What I Learned At My Last Comp

I got more firsthand experience of why leading super-newcomers is so difficult, even if you have decent experience. I do not envy leads who are just learning how to dance.

Also, more amusingly, is that one can lead a spot turn in Latin by going palm-to-palm with *both* of your partner's hands and gently pushing them in that direction.
 
FancyFeet said:
That I am getting better at this - mental approach was really good this time! - and I'm getting much at better at not feeling like I need to make apologies for needing to go into a bubble to compete well, to the point where I actually told someone point blank and without guilt: "Look, I get that you really want to post-mortem how your day went, but mine isn't done yet, so I can't do this now. I'm all yours tomorrow, but right now, I need to focus."
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Yay you!!!
 
I managed to incorporate a lot of what my coaches have been talking about in lessons - I've become highly aware of my sacrum this past year - which was fantastic! I am pleased with how far I've come in regards to standard technique after a year of training.

Also had a blast competing with a practice partner in Latin and rhythm. I remembered that I love competing and dancing rhythm - this year has been standard focused.
 
s2k said:
I am so blue in the face waiting for this to change.
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I myself was even guilty of this. I only do Latin now!

More recently: Always bring an extra pair of shoes. I did an entire final event because of broken straps on the "blinged out" pair I had.
 
This one had a unique takeaway for me. Usually after a comp the thoughts are about what has to improve from a technique or floor craft POV. This time they were about mindset. The dancing not only felt strong, but pretty organic, too. Improvisation was fluid and didn't send me into a mini mental tailspin. Pro and I played off each other a bit more than in the past. It was fun (it's always fun, but this fun was more stress-free) and I was overall pleased with the results.

We went into this one thinking about it as a warm-up for a bigger competition. I didn't worry about winning, just doing my thing and performing for my friends who were there (including some non-dancers, and they were great spectators :)). Afterward pro said I've got the dancing down - just need to bring that same mentality to bigger comps. I agree, but now I have to figure out how to do that.

...And that's not to say technique and floor craft were perfect. They can ALWAYS improve!
 
That the dances you practice more are the ones you do better in (who would have guessed...)

So it's back to the studio to practice those that have fallen by the wayside in terms of practice, but it is nice to see when practice pays off in the others.
 
Janson said:
That the dances you practice more are the ones you do better in (who would have guessed...)

So it's back to the studio to practice those that have fallen by the wayside in terms of practice, but it is nice to see when practice pays off in the others.
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Unless you're me... then randomly, the dance that was largely ignored over the last few months and was a hot mess in the weeks leading up to comp was your best one in competition... consistently all day, not just one time :confused:

We still haven't quite figured out how that happened.
 
FancyFeet said:
Unless you're me... then randomly, the dance that was largely ignored over the last few months and was a hot mess in the weeks leading up to comp was your best one in competition... consistently all day, not just one time :confused:

We still haven't quite figured out how that happened.
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This happens to me, except it's all dances the day before competition. Without fail, I will have a horrendous dance day on my very last lesson before competition. But, I've stopped caring because I always seem to do OK, even in the dances that have been a little neglected.
 
I need to smile was the main thing that and trying not to blank my routine halfway through a move with a nervous brand new follow. Despite this we made rounds which I have never done before.
Also university comps work so well for me a lot calmer and fun especially fun categories at the end of the day with male male rumba and 3 girl cha. Great to watch and can't wait to compete again on saturday
 
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