Recent content by Leon Theou

So, I once had a dream a few days before a comp, the first comp at which I would be competing in V-Waltz, that unbeknownst to anyone, a fifth dance had been added to the Smooth canon: the Melon Dance, and it had been paired with the Viennese Waltz. We reached the end of the V-Waltz, bowed, and...

I have wanted for years to attend that ball.

When talking about my partner to muggles, I always qualify "partner" with "dance". In a context where I'm talking to other dancers or where it is implied that I am talking about my dance partner (e.g. telling someone about a comp or a lesson I took), I will leave off the "dance" part. Are you...

I think it was pointed out in another thread that nothing in the rules says that a couple may not break frame in an open-level Standard round, however such a couple would be looked down upon for straying from the character of the Standard [whatever dance]. Similarly, there is nothing mandating...

Though it's not from an academic perspective, the northeast has a very robust collegiate ballroom scene.

It might be a good idea to give people the opportunity to try the club out for free for one or two lessons that you and/or your partner teach (you don't have to sell the experienced dancers, so these free lessons are targeting newbies) before committing to bringing a coach, because if nobody's...

Sounds like what we used to do before starting sparring in Taekwondo. Everybody'd make a long chest pad-tying train, because the placement of the laces (on the back of the vest) means that you can't tie it without help.

It would not surprise me for a couple to be at the top of both Rhythm and 9-dance, simply because in 9-dance, Rhythm is weighted more heavily than Smooth (if only by 1/9 of the result). In fact, in a three-way showdown between the top couple in Smooth, Rhythm, and 9-dance, the Rhythm couple...

Point: Davedove

I (aged 23) watch the show, and I know a number of my friends do as well. Especially with Bill Nye, who my generation grew up watching on TV and in school, being on this season, I'd anticipate a lot more Gen Y'ers in the audience.

I disagree with this as a universal sentiment. The man's style should compliment the lady's, which can mean matching, but need not mean that exclusively. In Standard, the accepted male attire is rigid and independent of the lady's costume. In Smooth, even if there is some coordination between...

Not that I expect collegiate costuming trends to be identical to the general amateur ranks, but I know a few guys who dance open smooth/standard in latin pants. As for me, my go-to pair of comp pants is/was a pair of mate-less tuxedo trousers that I happened across in my closet (why a 20...

Straight legs aside, I didn't like their choreography. Not the specific choreography, but the choreographic philosophy. It's like "Line! Oh, let me move a little so that the people over there can see me. Line! dancey, dancey, LINE! Hey, look, there's a judge. Line! Better go show him... Line...

The list of things that are banned at all times is not as extensive as the list of things banned just in competition. It basically consists of: Anabolic agents Hormones and their analogues (EPO, HGH, etc) β₂ agonists (asthma drugs shown to increase muscle mass) Hormone replacements...

Lance Armstrong's doping was not discovered mostly because he didn't use particularly easy to detect drugs (scientifically valid tests for EPO are only about 10 years old, and they are still imperfect), and much of his doping was not pharmaceutical. Homologous transfusions are difficult to...