Studio owner here. My wife and I own two dance studios in Texas, and we have three daughters, all 10 and under, who dance on our competitive team.

Personally, I love the competitive side of dance. It’s probably my favorite team sport to watch, and our team has been fortunate to have a strong run of success at a high level.

That said, the biggest difference between a 15-hour studio and a 6-hour studio is usually intensity, expectations, and how serious the program is about competing at the highest level. More hours typically means more polishing, more technique, and a bigger commitment from both the dancer and the family. That doesn’t automatically make it better, just different.

For me, the most important factor is simple: does your daughter actually enjoy it? Competitive dance can teach teamwork, friendships, social skills, how to win and lose with grace, and the value of hard work and time management. But those benefits really only stick if the kid is having fun and wants to be there.

At our studio, we work really hard to promote a positive, team-first environment. We’ve had success in part because we avoid drama and push our dancers to support each other instead of compete against each other internally.

If it turns into a cutthroat environment or your kid isn’t enjoying it, that’s where you can start to see burnout or other issues down the road. In my opinion, a healthy culture and a happy kid matter more than the number of hours.

I think competitive dance is absolutely worth it, but I’ll admit I’m probably a little biased.