Honing The Edge 

Professional dancers on the value of competition

Gregg Russell

Emmy-nominated choreographer Gregg Russell has danced in music videos and movies (Newsies, Clueless), directed commercials, and choreographed for and performed on TV’s Even Stevens and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He has coached comedian Cedric the Entertainer, songstress Bette Midler, and ice skater Ilia Kulik. He is currently teaching at Edge Performing Arts in Hollywood, CA, and directs the L.A.-based tap company Tap Sounds Underground.

When I traveled to competitions, I would see and meet new and amazing dancers whom I never knew existed. Competing also gave me the opportunity to challenge myself and achieve goals, through failure and success. I was lucky enough to win many awards, and that helped get my name out there in the dance world, especially as a master teacher and choreographer. The friendships that I developed with fellow dancers still exist to this day, and I wouldn’t trade them for any trophy in the universe.

The [best thing about competing] was the opportunity to achieve goals and learn to deal with variables that are out of your control. You could compete the same routine one weekend and get first place, and then the next weekend get an honorable mention. That was a tough lesson to learn, but it made me stronger and taught me humility.

One experience that stands out was a life lesson. I had just competed and it didn’t go too well. I was mad at myself for all the mistakes I had made. A little girl came up to me and said, “That was the best thing I have ever seen in my life.” In my selfish teenage wisdom I said to her, “Well, I guess you haven’t seen very much in your life.” How ugly was that? I remember feeling terrible seeing that little girl’s face. It wasn’t up to me to decide what inspires someone else. I have personal standards, but I know that performing is for the audience as much as it is for me. That experience has stayed with me to this day.

Keith “Tyce” Diorio

A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Keith “Tyce” Diorio has choreographed for popular music artists and danced in their tours and videos, working with some of the biggest names in the business. Tyce has danced in Fosse, the pre-Broadway tour of All Shook Up, and several TV commercials and served as associate choreographer for the Broadway musical Good Vibrations. He has choreographed for TV awards shows and commercials and recently created a powerhouse routine for the winner of the hit show So You Think You Can Dance.

The time I spent competing in dance competitions gave me an edge over most dancers because I knew what it took to prepare, compete, and win. A career in dance does involve some sort of competition. Healthy competition is something I learned as well, which is very important as a dancer or performer of any kind. You have to be able to look at things in the best way possible for your growth if you want to stay in the entertainment industry and maintain a positive outlook.

The competition that stands out in my mind is the Mr. Dance of America national title I won at Dance Masters of America. It involved showing versatility in dance, taking classes, giving interviews, and speaking in front of an audience, as well as performing a piece several times for consistency. Those things are key in the business; if you can survive them, I think you can do almost anything. Many dancers I know who came from that experience went on to do great things in dance and show business.  

Derrick Yanford

Choreographer, master teacher, and adjudicator Derrick Yanford trained at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has performed with Ballet Hispanico, Joffrey Concert Dancers, and Koresh Dance Company, among others. His national and European tours include Footloose, West Side Story, Evita, and A Few Good Men Dancin’. He danced in the “Christmas Spectacular” at Walt Disney World and Radio City Music Hall and has choreographed for parades and the 76ers Dance Team.

Growing up as a competitive dancer definitely had a positive influence on my professional dance career. As a competitor I was given opportunities not only to perform but to be surrounded by other dancers of all ages and levels. This helped me create a clearer idea of where I was as a dancer. Seeing students of the same age who were of a higher caliber than me inspired me to work harder because I was more aware of my potential. I also remember seeing dancers who were great performers. Not only were they skilled technically; they knew how to entertain, tell a story, or get their message across. I tried to emulate them. Seeing other dancers’ styles helped me create my own, which anyone in this business will tell you is paramount. A dancer with no style is a dancer with no job. There must be something interesting and unique about your dancing in order for a producer or choreographer to choose to put you onstage.

I started dancing sort of late, at 13, and I longed to discover what separated the great dancers from the good ones. I thought that watching could help me figure it out, and it did. There was some kind of knowledge, in one form or another, waiting to reveal itself in each performance. Witnessing the proficiency of so many excellent dancers made me aware that if I wanted to be at their level, then I had to work diligently every day. I believe this helped create the most important tool I would need in building my career: my work ethic.

Competing made me comfortable with the idea of competing for a job. In this industry, we are constantly asked to prove ourselves. And when you compete as a child, you learn early on that you win some and you lose some. You’re not always going to get what you want or what you’ve worked so hard for. I learned how to deal with rejection as well.

One competitive moment that stands out in my mind happened when I was about 16 years old. I visualized my routine while I was sitting in the audience. It was as if no one was in the theater but myself; I got to this quiet place in my mind and blocked out everything that was around me. All I saw was myself onstage, dancing flawlessly to the music. When it came time to perform, I allowed my body to do what my mind had already seen, and that’s exactly what happened. I remember it being effortless and almost feeling as if I wasn’t doing any of it myself. It was one of, if not the, best performance of my amateur career.

Jeremy Raia

A first soloist at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Jeremy Raia trained at Boston Ballet School, the Joffrey School, Juilliard, and Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Netherlands. After dancing with Ballet Arizona for two years, he joined Les Grands Ballets in 1998. He has danced Mercutio and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, principal roles in Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie and Episodes, and the grand pas de deux and numerous other roles in Fernand Nault’s Nutcracker.

Competing gave me many tools for my life as a dancer, and I continue to be affected today by what I learned as a competitor. The first and most important lesson was teamwork. We had to make sure we looked as if we danced with those dancers all the time, and we had to be together. You had to give everyone in the group the same respect, even when they weren’t [equal in talent]. This was a challenge for those of us who were considered the strong dancers. How does the only boy (with a big ego at the time) make everyone feel great about what they are doing? I realized I was part of something bigger than myself, a team. Even before I became a professional I realized that you are hardly ever onstage by yourself, and if you ever want to be, you must first work well with a group before anyone will think you can hold it together well enough to be a soloist. In a ballet company this is extremely important.

[Through competitions] my eyes were opened to the world of dance that existed outside the neighborhood studio’s walls. I saw what dance could be and the dancer I could be. Today, I work with some of the most influential choreographers in the world, and I have to be open to their ideas in order to create something beautiful. I have to be ready for anything they throw at me. I think all the conventions I went to helped prepare me for these situations.

Probably the most life-changing lesson for me was when I came in first runner-up to Mr. Dance of America. George Lon came to me and said, “You are not a dancer; you are a work of art. This type of audience is not ready to understand what you are trying to say.” This put so much into perspective for me and affected my whole career in many ways. When I go back to the competitive world to teach, choreograph, or judge, I feel that the audience is more ready, more open—and maybe I, along with countless others, am slightly responsible for that.