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 Competition
As a Metaphor for Life
By Nancy Stone
There’s more to preparation than rehearsals
Are you ready for the next competition? Don’t fool yourself!
Rehearsals, rehearsals, and more rehearsals are not enough to
prepare your students for competition. Although rehearsals are
important, preparing your students mentally for the experience
is equally if not more important. This task—not an easy
one—falls on the shoulders of you, the dance educator.
It is imperative that students and their parents understand
and strive for the same goals that you have set for your
studio and your competitive team.
Before you set foot in the studio for your next rehearsal,
stop and think about the big picture. We all should have a
passion in life, and dance awakens enthusiasm in hundreds of
thousands of children every year. Dance and dance education,
whether competitive or recreational, pave the way for young
people to become responsible, caring adults. Take the
following helpful guidelines for life and dance into the
studio, onto the stage, and on the road as you head into
competition season.
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Set reachable goals.
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Be realistic about your ability. Know and accept your strong
and weak points.
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Do not expect more of yourself than you are capable of
delivering.
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Be prepared for the unexpected so that you will be able to
cope. Remember, not every day will be stellar. Be prepared for
the less-than-stellar ones.
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Every road to success has its stumbling blocks. It is
important that we weigh issues in order to make sensible
decisions.
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Search for and find the best qualities in your opponents.
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Learn to genuinely give praise for work well done by others.
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Appreciate the efforts of others and in return, others will
appreciate your efforts.
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Enjoy what you are doing.
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Have fun!
The true champions at a dance competition, as well as in life,
are the people who do the best they can, enjoy what they do,
and are happy with the results of their efforts.
To get the most out of your competition experience, I
encourage you to keep in mind my company’s philosophy: “A
dance competition is the way a certain set of judges views a
certain set of dancers on a certain day. If we were to change
any one of these things—if we had done this yesterday, or if
we had different judges— chances are the results would in some
way be different. It is good that we compete as dancers, for
we compete as people every day of our lives. Competing in
dance helps us to know where we have been, where we are today,
and where we need to aim to go in the future. It is
imperative, however, in this competition, that we remember
that the true worth of anyone, as a person or as a dancer, has
never, nor will ever be, measured by a trophy.”
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