Competitive Dance: Mindset Matters
Written By: Marisa Crisostomo
Competitive Dance: Mindset Matters
Perhaps it is a little cliché to say, but I truly believe that DANCE has undeniably shaped me into the person I am today. Growing up as a competitive dancer just outside of San Francisco, I experienced firsthand how dance fosters discipline, resilience, and personal growth. My years in competitive dance opened doors to opportunities beyond high school, through college and graduate school, and ultimately led me to become an instructor at APAC!
Competitive dance offers a wealth of benefits—physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. It enhances strength, flexibility, and coordination while instilling discipline, perseverance, and a strong work ethic. Being part of a team teaches dancers collaboration, teamwork, and the value of working toward a shared goal. More than just a sport, competitive dance nurtures lifelong skills such as confidence, adaptability, a growth mindset, and the ability to receive and apply constructive feedback—Skills I continue to use today!
However, competitive dance comes with challenges, including the risk of injury, high-pressure environments, perfectionism, and self-doubt. I was often met with disappointment in the competitive dance world: Not placing, being passed up for scholarships or auditions, lower than expected adjudications, etc. but the key to overcoming these challenges lies in mindset. There are two things that my dance teacher said to me that stuck and shaped how I approached competition:
1. How much time are you willing to spend on dance?
2. Dance is subjective
Time Spent in Dance Matters
Like any skill—whether sports, music, or academics—improvement in dance is directly tied to the time invested. Consistent training is essential to refining technique, and those who dedicate more hours to technique classes (e.g. ballet, stretch, dance mechanics, strength & agility, tumbling), private lessons, and cross-training typically see greater progress. When I first started competing, I danced about 2.5 hours a week. By my senior year, I was training 5-7 hours weekly, which sure felt like A LOT—especially compared to my soccer friends who practiced just 1 hour a week and had a 2 hour game on Saturday! However, I soon realized that many competitive dancers train 20 or more hours per week, focusing on technique alone. It is also not uncommon for dancers to be homeschooled to allow for more training time.
Reaching the level of dancers I admired required a significant increase in training, private lessons, and exposure to master classes and conventions. Yet, my studio director always emphasized the importance of having a well-rounded life outside of dance. My teammates and I participated in school activities, other sports, church, and family events, while balancing our commitment to dance. While training hours impact skill development, finding the right balance between dance, education, and personal life is crucial. How much time you are willing to spend at dance will depend on how large of a role you wish for dance to play in your child’s and family’s life and your child’s goals in dance.
Understanding that time spent training directly impacts skills also helps set realistic competition expectations. Competitive dance levels (i.e. novice/recreational, intermediate, advanced/competitive) are designed to account for variations in training hours, though criteria can be vague, vary by competition, and are largely at the discretion of each studio’s director. When I competed as a dancer, there were age and genre categories, but everyone competed against each other without consideration to “levels”. Although we didn’t train nearly as many hours as many of our competitors, we still often placed and had our share of 1 st Overalls. While dancers who train more often generally perform at higher levels, success isn’t solely defined by hours spent in the studio.
Dance is Subjective
Dance requires athleticism, endurance, and technical precision, but it is also an art form, making it inherently subjective. Competition judges evaluate performances based on technique, musicality, energy, choreography, and stage presence, but their personal preferences and biases inevitably influence scores. Psychological factors—such as a judge’s frame of reference, fatigue, or even the order of performances—can impact evaluations. A dancer performing just a few minutes earlier or later in all likelihood would receive a different score. Placements are also often fractions of a point apart. Whenever I felt discouraged by an unexpected result, my teacher reminded me: “It’s only three people’s opinions.” While competition feedback is valuable, a dancer’s self-worth should never be defined by a single adjudication. What truly matters is personal progress, dedication, and pride in one’s hard work.
A Healthy Competitive Dance Mindset
Competitive dance is a powerful tool for growth, teaching life lessons that extend far beyond the stage. The key to a positive experience lies in balancing personal and dance goals, setting realistic expectations based on training time, and embracing the subjectivity of the art. Winning isn’t just about trophies—it’s about the confidence, skills, and lifelong friendships gained along the way. (As a side note: After high school, most of my team did pursue dance in a variety of avenues – majoring or minoring in dance in college, college dance teams, various dance companies, and professional dance roles. We all landed ourselves in variety of careers – academia, realty, marketing, architecture, K-12 education, healthcare & more. About half of us are dance and/or fitness instructors! My time spent training with them will always be invaluable, and many of us still remain in contact today )
TLDR:
In competitive dance, both time spent training and the subjectivity of judging play crucial roles in a dancer’s experience and success. Skill improvement is directly related to practice time—dancers who invest more hours in technique classes, private lessons, and cross-training typically see greater progress and higher competition scores. However, dance is also an art form, making judging inherently subjective. Scores can vary based on judges’ preferences, competition criteria, and even the timing of a performance. Understanding both factors helps set realistic expectations, allowing dancers to focus on personal growth, improvement, and the joy of performing rather than just competition results.
Written By: Marisa Crisostomo