The lost art of floorcraft

wooh said:
If I win any kind of competition, I'd rather it be because I did my best, rather than because someone did their worst. If the only way I can win is by causing someone else to do worse, then I'm not going to feel good winning.
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But for some people winning really IS the only thing. Maybe we should have a poll on this? It should be blind so that people can express thier feelings without being atacked. I think the more a sport becomes public and, as nucat pointed out, money driven the more it atracts people who want to compete for a different reason than just showing they can do their best. Perhaps we are currently living in the 'golden age' of ballroom - but don't figure on it lasting long with all the current attention by the media...
 
As far as I can see, it's not the better dancers who resort to aggressive tactics. The ones who do are trying to make up for their shortcomings. Kinda sad, really, if not for the mayhem they can cause.
 
I don't think that the most agressive dancers usually win. However, they can certainly be responsible for an excellent couple loosing.

Actually, that said I did observe one totally obnoxious couple run mayhem - and then also come first (by the way, this was not in any of my heats). In that case, I don't know what the judges were looking at...
 
So on PBS tonight I noticed at least two couples in the standard final break frame to avoid collisions. Doesn't seem to have hurt their chances.
 
Adwiz said:
This past weekend, at the World Cup Ten Dance in Vancouver, I watched one competitor step very purposefully right between another couple at the start of the Paso Doble. Again, it was so clear that nobody could doubt his intent to disrupt the beginning of the dance for this other couple. It was not a fun kind of thing like I've seen done by other guys (Franco Formica and Misa Cigoy used to have fun with each other and that looked quite different). This was pure psychological aggression with no purpose related to performance enhancement or dancing. Just like before, this left a bad taste in my mouth. Is this what it means to be competitive? I don't think so. There is simply no way that such behavior can improve the dancing of the aggressor, nor can it improve his marks, nor can it help his partner. It doesn't belong in competition. In that sense, it detracted from the purpose of the dancing just as poor quality dancing would have, and in my opinion should be marked down. In the end, the aggressor couple never made it into the finals, while the target of their aggression did.
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It depends how it's done. Was it at Manhattan last year where Max+Yulia and Andre+Elena got a little too close and ended up switching partners?
 
Yeah something similar (partner switching, either improv or planned) seems to happen about once per "dance generation". The judges are typically extremely upset/against it and the "offenders" typically are very vocal for ever after about telling people not to do it.
 
Joe said:
That type of behavior isn't going away until the vast majority of judges actively don't mark it.
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I agree with this 300%. or maybe fours hundred. When judges/officials overlook rude/unethical behavior on the floor and overly-aggressive dancing as a tactic it will keep happening. and its not even drastic measures that are required in such a situation: all it takes is for an adjucator/judge/chairman of judges to simply make a comment over the loudspeaker telling couples to be polite on the floor and to mind the LOD!

It gets hairy out there, and sometimes collisions happen. that is the norm for ballroom, the higher the level, the more chance for collision. but when couples get rude/aggressive/intentionally disregard LOD and corner ettiquette it is unacceptable.

And its a shame no one really does much to stop it. I think this is one of my biggest competition pet peeves - just aggravates me. I wish someone would tell those couples to go learn some floorcraft instead. Lately we've started leaving our elbows out instead of letting those kinds of people crumple us, but what else can we do?
 
Joe said:
It depends how it's done. Was it at Manhattan last year where Max+Yulia and Andre+Elena got a little too close and ended up switching partners?
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I saw that! I thought it was kinda cute and creative. I sure prefer that to kicking or shoving or cornering anyone. I don't know why they are so serious and even upset about something like that. It didn't hurt anybody and if you watch the video, they had no other choice but to keep dancing or stop and walk around everyone else to find their partner. When your doing a turn and you turn around and your partner is missing, its not that simple to find them on a crowded dance floor such as this one was.
 
Then there's always the competitors that do things to make the other couple upset. I always see it in the latin. I saw it at California Open when one couple got a little too close to the other so the gentleman of one couple slapped the other girls behind. And same comp I saw a girl feel up someone else's partner because he was in front of her. It was inter interesting to spectate but if that was my partner I would be pretty upset. And I think things like that fuel the bigger issues such as the being discussed. Just like badmouthing someone could lead to a fight. But my ex partner thought it was clever and said if her were in the situation he would do it. Typical guy. Lol jk
 
Dancefloor Etiquette??

Hi guys .. I was just wondering when dancing standard and I happen to get "cornered" between couples what do I do?? Do I wait for them to go or do I just power through them my coach tells us to power through because judges might think that we don't want it as much as the couples who do is this true??. I'm fairly new competition dancer still doing syllabus.
 
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