how often to compete

K

Kitty

New Member
how often is optimal and what does it depend on?

I know couples in Europe compete almost every weekend. On one hand that is more intense and probably makes them better performers. On the other hand, probably takes time out of practice schedule and is tiring. What are the pros and cons?
I'd like to compete more often, but all comes down to cost: in the US one has to travel for comps + pay large entry fees on to p of travel/hotel cost. I would love to be able to go to more local comps... there are very few though (once every 2 months). Is that not enough? doens one have to be seen by judges more? have more experience?
 
Kitty said:
how often is optimal and what does it depend on?

I know couples in Europe compete almost every weekend. On one hand that is more intense and probably makes them better performers. On the other hand, probably takes time out of practice schedule and is tiring. What are the pros and cons?
I'd like to compete more often, but all comes down to cost: in the US one has to travel for comps + pay large entry fees on to p of travel/hotel cost. I would love to be able to go to more local comps... there are very few though (once every 2 months). Is that not enough? doens one have to be seen by judges more? have more experience?
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I compete pro-am twice a year (for now, and so far I have competed 4 times total). The two comps I go to are 2 hour drive from my house, so at least I don't have to pay for airplane tickets (but I have to stay in the hotel). I might do more in the future, but I can't see myself being able to afford more than 5 comps per year.
 
Am/am, of course, is cheap and, if you have a good crowd to compete against, very rewarding and a great learning experience.

I think one reason that competitive couples from Europe do well here is because of the availability and frequency of well-attended comps. I think that a couple that does many comps is more attuned to the vagaries of competition that include density of the floor (amount of couples), elimination of 'butterflies' thanks to comps being such a frequent and therefore 'unspecial' event, and such.

I don't think that the quest for more comps works well for Proam (at 5-6 times the cost per comp the only people this works well for is the pro) but perhaps seeing am/ams doing 8-12 a year might prove to be a 'push' to the Proammer to seek alternative ways to dance well.

Some negatives with frequent competing include the 'dumbing down' of your learning curve to accomodate the shorter practice times because of less time between comps, and perhaps the 'specialness' leaving (esp for beginners, or proams who are there as much for the glitter and excitement as for the 'climb' up the competitive ladder) but the positives outweigh these, IMHO...
 
pro-am comps are different. they are too expensive practically by definition.
I was talking about amateur couples...

as an amateur couple in NY I'd be able to compete once every 2 months locally (locally = within reach by public transportation for reasonable p, including close NJ and close CT)

but I want to know often is better for the couple and for what reasons. If more is better then I'd need to travel for comps which takes time and money...
 
Even if I went to my 2 local comps with an amateur partner, I would still have to pay a lot for the entries and the hotel. It wouldn't be much cheaper.
 
tanya_the_dancer said:
Even if I went to my 2 local comps with an amateur partner, I would still have to pay a lot for the entries and the hotel. It wouldn't be much cheaper.
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Yes, the cost of entry and hotels etc are the SAME, but the cost of the comp etc can be significantly CHEAPER when you factor in the 'proam grab' of added charges to the student for entries going thru the studio, 'packages', the cost per dance of the pro, etc.

Another thread might be useful to discuss how to make comps cheaper for the am couple....
 
I have yet to pay thousands at a pro/am comp. But, I agree it is inherently more expensive.

Kitty...it seems to me the more exposure you have to the judges, and the more you are performing in front of crowds, the better it has to be. Can you swing one a month?
 
cant imaging doing more than 8...I think 5 is plenty for me....I for one am looking forward to a break from december though feb....certainly costs can be controlled by a variety of decisions....including hotel choices and number of heats you dance....I am paying nearly two grand for OSB and that is the most I have ever paid
 
fascination said:
cant imaging doing more than 8...I think 5 is plenty for me....I for one am looking forward to a break from december though feb....certainly costs can be controlled by a variety of decisions....including hotel choices and number of heats you dance....I am paying nearly two grand for OSB and that is the most I have ever paid
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Ditto on the break. Collect myself...and my dollars!
 
tanya_the_dancer said:
Even if I went to my 2 local comps with an amateur partner, I would still have to pay a lot for the entries and the hotel. It wouldn't be much cheaper.
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going to a comp with an am partner is a lot less expensive actually.

entry fee multidance event, split in half), say $40, you pay $20 and your partner pays $20,
entry to the ballroom, say @ $30 per person.

total of $50 per person. + travel. (max I can imagine is $40 per person)

why would you need to stay overnight in a hotel? I'm sure you can find 2 local comps a year in your area...
 
Kitty said:
going to a comp with an am partner is a lot less expensive actually.

entry fee multidance event, split in half), say $40, you pay $20 and your partner pays $20,
entry to the ballroom, say @ $30 per person.

total of $50 per person. + travel. (max I can imagine is $40 per person)

why would you need to stay overnight in a hotel? I'm sure you can find 2 local comps a year in your area...
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In my case my am partner would be my husband (although competing is not his idea of fun), so there would be no splitting anything. As for those 2 comps, those are my local comps, in the 2 big cities closest to mine. My town is roughly a half-way point between them. If I have to dance there in the morning (say 9am, that's when morning events tend to start), I have to either stay overnight or leave home at 5:30 am to have time to get ready (and I don't function well when I get up at 5:30am). That's life in Mid-America, I guess.
 
tanya_the_dancer said:
In my case my am partner would be my husband (although competing is not his idea of fun), so there would be no splitting anything. As for those 2 comps, those are my local comps, in the 2 big cities closest to mine. My town is roughly a half-way point between them. If I have to dance there in the morning (say 9am, that's when morning events tend to start), I have to either stay overnight or leave home at 5:30 am to have time to get ready (and I don't function well when I get up at 5:30am). That's life in Mid-America, I guess.
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It is personal choice. I've gotten up at 5:30am and even at 5am and even at 4:30am in order to get at 9 am to a comp which is 4 hours away. I just didn't have the money, so staying in a hotel wasn't an option.
 
Kitty said:
It is personal choice. I've gotten up at 5:30am and even at 5am and even at 4:30am in order to get at 9 am to a comp which is 4 hours away. I just didn't have the money, so staying in a hotel wasn't an option.
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You got up at 5:30am to get to a comp at 9am that is 4 hours away? Wow, please inform us of your route next time so that we can clear the roads - you must have been going 100....
 
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