so they give the kids something to look forward to." Title winners are given other opportunities, such as performing at the Kennedy Center in Gus Giordano's upcoming Jazz Dance World Congress in Washington, D.C. Giordano honors the national title winners of ten different conventions on July 6 with a "Premiere Dancers Performance" of eighteen young dancers.

Summer finals stretch to four or five days and often become a family affair. "It becomes a special summer event; people literally plan their vacations and their summertime around these kinds of things," maintains Lanteri. Finals are usually held in popular tourist destinations, such as Orlando, New York, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City. Between classes, students shop for T-shirts, costumes, shoes, and dance bric-a-brac from the myriad of different vendors who set up booths near the ballrooms.

With dozens of organizations competing to lure students, how do students and teachers select which events to attend? Different events have different styles and attributes, and many teachers confess that finding the right one is mainly trial and error. "There are some really super ones, and there are some that are not so great, and sometimes I don't go back to them," says Kowalski. "I would say each one has its own unique way of doing it. When we went to Joe Tremaine's, we got the California style; when we went to New York City Dance Alliance, we got the New York style."

Opinions vary on the merit of conventions versus competitions, and many schools go to both. "I as a teacher think--and I think the students agree--that the ones with the workshops and conventions are much better than just the straight competitions," says Bess. "They learn so much more through them." While Tom Karaty finds, "As much as some of these competitions foster the classes, and some give some very fine classes, I don't think that the kids or the families would want to go if there weren't competitions."

The level of professionalism varies widely among the organizations, and teachers do have distinct ideas of qualities to look for in a competition or convention. Most teachers have at least one story of an event that went overtime or was unprofessionally managed. Teachers stress that it is important that the competition employs a high caliber of judges and essential that the organization and event are well organized.

"The conventions are only as good as the judges," explains Karaty. "If I don't value your opinion, why would I want to go to your competition? I prefer going where it is professional dancers who are the judges." Bess agrees, describing a competition at which the judges were less than attentive to the students. "We have gone to some where we have gotten the critique tapes back and we've gotten comments like, `Why aren't your kids wearing tan shoes?' and they have been wearing that color shoe. Sometimes you wonder, Are they watching? Are they on lunch break?"

Baum explains that the judges are watching, sometimes for eight hours without a break. He described a convention he had recently judged. "The length surprised me. We went from 8:00 in the morning until 12:30 at night, with a one-and-one-half-hour break--that's fifteen hours. I saw about three hundred acts." Conventions typically limit entries to eight to ten per school, while at some competitions, as one school director put it, "You can bring everything but the kitchen sink."

Long hours and lack of organization can also strain the entrants. "By midnight, kids were messing up, because they got tired," adds Baum. "They were still performing and it was midnight, and these are twelve-and thirteen-year-olds!" Competitions that go overtime cease to be fun for both teachers and students. "It loses a lot of its luster and its magic," explains Karaty, "and sometimes you don't care whether you won, lost, or whatever; you just want to get out of there." At one competition, the order of competitors was switched, and Karaty's students, who had warmed up in pointe shoes for a ballet piece, ended up sitting around waiting, unsure of when they would perform. "Then they announced the number," says Karaty, "and they went out there cold, and poorly prepared. We'll never go back to something like that again."

Money is another hurdle. With the cost of costumes, classes and coaching, travel, and entry fees, entering competitions can be prohibitively expensive. Most schools turn to fund-raising to cover some of the expense. "We have a nonprofit competition team," explains Bess. "They do a lot of fund-raising throughout the year, and what they raise they can use toward the competitions or the costumes or the travel." One director, who asked not to be named, said, "It gets very expensive, and that's a problem for the school. Sometimes they pay more for competitions and for costumes and for travel--not sometimes, all the time--than they pay for the lessons. When they look at the bottom line, the parents see, 'Oh, boy, I spent $8,000 last year for my daughter to dance,' when in fact maybe $1,400 was all the tuition that the school saw."

Competitions have their detractors who claim that art, unlike sports, can't be scored. "I just don't like competitions in general, for dance," says Baum. "It's competition for art, but how can you say this painting is better than that one?" Others are convinced that competition is an integral part of our culture. "The tenor of America today, and of the kids, is very competitive, very competition-minded," states Karaty, explaining that even if students did have other performing outlets, they would still seek out competitions.

Once the decision is made to attend a convention or competition, how should teachers and dancers approach the event in order to get the most from the experience? "I think that the smartest thing that any teacher can tell their students is, `You are going to walk into some classes now that might seem a little tough," says Lanteri. " `but that's exactly why you are there.' What I teach on the road is exactly out of my class in New York, I don't simplify any of it. Rather than be frustrated, students should accept the challenge and be proud of the fact that they are exposing themselves to it, because that's the only way that they are going to continue to get better."

Judges look first for technical ability, but other qualities, such as presentation, choreography, and costuming are also important. "We are looking to see that they have had a positive attitude all weekend, that they have treated everyone else and ourselves as well with some level of respect," explains Lanteri. "Beyond that we really are looking at their technical proficiency." Different judges prefer different styles.

"Sometimes its just too showbizzy," asserts Baum. "In some of the jazz numbers, especially, their outfits were really sexy, and as they were doing their shuffle off after their number, they winked at the judges. I think that they could cool off on that and be a little more natural." Janna Oberdorf's advice to fellow competitors? "Just have fun onstage, and perform."

One young dancer took Lanteri's advice to keep working. "Last week a girl came up to me," says Lanteri, "and she said, 'I have to tell you honestly that I came to your convention last year and it was the first time in my life that anybody made me feel like I had any talent.' She was made to feel like she was important and that she mattered. And she has really worked, and made it as one of our finalists with a scholarship this year. She was fighting back tears as she said, `I want you to know you have made a difference in my life.' "