Competing in creativity: on the college scene, another brand of March Madness.

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Competition defines the American way of life, from Little League to the Oscars. Winners make news. Naturally, dance hops on the competition bandwagon, with hit TV shows, conventions, and ballet festivals.

Every spring the National Collegiate Athletic Association sponsors a college basketball tournament. Simultaneously the American College Dance Festival Association holds 10 regional conferences. But while the NCAA's "March Madness" dominates the sports media for weeks on end, when was the last time you heard a word about ACDFA? It may not be front-page news, but ACDFA's annual events are as central to college dancers as the NCAA's are to basketball players.

ACDFA, based in Rockville, Maryland, was established in 1973 to promote choreographic endeavors in college and university dance departments. The organization struggles with the idea of competitions even as it runs them.

Its conferences expose thousands of dance students to intensive immersion in classes, workshops, and concert preparation. Participating schools each bring a maximum of two works to the regional gatherings, at least one student-choreographed. There is a 12-minute time limit, and only students can perform. Several pieces shown in each region, choreographed by students, faculty, or guest artists, are then chosen to appear on gala concerts. Every second year, selected works from each region travel to a national festival. Judges select the top pieces and performers to receive special prizes (one of them sponsored by this magazine).

Although this structure is similar to that of the NCAA, Diane DeFries, executive director of ACDFA, bristles at the comparison. "There's a lot of debate about whether dance is a sport or not. To me, it never seemed equivalent," she says. "Our focus is the learning process, presenting work to a panel of professionals with expertise that students and faculty may not have access to at their home institutions. The lifeblood of the conferences is the feedback sessions."

After each concert, participants hear from the three adjudicators (who may be choreographers or critics, and often teach in other regions). Adjudicators view all dances without knowledge of who made them, aiming their remarks at the entire group. They address issues of structure, design, performance quality, pacing, and choice of accompaniment. This may be the first time some students' work is critiqued by anyone other than their professors; they learn how their creations "read" to dispassionate observers. Students hear their teachers' and guest artists' works assessed alongside their own work.

"Dance is now in the mainstream consciousness as a competitive activity," says DeFries. "Most dance competitions are all about technique; the standards are clearer. But this is a competition around creativity. Turning it into a win-lose situation is not something we want to do."

The spring 2008 national festival will take place June 4-6 at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. It's a first for ACDFA, which usually holds its event in Washington, D.C.'s Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center. Says DeFries, "We're really excited about sending the students out into New York City to go take class at various studios."

In a national year, "You've got the crime de la crime up against each other," observes Mary-Jean Cowell, festival coordinator for ACDFA's Central Region and an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Teachers have to approach their dean to get funded, or else students have to pay their own way. "Some colleagues have said, 'I have to tell my dean that this is like getting chosen for the NCAA. Then they can understand that this is an honor. You've made the big time.'"

Despite this comparison, "Dance is not equivalent to basketball, where you either make the shot or you don't," notes DeFries. "The aesthetics and ideas about craft in choreography, and standards of performance--ultimately it's a subjective judgment. What makes one good piece better than another good piece?"

She finds students are inspired by the experience whether the pieces they're in are selected for the gala or not. "They've seen work that was new to them, met people from all over. Being in the festivals helps them put their own work into perspective."

Cowell has observed more camaraderie than competition at the conferences. "The students cheer for another school when they're really good. They're cheering for that level of achievement. It's competitive in the sense of 'What are the highest standards we can achieve?'"

Mary Cochran, chair of the dance department at Barnard College of Columbia University, says ACDFA focuses on the creative process. "You look at dances and decide 'What is quality? What stands out and why?' The virtuosity doesn't turn the adjudicators on as much as pieces that say something."

She feels that too many competitions "are all about being 'hot.' ACDFA wants to go in the other direction, choosing pieces that push the art form forward. There are so many qualities in dance, and we try to encompass them all."

Elizabeth Zimmer, who has served as an adjudicator at several A CDFA conferences, writes about the arts from NYC.