The Big Apple Dancesport 2007

[Larinda McRaven]

Anyone else going to this comp this weekend? Competing or just watching? There will be a great pro performance.

big apple dancesport (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ballroomteam/competition/)

[Masaya]

I will be there for Prechamp Latin . . . my first comp with my new partner :-o

[DancingJools]

I bought my ticket a while back (for the evening performance), right after they went on sale online. Keeping my fingers crossed that the online system didn't mess up (got a front row ticket, too).

[kimV6]

was going to, but partner and i needed a break from comps, and the reg at the time wasn't that big. now it is, which is sad for us.

[cy_phi]

I'm there with my partner! :)

[Jayant]

I cant go there because its india!

[Ithink]

Most likely, we will be there... It's not 100% but, now that the evening schedule has been moved back, it's pretty damned close.

[biggestbox]

anyone know if I can buy tickets at the door?

[DMD]

Check the comp website - it has some updates about tickets but you could also consider PM'ing cu_ballroom who posted about the event (http://www.dance-forums.com/showthread.php?t=21602) or e-mailing one of the contacts on the comp website (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ballroomteam/competition/) for up to date ticket availability if you don't want to purchase in advance online.

[Mandicraft]

Last I heard for tickets for the evening show is that the regular spectator tickets were sold out. Only Front Row VIP were left, but that they were going to offer standing room, day of the show.

edit: Actually, I just checked the website and Front Row VIP is sold out as well.

[Ithink]

Wow, that really sucks! I was hoping to see the show but pay when I get there, because my attendance of this comp wasn't a done deal...

[Mandicraft]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but at least you should be able to still see the show, just not sitting down.

[Masaya]

So my friends want to come see me compete in Prechamp latin, which is going to be after the professional show. She doesn't have tickets for the pro show, but she doesn't need any tickets for the evening competition correct (the prechamp and champ events)? I mean, it seems kind of ridiculous that I have to pay the organizers to compete, and to have my friends pay the organizers to watch me compete.

[Josh]

I mean, it seems kind of ridiculous that I have to pay the organizers to compete, and to have my friends pay the organizers to watch me compete.

Well, it's run this way at every other competition on the planet (that I know of).

[ChaChaMama]

I would be shocked if your friends didn't have to pay admission.

I went to DCDI just to spectate on Saturday night, and I had to pay admission. That was also a college comp, held at University of Maryland. I think that is typically the case. You may get free admission to the ballroom b/c you are dancing in that session, but spectators do not.

It will probably be a pretty affordable price, though!

[Kitty]

So my friends want to come see me compete in Prechamp latin, which is going to be after the professional show. She doesn't have tickets for the pro show, but she doesn't need any tickets for the evening competition correct (the prechamp and champ events)? I mean, it seems kind of ridiculous that I have to pay the organizers to compete, and to have my friends pay the organizers to watch me compete.

as far as i know they only need the tickets to watch the show. the competition session after the show is free.

[Mandicraft]

At almost every one of dance competitions that I have spectated at(and there have been many), I have had to pay to have the opportunity to see my friends compete, but apparently Big Apple is different. Here is a quote off their website


No tickets are needed to spectate during the day and night session, only the showcase.


Also, another update from their site, they've released more General Admission tickets for the Showcase....get'em while they're hot!!

I'm looking forward to watching everyone compete on Saturday! :)

[kathyt cupcake]

I actually somewhat approve of having spectators pay to view-- in the end it will hopefully subsidize some of the comp costs that we're covering through the competition fees.

I'll be there following in the bronze s/s masses, leading silver rhythm, & TBA in silver latin.

[IlyZislin]

I would be shocked if your friends didn't have to pay admission.

I went to DCDI just to spectate on Saturday night, and I had to pay admission. That was also a college comp, held at University of Maryland. I think that is typically the case. You may get free admission to the ballroom b/c you are dancing in that session, but spectators do not.

It will probably be a pretty affordable price, though!

CCC Mama is right - DCDI charged adults to watch during the day and evening. Students were free during the day, and had to pay at night. Partially this is done to cover the cost of the show, partially to control the crowds since the ballroom size is limited and having 1000 people in it was tough this year...

[Kata]

oh, no! All the tickets for the show are sold out again. :( Do you think if I go there and purchase standing tickets I'll get a decent view?

[Chris Stratton]

Well, it's run this way at every other competition on the planet (that I know of).

Actually, most northeast collegiate comps do not charge spectator admission for the competitive events.

However, many have started charging specifically for shows when they feature them. It does mean they have to clear the room before the show and then readmit with tickets, but it solves some problems, for example teams may pay their members entry fees but require the students to buy their own show tickets if they want to see it.

[cshorte]

I will be there for Prechamp Latin . . . my first comp with my new partner :-o


great to see you back out there!:D

[GJB]

So, how was the show?

[IlyZislin]

I want to applaud Catherine and the rest of Big Apple organizing committee, team and volunteers. The competition ran very smoothly - I definitely would not have been able to tell it was their first year if I did not know up front.

Thanks for a great competition!

[Katarzyna]

I agree Illy.. One somewhat negative comment, I wish they would have had 2 award sessions in the evening part of the comp... the standard smooth competitors had to wait for ever for results...
btw, will there be photos from this comp. I did see a photographer there?

[Chris Stratton]

Yes. While I enjoyed getting on the floor during general dances, that break right after the start of the latin would have been a good time to do standard awards.

[IlyZislin]

I agree Illy.. One somewhat negative comment, I wish they would have had 2 award sessions in the evening part of the comp... the standard smooth competitors had to wait for ever for results...
btw, will there be photos from this comp. I did see a photographer there?

Kat is absolutely right... the open session schedule was definitely one of the problem areas. Initially, the schedule was strange, and then they changed it right before the events started - as a result smooth competitors who also dance standard had to change *again*

Also, I am not sure what I think about having the show before the competitive events. I cannot figure out if it was good or bad - if anyone from Columbia reads DF, I would love to hear the reasoning behind the decision.

[Chris Stratton]

Is it really workable to schedule a show at as uncertain (especially for a never before held comp) time as "when everything else is done" ?

[kathyt cupcake]

So, how was the show?

Yulia = amazing (fast spins, fast footwork, flexible back) Riccardo = great for the seconds I wasn't focusing on yulia

The bad part of the show was the irregular strobe like flashes during the performance- we thought it might have been to discourage taping but then we saw the photographer and it seemed linked to him. They should have had a warning for the epileptic.

I think it made sense to have the show before the end of the comp-- clearing the ballroom and then getting everyone back in at 10:30 or 11 pm to have the show would have been worse and public unfriendly (although I guess more relaxing for the open competitors).

[rg2174]

The reason the show was placed before the night session was to allow people to watch the night session competition without paying the admission to the show. Quite a number of people were only interested in the open session but not the showcase.

Also, like said kathyt said, clearing the ballroom at 10:30pm wouldn't be so well received by the spectators. And if we check tickets at 8pm, then people wouldn't be able to watch the open session for free.

[Mandicraft]

The show was amazing!! What a great new partnership. A fun selection of music and Yulia's costumes were beautiful!

The competition was very well run, I would have to say the best run collegiate competition that I've been to in a while. One area to work on though, re-entry to the ballroom for the showcase. It was quite crazy and almost crushing to get back into the doors. I was up near the front of the line and once the doors opened to try to segregate standing room and regular tickets was when everyone started pushing towards the front. Then when the doors opened it was insane, everyone was pushing from all directions and I have the bruise on my side to prove it. So a better system for that (preferably one that doesn't require standing out in the cold) should be worked out for next year.

Katarzyna - I loved your dress! You and your partner were a joy to watch dance!

[Egoist]

I thought the competition was well run and I loved the show. I especially liked the floor; way to go on getting the good, uniform portable floor on top of the unpredictable Lerner floor!

I was, however, not very happy to dance back to back rounds, i.e. WTVFQWTFQV, and then WTFQV about 5 minutes after that.

The quality of the champ standard final was pretty high.

I will agree with others in that doing some awards in the middle of the evening session would have been feasible and appreciated by those dancing at the beginning of the evening.

[biggestbox]

anyone have the full results?

[Ithink]

I agree with my partner - we love that floor. A friend of mine owns it and I go out of my way to recommend it to everyone, not because it's my friend's but because it is the best floor to dance on, by far!

The show was stunning, Yulia was stunning. Riccardo is a better match for her skill-wise although she still outshines him. She is just amazing! That rhumba they did blew my mind! And the samba is unrivaled and I've seen Michael and Beata's samba live which, at the time, blew me away...

The scheduling was indeed off. Interleaving events (rhythm with standard for example, as there were no common couples in those) would have been ideal. As it was, dancing back-to-back rounds in a fairly warm auditorium was quite difficult.

[NielsenE]

Concerning results... I got an email from the organizers this morning asking if I could post their results for them on ballroomregistrar; I said yes, so I'm assuming they have something to post and will send it to me soon.

Given that I wasn't the scrutineer, I don't know what format the results will be in (theres' 3-4 possible output formats from CompMngr I've seen, some more useful than others) Commonly I get competitor numbers and marks/placements, or numbers/names/ranking but no marks. Sometimes I get both... We'll see. I'll post the "raw" file as soon as I get it and will try to clean it up/combine/etc if time permits.

[bluetango]

This was a great competition.

I especially thought the practice floor with a live feed from the comp was a great touch!
As well as the huge screen on the stage with all updates and recalls. That was fantastic.

The floor was good, of course the seams between tiles sometimes cause accidents, but its something you get used to in this world. The quality of the floor in terms of fast/slowness was quite good though.

I was very happy with the level of competition in the open events.

Congrats to Kitty for placing fourth in the Champ Standard!

[Kitty]

I love the floor and the venue.

the whole story with the show and show tickets was unorganized. it wasn't clear the entire time what it means to have one type of ticket or another, VERY confusing! Also didn't help that we had to stand out in the cold. On top of that I left the room before the show to change (since my events were after the show) and when I hurried to get back when the show was about to start, I could't get back in the room. My suggestion would be next time to have one type (or two types) of tickets only. and make it clear whether they will be available at the door.

The schedule could have been handled better. Competitors have to stay in their costumes until the awards. it was quite uncomfortable and chilly and just silly to stay in costume for so long after we finished dancing.

Congrats to Kitty for placing fourth in the Champ Standard!
And congrats to bluetango for placing also fourth in Champ Latin!

[Katarzyna]

Katarzyna - I loved your dress! You and your partner were a joy to watch dance!
Thank you!

[star_gazer]

Who was in the Standard final???

[Fouette]

1. Vasyl Makarov & Grace Fu
2. Anton Domansky & Lia Wong
3. Alex Spencer & Katarzyna Herink
4. Kani Liao & Anya Chaldysheva
5. Daniel Vesnovskiy & partner (sorry, don't know her name)
6. Andrew Tong & Tongyan Wang

[star_gazer]

1. Vasyl Makarov & Grace Fu
2. Anton Domansky & Lia Wong
3. Alex Spencer & Katarzyna Herink
4. Kani Liao & Anya Chaldysheva
5. Daniel Vesnovskiy & Hana Farber
6. Andrew Tong & Tongyan Wang

Thank you.

[Kitty]

actually it was a 7 couple final (from semifinal of 14)

the missing couple, i think they placed 6th, is David Wright and Liva Andreeva

[Fouette]

Sorry, you're right...

[bluetango]

And congrats to bluetango for placing also fourth in Champ Latin!

Perhaps I should consider changing my forum alias...

[Josh]

Congrats Kat!

[dance234]

I enjoyed Yulia and Riccardo - her costuming, with the exception of the longish 'flamenco' dress, was just exceptional. I didn't hate that dress, but it didn't rise to the level of artistry and suitability as the others did. She's upgraded her presentation considerably.

Agree that she's still the show-stopper of the partnership. Riccardo's an improvement, though. I look forward to more emotional connection developing between them - they're brand-new, I'm sure it'll happen.

The samba was the standout number, that and the jive. The cha (and all their choreography) takes nice advantage of Yulia's outrageous upper-body flexibility and ability to create very dynamic-looking shapes in space, but the cha for some reason lacked punch for me. I wanted more... I don't know, cheekiness?

I give couples a lot of leeway in picking the music for their show numbers... after all, they spend most of their careers dancing to hideous music picked by someone else. But the rumba choice, a lackluster and sappy version of the overworked "Feelings," was really unfortunate, in my opinion. A missed opportunity.

And finally, let me just be the fifteen millionth person to remark that Yulia's legs and feet are just mind-blowing.

[Katarzyna]

Thank you Josh..

and on Julyas long dress, I LOVED it... what beautiful fabric.. :) well but I am a standard dancer..

[NielsenE]

I've posted the very raw results. I'm not sure when/if I'll get a chance to do more with them but here's the link:
http://www.ballroomregistrar.com/results/Columbia07/scoresheets.txt

This is only numbers/marks.... no names... not split up by events so its really only useful for the competitors to check their own marks, versus checking up on friends/rivals/etc

[Katarzyna]

Willl there be a list of the judges available?

[BM]

and on Julyas long dress, I LOVED it... what beautiful fabric.. :) well but I am a standard dancer..

I agree. It suited the piece marvelously, and of their dances, I actually think that the Paso was my favourite.

[NielsenE]

Willl there be a list of the judges available?

Not unless other information is forthcoming from the scrutineer.

[Joe]

Now this is where it shows that it's their first comp. ;)

[cu_ballroom]

The formatted results are on the website on the main page, with the judges numbers and names.

[Katarzyna]

judge names too or only competitor names?

[Katarzyna]

Just found both, nevermind the questions :)

[Katarzyna]

any idea when the photos will be available

[kathyt cupcake]

any idea when the photos will be available

the comp ppl mailed a link:

www. photoreflect. com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=3393536

I am annoyed that there is only one picture of me leading, and neither of our faces are actually in the shot, it's like yay, my back! Whereas there are multiple shots of all the other couples.
Rrrrr. =/