USADance questions

Chris Stratton said:
Probably until the people who have to follow those rules have the primary voice in writing them.
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/OT
There seems to be so much confusion here and with ballroom being an expensive sport as it is, I can't imagine people have the intent to require people to have a dress to dance in AND another dress in case one has misunderstood the rules. Is there a way to tap into DF to help the rules be written in a way that is clear and reflects the intent?

I will freely admit that since I don't really understand what's happening here, I may be silly in suggesting that there is a way to resolve it. However, I have had experience in big corporate environments where the written word confuses more than it has helped and the interpretation of the word from the 'masses' and the 'enforcers' gets away from the intent the original wording was developed to address.

I'd be happy to help/lead an attempt at resolution, but since I haven't competed and also haven't purchased/made/worn ballroom dresses to understand all the fabrics involved, I don't know how much help I'd be. But, I'm willing to help if there is something productive that can be done to help -- and I have to imagine that there would be something.

/BOT
 
DF people have been trying to put some sense into the costume rules ever since the error-laden massive rewrite of just under five years ago. A few glaring errors (such as banning latin shoes) were corrected early on, but basically the complants have continued while the rules have gotten more and more rediculous.

Personally I won't have to follow these unless I switch styles, and I can whip up a legal skirt in a few hours if a friend needs one, but its really too bad that the powers that be havent validated their rulebook by trying to go retail shopping for a legal outfit lately.
 
i had the same thought as CANI... is there a way to directly inquire to resolve the confusion and end the debate & mystery? email the prez, for instance? are the avenues for acquiring clarity difficult to navigate? i am also unfamiliar with USA Dance culture, since i never competed in USA Dance events, so i have no idea... but am wondering.
 
Chris Stratton said:
Probably until the people who have to follow those rules have the primary voice in writing them.
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Volunteer, show up, vote....

USA Dance is a volunteer organization, perhaps not so much the pre-teens and juniors, but everyone else can certainly make their voice heard if they want to get involved.
 
scotttocs said:
Volunteer, show up, vote....

USA Dance is a volunteer organization, perhaps not so much the pre-teens and juniors, but everyone else can certainly make their voice heard if they want to get involved.
Click to expand...

There's always excuses, but it boils down to "I care enough to whine about it, but I don't care enough to put the effort in and actually get involved."
Whining is easy, changing things is hard.
 
There's a perfectly fine dress code in the rulebook of six years ago.

The rest is just politics - practically speaking, taking into account the publicised frustrations of volunteers and former rules committee members, one would like need to be elected president to bring about a culture of reform.

Since there are other competition outlets with rules more compatible with encouraging participation, I've chosen for the present to get involved directly in the development of dancing itself, and leave political campaigns for later.
 
wooh said:
I think the rule started out with good intentions, make it easy to compete and wear something from your closet to do so. But then people pushed the limits trying to wear something costumey that still fit the letter of the law but not the spirit, so they had to make the rules stricter and stricter to cover all the people trying to sneak in with something more costumey. And at this point, it's gotten to where you have to buy somthing special to fit the rules. If they'd just say, you have to cover your boobs and booty and wear all black, it would seem easy. But then people would be wearing all the rhinestone jewelry because the rules didn't prohibit me wearing my engagement ring so obviously it's ok to wear giant rhinestone belt with a black thong and balcony bra. Then they'd have to start tying up the loose ends again and they'd be just as much of a mess as they are now.
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You got it, and that's exactly what happened and what continues to happen:headwall:
 
Daphna, you've just proved how backwards the whole effort is.

Those who can make/buy costumes can adapt to any rule change - its the people who have to shop for solutions in ordinary stores who suffer.

I've got a number of yards of likely matte enough knit in a bag here, and a serger. But can you tell us where in NYC one can buy a syllabus standard dress at retail?
 
Chris Stratton said:
But can you tell us where in NYC one can buy a syllabus standard dress at retail?
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I bought a plain lyrical skirt for ~$25 online, and pair that with a plain camisole or a halter top for standard. I use a plain cocktail dress or a skirt and top combo for latin. It really isn't all that hard. Just in my wardrobe, I can put together at least 4 or 5 sets for each style that is compliant, yet moves and looks great. Yes it's annoying that I can't use some stuff, but I really can't see how hard it is for people to find that one set that works... especially when I'm a plus size girl and have more problems than others finding clothes!
 
It's polyester, so its matte. It's from Dance Distributors, just go to www [dot] dancedistributors [dot] com and look at their skirts.

It's light and doesn't have the weight that ballroom skirts usually have, but I think that it flies very well. If you don't like that, I believe they carry practice ballroom skirts at a very reasonable price too.
 
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