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And yes, the showcase should portray the personality of the music & vice versa.
So heres (sic) a question... when viewing a showcase routine (as a fellow dancer/spectator) what do you look for and what are your preferences? Up beat, mellow, romantic, cheeky... (you get the point). What are the most common 'themes' that you find are used? What do you find tacky? Also type of music, more on the classic side or top 40 up to date present time stuff? just curious to see what everyone thinks.
I agree with what's already been said. Find something that fits your personality and the personality of the dance you're doing.
An aside: that may be the root of the totally inappropriate comment. Probably worth asking although, as you said, that's not the topic of this thread.
What do I like to see in studio showcases? People having fun and enjoying the accomplishment of pushing themselves a little bit beyond what they're comfortable with. Sometimes they nail it. Sometimes parts of the showcase are great while others aren't. Other times, the sky falls on their heads.
A ballroom studio, to me, is a different atmosphere from a competition or pretty much anything else. I've gotten on my feet, cheered and clapped for many pre-bronze students who just got on the floor for the first time, when I'd talked to them and knew they were nervous. I didn't care what or how they danced. They had heart.
So I guess my bottom line is that your showcase depends on what you, the student, want out of it. Every person in the audience has their own agenda. Mine is having fun while supporting newbies as much as I can. Others want to climb up the ladder and start kicking butt at comps ASAP. Other people have lots of other stuff they're looking for. There will always be people who love what you're doing, people who hate what you're doing and people who don't care. Most, IME, are in the third category. :wink:
So I'll throw a question back to you. What do you want? :-D
haha you are adorable! love everything you said. As stated in another thread, years of experience competing in other forms. I've learned that although i do LOVE to compete the 'place' given isnt always what is deserved (sometimes i've been placed lower or higher than deserved) so i pretty much go out there and try to give the WOW factor. Theres nothing better than at the end of the dance someone flips through the program and goes "who the heck was that?!?!?!" and mean it in a good way. I have always said i'm a student first, an entertainer second, a competitor third. I put it in that order because there is always something more to learn, and i enjoy putting on a good show since we are performing for the people and they have given us that moment in their life so lets make them enjoy it, and a competitor because it is in my blood but i dont take the places to heart 100% as i stated before (although 1st place does have a nice ring to it when its deserved). The showcase i picked was a little flirty, cheeky, and to be honest was actually adorable and matched our personalities perfectly. by personal rule and morals i would never dance a dance that i wouldnt be ok performing in front of a daycare full of kids. i gave him the music, the idea, the 'i would like this to happen right here' refering to whats happening in the 'story'. he said its inappropriate, and is now going to be doing the EXACT song and ideas I came up with with another student. So i've decided to go to another teacher (#2) and we have more of the 'playful' vibe so we are going to come up with something similar except BETTER to entertain the crowd. We both agree the showcase is about entertainment. He knows i can keep up with what he throws at me so it will be pushing my abilities without looking like 'she's outta her league'. Better match up with #2.
so to sum it up what i look for is entertainment value (usually the upbeat stuff because after 3 slow songs it becomes a snooze-fest) and i would like to see a dancer push him/herself to their breaking point without making it look like their breaking point. You know when you can tell a dancer had to WORK HARD to get it down right but they made it and made it look fabulous. I also agree that although i have performed since i was 5 so i tend to feel more at 'home' when i perform than almost anywhere else in my life, i do understand its not 'home' to everyone and i have so so so so much respect for anyone who gets out there. theres nothing quite like getting out there and the world seems to stop and all that matters in the world is what is happening on that dance floor at that moment.
