At dance competitions, participants from the same studio often end up not just performing alongside but also competing against each other in solos and group routines—all within the same weekend. The situation can be stressful, confusing, and awkward, particularly for younger dancers. But it doesn’t have to result in comparisons and tears.

While full of excitement and fun, competitions are also mentally and physically taxing. It’s easy to find yourself run down after months of rehearsing and performing for hours on end every week. How can both teachers and dancers keep normal fatigue from turning into burnout? By recognizing the telltale signs and making small but meaningful changes.

For many dancers, being part of a competitive team is just a short chapter in a long dance journey. But the personal bonds built at competitions and conventions can last a lifetime. These three pairs of dancers who forged their friendships on the comp circuit show that having a tried-and-true teammate in your corner can make a big difference in the professional dance world, too.

How can students leave it all on the floor without hurting themselves? Ensuring that both teachers and dancers approach these rigorous weekends with safety in mind can go a long way toward preventing frequent convention injuries.

Convention ballrooms are always exciting, but sometimes they can also be overwhelming, with hundreds of dancers jockeying for space—and attention—on the carpeted floor. Whether it’s your first time attending a convention or you’re a seasoned faculty member, everyone has a role to play to keep jam-packed classes feeling safe and uplifting. Here’s how teachers can manage crowded convention environments, and how students can navigate them.

Over the last decade, top dancers from the convention circuit have chosen, in increasing numbers, to attend college programs after high school. As students’ pathways have shifted, competitions and conventions are increasingly creating pathways to college, as well, through scholarship and enrollment auditions.

Dancing across a hotel ballroom in small-town America seems a world away from performing on Broadway, but for some students, competitions and conventions are an important step toward realizing that dream. Skills honed at these events—the ability to quickly learn choreography in a wide range of styles and perform it immediately afterward—are valuable in securing work in musical theater.

Whether you’re already a triple threat or you’re a dancer wanting to branch out, finding a college program that will help you meet your goals is a matter of asking all the right questions.