polishbloo
New Member
I'm going for the first time to MAC with my new partner. I've been super nervous because I've never been to competition this size. What should I expect?
MAC- what to expect?
- Thread starter polishbloo
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polishbloo
New Member
Yes. Before I got my partner, I was dancing pro-am beginner silver. Now I'll be dancing in pre-champ/champ youth latin and pre-champ amateur latin. I'm pretty freaked out and don't know what I should expect and how to prepare myself for it.
Hopefully you have been able to attend practice rounds at a studio so you can experience what it's like to dance on a relatively crowded floor without getting rattled or intimidated. I assume at your age that stamina shouldn't be much of an issue. If it is a straight final, which I highly doubt based on the entries I've seen for MAC in the past, you'll be dancing CSRPJ (or whatever the legal sequence is nowadays) all in a row. If it's, say, a quarter final, they'll likely split it into 2-3 groups equal in number, you'll do one dance, wait in a designated corner or area until the next group does the same dance, and then repeat the process until all couples have completed all dances for the event. Depending on how the other events of the day are interleaved, you may have quite a bit of down time until the next round. You also may end up with back-to-back prechamp/champ events, which can be brutal. Most comps are very good about announcing what's coming up soon and/or having a video display of which couples were recalled for the next round. Keep an eye on the schedule and always know where your partner is. It's very embarrassing to hold up the competition because someone is missing. Often if you aren't on deck and ready to dance when you're called, tough luck. You're done.
Check youtube for MAC videos of these events so you can see what it really looks like. I'm sure there must be a lot of them.
Is that what you were wondering about, or did you have other specific concerns?
Check youtube for MAC videos of these events so you can see what it really looks like. I'm sure there must be a lot of them.
Is that what you were wondering about, or did you have other specific concerns?
polishbloo
New Member
That's it. Thank you soo much for explaining everything. I'm already training really hard but now I know that my partner and I will have to replan a couple of things.
Meagan
Active Member
Because its a USADance event there will definitely be time between your rounds. There is a screen above the podium with the upcoming events so you should keep your eye on it as suggested even though most (but not all) of the announcers at MAC do announce rounds a few ahead.
For your multi-heat/flight you'll most likely be sent to different corners of the floor after your first dance so pay attention to the MC after you finish your samba for where your new on-deck area will be so you don't end up dancing in the wrong heat
OH and MAC is run on the PDA judging/check in system, so make sure you're paying attention and get to the on deck area on time to check in with the deck captain. As Nikkita said its embarrassing to hold everyone up and MAC runs heats by competition number order so you can't just run on the side of the floor without telling anyone (not sure if that happens in pro-am haha but I've seen it happen at other comps).
Since you're doing Open you shouldn't have to worry about the syllabus invigilator but make sure your costume (and your partners) meet with the USADance guidelines because those DO get invigilated (and the youth latin categories have historically been a big offender if my memory serves).
That's all I can think of. I'm sure you'll do great!!
I want to re-emphasize the need for practice rounds with a fully occupied floor if you are not already desensitized to that. A dozen or so syllabus level Pro-Am couples is not the same as 20-ish Open couples on a competition floor at once. You and your partner may be able to nail your routines on a mostly empty studio floor, but add in other Open couples also jockeying for precious space at a competition, and it can really throw you off. If this is a weakness, work on it now as much as you can. If there are any other comps you can enter between now and MAC, I highly recommend it. Assuming you are in the Northeast, maybe try the Big Apple Dancesport comp in December?