scullystwin42
Forum Master
Good luck! wish I could see you, but I'm leaving tomorrow. Focus on the good stuff in your routines, not the bits that trip you up, so you can stay positive!
pre-competition disorder
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- Start date
Warren J. Dew
Forum Master
Instructor at 11 year old daughter's 3rd standard lesson: "I think she's ready for the competition in a week and a half, after all."
9 year old son's partner and mom are now pressing us for more practices instead of vice versa. I guess next week, the week before the competition, is school vacation week, so they'll have plenty of opportunities.
For completeness, 7 year old son has 2 tryouts on Saturday. I assume these will not involve trying to compete the next weekend with any resulting brand new partnership. But you know what they say about assumptions....
9 year old son's partner and mom are now pressing us for more practices instead of vice versa. I guess next week, the week before the competition, is school vacation week, so they'll have plenty of opportunities.
For completeness, 7 year old son has 2 tryouts on Saturday. I assume these will not involve trying to compete the next weekend with any resulting brand new partnership. But you know what they say about assumptions....
fineshrine
Active Member
I have my absolutely favourite competition of the year tomorrow and I feel sort of... rubbish. I'm not really sure why, I just feel like a sparks gone out of me. I was really full of enthusiasm and excitement and then my partner and I had a couple of lessons this week and got some critical feedback which is useful... but I can't really implement any of it for Saturday. Maybe in future we shouldn't have lessons so close to a competition that's such a big goal. It's not good for my mental state lol. I think learning to dance is like climbing a mountain, and before a comp i really care about I prefer to be safely camped out on flat ground rather than feeling like I'm climbing up to the next level. Following is fine and I can take criticism and be like "ok that'll be something I revisit after" but leading I'm still underconfident in.
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
What a great image! I don’t have any comp experience yet, so I can’t offer any advice specific to that, but I definitely have experience with last-minute loss of enthusiasm & confidence for an upcoming event. So here’s my pep talk.
This your favorite comp for a reason. Remind yourself why. Put this week’s lessons at the back of your brain and focus on all the things you & your partner do really well. Picture a successful performance and think about how that will make you feel. Think of previous successes and how you felt during and after those. Remember why you do this - it’s fun! And challenging and exciting and rewarding. (And any other adjectives that apply here.) Take a bunch of deep breaths and go out there and ENJOY!
And please do post about it afterwards!
fineshrine
Active Member
Thank you so much for your response. I really needed that pep talk! I found an article online right after I posted that suggested a lot of what you just said there so I've been writing down a bunch of positive stuff and it has really helped! It is basically impossible not to have an amazing time at this competition so I'm sure it will be fine on the day!
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
@fineshrine ....how’d the comp go?
fineshrine
Active Member
It went so well thanks! Felt like it was the best we'd danced. 
worddancer
Well-Known Member
So I've only done virtual comps, and got the money talk for a live comp coming up and the money is definitely a weird thing in pro-am ballroom.
First, this is -way- more expensive then my virtual comps.
And calculating everything for smooth and how many rounds and championship/scholarships and suddenly I'm looking at the 3k-4.5k range. Just for pro-am smooth (including hotel and meals, and everything). And once your mind gets used to that range, now I'm like, well I can just add Latin, it's just 1k I mean, what is 1k when you're spending 4k? And then etc etc. And my friend said it's like you're planning a wedding, what's a $50 decoration?
I haven't committed to anything yet, and there's two sides of me warring with one another. One is like: you only live once! Also what if there's another covid spike and everything is shut down again. And the other part of me is like: you're spending HOW much to dance for a total of 23 to 34 mins with your pro? Why not just have extra ballroom lessons?
Then I go into the "Why do you compete?"
And pro is going to be so busy at this event since multiple students have already said they're going (I think there is pent up demand by people who have been stuck at home).
So now I'm like, maybe I should go to this like it's a holiday, spend several nights at a hotel, but do the minimal amount of comp dancing.
The studio boss is going to meet with me in a few days to answer more of my questions. The biggest being, am I always going to be bumped down to the lower age range for champ/scholarships because Pro has multiple students in my age group in Bronze?
First, this is -way- more expensive then my virtual comps.
And calculating everything for smooth and how many rounds and championship/scholarships and suddenly I'm looking at the 3k-4.5k range. Just for pro-am smooth (including hotel and meals, and everything). And once your mind gets used to that range, now I'm like, well I can just add Latin, it's just 1k I mean, what is 1k when you're spending 4k? And then etc etc. And my friend said it's like you're planning a wedding, what's a $50 decoration?
I haven't committed to anything yet, and there's two sides of me warring with one another. One is like: you only live once! Also what if there's another covid spike and everything is shut down again. And the other part of me is like: you're spending HOW much to dance for a total of 23 to 34 mins with your pro? Why not just have extra ballroom lessons?
Then I go into the "Why do you compete?"
And pro is going to be so busy at this event since multiple students have already said they're going (I think there is pent up demand by people who have been stuck at home).
So now I'm like, maybe I should go to this like it's a holiday, spend several nights at a hotel, but do the minimal amount of comp dancing.
The studio boss is going to meet with me in a few days to answer more of my questions. The biggest being, am I always going to be bumped down to the lower age range for champ/scholarships because Pro has multiple students in my age group in Bronze?
scullystwin42
Forum Master
The sticker shock is always hard for your first one. My advice would be to make sure you know the refund policy and dates for cancellation/refunds. I was about to pay for wisconsin state earlier this year, and they were very upfront about full refunds if the state shut down, etc. It ended up being cancelled before I could pay but that would be a big thing. And remember you'll have costs for makeup, hair, fishnets, and meals (unless its a package for the meals).
Also, try not to think of it like the minutes you get to dance with your pro. That's like going to the olympics for a sprint race and being upset that you only got to race for 30 seconds. Plus, if it there is increasing attendance (depending on when it is) you may have a semifinal, which means more dances.
And just because there are so many students doesn't mean there won't be downtime. But is your goal to compete or to hang out with your pro?
For the holiday or not, that's really up to you. I do the minimum amount of dancing to be able to compete in the championships and scholarships so i keep my costs low, but i get in and get out. I'm there to compete, because that's what's fun FOR ME. but I know of some people who do treat it as a hangout with friends and oh hai, a dance competition.
And i would hope your studio does first come first served for spots in championships/scholarships. I think most places do - i.e., the first person who puts down money gets their slot. I will say that sometimes if you bump from B to A, there is less competition - so if your goal is a placement, that might actually work to your advantage.
It's super expensive, but it is super fun and addicting. i miss competing SO SO much, but won't be able to until much later in the year, if at all.
Also, try not to think of it like the minutes you get to dance with your pro. That's like going to the olympics for a sprint race and being upset that you only got to race for 30 seconds. Plus, if it there is increasing attendance (depending on when it is) you may have a semifinal, which means more dances.
And just because there are so many students doesn't mean there won't be downtime. But is your goal to compete or to hang out with your pro?
For the holiday or not, that's really up to you. I do the minimum amount of dancing to be able to compete in the championships and scholarships so i keep my costs low, but i get in and get out. I'm there to compete, because that's what's fun FOR ME. but I know of some people who do treat it as a hangout with friends and oh hai, a dance competition.
And i would hope your studio does first come first served for spots in championships/scholarships. I think most places do - i.e., the first person who puts down money gets their slot. I will say that sometimes if you bump from B to A, there is less competition - so if your goal is a placement, that might actually work to your advantage.
It's super expensive, but it is super fun and addicting. i miss competing SO SO much, but won't be able to until much later in the year, if at all.
Well Rounded
Well-Known Member
I went all in for my first ballroom comp with my studio. I knew I would have to pinch pennies on future comps and I wanted to know from experience what really mattered the most to me. After the comp, I analysed what I was willing to omit in future comps. There were a couple of things I thought cared nothing about, only to discover, those were some of the things I enjoyed most. My priorities have evolved over time, but starting from an educated point of view saved me money and disappointment for the comps that followed.
Yanou
Active Member
worddancer
Well-Known Member
I would love to know what they were if you have the energy to share!
@scullystwin42: I also like the Olympics analogy! That's a good way to reframe it.
The way I think of the cost is "for the event". The main way I save on cost is.... only local competitions for now. That cuts out hotel, travel and some meals. I stay at home and bring an insulated bag with snacks. (I'd probably bring this even if I stayed in a hotel. It's nice to have assorted snacks available. )
I do go to some group meals. I don't take this to the point of missing out on the fun of the competition which includes the cameraderie of being with other competitors or studio friends who came to watch. But not paying for the hotel or airline tickets does make a difference.
I do go to some group meals. I don't take this to the point of missing out on the fun of the competition which includes the cameraderie of being with other competitors or studio friends who came to watch. But not paying for the hotel or airline tickets does make a difference.
scullystwin42
Forum Master
Well, i'm not competing for a while but i did decided to do the stage show happening in November. I can stay the heck away from people during the show, and i'll already be in a separate area for doing makeup for people, and it's just me on the big floor.
also we found out the salaries aren't being cut at my husband's job and i've boosted our savings considerably. AND i got the studio to lower the number of lessons needed and applied some funds from the last comp to it. So it's actually reasonable and gives me something to look forward to! excited!
also we found out the salaries aren't being cut at my husband's job and i've boosted our savings considerably. AND i got the studio to lower the number of lessons needed and applied some funds from the last comp to it. So it's actually reasonable and gives me something to look forward to! excited!