Four competitive styles dilutes quality in US?

Josh

Josh

Active Member
Does having four competitive styles dilute the quality of the dancing in each particular style, as compared to having only two competitive styles?
 
Personally, I thinkt he bigger problem is that so many dancers in US come to it later in life. We don't have the clubs, support system, etc, to be starting people out in the sport as kids.
 
Josh said:
Does having four competitive styles dilute the quality of the dancing in each particular style, as compared to having only two competitive styles?
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Speaking for myself, at the beginning of my competition experience, yes, I have to say it probably lowered the quality of each of my dances, because I was trying to dance all 4 styles. After a few years, I realized I didn't have time to be good at everything, found what I liked, and focus on one style now. So, the fact that there are 4 styles has no effect on quality any more.

And at the high end of the competition, I can't help but agree with etp, the younger they start, and the more they are supported, the better they become. Styles, number of dances, seem less relevant.
 
I think eventually people end up specializing anyway, when they get to high enough level. So it might slow progress down in the beginning when they haven't chosen what they like yet, but I am not sure it has effect on higher levels. What etp said has much greater effect on overall quality or lack of it.
 
I think yes, even at the high levels. I've known a number of professionals who chose their style based on the "competition" of that style's field, or the style that highlighted their strengths and masked their flaws. I'm not at all saying this is wrong to do. It is, after all, competition. But it does mean that people can somewhat "hide" behind their chosen style rather than tackle their weaknesses. It also means the total pool of competitors is more scattered.
 
ireniecat said:
I think yes, even at the high levels. I've known a number of professionals who chose their style based on the "competition" of that style's field, or the style that highlighted their strengths and masked their flaws. I'm not at all saying this is wrong to do. It is, after all, competition. But it does mean that people can somewhat "hide" behind their chosen style rather than tackle their weaknesses. It also means the total pool of competitors is more scattered.
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Regarding your point about hiding behind the chosen style - wouldn't it be still true even with only two styles? I mean - nobody is required to do 10-dance. So if someone is better in one style out of two, and they advanced far enough that it makes sense to specialize in just one, they would just do so. And at the very highest level, if you look at superstars dvds, the couples in standard and latin dvds are different. Which means that somewhere along the way they have all specialized in one or another.
 
etp777 said:
Personally, I thinkt he bigger problem is that so many dancers in US come to it later in life. We don't have the clubs, support system, etc, to be starting people out in the sport as kids.
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IAWTC. To get the equivalent of "Olympic" quality, you have to start them young, or you have to get someone young-ER, who has unlimited money and time to devote to it. Eliminating the two American styles would just put off the older students who might not start with competition in mind.

As for pros picking which style to specialize in, tanya's right--that's going to happen anyway, and sure, people are going to pick ones where they feel like the competitions' easier on them. Yes, that might mean there are people who are making finals in Smooth who would be coming in semis or quarter-finals in Standard...but so what? Standard and Latin aren't inherently more valuable unless you want to compete in Europe, and people who want to do that will already specialize in...Standard at Latin.
 
I love having 4 styles. American and REhythm are new to me, since we do not really have much of it in Europe. The variety makes it more intereting and diverse. It's like having ethnic restraurants.
 
I think the answer to OP's question is no, IMO. However, I think having four styles does, to some degree, dilute the character of each family of dance.
 
danceronice said:
IAWTC. To get the equivalent of "Olympic" quality, you have to start them young, or you have to get someone young-ER, who has unlimited money and time to devote to it. Eliminating the two American styles would just put off the older students who might not start with competition in mind.
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The olympic comparison is exactly what I was thinking of, doi. When I joined gymnastics in high school, the top kids at all the schools in area were so-called "club kids", who'd been doing gymnastics since they were little. These are the same kids who end up representing us and allowing US to do well in the Olympics. That's what we're lacking, to my mind
 
my sense of it is much like some others have said, that there are other factors that contribute to less concentration of quality, rather than the existance of 4 styles
 
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