I am glad that someone has finally spoken up about the good things that can come from a "competition" school. I, too, have been involved with an excellent school - ballet taught by accredited Russian teachers, top quality contemporary classes. However, I think that there are probably more "not so good" competition schools than schools with excellent training. Also, this school very rarely sacrifices class time for rehearsal time and if it does, it is never done with a ballet class. My daughter, who as been accepted to compete in Jackson and has attended a pre-professional ballet school for four years, has had the best of both worlds. At "ballet" school she spends most of her time strenthening technique and learning repertoire for in school recitals. At her "competition" studio, she learned other forms of dance, learned to dance in an ensemble (a skill sorely lacking amongst many ballet students, IMO) and learned to project her artistry on stage as a soloist. She has had many more opportunities to perform in public with her competition studio. I am fully aware of the drawbacks to these competitions, but there are benefits as well. Many of the students who are participating in these will become the audience of the future. Many students who take dance don't like ballet because it is so difficult, but they certainly can appreciate the beauty and skill of someone performing it with a high level of proficiency. Okay, I will now get off my soap box.