Brent Street, dance and competition

Not been on for a while and about to head off on a tour, so thought I'd get my fix for the next few weeks and set something in motion for a change, instead of stirring someone else's pot. Reading the Brent St thread... I've been amused, bemused, and shocked by some of the posts, but as one person pointed out, we're probably dealing with younger people who are inclined to 'say what they think'! But I want to ask all the dancers, or people who've been involved with dance- what is the thing with competition? My training is mostly in music, and have had a successful career around the world with this over the last 10+ years, and I've never understood the fascination and fervour that dance in particular seems to have for the competitions? I also wonder whether this raw competitiveness is in some way responsible for the fact that dance suffers greatly as an artform in australia compared to other art forms- I'm thinking in terms of funding, respect from govt etc. I spent 8 years on funding bodies so am aware firsthand of how few chances there are for professional dancers, and for how difficult it is to have any kind of meaningful, long career for most dancers (especially outside of the pro ballet scene or I presume the 'music video' scene) It is virtually impossible for young independant dancers to create new or innovative work, and actually get paid a decent sum for it. My percussion group did a large project with 5 dancers and a well-established and respected choreographer over the summer, and I had many discussions with them about the same things. I for one am passionate about all artists being paid well for what they do in recognition of the stupid amount of work it takes to become any good. So my questions are- Does competitiveness get in the way of dancers as an 'industry' banding together for a greater representative strength? Does the dancing world suffer from the fact that quite a small percentage of dancers have long professional careers, and few stay in the industry after retiring quite young? Does this relative lack of 'old hands' (sorry!) subtract from the knowledge, and pool of experience for the industry? (this of course mostly due to the simple physical nature of the job) Would a strong united industry make a difference to all dancers- young beginners, and those perhaps in the twilight? Would the older mature minds temper the obvious aggresiveness and in some cases arrogance demonstrated in the Brent St forum (on both sides)? Where are the people in this country who are working towards the 'brave new world' and providing leadership- off the dance floor- to young people passionate about this artform? This forum may also be quite relevant in some ways to other artforms (such as theatre and music!) All welcome! Looking forward to your answers. Neville