Why Do University Teams Spend Big $$$ on World Class Couples to Perform a Show?

I am on the fence about the issue (i.e. I'm neutral on the matter) but this has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now.

I've had the opportunity to compete at pro/am NDCA comps, USA Dance comps and Collegiate comps. Needless to say, I've seen them all from a participants point of view. This is my viewpoint:

NDCA - its a business and selling tickets by bringing in a show couple makes sense.

USA Dance - I have not experienced any shows and don't think this fits in with the non-profit model.

Now to my main question. Why do university clubs spend the big cash to bring in a show couple? Wouldn't the money be better spent on bringing in coaches for workshops, lessons, etc?

Of all the dance circuits, the university comps are the ones that are best attended from what I have seen. There are hundreds or thousands of collegiate dancepsport athletes and a ton of them show up a the many comps (at least the ones I have attended). I don't think the show couple is the reason for attracting all the entries, but rather the passion of dance and competition.

Don't get me wrong, I think its great to see some of these show couples, but my question goes back to is there a better use for this money. IMHO If the cash is there, it should be used for furthering the learning of the collegiate dancers primarily through workshops or through larger scholarship prizes in the lower levels to help students pay for private coaching, etc.

I guess I'm not so neutral after all

Just my own opinion, but curious to see what others think, especially those involved in organizing the university comps.

I think often the show couple does give workshops/privates. Not sure of the return on investment in terms of getting more competitors to register for the comp though.

The quick answer is, because it's free. These shows typically bring in as much in ticket sales and sponsorships as they cost. If they didn't spend the money for the show they wouldn't have the money to spend for something else.

The longer answer is, there are also dance related reasons. First, some people think it's inspirational to see world champions even when one is a beginner dancer.

Second, the shows do attract some top collegiate competitors that would otherwise not show up. That attracts competitors just below those, who want a chance to dance against them, and so on down the line.

There is competition amongst the collegiate competitions for who puts on the biggest and most prestigious college comp, and shows do help in achieving that end.

syncopationator said:

Of all the dance circuits, the university comps are the ones that are best attended from what I have seen. There are hundreds or thousands of collegiate dancepsport athletes and a ton of them show up a the many comps (at least the ones I have attended). I don't think the show couple is the reason for attracting all the entries, but rather the passion of dance and competition.

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If it's just the passion of dance and competition, then why are those better attended than the USA Dance comps? Perhaps part of it is the show couples, giving the attendees not just entertainment, but something to aspire to.

wooh said:

If it's just the passion of dance and competition, then why are those better attended than the USA Dance comps? Perhaps part of it is the show couples, giving the attendees not just entertainment, but something to aspire to.

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They were large before the era of world class shows, too. So I would tend to suspect the combination of being more competitor friendly and inexpensive with vastly less red tape, along with the group registration of college team members forming a critical mass that makes them large enough to be interesting to unaffiliated adults.

The shows (along with increasing prizes) may have helped draw top champ couples but also become a way that the college comps compete with each other for interest.

Slight tangent, perhaps, but it's a common false assumption that non-profits are not in business to make money. If they don't have either a big endowment or hugely generous donors, then they need to make money or they don't stay in business at all. A good NFP ends their financial year with a profit, not breaking even or in debt. The definition of a nonprofit is an organization who puts their profits back into operating costs and towards their mission. If they spend the money to get a good show, they bring in more money than they spent and have money to spend on other things.

Because they are fun to watch...?

Collegiate teams exist so that college kids can have fun, not to promote dancing. Whatever you may think, the vast majority of collegiate dancers are in it strictly for fun. That's why college dancers who decide to make a career out of dance often (in my experience) attempt to distance themselves from the collegiate scene... it's hard to be taken seriously as a dancer when you're connected with that. I tell anyone who asks that I only still dance collegiate for the registration subsidies, and it's true.

Warren J. Dew said:

There is competition amongst the collegiate competitions for who puts on the biggest and most prestigious college comp, and shows do help in achieving that end.

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I thought about this but didn't want to get into it in my original post, but I agree that prestige is a big factor. Which is why one would reach out to the top world class couples instead of some of the domestic talent who may not be ranked highly in the world stage, but can put together a great show nontheless.

wooh said:

If it's just the passion of dance and competition, then why are those better attended than the USA Dance comps? Perhaps part of it is the show couples, giving the attendees not just entertainment, but something to aspire to.

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They are better attended because of the volume of collegiate dancers as well as the support of the team to go to the competitions as a large group and achieve economies of scale.

I don't believe DCDI had a show couple (although they did invit the top champ couples do a showdance) yet it was a very sucessful comp with a large amount of entries and a big turnout for the evening session. I was at BADC which had a big time show couple which was also well attended and probably would have been well attended without the show couple.

i agree with most posts here and yeah i think its motivating to see high level dancers and the tickets sold make up for the money being spent...and usually the couple would give some workshops as well... more tick sales...

Benjy said:

Because they are fun to watch...?

Collegiate teams exist so that college kids can have fun, not to promote dancing. Whatever you may think, the vast majority of collegiate dancers are in it strictly for fun.

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and this is probably the part I did not consider, if indeed it is true. I suppose if everyone agrees with this then my question is answered.

I would strongly disagree that college teams exist to have fun and not to promote dancing. Obviously there is an element of both, but the kinds of large scale development they accomplish would not happen if there was not a culture of willingness to put in a lot of work. Often there's a determined core group with that, surrounded by a larger and more casually involved group - both of which turn out to be critical, in that neither can thrive without the presence of the other.

Chris Stratton said:

I would strongly disagree that college teams exist to have fun and not to promote dancing. Obviously there is an element of both, but the kinds of large scale development they accomplish would not happen if there was not a culture of willingness to put in a lot of work. Often there's a determined core group with that, surrounded by a larger and more casually involved group - both of which turn out to be critical, in that neither can thrive without the presence of the other.

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How many high level (nationally competitive championship or higher) couples do you know of who started as collegiate dancers? I can name... maybe 5 tops. Ballroom dancing clubs at universities are... clubs. That is, they are for fun. Look at BADC. How many of the finalist in championship anything were collegiate dancers? I believe Samantha Mang started dancing standard when she was 18... but I believe that was after many years of dance training in other disciplines, and I'm quite certain she would never call herself a collegiate dancer. Looking at the results from nationals in Champ Standard... Derek and Jen were collegiate, I think Kat started in college, and John Mason is college age, but I don't know if he's studying right now... I think he sacrificed a lot for dance. That's everyone in the quarter final and above.

Sure, collegiate dance does a lot to promote dancesport... as a hobby. Not as a competitive end in and of itself. Mostly because by the championship level, dancing isn't a hobby, it's basically a job, albeit one that hopefully all dancers do love.

Though it has been many years since I was in college, I came up from the collegiate ranks. I don't care who is performing a show at a competition. I go to a competition for the competitors.

I'll concede that it's possible that the show may attract the competitors that attract me.

It is a long time since I was at University, but I was lucky enough to see some very good demos (Stephen & Lindsay Hillier, John Wood & Anne Lewis and Marcus & Karen Hilton are the ones I can remember).

We normally wouldn't know who was doing the demo until we got there, so the actual couple had no impact on whether we went or not.

However, had I not seen top-level dancing at these events, I'm pretty sure I would have stopped as soon as I finished my degree.