It is the job of dance educators to equip students with a technical foundation that will serve them and enable them to grow artistically in the direction they choose. Equally as important, dancers who train well are less likely to suffer injuries.
Are we doing right by our students by sending them onto a competition stage attempting technical elements that are far from ready to be performed? Why is this dancer hopping around twice with a sloppy preparation instead of balancing a single rotation with a clean and correct preparation? Bent knees on low relevés trying to do à la seconde turns, zero percent effort to spot, and so on.
Let’s put dancers on the competition stage performing pieces they can ace every time. No matter what.
