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Trash the Trophies: How to Win Without Losing Your Soul
In the world of competitive dance—biased scoring, skimpy costumes, and toxic rivalries are the additional line items of a bill that exceeds thousands of dollars. Time and money are at stake for parents, but reputation is also at risk for students and studios. With no regulation, this third-party industry leaves you asking yourself the same question after every Is it worth it?For Chasta Hamilton, six years of sending dancers to competition was six years too many. She swore off competitive dance and rewrote her curriculum to focus on the whole person within each dancer. In Trash the Trophies, Chasta shows you how she challenged preconceived notions of success in the dance industry and embraced camaraderie, effective leadership, and philanthropic initiative to transform her studio. With the four pillars of her intensive training program—technique, performance, community, and character—you’ll learn how to increase ROI for everyone involved.Dance is a commitment to principles; an art form beyond rankings and judgment. This book will show you how to put meaning back into movement, and joy back into the dance studio.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 11, 2020
22 people are currently reading
731 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 20, 2023
I gave this book a 4 star rating because I think it contains a message that needs to be heard, and I think the message is applicable even if you don’t want to completely trash the trophies. I have no intention of taking my girls out of competitive dance, unless they want to exit, because despite the flaws of an unregulated industry, I’ve seen some awesome benefits as well at well-run competitions. I think even more than the competitive experience, what matters is your studio’s culture and your studio’s focus/mission. If the culture is supportive and uplifting and the mission is based in a solid dance education and in learning how to be a part of a group/team and thrive together, then the placements in competitions are less of an issue. I’m proud of the studio my daughters are a part of and the balance it has achieved. This book affirmed that for me.
February 27, 2023
I completely respect the author. I agreed with her points of views. I felt the first few chapters were somewhat repetitive, however her point is right on! I really enjoyed the latter chapters outlining what she has achieved for her dancers, her studio, employees and herself through making the change from competing to performance.
January 15, 2021
I came across this book at the library, and even though I quit dance lessons when I was four years old, I have enough friends and acquaintances who were majorly involved in dance that this book's topic intrigued me. The author has run a dance studio for may years, and this book chronicles the problems with the competitive dance industry and her difficult choice to pivot away from expected practices and provide her clients with an environment that focuses on technique, skill, character development, and enjoyment over the toxic rivalries and pursuit of winning that had come to dominate her studio's culture.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is involved in the world of competitive dance, and who needs encouragement to name and state the issues that they see, look for an alternative, and justify their choice to other teachers or families. However, even though this book is specifically about the unregulated, expensive, and all-consuming world of dance competitions, many of its messages would also apply to people who are involved in other extra-curricular activities that require too much time, travel, and psychological cost. Parents, teachers, and coaches in other fields may find this story helpful as well, especially since the core message isn't about dance, but is about how to make a difficult change in an industry where everyone expects you to stick to the status quo.
I especially appreciated the author's focus on the long-term benefits of activities that focus on a child's well-being and personal development, rather than on winning trophies. She makes excellent points about how, even though people think that children need to compete in order to advance their skills, competition can ultimately take away from their sense of accomplishment and personal measurement of goals, and can cause confusion, anger, and sense of emotional isolation when shows go badly or tempers flare. She encourages art for art's sake, and for the sake of the child, and encourages adults to think through how much they are paying and sacrificing for experiences that often have no real-world value.
Even though none of the topics addressed here are immediately relevant to me, I found this book fascinating. I appreciate the author's strong ethical compass, her passion for her work, and her entrepreneurial mindset, which made it possible for her to build a successful dance program and then reinvent it with a new, improved focus and methodology. She also manages to write about issues with clients without giving any identifying details or working out a personal vendetta. This isn't a gossipy book at all, and it just tells the truth about her experience, the problems that she saw, and what she did to create a better environment for her dancers. This book gave me a lot to think about, and I really enjoyed it.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is involved in the world of competitive dance, and who needs encouragement to name and state the issues that they see, look for an alternative, and justify their choice to other teachers or families. However, even though this book is specifically about the unregulated, expensive, and all-consuming world of dance competitions, many of its messages would also apply to people who are involved in other extra-curricular activities that require too much time, travel, and psychological cost. Parents, teachers, and coaches in other fields may find this story helpful as well, especially since the core message isn't about dance, but is about how to make a difficult change in an industry where everyone expects you to stick to the status quo.
I especially appreciated the author's focus on the long-term benefits of activities that focus on a child's well-being and personal development, rather than on winning trophies. She makes excellent points about how, even though people think that children need to compete in order to advance their skills, competition can ultimately take away from their sense of accomplishment and personal measurement of goals, and can cause confusion, anger, and sense of emotional isolation when shows go badly or tempers flare. She encourages art for art's sake, and for the sake of the child, and encourages adults to think through how much they are paying and sacrificing for experiences that often have no real-world value.
Even though none of the topics addressed here are immediately relevant to me, I found this book fascinating. I appreciate the author's strong ethical compass, her passion for her work, and her entrepreneurial mindset, which made it possible for her to build a successful dance program and then reinvent it with a new, improved focus and methodology. She also manages to write about issues with clients without giving any identifying details or working out a personal vendetta. This isn't a gossipy book at all, and it just tells the truth about her experience, the problems that she saw, and what she did to create a better environment for her dancers. This book gave me a lot to think about, and I really enjoyed it.
August 17, 2020
Chasta Hamilton’s engaging book, Trash The Trophies, recounts her entrepreneurial journey as a dance studio owner, and especially, her insights into what really matters when teaching and mentoring dance students. In this important book she reminds us that building character and leadership among students far outweighs extrinsic awards and trophies. Truly a guide for developing a new generation of talent with integrity for our society.
December 22, 2024
I would recommend this book to any parent considering putting their child in dance, particularly competitive dance. As the parent of a child labeled a ‘recreational dancer’, I had that ‘outsider’ perspective on what was taking place among the other children and families of the studio my oldest child attended for years. It intensified when she reached middle school and the bullying was extreme. It was exacerbated when she entered high school, yet still had to dance with the 6th graders because she wasn’t on the ‘same level’ as the competition girls her age. The preferential treatment was glaring and when bullying was pointed out, it was NEVER the fault of the competition girls.
Thankfully, we made a switch to a performing arts based, non-competitive school that next year. The transition hasn’t been easy, as Chasta’a book points out: change is hard. There are parts of the old studio my child misses, but hopefully we can help the new studio owner build a larger sense of community with the help of this book. It was the PERFORMANCE and moments of CAMARADERIE that have been missed, but the ‘paycheck favoritism’ and nightly tears were not.
Some of the advice in this book can be applied and used as inspiration for other areas of life too: Find your passion and use it to build up and inspire others. Don’t let an outside organization determine the path you know in your gut is right. People are going to judge you anyway, be true to yourself.
All in all, a great book.
Thankfully, we made a switch to a performing arts based, non-competitive school that next year. The transition hasn’t been easy, as Chasta’a book points out: change is hard. There are parts of the old studio my child misses, but hopefully we can help the new studio owner build a larger sense of community with the help of this book. It was the PERFORMANCE and moments of CAMARADERIE that have been missed, but the ‘paycheck favoritism’ and nightly tears were not.
Some of the advice in this book can be applied and used as inspiration for other areas of life too: Find your passion and use it to build up and inspire others. Don’t let an outside organization determine the path you know in your gut is right. People are going to judge you anyway, be true to yourself.
All in all, a great book.
August 5, 2022
Every competitive dance parent should read this book. My daughter two years ago in the midst of COVID-19 made the decision to leave her Uber competitive dance studio. Since then she has been happier, her dance technique has dramatic improved, loves dance again, and has grown as a dancer.
Chasta Hamilton explains the culture of dance competitions and competitive studio in a a way that a lay person like me could not understand previously. This reinforces the decision my daughter made as the correct one!! She has done great things for her dancers and her studio!
Chasta Hamilton explains the culture of dance competitions and competitive studio in a a way that a lay person like me could not understand previously. This reinforces the decision my daughter made as the correct one!! She has done great things for her dancers and her studio!
May 12, 2023
If you are in the dance industry in any way, shape, or form, you NEED to read this book. As a professional dancer, teacher, and freelance choreographer this book truly opened my eyes to the on going negativity of the competitive dance world and how to navigate leaving it behind for the betterment and preservation of the art form for the future. An excellent, quick read.
August 9, 2020
Great book not just for studio owners - great life advice on how to move to a positive, forward-looking place in your life.
July 23, 2023
No matter your position on competitive dance, this is a book that makes you think. This is a great read for anyone considering a “pivot” in their own professional world.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews