Ask the Dance Collective
Dance questions, answered
The questions competitive-dance families actually ask — costs, choosing a studio, genres, categories, skill levels, scoring, and nationals — each answered directly up top, with the detail underneath. Written for studio competitive dance and kept honest: ranges instead of made-up numbers, and the note that every brand writes its own rules.
Getting Started
How Do You Choose a Competitive Dance Studio?
How to pick the right competitive dance studio: teacher training, technique philosophy, healthy culture, honest costs, the competition and convention schedule, and the questions to ask before committing to a season.
Read the answerWhat Is the Difference Between a Dance Competition and a Convention?
A dance competition scores finished routines for placements; a dance convention is a weekend of master classes and scholarship auditions that trains and evaluates the individual dancer
Read the answerWhat Should You Expect at Your First Dance Competition?
A first-timer’s guide to a dance competition day: call times, hair and makeup, how routines and awards work, adjudication tiers, spectator tips, and a complete competition-day packing checklist.
Read the answerCosts & Planning
How Much Does Competitive Dance Cost?
What a competitive dance season really costs: studio tuition, competition and convention entry fees, costumes, choreography, solos, and travel
Read the answerWhat Does the Competitive Dance Season Look Like?
The annual arc of a competitive dance season, month by month
Read the answerGenres & Levels
What Are the Dance Competition Genres?
The genres of competitive dance and what judges reward in each
Read the answerWhat Are the Dance Competition Categories?
How competitive dance routines are grouped by size
Read the answerHow Do Dance Competition Skill Levels Work?
How competitive dance splits entries into skill levels like recreational, novice, competitive, and elite
Read the answerScoring & Championships
How Is Competitive Dance Scored?
How competitive dance routines are judged: the three captions (technique, performance, choreography), the 100-point scale, adjudication tiers vs
Read the answerWhat Is Dance Adjudication (Gold, Platinum, Diamond)?
What dance adjudication tiers like gold, high gold, platinum, and diamond actually mean
Read the answerWhat Are Dance Nationals and The Dance Worlds?
What "nationals" means in competitive dance (brand-specific championships dancers qualify for at regionals) versus The Dance Worlds
Read the answerDidn’t find your question?
Ask the community on the Cheer n Dance Forum → or dig into the dance scoring hub →