Creative accounting, are they really ? in the world/country?

[D-spot]

Commet from another thread about people saying they are such and such ranked in the world, so who do you know who is creative about such 'boasts'?
(Please no slander if possible).

For example I know of one guy at a studio who claims to be 6h in Canada (latin). Of course, that particular year there were only 6 in that comp.
He also claims to be 14th world in salsa from a certain 'World' Congress.
Great for advertising but his quality of dancing leave much to be desired.

Another local couple have commented on being 12th in ten-dance. Made me wonder how unpopular 10-dance must be (or how small a comp it was).

Mind, it's all good for business, allows them to bump up the price of a lesson.
Do you consider this honest, or somewhat shady?

Another thought, how easy is it to find out a teachers ranking, current or historical?

Comments?
D-spot.

[pygmalion]

I've often wondered that myself, D-spot. How exactly are the rankings done? In the US? In the world? In Europe? Amateur? Pro? I bet they're all different. :shock: :?

[etchuck]

I think there are a few places where people are tracking rankings. I personally don't trust cumulative rankings so much, but I do pay attention to placements in various competitions. But I would think that USABDA would post their results, as would most of the other Dancesport Superbowl events. It shouldn't be that difficult after a while.

But sure... imagine a dance couple who went and made their own fake trophies to credentialize their "accomplishments". Oh the scandal. ;)

[Porfirio Landeros]

I think it's hard to keep a running ranking going, especially in the U.S., when not everyone shows up to the same competitions. I think the only way you can really count any placing is based on performance at each [official] national championships.

U.S. Titles...

For Amateur ballroom dancers, this is USABDA's National Championships, held in August each year.
Yes, there are other comps out there which are claiming to be U.S. championships, and I think the results of these events are valid, because the same judges are used to pick the winners, BUT, the winners of the USABDA championships represent the U.S. in world competition, so I'd have to defer to USABDA as being the "official" championships.

For Professional ballroom dancers, it's a little easier, because the NDCA alone chooses the U.S. champions. The Open-level Smooth, Rhythm, and Latin are chosen in Miami at the USDSC, the Rising Star-level Smooth, Standard, Latin, and Rhythm champs are picked at Emerald Ball, and the Open Standard awards are given at the BYU Championships. Even though they are held at different venues, there is no dispute that these are the Professional national championships.

For Salsa, and other un-organized styles, I don't think you can say you're world champion (yet), since not everyone in the world may have been extended the opportunity to compete on the circuit, especially since there is no "official" circuit. Should there be a circuit for Salsa? Emerald Ball is announcing that they are holding the U.S. Amateur Salsa Championships this year, but this is sanctioned by the NDCA, and I'm sure that many of the best salsa dancers don't know what the NDCA is.

I come across ads for pro's all the time that say "champion" or "top-ranked", and they've never done anything. I guess it's all about marketing...

[pygmalion]

Thanks for the explanation, Porfirio. That clears up a lot of questions for me. 8) :D

[MacMoto]

For Salsa, and other un-organized styles, I don't think you can say you're world champion (yet), since not everyone in the world may have been extended the opportunity to compete on the circuit, especially since there is no "official" circuit. Should there be a circuit for Salsa?

I have read somewhere that British couple Jaclyn Spencer and Chris (Juan Christobal) Marques are "official" 2004 European and World Salsa Champions and the first European couple to win the world title, so I've googled. It seems they won World Salsa Championships held in Rome last December. This I presume is a different comp from the "US and World Salsa Championships" held by the WSF (perhaps Isaac can clarify?). I wouldn't be surprised if there are other "World Salsa Championships", with no official or recognised circuit structure. I don't know... I find the whole comp thing rather irrelevant for an essentially street dance like salsa anyway.

[Pacion]

This year, is going to be the "9th Annual Mayan World Salsa Competition", in LA.

Another "world" competition, but what makes these competitions "world competitions" :? Is it because the competition is open to all salsa dancers around the world?

I think (from the little I know) it is easier to have rankings in Ballroom/Latin because there are certain competitions which every competitive dancer has on their dance calendar. Salsa is a long way from that :?

[Porfirio Landeros]

I think (from the little I know) it is easier to have rankings in Ballroom/Latin because there are certain competitions which every competitive dancer has on their dance calendar. Salsa is a long way from that :?

EXACTLY! For the world amateur circuit, the International DanceSport Federation keeps the running points ( HERE (http://idsf.net/idsfrank.htm) ) for the world competitors on the IDSF circuit. This is the system that is supposed to qualify competitors for the olympics (if it ever gets there).

Independently run sites are starting to pop up (http://www.dancesportinfo.net) as well that aggregate the results from competitions and you can actually do some summary reports and comparisions on International Style couples. This doesn't really help competitors in the other styles, like American Smooth, but it's growing.