College Competitions for Amateurs

[dancerman]

How popular are the college competitions for non student amateurs? I am in the North Carolina and my only experience was in New England. I would love to see competitive amateur dancing more active in the south but not sure how it will be received. My other motive is I am considering dancing at these events as well.

 

[s2k]

I'm a competitive amateur in the south, and while you're right about wishing it were "more active" down here, it is getting better. Birmingham, AL is a new NQE in February, there's an Atlanta comp in May run by the USA Dance chapter there; they'd like to become an NQE at some point. There are a couple of one-day, all-am events in Florida that are incredibly well-attended and growing every year. The Gumbo chapter in LA hosts a HUGE NQE in June that's widely regarded as the most fun of all the NQEs!

There are three comps in North Carolina that I'm aware of - the Carolina Fall Classic, which is held in early October, and then the Triangle Open, hosted by NC State, in November. There's also the Charlotte Dancesport Challenge, in April. Since the CFC is the NQE, it's the one that's most well-attended by all age divisions. I can't speak to the other two.

Now, your question about how well attended comps are for "non student amateurs": I'd go to the O2CM results list, look up some of these comps, or others you have an interest in, and see who else danced in your events in your age category. Then you'd have a better idea of how many "(traditional) non students" (read: S1, S2, S3, etc) attend.

 

[bia]

Yes to the improving situation for southern amateurs. Yay!

Now, your question about how well attended comps are for "non student amateurs": I'd go to the O2CM results list, look up some of these comps, or others you have an interest in, and see who else danced in your events in your age category. Then you'd have a better idea of how many "(traditional) non students" (read: S1, S2, S3, etc) attend.

The collegiate comps I went to in college/grad school didn't have age divisions, so you wouldn't be able to see this info in results. My impression for collegiate comps in general (though I don't know about the southern ones) is that they typically welcome non-students, and a lot of the open dancers are non-students, but you don't usually get many non-students in syllabus levels. If you don't mind being the only non-students, though, I don't see any reason not to do a collegiate comp if it's convenient. (If you're plausible grad-student age, no one may even notice.) Costume-wise collegiately I would refrain from going full bling at the syllabus levels.

 

[Miss Silly]

We're not students (we fall into the senior 1 age-category) and we're doing a few of the east-coast collegiate comps which we're loving because of the amount of competitors numbers and energy....even if we don't always make it out of the first round LOL!. We just don't have those kind of numbers here on the westcoast (Canada). We're used to almost always straight-finals. It's a game-changer having to deal with traffic in prelim rounds, as we're discovering HAHA.

 

[CarolinaSmooth]

First, welcome to the NC dance scene. Which region of the state is home base?

There are a number of college programs that have been active in dancesport: UNC, NC State, Elon, UNC-Charlotte, and ECU. The participation rates are not as high as they were circa 2012, but hopefully there will be a resurgence.

As previously mentioned by another poster, in-state comps are CFC (an NQE), CDC, and Triangle. Triangle was held in november of this year, but the comp had traditionally been at the end of january/start of february. The students also attend DCDI, Mid-Atlantic (NQE), Nationals, and a few go to MAC (NQE).

Some of these programs are welcoming of adults as full members. The local college comps have had some adult participants, and both CDC and Triangle have been offering a senior bracket for the last few years.

 

[dancerman]

Thanks all for your replies; all graciously received and gratefully acknowledged (ell be it in sum).
I am in Raleigh and have not competed or done any showcases since I left Massachusetts (December 2013). Dancing in Boston was such a great experience I was spoiled.
There is actually a competition coming to Raleigh on February 4th that I am trying to help promote but we are waiting for DF staff to give us the green light. It will be only for newcomers and bronze level but I am "over the moon" to have been asked for ideas and to assist.
I was very involved on the college circuit in New England as a vendor and, although I have no intention on reopening my business I will help those who have needs (old habits die hard).
Keep feedback coming, please. We are dancers. That's what we do.

 

[dancerman]

the competition I was speaking about is called the Cackalacky Beginner Challenge and it is being held Feb 4, 2017 in Raleigh (NC State) in the Talley Student Union building. I presume it is okay to post the information here. You can find the information on Facebook.
It will be beginner and Bronze levels only but should be a fun event. This is not the first year but there are different people coordinating it this year. We would love to see it get a good following. There needs to be more competition in the state and this is a good way to help that cause.
I will likely not dance in it (just not enough time to get back in shape; it's been 6 years since I have competed) but will be there cheering people on.