|
Competitions 101
by Brian Tarricone, December 2002
aka Everything You Wanted to Know About Ballroom
Competitions but Didn't Know That You Wanted to Know,
Plus Things That You Didn't Want to Know
So we all talk about going to ballroom competitions - it's one of the main
things for which the team practices. But what are competions all about? What
do you need to know if you want to compete? What do you need to wear? Or
bring? All of these questions get asked every year by new dancers. Hopefully
after reading this you can get a good idea as to what attending a competition is
all about. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you have a team full of
experienced dancers that will help you with any problems you have. I've put
this together based mainly on my own experience, as well as on random things
I've read on message boards and other dance websites.
This is getting a bit long, so here's an index if you have something
specific in mind that you're looking for:
So first the simple question: What is a
ballroom competion? There really isn't a simple answer, unfortunately. But
let's try to break the answer into parts. A ballroom comp (at least the ones we
generally attend) is an event hosted by another school that many schools attend.
Dancers compete at a variety of skill levels. The competion itself is done in a
series of events (one dance per event, or multi-dance events). Depending on the
number of couples, there may be multiple rounds per event. After each round, a
certain percentage of dancers is called back to the next round. Rounds progress
until there are (ideally) six competitors remaining (though it is possible to
have up to nine competitors in a final round). These competitors in the final
are ranked in order by the judges. The judges' marks are tallied and averaged
(sorta), and you get the final placings.
Competitions feature four categories of
dance in two styles (at least the ones we usually go to). We have American
Style, which, as the name suggests, is only danced competitively in the United
States. American Style is broken into two categories. Smooth, which usually
consists of Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz. Then Rhythm, which gives
us Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing, Mambo, and Bolero. Then we have International Style,
which is danced in competitions throughout the world. International Style is
also broken into two categories. Standard, similar to Smooth, which is Waltz,
Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, and Viennese Waltz. Then, the analogue to Rhythm,
which in International Style is called Latin, which consists of Rumba, Cha Cha,
Samba, Jive, and Paso Doble.
Next you may wonder how competitions
deal with dancers of differing experience. There is a level system in place,
and each level has a defined "syllabus" to go with each level/category pair.
The syllabus is simply the list of dance patterns that are allowed in that
particular level and category. The levels are (usually) Newcomer, Bronze,
Silver, and Gold (and occasionally Master of Syllabus). There is also the Open
level, which we'll discuss later.
The Newcomer category is usually reserved only for dancers who are attending
their first couple competitions. Usually the rule is that you've been dancing
less than half a year (or a semester). Newcomer level is a chance for new
competitors to get into the swing of competing without the stress of having to
compete at the Bronze level (which often has dancers who have competed for
some time). As a Newcomer, you may dance any figure in the Bronze syllabus.
The Bronze level is often termed the beginner level. Dancers that are dedicated
to constantly improving their dancing by mastering more advanced technique and
patterns usually spend a year or year and a half in Bronze. If you're not all
that serious about competition, you may hang out in Bronze for quite some time.
It all depends on how much time you want to commit. As you might guess, the
Bronze level is limited to the Bronze syllabus.
The Silver or intermediate level is for competitors who have a fine grasp of
technique, and, in general who have consistently placed well in Bronze level
competitions (though it isn't required to have placings; chosing to advance in
level is a competitor's choice). Competitors in Silver are limited to the
Bronze and Silver syllabi.
Gold level, or advanced, is a place for competitors to show their mastery of
both technique and the entire syllabus for that particular dance/category.
Here you have a wide range of options, as you may do any patterns in the Bronze,
Silver, or Gold syllabi.
Master of Syllabus is somewhat rare, and we probably won't see it very often in
the competitions we attend. Master of Syllabus is kind of a "super gold" level,
for competitors that know the entire syllabus better than their own names.
Earlier I mentioned the Open level, and
you might be wondering what that's all about. The Open level is separate from
the four syllabus levels. Open means that anything goes; there is no Open
syllabus. The Open level is a place for dancers who have mastered technique and
want to dance choreographed routines. (Routines are often used in syllabus
events as well, but these routines are just amalgamations of syllabus patterns.)
The Open level is usually the treat to watch at the end of many competitions.
This is where the most expressive, dynamic dancing takes place. Technically,
the Open level is divided into three sub-levels: Novice, Pre-Championship, and
Championship. These sub-levels reflect how long a couple has been dancing Open
and how comfortable they are with advanced routines. Often all three will be
collapsed into a single event under the "Open" umbrella, since sometimes there
are too few competitors present to run all three sub-levels.
So, when you go to a competition, you're
probably wondering what the day is like and how the events work. For starters,
all the events in a particular category are danced together. For example, a
competition may first run American Smooth, then International Standard, followed
by American Rhythm and finally International Latin. Latin is almost always
last. Usually Smooth and Standard, and Latin and Rhythm are paired in the
schedule so dancers don't have to change costumes more than necessary.
Sometimes we'll see something like Rhythm - Smooth - Standard - Latin, so this
isn't a hard-and-fast rule.
Inside each category, we have the four
syllabus levels. As I said before, often the Open level is left for after all
the syllabus events have finished. Usually the Bronze level goes first,
followed by Newcomer, then Silver, and Gold. Newcomer is usually second so that
dancers at their very first comp can see what competition looks like before they
have to dance. The levels do not go in strict order; they will overlap since
each event will consist of a series of rounds, if there are enough couples. The
scrutineer (the official responsible for tallying judges marks) needs time to
enter all the data from the judges' score sheets, so it would be inefficient to
wait.
Remember, the goal is to narrow the mass of competitors down to a group of six
to nine couples in a final round. I've seen bronze levels with as many as 80
couples to start with! To get to a final, you'll have to have first gotten past
the semifinal, perhaps a quarterfinal, and, if there are that many couples,
maybe an octofinal as well. Hexadecafinals are rare (yes, this sentence only
exists so I could say "hexadecafinal"). There are rules for the minimum
percentage of couples that must be called back to the next round, hence the need
for more rounds as the number of couples increases. If there are too many
couples in an event to either fit on the dance floor or for the judges to be
able to handle at once, sometimes a round is split into multiple heats. This
can often get confusing (especially since sometimes the terms "event" and "heat"
are used interchangeably!), so it's important to pay careful attention to the
MC's announcments to make sure you don't miss any events.
Usually there will be an "on deck" area where competitors are asked to line up
shortly before their event. For the second, third, etc. rounds, couples are
called back (by the leader's number, pinned to his/her back before competition)
and take the floor immediately (usually). For the final round, the judges will
be able to spend more time on each dancer, and will rank the couples in the
order from best to 'worst' couple, rather than simply selecting a predetermined
number of couples to call back, as before. If you make it to a final,
congratulations! You've won a ribbon!
After the end of all of the syllabus
events, usually the Open events begin. Sometimes the Open events are done with
the syllabus events, after Gold level, but in most of my experience Open is done
separately. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Often there will be fewer
than 15 Open couples, meaning that there will be only two rounds. Sometimes
there are even fewer, and there is only a final! This is usually a great chance
to catch your breath for a while - which doesn't happen all that often when
you're at a comp!
Is that all, you may ask? Certainly not.
There is usually a Team Match at the end of the competition, which is always a
lot of fun. Some teams look at Team Match very seriously, and actually practice
and drill with the intent to beat the other schools. We generally have a more
laid-back approach. We don't train specifically for team match, but the teams
are usually selected to maximise our chances of winning.
So here's how Team Match works. There are usually two, one American Style, one
International Style. Each is composed of four dances, usually Foxtrot, Tango,
Rumba, and Swing for American, and Waltz, Quickstep, Cha Cha, and Jive for
International. Each team is comprised of four couples, each one dancing one of
the four dances. We usually have enough people to field two teams per style,
and occasionally three.
Team Match can be a bit intimidating for new dancers. In Team Match, anything
goes. You can have Newcomers doing just the basic, dancing next to Open dancers
performing their advanced routines. You might think this is unfair, but
remember that the original intent of Team Match is for schools to send out their
best couples to try to show that they are better than the other schools. We
like to have fun at Team Match, so we usually register one team of the most
advanced dancers, and then one or two teams filled with anyone else that wants
to compete. In general, we select people based both on dance ability and
involvement in team. If you have the opportunity, I suggest that everyone try
it - it's a great time to have fun and play around. Sometimes my partner and I
make up a quasi-Open routine on the spot, just for fun. No, we don't look the
best, but we've gotten called back just by playing around and having a good
time. Usually team match consists of a semifinal and a final, though if there
are fewer than ten teams there will just be a final.
Ok, we've covered a lot, but we're still
not done yet. Most (but not all) comps will have Fun Dances. These are usually
interspersed throughout the day, and have funny names and often require you to
do strange things. Some may be "reverse-role" in which leaders follow and
followers lead. I've seen same-sex events, where men dance with men and women
dance with women. There are intercollegiate events, like Jack-and-Jill, where
the leaders and followers all line up in two separate lines, and everyone gets a
random partner. Sometimes the challenge is musical - maybe the tempo speeds up
and slows down as the dance progresses, or perhaps the dance changes to
something else every half minute or so. The events can be even more bizarre.
Three-person events, where you can have a leader leading two followers, or other
configurations. At our comp in 2002, we had "Robo-Cha," where couples had to
dance Cha-Cha as if they were robots. One comp we go to, DCDI, used to have an
"Interpretive Dance," where groups of people get together and do crazy things on
the dance floor. Fun Dances are only limited by the imaginations of the
organisers. Fun Dances are usually much more informal than syllabus and open.
Often there are over 100 couples in a Fun Dance, so the cuts in the initial
rounds are huge. Often the selection method will be "tap in," where a judge or
two will walk around and tap competitors on the shoulder to tell them that they
made it to the next round. All in all, Fun Dances are a great way to unwind,
and are amusing to watch. They can be a great way to meet people from other
teams, too. I strongly recommend them.
So now that we've gone through all the
things you can expect to do at a competition, let's get to the details - what to
wear, what to pay attention to, what to look for, etc.
Clothing. Competitive Ballroom is a
refined sport. You're expected to look nice. Beginner dancers tend to wear
more simple oufits, while more advanced dancers often wear elaborate costumes
especially made for competitive ballroom. Note that for most collegiate
competitions, costumes are not permitted below Silver level. (Generally, a
costume is defined as an outfit with rhinestones, feathers, or sequins.) Here
are a few tips for beginner dancers:
- Smooth/Standard
- Men:
- Hair: Long hair tied back. Regardless of length, neatly combed. Look
refined and well-kept.
- Shirt: White buttoned shirt, and a tie. It's nice to also wear a
vest. You could also wear a tuxedo shirt with bowtie. You will hardly
(if ever) see anyone wearing a suit jacket. In Gold and Open you'll often
see tailsuits.
- Pants: Black. Either a nice pair of slacks or tuxedo pants. No jeans!
- Socks: Black. Always.
- Shoes: Something comfortable that doesn't grip the floor too much.
Usually black, but brown or grey is acceptable as well. I'll talk a bit
more about shoes later.
- Women:
- Hair: Tied back, braided, etc. Look neat and clean-cut.
- Usually some kind of gown. You could go for a more compact
cocktail/party dress, but make sure the skirt is loose enough to allow you
to take large steps. The two-piece bodice-and-skirt approach is also
popular. Skirts should be nice and flowy, but not too long so as to catch
on the heels (ankle-length is good).
- Stockings, nylons, whatever you prefer. No knee-highs, esp in smooth,
since they'll be visible when you spin! (or so says Ellan)
- Shoes: You want something with a heel, but that gives you good
balance. Character shoes are good. You definitely want something with a
closed toe, as you'll often be reaching backwards with your toes. That
would probably hurt with an open-toed shoe. Something dark, or satin
which can be dyed to either match your skin tone or dress. I'll talk
about women's shoes later as well.
- Latin/Rhythm
- Men:
- Hair: Usually slicked back, sometimes not. Think suave.
- Shirt: Usually a black shirt, either buttoned or form-fitting. It
doesn't need to be black, but that's the safest. Definitely go for a
solid color.
- Pants: Black, again. No jeans!
- Socks: Yes, you guessed it, black.
- Shoes: Black again, similar to Standard. I'll talk more about Latin
shoes later.
- Women:
- Hair: Slicked back, in a bun perhaps. Loose is fine too, as long as
it won't get in your face. Think sexy.
- Cocktail/party dress, or some kind of bright top with a short skirt.
Black is usually bad, go for something flashy and bright. Go with what is
as revealing as you are comfortable with.
- Stockings again. You'll often see fishnets too.
- Shoes: Usually some kind of open-toed sandal-like thing. Women's
Latin shoes will have a higher heel (2-3 inches) and will be more open.
Silver is popular, also tan or satin that can be dyed to match your skin
tone.
A little more about shoes. "Real"
Ballroom shoes can be quite expensive, often in excess of $100. We try to look
for deals; sometimes you can get discontinued lines for 50% off at some online
stores, and occasionally you can get deals for buying more than one pair. But
you shouldn't buy expensive shoes until you are sure that competitive Ballroom
is for you.
Women often buy court shoes for Smooth/Standard, and specially made latin shoes
for Latin/Rhythm. It's difficult to say which you should buy if you only
can/want to buy one pair. Doing Standard in an open-toed shoe can be painful
when reaching backwards with your toes, but also it is apparently difficult to
do Latin/Rhythm in a closed-toe shoe (?). The trend I've seen is to buy a pair
of Latin shoes and a pair of much cheaper character shoes.
Men's Latin shoes usually have a 1-2 inch heel on them. If you only want to buy
one pair of shoes, but plan to compete in all categories, buy Standard shoes.
The extra heel on Latin shoes can make Standard much more difficult, while it's
perfectly reasonable to dance Latin in Standard shoes.
Ok, so you're at the comp, all dressed,
ready to go. Now what? How do you actually do well? How do you get the judges
to look at you, and, better yet, call you back to the next round? Ideally, the
answer is this: look and dance better than everyone else on the floor. But of
course we can't always do that. So here are a few pointers.
First round. Likely there will be a LOT of other couples in the first
round. Each judge may only look at you for a few seconds, if that. Depending
on how visible you are, some of the judges may not see you at all! So you need
to be visible. Check out the floor before you go on. Where do the judges seem
to be standing? Are they all clustered by the podium, or are they spread out?
Where can you dance so the most will see you as possible? Of course, in
smooth/standard, you want to try to get around the room so all the judges can
see you. In the first round, the most important thing is to have
easily-recognisable good posture, and to show off your number!
Middle rounds. There will be fewer couples on the floor, so you not
only need to be seen, but you have to look good here. Think very much about
posture, being on time with the music, looking confident, and, as usual, showing
off that number. Remember that it's more important that you do a few patterns
really well than a large number of patterns somewhat well.
Finals! If you made it this far, congratulations! There will be no
more than eight other couples on the floor with you (but usually only five
others). The judges will be placing you in order of who they think is best.
Think confidence, control. Do the steps you know, and do them well. If you
screw up, don't fuss, just fix it and try to make it look non-obvious. Stand up
straight, look the part. Find a balance between dancing to the audience (and
judges) and to your partner. No tricks here; just dance your best.
Just off the top of my head, here's a
(nonexhaustive) list of things you should be thinking about when you're dancing,
in no particular order.
- posture
- connection with partner
- presentation
- timing with music
- smile
- floorcraft (don't run into anyone!)
- lead/follow (or) your routine
- showing the judges your number
- smile
- don't look at the floor!
- smile, dammit!
- brian's sexy ass
When you are just starting, try to pick just a few to work on, and gradually
build your way up.
Stuff to bring to an away comp.
- costume stuff mentioned above
- extra pair of black socks (for Andy)
- toothbrush/toothpaste
- comb/hairbrush
- contacts (if you are blind)
- belt/tie (guys)
- underwear (clean, please)
- snacks for the road trip
- music for the road trip
- homework, if you must (*sigh*)
- camera & film
- a smile!
Whew. Ok, that's it for now. Hopefully
you've found this useful and somewhat enlightening. If you have comments or
suggestions, feel free to let me know via email at
bjt23@cornell.edu.
|
|
