US Pro/Am Dance Championships

That website gave me 15 enjoyably wasted minutes. Good times.

And wow. As a pro-amer, I now have absolutely zero desire to go to that... except maybe as a spectator, for the sheer entertainment value!
 
The Mixed Social Ease category actually sounds pretty awesome. Make it an am/am event and I would totally do it. :)
What is Social Ease?
The Social Ease Category is "Dancing in the Real World." It means dancing on small, crowded dance floors, with music which is not necessarily strict tempo. Dancing at the studio with your own instructor is easy and comfortable, but when we enter the "real" dance world, things change. We find inconsiderate waiters making their way through the dance floor with food/drinks. Drunk people staggering about, people smoking, talking loudly on their cell phones, and so many other distractions which can make dancing so much more difficult. In the Social Ease category, the student is graded on their ability to lead/follow amid all this confusion. Their posture and footwork should remain neat. The ability to understand rhythm and timing is of utmost importance. The idea of this particular competition phase is to still look good and have fun without lots of tricky or fancy steps in a real world situation. The Social Ease category is one of most popular dance categories we have ever presented. Not only is it a wonderful learning and educational experience, it's a great way to win scholarships, teacher bonuses AND have fun! In the Regular Social Ease, the student dances with their own instructor and receives a $50. 1st place scholarship. In the MIXED Social Ease category, the student dances with someone other than their regular teacher and receives $25. Scholarship for 1st place and a $25. teacher bonus for the instructor.
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I love it! A competition heat with 'drunk people staggering about, people smoking, and talking loudly on their cell phones' on the comp floor while you try to dance thru the 'inconsiderate waiters'. A medal that I would be proud to display on my mantle!
 
I went to one of these in 2007ish I think in Orlando. It was the most rinky dink comp I have ever went to. Giant blow up Christmas lawn ornaments surround the ballroom and stuffed animals on the judges table. It looked like a reception hall you would see on my big fat American gypsy wedding lol.
 
It's kind of sad that you'd equate the aforementioned tacky and trappy atmosphere with a social dance, considering social dances don't do any of this romper room crap, either. I don't really see anything "social" about this competition as labeled by the jury here at DF, unless you guys just go to some really weird social venues. It's doing for pro-am dancing what Baz's Strictly Ballroom did for competition, period- it's cartoonizing all the worst aspects of it for laughs.
 
Hedwaite said:
It's kind of sad that you'd equate the aforementioned tacky and trappy atmosphere with a social dance, considering social dances don't do any of this romper room crap, either. I don't really see anything "social" about this competition as labeled by the jury here at DF, unless you guys just go to some really weird social venues. It's doing for pro-am dancing what Baz's Strictly Ballroom did for competition, period- it's cartoonizing all the worst aspects of it for laughs.
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Theme social dances, maybe. Like, "luau night" with tacky grass skirts and cheap plastic decorations. Totally acceptable for a dorky fun social dance every once in a while... not so much for a competition.
 
Exactly, DBK, but I don't feel like that was the point she was trying to get across. Maybe further back-editing will clarify that. It seemed to imply that there was a general notion that all social dance situations were gaudy like that as opposed to certain occasional events like 50's, luau, etc., and maybe it's just professional detachment, but that's really not usually the case. Most socials I've been to have been simple table-cloth and occasional lit candle affairs, whereas competitions are the ones with noisemakers and stray rhinestones everywhere (not that I mind that- I have a whole collection of them I use for when I need one! I've probably saved two dollars in the past five years :-D )
 
ROFL- Speaking of! I won't call 'jinx', but yes, I appreciate your attempt at clarification. We can call it 'good'.
 
Laura said:
A packet of flyers turned up at the studio where I take lessons, advertising "The United States Pro/Am Ballroom Dance Championships." These will be held in FRANCE, of all places, in late August of next year, and are run by Tom & Cathy O'Dell from Lowndesboro, Alabama.
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I attended this competition. It was a fun time and a great trip. The O'dells arrange for the competition to be held at a beautiful Chateau (converted to a hotel) out in the French countryside. We competed in an outbuilding with natural wood floors on the estate that used to be a chapel. After a few days there we relocated to downtown Paris to attend shows, sight-see, tour, dine in fabulous restaurants, and everything else that makes a great vacation.

Laura said:
"Registered with the United States Independent Dance Council and Registered with the U.S. Government as the Official U.S. Pro/Am Ballroom Dance Championships."

Anyone ever hear of this? They also run competitions in the US, which they tag as "America's Most Illustrious, America's Most Elegant, and STILL America's Most Prestigious Ballroom Dance Championship."
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They make a big deal of being registered with the Government and toot their horn a little too loud, but if you don't think highly of and believe in your own events who else is going to.


Laura said:
It seems like a tourism/take-the-students-dancing kind of thing.
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The overseas events are a tourism, vacation, have fun trip but there is also a competition held in the first few days.
 
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