Sarah Verville founded Fluid Dance Convention 20 years ago with the goal of creating a new kind of dance competition. In an industry flooded with flashy prizes, “I wanted something built on exceptional education, offered in a safe and encouraging learning environment,” she says.
That first weekend, there were only 19 routines, and a hotel’s parquet floor served as a makeshift stage. But Verville’s commitment to her community paid off, and Fluid now welcomes 300 to 500 dancers for each of its nine yearly weekends. They travel with state-of-the-art staging equipment and bring with them a reputation for amazing faculty, live-feedback judging, and top-of-the-line talent.
“Not only is our format different from other competitions, but the overall energy throughout the weekend is beyond compare,” Verville says.
Education First
Fluid events run Friday to Sunday, with a schedule that maximizes students’ time in class and onstage.
“We offer unique convention classes in comparison to most,” Verville says. “They’re not based on learning one combo after another—there’s a wide variety of technique, performance, and developmental classes for all age groups.”
Students compete in solo and duo/trio entries on Friday, group entries on Saturday night, take classes on Saturday and Sunday, and attend the closing show Sunday afternoon to celebrate everyone’s hard work. From hip hop to ballet, every dancer has access to classes in a multitude of styles.
Faculty Who Care
What keeps everyone coming back? The faculty. “Every member of the team is fundamentally at Fluid for the same reason: To grow and develop these young artists and to provide what they wished they knew at their age,” Verville says.
Most of Fluid’s faculty have been there for over 10 years, and everyone enjoys getting to know the dancers as they return each year.
“It’s truly a family,” Verville says. “Since everyone on the team has a different way of delivering their message, every dancer over the event weekend will connect with at least one of them.”
Live Feedback, Real-Time Corrections
Each Fluid event has three judges. When dancers finish their routine, they walk downstage and receive in-person, live feedback from each judge. The one-of-a-kind system allows dancers to implement changes over the rest of the weekend.
“We watch these dancers grow over just a few hours,” Verville says. “It’s remarkable.”
Because of personal connections like these, “the performance experience is empowering for dancers,” she says. “They build self-confidence and discipline, while creating connections and having so much fun!”
Performance Opportunities Abound
Fluid offers veteran dancers multiple ways to further their convention experience. The invitation-only Fluid FAMED group opens the Elite Finals Gala at Nationals with a special performance, and the Fluid Force assistants also get several performance opportunities throughout the season.
“They develop so many skill sets which bring them into the workforce or higher education after graduation,” Verville says. “There’s a personal touch to helping these dancers grow throughout the entire process.”
Michelle Loucadoux (Fluid Faculty) and Maddison Sommers (Fluid Force Assistant) at convention. Photo by A. M. Sannazzaro, Courtesy Fluid Dance Convention.
What to Look Forward To
Heading into Fluid’s 20th seasonVerville says there are a few surprises waiting for everyone—but you’ll just have to go along to find out.
“Fluid weekends are about so much more than just dance,” she says. “We have a beautiful community of like-minded studios and dancers, and we’re building not only strong, confident dancers but also kind, curious, and grateful humans.”
Learn more about what makes Fluid unique and register for one of its convention and competition weekends here.
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