Chris Stratton
05-22-2004, 01:33 PM
Okay, so I had my fun bashing Amatuer Dancers yesterday. But starching the plastic collars wasn't nearly so enjoyable. So I was trying to think of something productive to do, and ended up writing an initial, but far from finished draft for the kind of thing it might be worth submitting to AD.
I'm going to post it here with a request for comments - editorial, technical, even opinions on the merit of the idea.
How to Win a Beginner Competition
There is a general impression amongst many ballroom dancers that competition is an elite endeavor reserved for only the most experienced, well financed, and heavily trained specialists. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Virtually every competition offers beginner levels, and the dancers in the lowest of these have far less experience than most social dancers. Quite often the only thing that separates beginning competitors from other dancers is the knowledge of a few easily learned principles of competition dancing.
Finding a Competition:
Different areas of the country offer different opportunities for finding a first competition experience. Formally sanctioned USABDA competitions all offer the introductory newcomer level, traditionally intended for people with limited formal training and no more than one or two previous competitions to their credit. Some chapters and studios also offer informal club events as a way to encourage dancers to give competition a try. Finally, many of the competitions hosted by collegiate teams are starting to welcome adult dancers along with their traditional demographic of students and alumni. Most amateur competitions are charging between $20 to $50 per person inclusive of all fees, though sanctioned competitions will also require upgrading to the dancesport athlete category of USABDA membership. For those who cannot find an amateur partner, pro-am competition is also possible at introductory levels, though at a substantially higher cost.
Technique beats Patterns:
While social dancers often strive to learn a variety of material to keep things interesting for the entire length of a song, competition at beginner levels is all about learning to do a very few steps as correctly as you can. The judges only have a minute or two to scan the entire floor, so you don't need to worry about boring them. Rather, you simply want to insure that you are dancing at your best during whatever few seconds of the song they spend evaluating you. And as many judges are also teachers, they actually like to see beginners "eat their vegetables" by concentrating initially on the fundamental building blocks.
Since American Foxtrot in its basic "bronze" form is a popular dance for newcomer events, it makes an excellent example for explaining how to win. Though there are nearly a hundred patterns one could learn, for competition purposes it is best to initially concentrate on only two or three - and dance those as perfectly as possible. One needs nothing more than the basic zig-zag progression to travel down the wall, while a rock turn easily accomplishes each corner. Going to promenade or putting in the occasional underarm turn is not guaranteed to loose the competition for you, but it is the rare beginner couple who can execute those steps cleanly enough that they add to the overall performance.
Posture, Frame, Feet:
To win a competition with basic steps you obviously will need to dance them well. But the first part of dancing well has nothing to do with moving, and everything to do with standing up straight, and standing with your partner in a proper hold. To review, (CHECK THIS AGAINST MOORE, ETC) the man connects his right wrist below the lady's arm while she relaxes her shoulder blade into the closed fingers of his hand. Her left wrist contacts his upper arm with her thumb nestled between the muscles just below his shoulder. Because she stands offset to his right, his left elbow forms a slightly acute angle, while her right is more open. The partners should practice taking hold in front of a mirror, until a comfortable position is found with both dancer's elbows slightly forward of their backs.
But the strongest lesson of beginner foxtrot is the emphasis it puts on rolling through the foot in a slow walking action, a skill which will prove critical to all of the more complicated standard and smooth dances. For a forward walk, one moves the body weight through the standing foot from heel to toe, then steps forward onto the heel of the moving foot and repeats. Going backwards, one moves the weight from the toe to heel of the standing foot, while extending the moving leg back with the end of the toe skimming the floor. The weight change is gradual with the front toe lifting as the back heel slowly lowers to the floor. (CHECK AGAINST BOOK) Slow walks should be practiced until a repeated string has all the smoothness of the "moonwalk" or the waist-up appearance of riding an airport "people mover" conveyor belt. The leader signals his partner to take a step with a slight compression into the standing foot, but mostly by
rolling his weight through it, almost totally eliminating the "bounce" often mistakenly associated with this dance.
Appearance Counts:
Though beginners are usually prohibited from wearing the expensive costumes of advanced competitors, everyone should do their best to look neat and well groomed. Tradition holds that women should put up their hair and both genders must eliminate all movement with gel or hairspray. For standard and smooth women should wear a bright colored but undecorated full-cut dress or 'circle skirt' such as can be purchased from a general dance store or catalog, or easily made with basic sewing skills. Latin and rhythm dresses will be shorter, though fullness can still help to show movement. Men should wear a long sleeve dress shirt with tie and ideally a vest in standard and smooth; jackets are rarely seen and must not be worn unless they were custom tailored so the shoulders fit with the arms raised to dance position. In latin and rhythm men have more flexibility and can choose either a knit or button down shirt, in short or long sleeve. Real dance shoes are preferable but a variety of practical substitutes are often seen in newcomer events. It is imperative that new competitors do a dress rehearsal in their costumes in order to verify that they are compatible with dancing and do not have any loose bits that might catch on their partner's clothing.
(inspiring conclusion about how anybody can do this an win without taking out a second mortgage, etc etc etc)
I'm going to post it here with a request for comments - editorial, technical, even opinions on the merit of the idea.
How to Win a Beginner Competition
There is a general impression amongst many ballroom dancers that competition is an elite endeavor reserved for only the most experienced, well financed, and heavily trained specialists. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Virtually every competition offers beginner levels, and the dancers in the lowest of these have far less experience than most social dancers. Quite often the only thing that separates beginning competitors from other dancers is the knowledge of a few easily learned principles of competition dancing.
Finding a Competition:
Different areas of the country offer different opportunities for finding a first competition experience. Formally sanctioned USABDA competitions all offer the introductory newcomer level, traditionally intended for people with limited formal training and no more than one or two previous competitions to their credit. Some chapters and studios also offer informal club events as a way to encourage dancers to give competition a try. Finally, many of the competitions hosted by collegiate teams are starting to welcome adult dancers along with their traditional demographic of students and alumni. Most amateur competitions are charging between $20 to $50 per person inclusive of all fees, though sanctioned competitions will also require upgrading to the dancesport athlete category of USABDA membership. For those who cannot find an amateur partner, pro-am competition is also possible at introductory levels, though at a substantially higher cost.
Technique beats Patterns:
While social dancers often strive to learn a variety of material to keep things interesting for the entire length of a song, competition at beginner levels is all about learning to do a very few steps as correctly as you can. The judges only have a minute or two to scan the entire floor, so you don't need to worry about boring them. Rather, you simply want to insure that you are dancing at your best during whatever few seconds of the song they spend evaluating you. And as many judges are also teachers, they actually like to see beginners "eat their vegetables" by concentrating initially on the fundamental building blocks.
Since American Foxtrot in its basic "bronze" form is a popular dance for newcomer events, it makes an excellent example for explaining how to win. Though there are nearly a hundred patterns one could learn, for competition purposes it is best to initially concentrate on only two or three - and dance those as perfectly as possible. One needs nothing more than the basic zig-zag progression to travel down the wall, while a rock turn easily accomplishes each corner. Going to promenade or putting in the occasional underarm turn is not guaranteed to loose the competition for you, but it is the rare beginner couple who can execute those steps cleanly enough that they add to the overall performance.
Posture, Frame, Feet:
To win a competition with basic steps you obviously will need to dance them well. But the first part of dancing well has nothing to do with moving, and everything to do with standing up straight, and standing with your partner in a proper hold. To review, (CHECK THIS AGAINST MOORE, ETC) the man connects his right wrist below the lady's arm while she relaxes her shoulder blade into the closed fingers of his hand. Her left wrist contacts his upper arm with her thumb nestled between the muscles just below his shoulder. Because she stands offset to his right, his left elbow forms a slightly acute angle, while her right is more open. The partners should practice taking hold in front of a mirror, until a comfortable position is found with both dancer's elbows slightly forward of their backs.
But the strongest lesson of beginner foxtrot is the emphasis it puts on rolling through the foot in a slow walking action, a skill which will prove critical to all of the more complicated standard and smooth dances. For a forward walk, one moves the body weight through the standing foot from heel to toe, then steps forward onto the heel of the moving foot and repeats. Going backwards, one moves the weight from the toe to heel of the standing foot, while extending the moving leg back with the end of the toe skimming the floor. The weight change is gradual with the front toe lifting as the back heel slowly lowers to the floor. (CHECK AGAINST BOOK) Slow walks should be practiced until a repeated string has all the smoothness of the "moonwalk" or the waist-up appearance of riding an airport "people mover" conveyor belt. The leader signals his partner to take a step with a slight compression into the standing foot, but mostly by
rolling his weight through it, almost totally eliminating the "bounce" often mistakenly associated with this dance.
Appearance Counts:
Though beginners are usually prohibited from wearing the expensive costumes of advanced competitors, everyone should do their best to look neat and well groomed. Tradition holds that women should put up their hair and both genders must eliminate all movement with gel or hairspray. For standard and smooth women should wear a bright colored but undecorated full-cut dress or 'circle skirt' such as can be purchased from a general dance store or catalog, or easily made with basic sewing skills. Latin and rhythm dresses will be shorter, though fullness can still help to show movement. Men should wear a long sleeve dress shirt with tie and ideally a vest in standard and smooth; jackets are rarely seen and must not be worn unless they were custom tailored so the shoulders fit with the arms raised to dance position. In latin and rhythm men have more flexibility and can choose either a knit or button down shirt, in short or long sleeve. Real dance shoes are preferable but a variety of practical substitutes are often seen in newcomer events. It is imperative that new competitors do a dress rehearsal in their costumes in order to verify that they are compatible with dancing and do not have any loose bits that might catch on their partner's clothing.
(inspiring conclusion about how anybody can do this an win without taking out a second mortgage, etc etc etc)