It just occurred to me that if everyone has the exact same routine, it must not change much. You could be doing the same, rote routine for months if not years. That is 75 -90 seconds of steps linked exactly the same way all the time. The prep for the beginning of pattern B, is always the finish of pattern A, and so on. Apart from the boredom and lack of artistic expression, that strikes me as poor pedagogical technique for preparing a student for the next level. Silver to Gold would be bad enough but the jump to Open would be vast. Variety and novelty is necessary for physical and mental growth. Otherwise the brain gets stagnant and the body habituates to the challenge.. No kid ever became an enthusiastic and competent reader by reading and re-reading the same book for months.
What I Learned At My Last Comp
- Thread starter latingal
- Start date
This sounds like an effective hack if you stay with the same studio. Take some coachings that change the routines into things that are more interesting for you.And when we had our lesson with Karina S, well...! She basically turned our closed samba and paso routine into an advanced (okay, intermediate) open choreography. And since studio invited Karina S, they couldn't complain about the changes (although they did express some disapproval).
Misspendragon
Forum Master
That's why I said in my post that this becomes a bigger issue in open (and studio uses save choreography in open as well). However, even in bronze, people have different strength and weaknesses, especially as we age. We ought to learn all syllabus figures, but for comps, it makes sense to play to our strengths.
I can't remember if this was from a podcast or an article, but I read/heard something recently about athletes doing better in sports where they just played a lot of practice games, rather than doing drills over and over.
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
Yup! That’s how my pro does it. But I know that approach doesn’t work for everyone, at every level.
When I went to my very first competition (over a decade ago), I balked at my instructor's insistence that we work on some technique and prepare some amalgamations in advance. I was like, we're just going to dance like we're at party.
Then I got to the comp and one of the other competitors had what was clearly choreographed (lots of side by side work) and I was like w.t.f. that is cheating, that defeats the entire purpose of dancing, etc.
And now I willingly dance pre-determined amalgamations, though often with on-the-spot modifications (made more palatable by all that party time).
Maybe this post belongs in a "What I learned at my first comp" thread, not the "What I learned at my last comp" thread.
Purr
Forum Master
Certainly everyone is entitled to their own philosophy and expectations. I hope your future results and your pro can make it a reality for you.
Purr
Forum Master
That is how I originally learned as well.
Misspendragon
Forum Master
You know, I mentioned to my Pro that I have a friend who dances with her Pro at comps without a set routine to very good results. His take on it was that this method must do wonders to follow skills but couldn't possibly allow for full physical and emotional expression of movement because of the uncertainty factor. He felt it would be impossible to do open choreography especially without a prearranged (and practiced) choreography, at least with a competitive edge. Meaning, I guess (he didn't go into detail) that one hardly throws herself into a movement entirely without knowing exactly what is happening and how one will get out of that movement, not to mention timing. I was wondering what you thought of that? I never danced at a comp without a routine.
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joy
Forum Master
I just don't see how at this day and age, with how competitive Smooth is, you can get top 3 at a big competitive comp, with lead/follow only in Smooth, in Silver or higher. But maybe I'll be proven wrong ;-)
There's so much open positions in Smooth, like side by sides. And Viennese Waltz open positions is so so so fast, that even when I know the routines, I struggle to dance each part fully and expressively. To get full shaping, full arms, full pointed feet. Checks in Viennese Waltzes. Oof.
I would bet that soon PnP will at least get sets of patterns, or at least one or 2 walls choreographed.
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Warren J. Dew
Forum Master
One can use amalgamations and, obviously, technique, without a set routine. Presumably the students don't object to sharing figures and amalgamations the way they do to sharing entire routines. It would be pretty hard not to share figures, at least.
The most intense emotional expression I've seen was in that American v International style show/competition at Yankee 30 years ago, after the partner switch in the foxtrot. Olga Foropanova had an expression of pure bliss dancing with Timothy Howson, and it showed up in the dancing, too - and I think that was close to a "dance like we're at a party" level of preparation, given she was dancing a different style, so the figures actually were different from the ones she normally used in competition.
I never used a routine in Standard competition after my first couple competitions in bronze. Lead and follow at a competition level may be less realistic in other styles, though, especially with choreography that involves partner separation. Even with good visual follow, there's the question of what to do when another couple gets between you and blocks line of sight.
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I danced bronze and silver (for the first few years) without set routines, both rhythm and smooth. Then I moved to having two pros, one with routines and one without, dancing silver. When I was doing this I learned a few things. I became a very good follow, because in traffic even with routines I could change the routine to anything he led. I am a big ham on the floor, so my musicality and expressiveness wasn't much different. I placed well with both pros.
Now, full open for American style would need routines. I can follow my pro when needed, but to really compete in open we need things that can't be led. (drops, side-by-side sections, intros)
Warren J. Dew
Forum Master
Warren J. Dew
Forum Master
Uhh, drops that aren't led? Seems like the slightest bit of timing difference would be dangerous there. But maybe that gets into the difference between leading figures that the lady doesn't know are coming, and leading during figures even when the lady does know what figure is coming.