Related Features
DANCE NEWS BOSTON: The Platform, a New State-of-the-Art Performing Arts Center, Opens In November in Cambridge's Kendall Square
DANCE NEWS: A New Season and an Expansion of The Dance Enthusiast's Audience Reviews
DANCE NEWS: The Dance Enthusiast Launches Fall 2026 “Your Voice Matters” Audience Review Contest
Audience Writers Across the United States are Invited to Respond to Dance in their own Communities.
The Dance Enthusiast announces the launch of its Fall 2026 “Your Voice Matters” Audience Review Contest, part of the organization’s expanding campaign to encourage audience members, students, artists, teachers, friends, families, and dance lovers to write about dance from their own experience.
The contest invites Audience Reviews of any dance performance, event, or dance-related experience that takes place between September 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026.
The winning Audience Review writer will receive a $300 prize. The Dance Enthusiast will also publish a follow-up article about the dance company, artist, or group featured in the winning review.
“The Dance Enthusiast wants to hear from dance-going communities across the United States and the world about what dance matters to them, what moves them, and who moves them,” says Christine Jowers, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Dance Enthusiast. “We want to learn from the people who show up for dance — audiences, students, artists, teachers, friends, and communities. That is what YOUR VOICE MATTERS, and our new expansion of Audience Reviews, is all about.
"I like that we're offering an article to cover the featured artist(s) of the winning review. That's something new, creative, and beneficial!" says Sammi, Sowerby, Co-editor and The Dance Enthusiast's Social Media Manager,
Audience Reviews may be submitted as free-form responses, haiku reviews, or as answers to The Dance Enthusiast’s Audience Review Questionnaire.
Important Dates
- Eligible performance/event Review dates, from September 1, 2026 – November 30, 2026
- Submission deadline: December 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
- Winner announced: on or around December 15, 2026
How to Enter
- See dance.
- Write your Audience Review.
- Write from your own experience.
- Criticism is welcome; snark is not.
Submit your review through The Dance Enthusiast’s Audience Review page by December 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time: https://www.dance-enthusiast.com/get-involved/reviews
To learn more about Audience Reviews, visit:
https://www.dance-enthusiast.com/get-involved/reviews/why-audience-reviews
Contest Details at a Glance
- Prize-eligible writers reside in the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or U.S. territories.
- Writers from elsewhere are welcome to submit Audience Reviews for publication and community participation, but those submissions are not eligible for the Fall 2026 prize contest.
- Prize-eligible Audience Reviews must respond to a dance performance, event, or dance-related experience that takes place between September 1, 2026 and November 30, 2026.
- Prize-eligible submissions must be original to The Dance Enthusiast and not have been previously published or posted elsewhere.
- Writers may submit more than one Audience Review, provided each submission meets the eligibility requirements. However, only one prize will be awarded.
- The winning Audience Review will be selected by The Dance Enthusiast team based on strength, clarity, thoughtfulness, and engagement.
- The prize will be awarded only if The Dance Enthusiast receives at least 10 eligible Fall 2026 contest submissions from at least 10 different writers.
Full contest rules are available at: Audience Review Contest Official Rules
