Note: This is version 2:
I was not intending to write about this quickie dance
competition held in San Jose, California at the Doubletree Hotel……..a water gun
spray distance from the airport in the middle of a concrete jungle of
nondescript office buildings and busy streets with fast moving cars shooting
through intersections at breakneck speeds.
So much was packed into this two-day event that was
aggravated by an unexpected but welcomed more than a 50% increase in entries
that required me, in both days of the competition, to dance from morning into
the night with no time to rest, no time to collect, and no time to release
myself from the anxiety of preparation needed before the next act on stage of
the competition floor. This was no
burden to my dance teacher and pro-am dance partner, Yanna Samkova, but proved
a difficult task for this senior citizen want-to-be ballroom dancer. To make matters even more
difficult, very little was provided in extras to soften the burden of the
weekend competition but in the end, it was an enjoyable and productive time for
me, and an experience well worth attending. Of note, the professional show was an amazing display of
dance perfection featuring the number 1, 2 and 3 dance couples in the
world. Such a exhibition of
perfection and fluidity and musicality and elegance was not entirely lost to
the exhausted eyes of yours truly, but I admit that my lids were so heavy with
fatigue that even the best dancers in the world would have trouble keeping them
from collapsing.
What I really want to focus on is the judging. Let me give some background for those lacking knowledge of
the process. These
competitions fall under the rules and regulations of the National Dance Council
of America (NDCA) and is World Dancesport Series approved. Categories not only are divided into
age groups but also in categories of the specific dance steps that are
chosen. It is not
necessarily true but generally speaking, dance skills increase in competitions
from bronze to silver to gold. Age
categories span at least 10 years……in that regard, I fall into the B2 category
which includes the ages from 61-70.
In addition, most large competitions judge several categories of dance
couples as separate events……male students with female dance instructors, female
students with male instructors, and a spattering of amateur couples. This clearly makes sense; otherwise you
would be comparing apples to oranges (as said eloquently by Geoffrey Fells). Overall it is harder for a male student
leading a female instructor to compete against a male instructor leading a
female student; when you do so successfully, you can feel proud!
The city lights competition was small enough that the
organizer lumped the male and female students into the same competition heats….this
was the first time for me as a competitor that I faced such a high level of
competition. This I believe was
done to avoid small and uncontested heats typical of a smallish competition, and
to consolidate the number of heats and simplify the results and analysis. I had an opportunity for the
first time to compete against as many as 7 other couples, many of whom were
female students dancing with make instructors. While I had no real expectation about how I would fare other
than badly, I was overall happy with my results. But the main point of this conversation is not about me, but
rather about some observations that I made, which may enlighten the readers to
some level of heightened understanding of the process of ballroom competition
judging.
What we do know for a fact is that each of the judges
chosen for these events represents a nationally and or internationally
recognized and accomplished dancer who has ended their competitive ballroom
dancing career and has transitioned into a new world of teaching, coaching, and
dance competition judging.
There are NO amateur judges; these folks are heavy weights and generally
have had decades of professional ballroom dance experience under their belts to
call upon. In reviewing the results of my heat
scores, I was struck by how much variation exists in scoring by each judge in
any single heat – ranging from no variation to significant variation. In more than a few heats, I received a
ranking score of 1 or 2 as well as 7 or 8, but in other heats the scores were
very close and consistent.
This is an intriguing aspect of the competition and one that conjures
many potential explanations.
Indeed, in a field of 8 or more pro-am couples, judges have to make snap
judgments armed with only a few seconds to score any couple before shifting their
gaze on the next one. Each judges obviously sees you at a different moment in
time and scores you accordingly.
There are many other potential explanations that undoubtedly
play a role in judge’s scoring variation, but I fear that I will unwittingly lose
your attention if this blog were to deteriorate to a verbose and detailed
diatribe. Suffice it to say, as with learning
ballroom dance technique, learning about the culture of ballroom competition
events is a very interesting pastime, sufficiently complex, and filled with drama
of its own. It is an evolving
culture, which includes professional dancers from around the globe, politicians
and VIP benefactors, and an assortment of sprouting vendors sporting beautiful,
but expensive dancewear, and jewelry.
And then there are the students, an interesting and diverse group of
people spanning the ages from around the country who hop from one competition
to the next, motivated by individual goals and aspirations. Indeed, the students spend their time
and money in an entirely enjoyable avocation attempting to improve their dance
skills, and to bring value and happiness to their present lives…….. Certainly, these competitions will
provide more food for thought, more reasons to blog and hopefully a few readers
interested in reading my testimonies.
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