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Paging miss manners: the etiquette of being a good loser--and winner--can be as essential to master as a complex routine. Here's how these studios approach it.

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Your dancers have memorized the choreography, their costumes fit perfectly, and they've mastered the art of jumping out of that quadruple pirouette into a switch split leap. But do they know what to do once the awards are handed out? Whether your students win or lose, appropriate behavior can make or break their competition experience. And in the professional world, it's just as much a part of a dancer's reputation as their outstanding technique. But good etiquette doesn't always come naturally to children and teenagers, so it's up to their teachers to train them.

"I run a mock competition through my studio every year," says Nicole Aravena, faculty member at Seven Star School of Performing Arts in Brewster, NY. "Every kid gets a special award and that's when we teach them how to behave." Aravena wants dancers to congratulate all the other participants, including those who place above and below them. When they're onstage while the awards are being announced, they should clap for every name that's called. And in addition to thanking each of the judges, they must also thank the competition director.

To make sure students always act graciously,...

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