Pro/am Requirement to Dance Heats to do Championships

[fascination]

I don't know of any comp that doesn't require one set per multi(or at least that you register and pay for it)....but I do also see a few that are now asking for one set per EACH multi....and methinks that is going to start causing some cramping hindquarters here and there

 

[Mengu]

It still feels strange to me, to dance the same routines, against more or less the same couples, in front of the same judges, 3-4 times. Why are there single dances at all? Why are championships and scholarships two different events? Why are there 3-4 levels of bronze? Why are there 6+ age categories for adults?

I don't actually know the answer, but I have two theories. One is that organizers are selling a day (or weekend, or week) of participation entertainment for hardworking competitive hobby dancers. If determining best dancers was the objective, that could be done in a gymnasium with cattle call heats, in a day. So they want to keep their schedules full by creating many categories and events. Second theory is that it's how every other organizer does it, it works, and no one wants to experiment with change, when there is a sure shot tried and true method to meeting a bottom line.

 

[raindance]

It still feels strange to me, to dance the same routines, against more or less the same couples, in front of the same judges, 3-4 times. Why are there single dances at all? Why are championships and scholarships two different events? Why are there 3-4 levels of bronze? Why are there 6+ age categories for adults?

One of the reasons is that this is Pro/Am. That often means the same pro will dance with multiple students. A number of the students that come with a given pro may be near the same age and level (e.g. commonly bronze and/or silver, and commonly over 35 or 45 or 50 years old, etc). So having all those levels and small age brackets gives the pro the chance to dance a lot of heats with his (or her) various students. And students interested in dancing a lot of heats also have that option, if their pro isn't booked up with other students.

Ditto for scholarships and championships - the pro can dance with two different students, or the same student twice. Age group cutoffs are sometimes different between the scholarships vs. championships, too, so you sometimes see a different mix of couples in one than the other for that reason.

And of course, the more heats the pros dance, the more money they make. And the more heats the students dance, the more money the organizer makes.

Some students like to dance a lot and have the budget to do so.

Some comps (like Ohio Star) have stricter limits on how many heats dancers can do, and have somewhat fewer age groups and sub-levels. This often does result in larger heats for single dances, since it's a big enough comp to attract a large number of pros. (It's my impression that it also results in students fighting over who gets to be the X level, X age group student at that comp, since the pros still often have more than one student in bronze or silver or other levels in the popular age groups - they just can't dance with all of them at once.)

Collegiate comps do the huge heats like you suggest - because they aren't pro/am they can do that. And they also just have ONE age group, so everyone is lumped together, bronze is bronze and that's it for a given set of dances.

(I'm not defending, just explaining.)

 

[Spookisgirl]

Delta Cup Dancesport in Vancouver BC is the only competition I know of that does not require single dances to compete.

I do agree that the trend is more and more to require a set of singles for each scholarship or multi-dance, and it is getting nuts. I usually end up having to pay more for the single dances where I am not contested just to do events where I am.

 

[danceronice]

With scholarship vs championship, it's exactly that, the pro's schedule needs. If they have two ladies' B bronze rhythm dancers, and both want to do a multi-dance, if there's only one event at that level, he loses income and has to figure out a fair way to pick who gets to dance ("you dance next time" doesn't work so well if the other student's next time may not be for six months.)

Besides opportunities for pros, single heats also make it easier to justify hotels, travel, food, etc. Unless you live in a city where there are comps in walking distance every weekend, it's a major hassle to go to one. If all you're going to do is one multi-dance where you might not even make a final, it's not worth the effort or expense.

 

[rels77]

I don't know, especially when i was just starting, i wanted to dance a ton of single dances ... i didn't have my head out of my @$# before the 4th round or so... it shakes off the nerves, gets you in front of the judges, give you a chance to weigh up the competition, etc. in big comps, i'll still do at least 4 rounds - i also like to try my dance at the lower age range, where some of the girls are young enough to be my kid. it takes me up a notch. i don't think i could walk in, do one heat, and jump to a scholarship - especially at a big comp. plus, damn, it is a LOT OF WORK to get ready to go on the floor. 2 hours of hair and makeup and rhinestones just to dance for 10 minutes? not my style.

 

[fascination]

I hear you....takes me two sets just to settle in...that being said, it should be a choice IMO

 

[Mr 4 styles]

In open gold there aren't a lot of comps where you can dance a lot of rounds so I like the singles as warm up. Four rounds in one day is not enough exercise for me.

 

[blackswan]

Rather new to competing, but I had assumed the single dance round requirements were there to ensure that competitors didn't dance down in the scholarships and championships; i.e., do all their single dances at silver and then enter the more prestigious scholarships at bronze level.

 

[Mr 4 styles]

Nope that's not why

 

[rels77]

Rather new to competing, but I had assumed the single dance round requirements were there to ensure that competitors didn't dance down in the scholarships and championships; i.e., do all their single dances at silver and then enter the more prestigious scholarships at bronze level.

This too. Usually the rule is you have to do your singles same level as scholarship

 

[sbrnsmith]

I don't know, especially when i was just starting, i wanted to dance a ton of single dances ... i didn't have my head out of my @$# before the 4th round or so... it shakes off the nerves, gets you in front of the judges, give you a chance to weigh up the competition, etc. in big comps, i'll still do at least 4 rounds - i also like to try my dance at the lower age range, where some of the girls are young enough to be my kid. it takes me up a notch. i don't think i could walk in, do one heat, and jump to a scholarship - especially at a big comp. plus, damn, it is a LOT OF WORK to get ready to go on the floor. 2 hours of hair and makeup and rhinestones just to dance for 10 minutes? not my style.

This.

I like to do a lot of single dances too- for all of these reasons and more

I also do two age categories, because it challenges me and the extra floor time is worth the money spent for me.

Plus, I don't want to put in all the prep and time and effort to spend 10 minutes on the floor. And I think the organizers appreciate those extra entries, as they may not be able to survive if everyone had the option of just doing the scholarship.

 

[sbrnsmith]

This too. Usually the rule is you have to do your singles same level as scholarship

This is not always true. I have been to at least 2 comps where the silver level dancer was allowed to compete in the bronze scholarship.

 

[MaggieMoves]

This is not always true. I have been to at least 2 comps where the silver level dancer was allowed to compete in the bronze scholarship.

Yep. Happens quite often actually. Manhattan Dance Championships this happened a lot.

 

[Mengu]

Say I'm a silver level dancer, dancing silver for a couple years, and want to dance up to gold to see how I do in single dances, and so I register for intermediate silver, full silver, and pre-gold. If the organizer is allowing it, is there something ethically wrong with dancing silver scholarship? Just because someone is dancing up, doesn't mean they are at the higher level. I know in reality there are truly higher level dancers dancing lower level scholarships for the cash, but I'm not talking about that. From the perspective of the organizer, I don't see anything wrong with allowing people to dance their lowest entry level in scholarship. Of course if I'm dancing silver and gold in single dances, I shouldn't be allowed to dance bronze scholarship. And if the organizer didn't spell out a rule for that, that probably needs to be remedied.