We don’t always think about ballroom dance as being competitive, but at Fred Astaire Dance Studios, we host numerous regional, national and international Pro-Am and Professional dance competitions, as inspiring opportunities for our students to compete, hone their dancing skills in supportive environments, and experience exciting vacation destinations.
These upcoming Fred Astaire Dance Studios National dance competition events – our annual Cross Country Dance Championships in Houston from April 18-22, the Fred Astaire World Championships in Las Vegas July 24-28, and the National Dance Championships in Orlando on October 30-November 3 – all speak to the glamour, excitement and high level of achievement of Fred Astaire Dance Studios professional instructors and students as well.
Just as athletes play to win, dancers dance to win. They prepare, practice and perform. They need their minds and bodies to be right to succeed. Because dance competitions are judged and scored, every aspect of the dance routine must be properly executed.
As our competitive dance events grow in popularity and more and more FADS students and instructors take part, the standards by which excellence is gauged also become elevated. So, as a competitor, how can you get ready for such scrutiny and pressure? What will keep you calm and relaxed as your big moment approaches?
Here are some tips that can help you be your best at a dance competition:
Leave no aspect of preparation to chance. Make lists. Nothing can frazzle a competitor like finding out at the last minute that shoes or wardrobe are not in order. Tend to details. And in the bigger picture of preparation, work carefully with your instructor to smooth out your routine and build confidence in your skills. Judges know which performers feel comfortable with what they are doing. Exude that aura of mastery, and let it shine through.
About those judges … watch them as the competition unfolds. What do they seem to respond to? Judges can sense confidence, mood and attitude. Have your mind focused, and build a sense of what the judges are most closely watching.
Looking good. Appearance is very important at a dance competition. And when we look good, we feel good. As the event nears, wear your competition outfit and shoes to some of your practice sessions, to feel completely at home in it. You may even want to style your hair for practice sessions. The fewer surprises sprung at the competition, the more at ease and relaxed you will be.
Focus on dancing. Once you are in the spotlight, nothing else matters. Keep your mind uncluttered and your feet light. Engage the judges and your audience. Breathe, and enjoy your time on the dance floor. This is what you have been working towards!
Stick to your plan on the dance floor. Consider how important choreography was to Fred Astaire. He left no steps rehearsed and was tireless in his efforts to perfect what he planned to execute. Go with what you know, even if something unexpected happens. Don’t overthink this. The confident performer is the cool performer.
Your dance instructor will have more helpful advice as you prepare for your upcoming Fred Astaire Dance Studios dance competition. It’s hard work, but it is inspiring, confidence-building, fun work too! To quote Fred Astaire himself: “It takes time to get a dance right, to create something memorable.”
Whether you’re interested in jumping into the wonderful world of ballroom dance, or just getting your feet wet – get started today by getting in touch with us, at Fred Astaire Dance Studios.
Help us find the studios near you! Our closest locations will display on the search results page.
* indicates a required field
Help us find the studios near you! Our closest locations will display on the search results page.
Modal Header
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
We don’t always think about ballroom dance as being competitive, but at Fred Astaire Dance Studios, we host numerous regional, national and international Pro-Am and Professional dance competitions, as inspiring opportunities for our students to compete, hone their dancing skills in supportive environments, and experience exciting vacation destinations.