Love.Live.Dance's instructors and students regularly participate in local, regional, and national dancesport competitions. These competitions give students an opportunity to show off their new skills and to benchmark their progress alongside their peers.
Most recently, the studio participated in the Las Vegas Lights Dance Challenge, a one-day ballroom dance competition in May 2019 at Harrah's Hotel in Las Vegas.
About Las Vegas Lights
The Las Vegas Lights competition is a one-day regional competition in -- you guessed it -- Las Vegas, Nevada. While it is not as large as some week-long competitions, it allows both new and returning students to either get a taste of competitive ballroom dance or to try out new routines before testing them on a national stage. Additionally, since the competition is driving-distance from Love.Live.Dance's studios in Salt Lake City, it presents a great opportunity for students who aren't competing to still observe the competition and decide whether or not future competitions are for them. The proximity also allows family and friends to come out and cheer on the dancers.
The Las Vegas Lights competition is a friendly environment that's less stressful than some of the national competitions, proving to new students that the world of dancesport is far less intimidating and more welcoming than they may have feared.
Dancesport
Many students happily take regular dance lessons without ever attending a competition. It is a great hobby for staying physically active, social, and emotionally healthy. However, if students want to continue to become more skilled dancers, they should strongly consider competing. Even if a student decides that attending a competition will be a rarity, each event will create a deadline to master new skills and keep the student progressing. Additionally, competition exposure offers students a more objective view of their own skills and shows the student not only where they currently stand, but where they are headed. Even for students who aren't interested in the competitive aspect, the events are simply a great opportunity to recharge and get excited again about ballroom dance.
Dancesport events are, however, primarily about the competition. The events allow both new and experienced students to pit their skills against other dancers and potentially receive feedback from the professional judging panel who often make themselves available after the competition.
Attending a competition also helps students work on some of the non-dancing skills that are considered important by judges. A competition student's attire, demeanor, and facial expressions can all play into a judge's perception but do not often come as second nature. Even if the student has been well-coached, everything is merely academic until the first competition.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects to students who are competing for the first time is that the competition begins before the music even starts - judges often take into consideration the student's stage entrance, frame while waiting for the music to start, finishing flair, and exit.
Even though that might initially sound intimidating, the feedback received from these events is priceless for any developing student.
Studio Performance
Love.Live.Dance traveled to Las Vegas with several students, both new and experienced. We are so proud of all of our ballroom dancers who competed, winning a combined total of 33 first-place heats, 3 second-place heats, and 4 third-place heats!
In addition to the individual heats, Love.Live.Dance’s owner, Samantha Stout, won the Top Female Instructor award and was the proud instructor of the Top Amateur Couple.
How do I get involved?
We continue to train students for competitions year-round and are currently preparing for the Utah Star Ball competition, held annually in the fall in Salt Lake City. Registration is still open, and Love.Live.Dance intends to again bring several students to the competition.
Existing students who wish to compete should discuss the matter with their instructor. New students are always welcome, and there is still plenty of time to hit the ground running for the competition. New students should reach out to the studio or use our awesome online booking platform to immediately see when our instructors are available in order to book their first lesson.