How often should a competitive dancer/couple compete?

[BallandChange]

I was curious as to what others on the forum thought regarding how often a competitive dancer/couple, whether pro/am or am/am, should compete? I think that one should be out on the competitive floor as often as possible so the the judges see you and one builds on their floorcraft and other skills that come with being on the floor whereas my partner feels that one needs to hone themselves at the studio before putting it on the floor.

[samina]

my pro's partner has estimated that each comp is like 10 lessons, and i have to agree. and the more frequently you go, the more the progress compounds.

i just did only three latin comps with nothing latin before and i can feel the change... it's going to significantly jack up my progress. same with standard... four comps in the past month and i'm in a different place than before.

i recommend doing it enuf to get past the drama & nerves so that you can really dig in and get serious about what you're doing. IME, it changes things at that point.

i have time off til september to dig in & train and ramp up for more change. i think that taking time off also has its merit when well-timed.

[BallandChange]

ARGHH!! Wrong title. Title should be "How often should a competitive dancer/couple compete?"

[samina]

your initial post made it clear. :)

[SDsalsaguy]

ARGHH!! Wrong title. Title should be "How often should a competitive dancer/couple compete?"
So edited. ;)

[Terpsichorean Clod]

how often to compete (http://danceforums.com/showthread.php?t=10384)
How Often Should One Compete? (http://danceforums.com/showthread.php?t=7993)

[mamboqueen]

yer killin me! I had no clue what Laura was talking about on that other thread until I just read your signature now. *honored* ;)

[SDsalsaguy]

(love the sig line TC :lol:)

[mamboqueen]

(love the sig line TC :lol:)

I'll dub you Sultan of Salsa.

/hijack :peace:

[samina]

adorable

[etp777]

Ha, I just caught that too. That's great TC> :)

[mamboqueen]

funny...all I can think of is "Paulie Walnuts" from the Sopranos....

[and123]

:p

Personally, I find floor experience invaluable for floorcraft purposes. If at all possible, attend practice rounds with other couples on the floor. You may look and feel fabulous dancing by yourselves, but throw random obstacles in your way, and things can quickly fall apart and get ugly.

[Laura]

My teacher says that it's always good to compete as much as possible, but I only agree up until a point. I did three competitions in a four-week period, and all three of them involved plane trips out of town. I was kind of dead and tired of the traveling by the 3rd comp. I was grumpy because I hadn't had much studio time between events, and then there was just the whole thing of feeling like I was living out of my suitcase.

So for me, I know I need a bit of down time after a while. I had an opportunity to compete again this weekend and my gut feeling is that I just didn't want to do it. So I'm not. Besides I'll have another chance soon, I'm doing two comps in August after all.

In general I try to average a comp a month. That's what works for me personally at this stage.

[njdancegirl]

In general I try to average a comp a month. That's what works for me personally at this stage.

I am also averaging a comp a month - is working for me as well. Beginning to feel a bit better on the floor in terms of nerves since not so much time goes by between each, but also gives me time in the studio to work out some kinks from the previous comp.

[BallandChange]

In general I try to average a comp a month. That's what works for me personally at this stage.

I like that idea, I think that once a month gets you on the floor often enough but it also provides some time to reflect on your expereince and hone your skills in the studio accordingly.

[samina]

I like that idea, I think that once a month gets you on the floor often enough but it also provides some time to reflect on your expereince and hone your skills in the studio accordingly.

once a month is quite a bit... that's 12/yr. a generous goal, i think. personally, i would like to average 1.5.

i currently have an appetite for 3/month, but i think that sort of thing will come and go... if it doesn't, i'm gonna hafta tap a vein to pay for it. :rolleyes:

[mamboqueen]

Can you tell me where everyone is finding the money tree plant??? yeeeeikes! If I'm *lucky* I'll be able to do 6/year...but even that is barely giving me time to work out the issues in between.

[samina]

you can share my street corner during off-hours...:cool:

(JUST KIDDING!!!)

(i wouldn't share it with anyone...heh)

[mamboqueen]

lmao! I'm actually thinking of running the place...you know, a la Heidi Fleiss.

hah...either that or maybe I'm not growing the *right* kinda plant ;)

[NielsenE]

IMO, unless you're making a run at a "title" or a high placement in a large competitive event, I think small clumps of competitions are best.

IE 2-5 competitions in a short window, every 3-6 months -- depending on personality, budget, lesson burn rate, etc. It'll take some time to dial it in. But you want to have enough competitions in a bunch to figure out what's consistently right and wrong; and to get into the competition groove. Then you'll want sufficient time off to address whatever you find to focus on.

[samina]

that's very good advice, nielsie.

[NielsenE]

and the other side, if you are making a run at a title, or breaking into a tough final, etc, then it comes down to talk to your coach(es)

but the general feeling is to hit as many influential events as possible (influential is measured more by who the organizers/likely judges are, than by absolute size).... its a much more strategic decision process than what I out-lined above. Balancing quality of exposure with quantity... weighing the cost of getting to other regions of the country, versus more local events, etc Plus making sure you'll be at your prime for the keystone competition....

[samina]

lmao! I'm actually thinking of running the place...you know, a la Heidi Fleiss.

hah...either that or maybe I'm not growing the *right* kinda plant ;)

:)

there's no doubt... cost is a huge factor in how frequently a couple can compete. and kudos to all who manage to creatively finance their passion.

[Laura]

It helps to live in an area where there are a bunch of Pro/Am comps you can drive to and not stay in hotels for.

[samina]

yep. and to share rooms with other dancers... or stay over with friends. both options have helped me tremendously. and to bring food & drinks with you...

[Laura]

Heck, I've driven 7 hours to Los Angeles a couple of times for comps, with a cooler full of my healthy favorites.

[BasicsFirst]

Can you tell me where everyone is finding the money tree plant??? yeeeeikes! If I'm *lucky* I'll be able to do 6/year...but even that is barely giving me time to work out the issues in between.

Is this under the context of dancing Pro-Am? We'll do seven this coming season (Sept - May), of which six will be local. Those local ones will cost us about $100 per comp. The 7th out of town one, well... we'll see where we are at. For Am/Am'ers (around here) the cost of the comps is nothing compared with the lessons. Love the chance to do 3 in a 4-week period or 4 in a 6-week period. A clump of comps with 2 weeks in between each one... PERFECT! (for a short stretch).

[njdancegirl]

Can you tell me where everyone is finding the money tree plant??? yeeeeikes! If I'm *lucky* I'll be able to do 6/year...but even that is barely giving me time to work out the issues in between.

My average included am/am days - pro/am, I'll be happy with 6/year. I also do local comps and share rooms to keep costs down as well.

When yard was landscaped, they forgot money tree unfortunately...

[syncopationator]

I work to dance! that's where most of my money goes.

[mamboqueen]

yep. and to share rooms with other dancers... or stay over with friends. both options have helped me tremendously. and to bring food & drinks with you...

emphasis on the latter....*LOL*

[samina]

emphasis on the latter....*LOL*
You know me... *grin*

We enjoyed dark tequila w/ organic ginger ale & organic lemons in our room this time...it's nice to be able to host company as well without spending a fortune. One of my fave aspects of comping is hanging out & sharing with friends.

(We also had a nice Cote du Rhone as backup ;))

[DrDoug]

lesson burn rate,

Oooh! Ouch! Lesson burn. Owwww!

[Joe]

You know me... *grin*

We enjoyed dark tequila w/ organic ginger ale & organic lemons in our room this time...it's nice to be able to host company as well without spending a fortune. One of my fave aspects of comping is hanging out & sharing with friends.

(We also had a nice Cote du Rhone as backup ;))
*cough*

[Nik]

Every weekend they can.

[samina]

*cough*

Lol, okay...Well...didn't want to take credit for having brought since it was a *gift*...the highpoint of this last comp was getting *deliciously* buzzed on some of Joe's homemade limoncello. Uh...otherwise now known as the Breakfast of Champions. ;) :D

[Josh]

Is this under the context of dancing Pro-Am? We'll do seven this coming season (Sept - May), of which six will be local. Those local ones will cost us about $100 per comp. The 7th out of town one, well... we'll see where we are at. For Am/Am'ers (around here) the cost of the comps is nothing compared with the lessons. Love the chance to do 3 in a 4-week period or 4 in a 6-week period. A clump of comps with 2 weeks in between each one... PERFECT! (for a short stretch).

Yes MQ is talking about pro/am comps I believe. If your cost is $100 per comp, do as many as possible! Likely they won't be very big, but it's still worth the experience!

[BallandChange]

:)

there's no doubt... cost is a huge factor in how frequently a couple can compete. and kudos to all who manage to creatively finance their passion.

I agree, competing Pro/AM can get expense. So realizing that landscaper forgot to plant the money tree in most of our yards then does your thought differ for AM/AM comps? And what do you think about competing AM/AM at predomenantly Pro/AM comps? I find that in many instances the Pro/AM comps are not really well attended by AM/AM competitors, except by the juniors and AM/AM Championship Dancers. Do you think it is worthwhile to dance uncontested in a syllabus AM/AM event at a predominently Pro/AM competition?

By the way, why am I missing all these parties!

[njdancegirl]

I agree, competing Pro/AM can get expense. So realizing that landscaper forgot to plant the money tree in most of our yards then does your thought differ for AM/AM comps? And what do you think about competing AM/AM at predomenantly Pro/AM comps? I find that in many instances the Pro/AM comps are not really well attended by AM/AM competitors, except by the juniors and AM/AM Championship Dancers. Do you think it is worthwhile to dance uncontested in a syllabus AM/AM event at a predominently Pro/AM competition?

By the way, why am I missing all these parties!

Taking costs out of the mix, I think main principles still apply...enough time on floor to get used to being there and being able to produce your best dancing, but enough time off in between to work on what needs working. I'd still go with roughly one per month.

If dancing in front of people is an issue, then contested or not, time on the floor may be worth it so attending pro/am comps with little or no competition may make sense. But personally, I hate dancing uncontested because I feel like I've spent time and money for (almost) nothing except floor experience. Plus I don't dance the same when I am uncontested as when I am contested - there is no sense of urgency to give it my all when uncontested unfortunately.

[mamboqueen]

Taking costs out of the mix, I think main principles still apply...enough time on floor to get used to being there and being able to produce your best dancing, but enough time off in between to work on what needs working. I'd still go with roughly one per month.

If dancing in front of people is an issue, then contested or not, time on the floor may be worth it so attending pro/am comps with little or no competition may make sense. But personally, I hate dancing uncontested because I feel like I've spent time and money for (almost) nothing except floor experience. Plus I don't dance the same when I am uncontested as when I am contested - there is no sense of urgency to give it my all when uncontested unfortunately.

I echo your sentiments. Once a month would be great for me.

I also hate dancing uncontested, but it's a whole lot less painful (cha ching) doing in an am/am capacity. OTOH, when I did it and was uncontested, I felt zero pressure and had a lot more fun.

I put together a yearly budget for myself as if the bottom line was no object. I put in 5 lessons/week (because I did factor in my "other" life - would love to do 10!) and a couple of coachings per month. Put in 6 comps, dresses and all other incidentals. It came out to just over 40K! Completely unrealistic for me, but I thought it might not be a bad idea to come up with a budget as incentive for trying to figure out ways to make some money to fund the habit.

[njdancegirl]

I also hate dancing uncontested, but it's a whole lot less painful (cha ching) doing in an am/am capacity. OTOH, when I did it and was uncontested, I felt zero pressure and had a lot more fun.

Completely less painful financially, but more painful personally as it typically ends up being an all-eyes-on-you event with no one else on the floor...uggghh!

[Laura]

Joe's homemade limoncello.
Joe makes limoncello? Wow. I mean just...wow.

[Laura]

And what do you think about competing AM/AM at predomenantly Pro/AM comps? I find that in many instances the Pro/AM comps are not really well attended by AM/AM competitors
In my area, there is good attendance of Amateurs at the NDCA comps. So really, it all comes down to picking which NDCA comps to go to.

[samina]

Joe makes limoncello? Wow. I mean just...wow.

have made as well... it is eezy-peezy lemon-squeezy. pun intended. :)

[dancinrina]

I put together a yearly budget for myself as if the bottom line was no object. I put in 5 lessons/week (because I did factor in my "other" life - would love to do 10!) and a couple of coachings per month. Put in 6 comps, dresses and all other incidentals. It came out to just over 40K!

Holy cow! That's insane!

[and123]

re: $40k per year on dancing
Holy cow! That's insane!

*ahem* what are you implying? :eyebrow::p:cool:

[mamboqueen]

Well, that's if I could have whatever I wanted and cost wasn't an issue. In fact, it could be even more because I only threw in 6 comps. Yes, it is insane. Guilty as charged. ;)

[star_gazer]

I am at work and the guy in the cubicle across from me has a sign that says, "Every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of world in which you want to live." And about twenty times a day I see that sign and think of all the money i spend on ballroom dance :-|

[mamboqueen]

I am at work and the guy in the cubicle across from me has a sign that says, "Every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of world in which you want to live." And about twenty times a day I see that sign and think of all the money i spend on ballroom dance :-|

There are many worse things one could spend their money on.

I read an article online yesterday about a local woman who socked away every single $5 bill she got over a period of 3 years -- and ended up with $12K. She said that one time when she paid a toll with a $20 bill and the person gave her back three $5s, she asked him for a 10 instead. She needed some spending money! Kind of a novel idea.

[WorksForShoes]

I am at work and the guy in the cubicle across from me has a sign that says, "Every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of world in which you want to live." And about twenty times a day I see that sign and think of all the money i spend on ballroom dance

I took a graduate-level religion class a few years back in which we studied a theory that said that behavior should be governed not by trust in predestination or a belief in punishment (Hell) or reward (heaven), but by the knowledge that God feels every bit of pleasure and pain created on the earth. You would avoid causing other beings pain because God would ultimately feel it in the proportion you create it, but you would actively seek to experience and cause happiness, because God would feel that too. If any of it is true, what better way to send up some pleasure and happiness than by dancing?

[danceronice]

I just calculated. If I took as many lessons a week as I wanted (assuming my pros were even available to me that often) that alone would run me $17,250 per year. For privates. To dance as much at one competition a month as would be feasible (ie number of rounds they can do with me while allowing for other students) for a year would be about $23,400.

And if I had the money I would totally spend it. I could literally burn through my investment portfolio (before taxes, adn those would be considerable, especially if I raided the IRAs) in...wow. In slightly more than 3 1/2 years. That's actually better than I thought. (Okay, repeat after me, we do not sell Chevron to pay for dance, we do not sell Chevron to pay for dance...we sell Disney. ;) )

[tanya_the_dancer]

i have time off til september to dig in & train and ramp up for more change. i think that taking time off also has its merit when well-timed.

I feel that when you reached a point when you need to make big technical changes, you need to take enough time off to let it sink in. Especially if it is going to make things temporarily worse before they get way better than before.

[fascination]

My teacher says that it's always good to compete as much as possible, but I only agree up until a point. I did three competitions in a four-week period, and all three of them involved plane trips out of town. I was kind of dead and tired of the traveling by the 3rd comp. I was grumpy because I hadn't had much studio time between events, and then there was just the whole thing of feeling like I was living out of my suitcase.

So for me, I know I need a bit of down time after a while. I had an opportunity to compete again this weekend and my gut feeling is that I just didn't want to do it. So I'm not. Besides I'll have another chance soon, I'm doing two comps in August after all.

In general I try to average a comp a month. That's what works for me personally at this stage.
i did 11 last year and felt it was about right...comps provide valuable experience...so does down time

[samina]

yes, exactly. no good starting to tinker just before comp...

[GJB]

I am at work and the guy in the cubicle across from me has a sign that says, "Every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of world in which you want to live." And about twenty times a day I see that sign and think of all the money i spend on ballroom dance :-|

Do you dance as well or just your kids?

[Joe]

have made as well... it is eezy-peezy lemon-squeezy. pun intended. :)
Unsure about your method, but mine doesn't actually require any squeezing. :)

I am at work and the guy in the cubicle across from me has a sign that says, "Every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of world in which you want to live." And about twenty times a day I see that sign and think of all the money i spend on ballroom dance :-|
Spending money on ballroom is better than spending it on blow and hookers!

[fascination]

:rolleyes:

[samina]

Unsure about your method, but mine doesn't actually require any squeezing. :)

true here as well. liked the squeezy ref, tho.:rolleyes:


Spending money on ballroom is better than spending it on blow and hookers!

and you know this, how...:cool:

[star_gazer]

Do you dance as well or just your kids?I sort of dance but it doesn't cost me anything. Like when the kids were growing up and they'd look outside at the foundation and floor of the house we were building and I'd be dancing on it. Ha-ha..pretty weird mom.

But its the kids ballroom dancing that's wiping out the money tree. Travel for lessons, lessons, travel for comps, comps. But the twins work to pay a very large portion of it.