Invigilation for dancing standard in smooth

[Terpsichorean Clod]

I saw this recently. Yes, they were sticking to the smooth syllabus. But they were dancing only the closed hold figures. And the prep step at the beginning was pretty noticeable. I was surprised that the judges actually called the offending couples over and gave them an ultimatum - if the judges were to recall them to the next round, they had to promise to break hold.

Anyone else actually see this happen?

 

[nikkitta]

I saw the COJ warn Silver Smooth couples dancing VWaltz that if they did not break hold, they'd be DQd. This was a general warning to all couples. Frankly, during more crowded early rounds with newly Silver dancers, it's often safer to remain in closed hold

 

[ajiboyet]

Finally!
I remember talking about a couple I saw in a video who danced Standard in Smooth. There were varying opinions. I believe they should be invigilated at the very least.

 

[opendoor]

I´m a little bit confused now: is there anything else typical/defining in american style besides open figures?

 

[Joe]

But you can dance Smooth entirely in closed hold and still dance only Smooth figures!

 

[llamasarefuzzy]

It seems wrong to DQ someone for not breaking hold. What if I just wanted to dance left and right turns with some twinkles thrown in? Still totally smooth, not standard but never breaking hold.

 

[clumsy fellow]

Ridiculous.

Either it's a syllabus figure or it's not… Choreography is outside of their job description.

 

[famfam]

there are closed figures in standard that are not in syllabus in smooth. What level were they dancing? The lower the level, the more likely this could have been the issue.

 

[Mengu]

This is a toughie. On one hand, I feel it should not be invigilated, considering there are plenty of beginning smooth dancers, including those that may be transitioning from standard to smooth, even in silver. I'd say the judges can feel free to not call back those couples that don't break hold (some already do this), but the judges can't watch the entire choreography of a couple. In the 5 seconds they are looking at a couple, if that couple is dancing closed hold figures, that's all they can go by to judge them. Invigilators aren't trying to judge, so they have more freedom to observe a couple's choreography. But if it is going to be invigilated as such, it should be made part of the rules. There is no written rule (I'm aware of) stopping a silver couple from dancing only closed hold figures, only rules limiting how much they can dance dance open (which is another can of worms on the invigilation front).

 

[fascination]

never mind that there are circumstances, particularly in pro/ am, where letting go might be prohibitive....I know of people dancing with disabilities, etc...

 

[suburbaknght]

I'm pretty dedicated to smooth but this is ridiculous.

1) As has been said, closed hold figures make much more sense in early rounds when the floor is crowded.

2) It's still syllabus.

3) It's not a question of invigilation but of choreography. The judges can choose not to recall someone because they don't like the choreography but they shouldn't be able to disqualify them.

4) There is not one rule in NDCA or USA Dance rules requiring smooth couples to open hold in non-showdance event, regardless of level.

 

[middy]

No reason to invigilate or DQ them, but you can certainly judge them for not breaking hold

 

[danceronice]

Eh.....I can see some justification if they never separate at all. You don't have to let go of each other (I'm trying to remember and I don't think there's anywhere in my Bronze Smooth where NP actually completely lets go of me) but if you're just going to dance basically Standard without passing your feet...go dance Standard. I don't know about a straight DQ but a warning from the invigilators that if they want to be marked, they need to be dancing the correct style, seems fair.

 

[nikkitta]

What about the couples I've seen dancing Bronze American Foxtrot with the Silver dancers, and they make finals because the Silver work from the other couples is *blech*? Actually, I like it when that happens.

I get that the "essence" of Smooth is breaking hold and open work. But where do you draw the line? Should you get penalized for dancing exclusively feathers and threes in Intl Foxtrot, or a perpetual loop of alemanas, fans, and hockey sticks in Intl Cha?

Who decides "You can't do that" versus "You shouldn't do that"? Apparently the COJ and whoever's on the judging panel. So you could theoretically do really well under one group of judges and get marked down by another group when dancing the same exact routine.

 

[cornutt]

I'm with the crowd here. Judging the quality of the choreography is the job of the judges, not the invigliator.