American Smooth Moves to the UK

[pygmalion]

Interesting article -- looks like some youth are beginning to find standard/modern restrictive, and want the freedom of American Smooth. What do you think?

http://www.dancesport.uk.com/articles/amsmooth.htm

[Porfirio Landeros]

Michael Mead has started a poll/petition to get signatures from people that believe there should be an American Smooth World Championships:

http://www.dancesportcomps.com/Polls/?p=PollWChamps&a=polling

After you take the poll, you can see the results, and it's interesting to read comments from the opponents, which are in the minority.

One person commented there was no need for a world smooth championship because only Americans do it... well, this article about smooth in the UK seems to show a budding international movement. Also, you have to prove your US citizenship/eligibility to compete at both the NDCA/USABDA Smooth Nationals, so at the very least, they can do an OPEN version of these events, to give some foreign dancers a chance to try out smooth.

The poll really isn't scientific, but it's enough to show an idea of a majority interest in Smooth.

[SDsalsaguy]

The poll really isn't scientific, but it's enough to show an idea of a majority interest in Smooth.
Well, at least among the people familiar with this poll. :wink:

Seriously though, as much as I enjoy smooth I'm mixed on how I feel about this. I understand that a world title may well be needed to generate depth of field but, at the same time, I do not see a comparable quality (which is not to say that some of the couples are not excellent in their own rights!) to those in contention for *world* titles in Ballroom/Latin. A chicken and egg problem I guess...

[msc]

Smooth needs to increase in popularity world wide before a "world championship" make sense. Maybe there should be more "open" smooth titles in the US first, and if those attract enough non-US participants, then it would make sense to have a world title event.

[SDsalsaguy]

Yeah, but I still see it as a chicken and egg problem msc... even if the open titles are there, what's the incentive* if it doesn't have the same status as the international styles?

* Setting aside, of course, stylistic appeal, etc. – I'm just talking about from a status perspective at the moment.

[msc]

Well, hopefully you could slowly build more interest in the field without having the embarassment of an underrepresented world championship. Who knows, maybe couples that couldn't quite crack the finals in Standard might decide to take a chance on Smooth instead, thereby broadening international interest.

[SDsalsaguy]

Who knows, maybe couples that couldn't quite crack the finals in Standard might decide to take a chance on Smooth instead, thereby broadening international interest.
Sure... but that still leaves part of the problem, doesn't it? It would be great for Smooth, sure, but still sets it up as the second tier form, no?

[DanceMentor]

I would be disappointed if International Standard ever changed the rules to allow open work. I thing Standard is an art in itself. Yes, American Smooth requires the use and knowledge of Standard, but there is a whole separate mindset and framework for Standard that makes it beautiful.

I would note that even the top Standard dancers nearly always integrate open work into their show dances, and I think in many cases, they could improve on their open work (but of course who am I to talk?)