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  1. Leon Theou

    American Smooth (Quickstep)

    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...
  2. Leon Theou

    Formal Balls -- a Thing of the Past?

    I have wanted for years to attend that ball.
  3. Leon Theou

    leader and partner

    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...
  4. Leon Theou

    Invigilation for dancing standard in smooth

    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...
  5. Leon Theou

    Ballroom Dance in College

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

    Building a College Team

    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...
  7. Leon Theou

    Competition Hair

    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.
  8. Leon Theou

    To specialize or not to specialize?

    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...
  9. Leon Theou

    DWTS Season 17

    Point: Davedove
  10. Leon Theou

    DWTS Season 17

    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.
  11. Leon Theou

    Latin vs. Standard Men's Pants

    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...
  12. Leon Theou

    Latin vs. Standard Men's Pants

    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...
  13. Leon Theou

    Evolution of judges preferences regarding "Latin Styling in Rhythm"?

    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...
  14. Leon Theou

    High Level Dancing: Drug Use

    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) β<sub>2</sub> agonists (asthma drugs shown to increase muscle mass) Hormone replacements...
  15. Leon Theou

    High Level Dancing: Drug Use

    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...
  16. Leon Theou

    How long a partnership usually last?

    I competed in the collegiate circuit and had the worst possible luck regarding partners. I had two partners between the four styles my first semester. The next semester, one quit dancing, and the other had no time to compete due to schoolwork, and I went through a series of one-comp...
  17. Leon Theou

    Is Pro Am becoming a sport of only the wealthy?

    I've never competed outside of the collegiate circuit, and I would expect professional organizers to put on a more organized comp, but for what it's worth, unforeseen circumstances do come up from time to time. Something gets delayed, then another thing gets delayed, and then another, and the...
  18. Leon Theou

    Latin Shirt style for Newcomer

    I wear compression shorts under my pants to um... secure the package, and I tuck my shirt into the shorts, which keeps it tucked in without resorting to pins which, with my luck, will pop open and stab me while I dance. If you do go the route of shirt stays, I'd recommend that you try...
  19. Leon Theou

    Booking Yulia and Riccardo...

    I know someone who tried to book them. He was quoted a price somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 per dance.
  20. Leon Theou

    Is Pro Am becoming a sport of only the wealthy?

    This is a vast oversimplification. Yes, high level routines are usually choreographed, and yes, this limits the interchangeability of pros. On the other hand, there is nothing preventing an amateur from leaving a studio whose fees are too expensive, and getting new choreography with a new pro...
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