Competition Dancing in the West?

By David Ching, Kunia

I have heard that some of our cultural dancers are preparing to go into competitions. Certainly nothing wrong with that. Many people do it everyday throughout the world. However, how are you doing in your regular social recreational dance. Ah Ha!!

"Perhaps you cannot be a star, but you need not be a cloud."

Meanwhile, let’s explore this new world of competition dancing, just to demonstrate some interesting points. At most competitions, the circumstances in which you dance are very controlled — you know the dance you’re doing, who you’re dancing with (your partner), the level at which the others are dancing (your class or difficulty level), the time you’re on the floor (a single heat is usually only a few minutes long), the steps to do (the syllabus), and the music is a certain tempo (set by rules).

Spectators are usually other dancers, who appreciate the hard work involved, and judges, who are looking for specific, pre-defined things to put into your score. So you’re doing a controlled thing (dancing) in a controlled environment (at a competition) for pre-defined reasons (where do you rate on the scoring sheet?) for an audience who knows something about what you’re doing.

"Green Eyes" ... Jimmy Dorsey

If you like competition dancing, you’ll want to know there are two “flavors” — amateur and pro-am. Amateur only means the participants don’t make living by teaching dancing. An amateur dancing with a teacher is pro-am. Amateur couples are scored by their performance and, in a pro-am competition, the amateur is the one being judged.

Some competitions have only one couple participating and the result is only one winner, and at some of those comps some folks don’t place or win anything. Other, less “serious” competitions may award everyone a first place, because you’re judged alone (and not against the field of other dancers in your category.

Now that so many are learning how to dance "correctly," (and it is going to cost you,) perhaps we will have some serious International Style competitions in the West, probably at the new Dance Pavilion at the Patsy Mink Recreation Park, if and when they build it.

Pub's Side Note: And if you are thinking of getting to any of these places on the bus. Fougeddaboutit. All the money now going for the advertising of the Rail. Big, Big Bucks to be made in Profits.