Private Dance Competitions: How Did They Begin? What Is Their Future?

Living and teaching in New England, I have had a front-row seat to the evolution of private dance competitions, from their very modest beginnings, to my own role in shaping early competition structures, and finally to my belief that the current model is ready for meaningful change. My experience spans entering one of the earliest competitions in Massachusetts, creating and organizing a regional event of my own, and ultimately rethinking how competitions could better serve dancers, teachers, and studio owners today.

My introduction to dance competitions dates back to 1973, when I was one of the first teachers in Massachusetts to enter a private event. That competition featured just 35 entries and stretched from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.—a very long day that, in hindsight, felt more padded than purposeful. Still, at the time, it was groundbreaking. For many of us, this was our first opportunity to see students perform outside of an annual recital, and it marked the beginning of a new chapter in studio dance education.

By 1977, concerns from my own customers about the management and value of these once-a-year events prompted me to take action. I created a local competition called the American Dance Invitational, designed to be more organized and educator-focused. During this period, I was deeply involved with Dance Masters of America Chapter #5, competing in and helping to design the New England Miss Dance Competition, including the Petite and Junior Miss divisions. I also formalized rules that had previously existed only on a typed sheet of paper and introduced what became known as an adjudicated scoring system—one that has since been adopted and used globally.

To understand where competitions are today, it helps to recognize where they began. I believe the movement traces back to the late 1960s, led by Bev Fletcher of Buffalo, New York, who taught Michael Bennett, the choreographer and creator of A Chorus Line. This was followed by innovators such as Richard DiSarno and Sam Fiorello, who introduced the solo-only competition Dancing Deb. These early events were never meant to be extravagant productions; they were simply intended to give students another place to dance, grow, and be seen beyond the recital stage.

Today’s dance competitions are impressive, high-powered productions, and I genuinely applaud the organizers who have elevated the experience while maintaining a model that is now more than fifty years old. Their perseverance—especially through the challenges of the COVID shutdowns—deserves recognition, as does the integrity shown by those who returned entry fees to families rather than offering credits. At the same time, my transition into public education in 1988 gave me a new perspective. Attending athletic events, traveling with teams and families, and observing different competitive structures led me to question whether dance competitions could be formatted differently—perhaps in ways that better reflect skill development, educational outcomes, and shared ownership opportunities for studio owners.

In reflecting on this history, I see private dance competitions as an evolving system rooted in good intentions, shaped by educators, and sustained by tradition. From their humble beginnings to today’s polished productions, they have served generations of dancers well. Yet, I believe the next evolution lies in rethinking scoring, emphasizing core dance domains, and creating models that support both educational growth and financial sustainability for studios. Understanding where competitions began is the first step toward imagining what they could become next.

Jann Davis, an Ivy League graduate at the masters level, is a global leader and social media influencer in studio dance education, with a focus on the Dance Classroom®. Jann's extensive influence in the dance realm includes trailblazing in competitions, creating the first adjudicated scoring system, and innovating a new format for dance student achievement events. Inspired by youth and public education sports, this format employs a rubric-based scoring system for objective assessment of dance routines. Jann's overarching goal is to support dance educators by providing tools for benchmarks, lesson plans, assessments, curricula, and effective classroom management techniques.

Jann's model AMERICAN SPORT DANCE GAMES®, offers an alternative to the dance competition circuit which she helped to pioneer in 1976. She believes that within three years this format, available only to members of AADI, will revolutionize dance studios by allowing dance educators a voice in the presentation of how they educate dancers in the 21st century.

Ms. Davis presents professional development seminars to dance educators throughout the USA who are searching for a new model, a 21st century approach to dance education at conventions and at private in-house workshops. Please use our CONTACT FORM for further information to book Jann, she is also available to consult virtually.

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