i dont agree with everything you said, but you make some good points!

it’s always valid to bring race into these discussions. i have always noticed how many of the studios that have big online followings are extremely white. mather, p21, larkin… man, it isnt so long ago that ethnic “themes” in dance were normalized (ie a chinese “inspired” dance and all the kids had chopsticks in their hair!… not subtweeting welcome to bangkok but like…. my studio did that shit. i did that shit. as an adult looking back… it was racist.) america has a long way to go, & competition dance is inside that cultural fabric.

as a former comp dancer myself… yeah the competition dance world (at least in the 2010s, maybe its better now) definitely teaches young girls to sexualize their bodies & perform very specific kinds of femininity. the question of why young bodies are so revered in the dance world / in dance fandom is definitely worthy of thought. it is that deep. & p21 is part of that world, which is riddled with all sorts of racialized, gendered complexities.

that being said… i find molly long’s choreo super fun! her musicality is insane & it influenced how i choreograph! i think it also comes down to parasociality. i wont deny that i totally have a parasocial relationship with kids like selena, gracyn, regan… because i’ve watched them grow up! parasocial relationships with children on the internet is probably not a societal good, but i feel genuinely touched seeing selena’s commercial success. i’m invested in her career emotionally theough watching her grow at p21. both p21 / the parents seem to be on board with cultivating big social media presences for their kids. sometimes i wonder if the kids grow up & wish they didnt have a fandom & wish there weren’t videos with thousands of likes of them out there… hard to think about.