DEDICATION, commitment, time and perseverance are just some of the qualities needed to succeed.

I was desperately trying to keep in step and remember what we’d practised for months in the church hall.

All this preparation had boiled down to the judges seeing our potential and acknowledging how hard we’d worked all year round to get the routine right, neat and polished. 

After a decade of trying to squeeze in time to practise, having sore feet and getting used to stage make-up, it all came to this.

The dancing school I trained at, Rowena Julia’s Academy of Dance based in Norwood Green, Southall, currently has 60 children and celebrates its 15th anniversary next year.

I decided to reflect on my dancing experience and revisit my former school.

Dancing is a great hobby, providing children with the motivation to strive for something other than school work.

But, as you grow up and important qualifications loom closer, your priorities become unbalanced and I had to decide between school and ballet.

My schoolwork won.

I wanted to do both but the two disciplines had demanding time commitments and I had reached a brick wall in terms of my own ability.

My annual competitions and graded exams were held with a dance organisation called The British Arts.

The Arts awards started in 1951 and around 7,000 children are entered into the competitions every year with the option of being a solo artist and/or a group.

The semi-finals are held between October and March, while the final rounds are in May. 

As I became more advanced, practices became more draining and, as I got older, the desire to progress to the next grade or the next competition round increased as I put more pressure on myself.

Do teenagers face an increased amount of pressure today as they try to juggle school and extra-curricular activities such as dancing?

Do life’s commitments, such as education, mean you have to choose?

Alyssa Curry, 19, a former RJAD pupil, said she stopped dancing because of the time needed to devote to her school work.

Competitions are beneficial to some extent. They allow young children to experience performing on stage, thus increasing their confidence, and they get the opportunity to make friends outside school.

My dancing journey with ballet and modern began more than 10 years ago, and I wonder if the competitive spirit is still present and healthy within dancing.

Alyssa said: “A little bit of competition, rewarding ability and giving dancers something to work towards, is definitely a good thing. Just not taken to the extreme.”

Sally Chennelle, director of the Arts, said: “I don’t think there is anything wrong with competition - life is competitive - but how it is handled is important.”

She said the Arts had always been a personal, approachable organisation and was not in the market to compete with other dance organisations.

However, in some cases, the competitions can lead to a rise in stress levels and an increasing pressure to succeed.

Recognising that there will be winners and losers is important.

Rowena Moore, 35, RJAD principal, says parents can add to the pressure in competitions and exams.

The majority wanted the best for their child and supported them through the nerves.

However, a minority were determined their child should achieve gold.

It was my mum who prepared me for my competitions.

“There were one or two parents who were completely over the top and were really seen to push too hard and piled on the pressure on their children,” said Jenny Crouch.

“I made sure the exams were what you wanted to go in for, not because I wanted you to get gold.”

“One of the pressures comes from what we term ‘stage mums’ who are living their own frustrated ambitions through their children,” said Sally Chennelle.

She says there isn’t much that can be done about individual parents and their children, but emphasises that society contributes to the pressure of winning and fame, rather than working to achieve something.

“In the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, people are encouraged to boo. I think this is appealing to the worst traits in human nature,” she added.

Talent shows such as these breed competition which, when it gets to the final stages, sparks fierce levels of competition which can be taken to the extreme.

A my-life-depends-on-it attitude is evident.

It’s important the enjoyment that dancing can bring is kept alive and is not jeopardised by the competitions and exams.

Are there still competitive strands within dancing? Yes there are, and now, more than ever, young people face challenges of balancing school life and extra-curricular activities.

Dancing is character-building but the pressures placed on dancers need to be managed correctly and carefully.

If they are, the discipline will endure and dancing will continue to be popular for years to come.