Recreational Verses Competitive Dance Classes

By Mariah Rollwagen

As a dance teacher, I have experienced teaching many different age groups, dance styles, and skill levels. Each class type requires a different approach and a different layout to succeed; the biggest difference in my teaching styles comes from teaching recreational dance classes verses competitive dance classes.

Recreational dance classes are aimed toward giving students an outlet to express creativity and make friends. When teaching a recreational class in any age group, it is less focused on developing certain skills and more focused on building confidence and having fun. In these classes, I typically develop a plan based around what the students want to learn and the experience they want from my class. Students are encouraged to develop dance skills, but their progress is largely based around the pace they wish to learn. In recreational classes most teachers do not give harsh criticism. These classes often have one performance at the end of the year for parents and family members to view.

Photo by Sydney Jackson (Dancers Callie Lane and Lainey Duchene)

Competitive classes, mainly technique-based classes, have a specific set of skills that should be developed by the end of the year or semester. There is often a syllabus to follow that is normally developed by the teacher or studio owner. Each class level has a different focus and each class has a prerequisite set of skills that must be developed before entering the next level. Competitive dancers have required amounts of technique classes they must attend each week, as well as, rehearsals for their competitive routines. Teachers offer constant feedback and criticism to improve the dancer’s technical skills and are often pushed much harder to developed these skills. Competitive dancers also participate in competitions where they perform routines and are offered feedback from judges, as well as, rewards and scores; dancers normally participate in 4-5 regional competitions each year and 1 national competition.

Overall, the difference between these two class types is the level of dedication. If a dancer is looking for an activity that boosts their confidence and helps them make new friends, they should participate in recreational dance classes. If a dancer is looking for a future dance career or more disciplined training to develop specific skills, they should participate in competitive dance classes.