Dance Festivals & Competitions at JL Dance

Dance festivals and competitions are events where students perform routines in front of an adjudicator and an audience. Students may perform as soloists, in duets, trios, quartets or as part of a group.

The adjudicator watches the performances and may give comments, feedback, scores and placings. The exact format depends on the competition, the number of entries and how the event is organised.

Although competitions include awards and placings, they are not just about winning. They are also about stage time, confidence, performance skills, learning from feedback and experiencing dance in a different environment.

JL Dance chooses to attend friendly, supportive competitions. These are not intended to be harsh, cut-throat or unpleasant environments.

It is common to see students from different schools chatting, supporting each other and spending time together between sections. Many students know each other through school, other activities or previous competitions.

The aim is for students to enjoy the experience, support one another and represent JL Dance positively.

JL Dance may take group routines, solos, duets, trios and quartets to competitions.

For group routines, the styles taken will depend on what is viable for that particular competition. This can depend on the number of students who opt in, the routines available, the styles offered by the competition and the suitability of the group.

For example, if a group routine normally has 12 dancers but only 6 opt in for a particular competition, the routine may not be viable to enter. This means JL Dance may need to wait until opt-ins are received before confirming exactly which group routines can go ahead.

This can create a planning challenge, so families are asked to be patient while entries are assessed and organised.

Solos, duets, trios and quartets are usually rehearsed by the students in their own time. Families may also choose to book private lessons or studio hire to support rehearsal.

Where routines involve more than one student, families will need to coordinate rehearsal time with the other students involved.

Competition routines and music are managed through JL Dance student systems and, where relevant, the Comp Team portal .

Group competition rehearsals are organised by JL Dance where needed.

Sometimes these rehearsals may be added to a student’s normal timetable, such as staying for an extra 30 minutes before or after a class. Friday evenings have often been used for competition group rehearsals, although JL Dance may sometimes integrate rehearsals into the regular timetable where possible for convenience.

Rehearsal arrangements can vary depending on the competition, the routines being entered and the availability of teachers, rooms and students.

For group routines, students will often already have the correct costume if the routine has come from a JL Dance show.

If a student is joining a routine later, or has been invited into a routine after the original costume arrangements were made, additional costume information may be needed.

Families should always check that they have the correct costume, accessories, tights, shoes and hair requirements before competition day.

Dance competition entries are usually handled through JL Dance. Most competitions do not take independent entries directly from parents for students who are part of a dance school.

This means JL Dance submits the entries, communicates with the competition and receives the invoice.

Once entries have been submitted, they usually cannot be withdrawn without cost. If a family changes their mind after entries have gone in, the competition may still charge JL Dance for that entry. In that situation, JL Dance will need to pass the cost on to the family so the school is not left out of pocket.

Please only opt in to competitions and routines that your child is confident, prepared and committed to attending.

This is one of the most important things for new competition families to understand.

Competitions cannot create their final schedule until they know how many entries they have received, which styles have been entered, how many dancers are in each age group and how the sections need to be organised.

This means JL Dance often cannot tell families exactly which day or time their child will be dancing until after entries have been submitted and the competition has published the running order.

For example, a competition might run across eight days. A student may only dance on one or two of those days, but until the final schedule is released, families need to be prepared to be available across the full date range.

Because of this, families cannot usually opt in to group routines with conditions such as “we can do any day except Sunday afternoon”. Once the schedule is published, it is set by the competition.

Once a competition publishes its running order, JL Dance will share it with families as soon as possible, usually by email and through the members’ Facebook group.

JL Dance cannot ask a competition to rewrite its schedule around personal clashes, family events, parties or other commitments. Competitions manage large numbers of entries from many schools, and it is not realistic or fair to expect the running order to be changed for individual availability.

Please do not opt in unless you are prepared to work with the schedule once it is released.

Students dance in sections based on the competition’s own structure. This can vary depending on the size of the festival and the number of entries.

At a larger competition, age, style and routine type may be split into more specific sections, such as:

• 7-8 yrs Lyrical Solo
• 9-10 yrs Tap Solo
• 11-12 yrs Ballet Solo
• 13-14 yrs Modern Solo
• 10 and under Duet/Trio Cabaret

At a smaller competition, sections may be wider. For example:

• 7-10 yrs Solo Cabaret
• 11-14 yrs Solo Lyrical

Styles may also be grouped together where there are fewer entries. For example, modern, lyrical and tap might be placed together under a broader category such as cabaret.

This is normal and depends on how each competition manages its entries.

Most competitions provide adjudicator feedback.

Sometimes the adjudicator will speak on stage and give feedback to each dancer or routine. Other adjudicators may only announce the placings and give shorter verbal comments.

Students will almost always receive a report card with written feedback and a score.

Awards and placings can vary between competitions, sections and adjudicators. Parents and students should remember that results are based on one adjudicator’s opinion on that day. The most important thing is that the student performs well, enjoys the experience and learns from the feedback.

Families should plan ahead before travelling to a competition.

Important reminders:

Most dance competitions charge audience members to enter the auditorium and watch performances.

Many competitions operate from hired venues and may not have full card payment facilities available. Families should be prepared for some things to be cash-only, including audience entry fees, programmes, refreshments or other small purchases.

It is sensible to bring some cash or change just in case.

The best support parents can give is to help students feel prepared, calm and proud of their efforts.

Competitions naturally involve results, but students should not feel that success only means winning. A successful competition might mean remembering the choreography, smiling throughout, performing confidently, improving from last time, handling nerves well or receiving helpful feedback.

Parents can help by focusing on: