Competing in two different styles

B

Babydancer

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I have been working on both Latin and standard ballroom. More ballroom … mostly ballroom for the last year and had played with Latin for the last two to three years not serious and pro is national ballroom champion from 2022 . Well anyway , I want to compete on Latin and so we are working on a few routines (cha cha cha, rhumba, samba and jive ) as well as silver waltz tango foxtrot for a comp in October…
I seem to be handling it ok so far . I am ok with the bronze Latin routines as will be my first Latin comp. and working hard on my silver steps in standard.
Do others do two or more styles ? And how do you find it ? I know it takes longer to learn as one may be more competent in one style than the other . Does it really take twice as long ?
Thanks
 
Babydancer said:
Do others do two or more styles ? And how do you find it ?
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I compete in three styles: Standard, Latin, and Smooth. I enjoy the feeling of being well-rounded, and I like the fact that I have something interesting to do/watch for almost every session (no Rhythm...yet).

When I was just starting out, I found it challenging sometimes to keep straight which ideas belonged to which style. My progress was slowed as a result. I was OK with it, though, because I was not in a hurry to advance and enjoy exploring complicated ideas.

Now that I'm a bit further along, I'm more comfortable with mentally compartmentalizing the things that are different, and unifying the things that are shared. Pursuing multiple styles is not a challenge anymore, in that respect.

Babydancer said:
I know it takes longer to learn as one may be more competent in one style than the other . Does it really take twice as long ?
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If you want to build equal competence in both styles and are starting from the beginning, I would say it takes *at least* twice as long.

The issue with Latin & Standard is that they use very different philosophies of movement. At the surface level, they appear to have nothing at all in common. So you have totally separate learning tracks for both, plus the added confusion of "keeping the ideas straight," as I mentioned above.

If you choose two styles with more philosophical overlap, like Standard & Smooth, the path is not quite as lengthy.

Also, if you don't care to maintain similar competence in both styles, the path is shorter, too. The "serious" style will get the bulk of your time and attention, and you can count on some of the trained skills gradually spilling over into your "just for fun" style.
 
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I like the different feelings / mood of each style . I do feel that when I switch … we do one lesson Latin and one standard each twice per week , it works for me . I might be having an off day with one style so then we switch … I don’t feel all was lost. The change in body movement and head space I feel helps me learn better (?)
I am also feeling that having moved to silver this past month was a good thing .
I am pushing hard with my new steps and practicing more …
Latin I have basics and now he is making work hard with those basics and I feel I am doing well.
It is like when I was studying sometimes I would get stuck on one subject and would take a break and do something to clear my head and then when I went back to it I felt more energized . I am comfortable taking longer in Latin right it now as have done mostly standard for one year and we wild just warm up with latin sometimes and I did a showcase in June cha cha cha and it went well. I have no illusions that Latin may take more effort for me right now but I like the movement, music and lines and I love the dresses ! Can’t show your body as much with ballroom standard dresses.
 
I compete in both Standard and Latin. I enjoy having the different styes. They do have different techniques and they do use muscles differently (also, I think there is variety among the Latin dances as well). Like Fiesta, at times I have had issues keeping the techniques straight. I, too have mentally gotten better at compartmentalizing them, but muscle memory is harder at first. In contrast, as I've gotten a little better I've been able to take concepts or techniques and use or modify them for other styles, so that's been helpful.

Currently, my Ballroom is better than my Latin. That's gone back and forth a little over time. My Pro was primarily a Ballroom Pro (although he did compete Pro Latin some), and he's better at breaking down issues with Standard. Not awful at Latin, of course, but I think it's easier for him to identify and resolve issues with Standard technique, and over time that's had an impact. My dance progress has gone in spurts, but overall it is pretty slow. I take some lessons in other styles too, and it's not clear to me if it would be faster if I had only focused on one style or if it is just challenging for me to learn and improve the technique and muscle control at my age.
 
I compete Ballroom, Nightclub, Rhythm and Smooth - there is definitely an opportunity cost for doing more than one style and you have to be prepared for a longer learning curve and be willing to accept less than perfection. I think it depends on your goals, I dance for my own enjoyment, at my age and physicality, I’m never going to be truly competitive, so I’m happy to meander my way through the various styles and have fun recognizing both the similarities and difference.
 
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I can see the complexities you all describe about the differences in the different styles . Yes I find with Latin the foot work harder and that takes time .
 
Oops I hit post reply before I was done…
Goals : to do both styles competently. No I will never be a star .I just wish to keep going and learning, really. Yes I wish to see how far I can go pro-am . Right now I just wish to enjoy the learning and am trying new things which is refreshing . I don’t think I recognized at the time I was bored with bronze standard, felt stuck , felt I was not improving . Currently with the new silver steps just in waltz I want to prove to pro that I was ready awhile ago and deserve the change and I am able to execute it well,… VERY Well!!
And for Latin I want to prove to him and myself that I can be a versatile dancer !
 
I compete Latin, Smooth and Rhythm. I really like the variety. When I was at a lower level, the technique concepts were a little more spread over each style with just different steps but now that I'm more advanced each dance has it's own technique. I occasionally consider dropping one style but then I would miss the dances/feelings of that so I never do. I also like the challenge of the variety and enjoy performing all the different "personalities" of the dances. Might I be better if I focused on one? maybe. But not happier.
 
@Tracy yes yes yes!! Each style or even each dance has its own ‘flavour, feeling, flair ‘
I like the different moods each portrays. Today I want fun so cha cha cha I want to start with … then I get to show him what I practiced in waltz then we can do new steps in foxtrot and then I want to end with jive or samba…
Different personalities . I tend to look at each dance as it is not really the styles . Maybe that is wrong. Like each dance is it’s own field of study … it helps me , to focus I think maybe in time for Latin I will be able to discern the similarities in the technique. I hope that makes sense.
 
Dance Redeemer said:
I compete in both Standard and Latin. I enjoy having the different styes. They do have different techniques and they do use muscles differently (also, I think there is variety among the Latin dances as well). Like Fiesta, at times I have had issues keeping the techniques straight. I, too have mentally gotten better at compartmentalizing them, but muscle memory is harder at first.
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Can I use this as an excuse with my teacher when I take a heel lead in West Coast?

No? Well, I didn't think so.
 
When I started ballroom, I danced Latin, Standard, Rhythm, and Smooth. I did all of it through bronze. It's kind of like a sampler buffet, and helped me find my way. I eventually focused on Standard, learned some Silver Latin along the way, got into Silver smooth for a few years, but kept my Standard focus. I have added WCS in the last year. It's all dance education for me... learning to move our bodies. I might get into AT or other styles at some point, depending on my whims. But I'm in charge of what I want to learn, not some system or expectation of a timetable for improvement.

OT:
Greybeard said:
Can I use this as an excuse with my teacher when I take a heel lead in West Coast?

No? Well, I didn't think so.
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Err... what's wrong with a heel lead in WCS?
 
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