Advice for Am/Am couple competing for the first time

s2k

s2k

Well-Known Member
My amateur partner and I have been practicing about 5-6 hours a week for the past three months. We are one another's first amateur partnership; we individually take lessons from two different pros at two different studios in the same city. Our pros also provide us with coaching. We dance strictly American Rhythm.

We're coming up on our first competition together, at a regional pro/am and am/am comp. It's just us - our coaches are not attending.

We are both used to our pros taking care of competition details, take care of our emotional needs, etc., when we compete pro/am. Since we're on our own at this comp, we've asked our coaches for advice, and now I'm asking DF for suggestions on things my partner and I should keep in mind! Your suggestions and advice are appreciated!
 
You will get the most success by learning to love what you do to the extent that you are able to keep competing over a period of time. So my advice is to enjoy what you do. Obviously, you will try your best, but don't be too hard on yourself. Relax, and don't get too focused on results. You'll learn to improve over time.
 
Actually I find the am-am comps less pressure filled then my pro-am ones. I can relax and enjoy the competitions with my am partner and we're there for each other.

The things that differ in the pro-am world that could add pressure? If there's gonna' be a screw up, it's most likely going to be on the student's head; the opportunity to show well or not so well on your pro's teaching abilities (though that really shouldn't matter); and perhaps less support due to the nature of the pro-am partnership (multiple partners at a comp, differing goals, etc.).
 
Congratulations on your first comp! Remember that it's supposed to be fun. And don't expect too much your first time out. One bit of practical advice, since it's your first comp: make sure that you take care of all registration details as soon as you arrive. Make sure you get your programs, heat sheets, and your number, and that you identify when your first dance is. And welcome to the ranks of the rhythm dancers!
 
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Don't expect too much in the way of placement the first few times out. It takes a while to get the gist of things, at least for most. Take videos of yourselves and (after your initial aghast-ness, which everyone has) study them CAREFULLY with help from your coach(es). If you have any questions AT ALL grab a fellow competitor -- we've found people in this community over-all super friendly and helpful. Make an effort to get know your fellow competitors. You'll be seeing a lot of them and you can have some great times together!
 
Actually I'm wondering if there will be any competition at all for them. Am/am entries at a Pro/Am comp tend to be sparse. If you do happen to find another couple competing in Rhythm there, see if you can switch up your entry levels or ages so you'll be judged against each other (assuming you are not at wildly different levels).
 
nikkitta said:
Actually I'm wondering if there will be any competition at all for them. Am/am entries at a Pro/Am comp tend to be sparse. If you do happen to find another couple competing in Rhythm there, see if you can switch up your entry levels or ages so you'll be judged against each other (assuming you are not at wildly different levels).
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Ooh, thank you Nikkitta for this suggestion. We're going into it aware (expecting) that we could be uncontested, and switching levels if possible is a great idea! Since he and I just began, we're doing all levels of closed bronze.


cornutt said:
One bit of practical advice, since it's your first comp: make sure that you take care of all registration details as soon as you arrive. Make sure you get your programs, heat sheets, and your number, and that you identify when your first dance is. And welcome to the ranks of the rhythm dancers!
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Thank you, Cornutt - these are things my pro handles that have "magically appeared" for me when I compete pro/am, but you're right, the stuff you mention is the stuff that's all on us now! (gulp!)

The other thing I think I'm most apprehensive about is that if I screw up pro/am (zomg and I have) my pro saves me every time. That's not going to be the case here! My am partner has saved me in practice, and vice versa, but it's not quick and and it's not pretty! I want to be a good enough follow that I can follow if he changes up a routine because he missed a step, but I guess the same applies in the other direction - if I screw up, he'll have to be a good enough lead to fix us. Yeah - that's my biggest fear going into this!
 
s2k said:
Ooh, thank you Nikkitta for this suggestion. We're going into it aware (expecting) that we could be uncontested, and switching levels if possible is a great idea! Since he and I just began, we're doing all levels of closed bronze.
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Hrm... uncontested is a bit frustrating IMO. If you're interested in larger am/am comps, you might see if there are collegiate competitions in your area. They tend to be "off the radar" for competitors who have only ever done pro/am.
 
s2k said:
Since he and I just began, we're doing all levels of closed bronze.
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"all levels of closed bronze" sound like student/student categories. If you're doing student/student, you'll almost certainly be uncontested. Do both of you have to pay an annual NDCA registration fee? If not, then it's student/student. Student/student is great if you're just looking for the experience - dancing with each other while sharing the floor with some pro/am heats. But if you want to compete against other dancers, then you want to do am/am.

Student/Student vs. Am/Am
 
OP did not specify whether this was an NDCA comp or something else, so registration may not be necessary. Student/student seems to be something that came along after I stopped dancing Pro/Am. Back then, syllabus Am/Am was either squashed into Sunday afternoon or some such time slot, or stuck into whatever session the corresponding Pro/Am style was dancing, depending on how many entries there were. Some even shared the floor with Pro/Am couples, but were judged separately. I believe that to be the case for student/student couples...?

ANYway, if this comp has a website and lists past results, you can see how many Am/Am couples competed.
 
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