Finale of the 2003 IDSF Grand Slam Series

[SDsalsaguy]

Finale of the 2003 IDSF Grand Slam Series
December 20th, Monaco

As reported earlier, this year the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF) launched a new level of high class Tournament: the 2003 IDSF Grand Slam Series.

Ten of the 2003 IDSF International Open World Ranking Tournaments (five of the Standard-Section and five of the Latin-Section) received the prestigious status of “Grand Slam”. According to the results of these Tournaments the best twelve couples of each Section are qualified to take part in the magnificent final event scheduled for December 20th in Monaco. The prize money for the finalists will total SFR 36,800.00, paid directly by IDSF, not the organizer.

The following couples are qualified to take part at the final event in Monaco:


STANDARD

Bizokas, Arunas – Daniute, Edita Lithuania
Bosco, Paolo – Pitton, Silvia Italy
Cigoj, Misa – Novozilova, Anastazija Slovenia
Di Toro, Federico – Favero, Genny Italy
Eriksen, Brian – Eihilt, Marianne Denmark
Friedmann, Mark – Koehler, Claudia Germany
Leoni, Luca - Ciccone, Annamaria Italy
Gimaev, Marat – Bassiouk, Alina Russia
Gozzoli, Mirko – Betti, Alessia Italy
Karabey, Sascha – Karabey, Natascha Germany
Soale, Domenico – Cerasoli, Giola Italy
Valeri, Emanuel – Kehlet, Tania Denmark


LATIN


Birkehoj, Jesper – Kravchenko, Anna Germany
Capraro, Bennedetto – Faiola, Marta Italy
Cocchi, Riccardo – Wilkinson, Joanne Italy
Formica; Franco – Nikiforova, Oksana Germany
Kandelis, Andrius – Visockaite, Egle Lithuania
Katsevman, Eugene – Manusova, Maria USA
Kongsdahl, Klaus – Franova, Viktoria Denmark
Kuznetsov, Denis – Tzaptashili, Mariya Russia
Plohl, Zoran – Lahvinovich, Tatsiana Slovenia
Rosso, Mauro – Rubio, Karina Spain
Stokkebroe, Peter – Juel, Kristina Denmark
Vescovo, Maurizio – Törökgyörgy, Melinda Hungary

New Concept
At this event in Monaco IDSF will introduce a new competition concept, to popularise the effectiveness of DanceSport on TV: The first round will be conducted as usual, with judges selecting six couples out of the twelve to proceed to the final. But in the Final the new concept will be used: for the first dance, two couples will be on the floor at one time dancing against each other, then another two, and then the final two of the six couples. This will be repeated over the other four dances but the couples will change in confrontation each time so that each will be seen in direct comparison to a different couple each time. The judges mark their results from 1st to 6th place at the end of each dance, after all performances of all couples. Consequently there is no direct comparison of all six couples on the floor at the same time as it is traditional. Judges have to compare from memory as in DanceSport Formation-Team Competitions.

Dr. Johannes Biba
IDSF Communications Director

What does anyone else think of this shift in how these finals are being judged?

[pygmalion]

Ay ay ay! I think I see the goal -- to create a reality TV like atmosphere, with the excitement of competition at the forefront. But I think this is grossly unfair to the couples that compete in the first heats. How is the judge supposed to remember clearly the nuances of two or three heats ago? It's hard enough judging what you're seeing at the moment. Yeesh!

[SDsalsaguy]

It should also probably be kept in mind that all of the judges will know all of the couples in the first place. Do you think this changes things a bit? It seems to me that at one level the judges already know what to expect so can quickly assess if there's a shift (be it up or down) in the dancing, but, at the same level, without being able to compare *on the spot/at the moment* that expectations might count for too much...

Especially for you competitors out there, how would you feel if this was how your events were judged and why?

[Adwiz]

I agree with Pygmalion. While the goal of making the sport more "watchable" is understandable, this makes it more difficult for the judges.

However, in the past events such as the World 10-Dance Championships feature solo performances in two Standard and two Latin dances during the finals, this change shouldn't present a massive hurdle.

I think the biggest issue for television broadcasting is that of time. What happens is that the producers have to squeeze three or four hours of competition into a one-hour show. Even the finals alone can take two or more hours to perform, so a lot must be cut out. If you've ever watched any of these televised events, you've noticed that they feature the solo routines (six individual couples times two dances), which require most of the available program time. This leaves only a few minutes to feature group dances. The end result is that two of the group dances (usually Cha Cha Cha and Slow Fox) are given only a few seconds of coverage.

By having two couples on the floor instead of one, the time required for this part of the competition will be greatly reduced and at the same time you can do it with all five dances instead of just two. That makes it more enjoyable for the audience and creates a meaningful television viewing experience.

Judges have seen these couples through quarter and semi finals, so having to judge two couples at a time rather than solo plus group is only slightly more challenging than it was.

I think overall this change will be good for the sport.

[SDsalsaguy]

Judges have seen these couples through quarter and semi finals, so having to judge two couples at a time rather than solo plus group is only slightly more challenging than it was.

I think overall this change will be good for the sport.
Just as a point of clarrification -- (A) this event looks like it satrts with a SF, not a QF, and (B) this system is only for this event.

As far as already having been seen, is this how couples should be being judged? I've heard plenty of arguments to both sides...