USA Dance Los Angeles County

I am happy to report that there are a growing number of ways to watch ballroom dancing.  In the Los Angeles area alone, the eager spectator could, in the last year and coming months, have found a nearby performance of the Dancing with the Stars tour; the So You Think You Can Dance tour; Louis van Amstel’s show “Ballroom with a Twist;”  Cate Caplin’s show “Fascinating Rhythms;” the international sensation “Burn the Floor;” and numerous other shows built around partner dancing – including USA Dance Los Angeles’ own chapter Showcase.

In addition, of course, there is the regular calendar of actual ballroom competitions.  This is your guide to getting the most out of attending a competition as a spectator.

There are two main sanctioning bodies for dancesport in the U.S.  The National Dance Council of America (NDCA) is the governing body for professional and pro-am competition.  That means that dancers who make their living as dancers compete under the NDCA umbrella, and that amateur dancers who compete with a professional as a partner (“pro-am”) do so as well.

Why would someone choose to compete “pro-am”?  Well, for one thing, it is a great way to advance quickly from beginner Bronze to Championship.  Within the pro-am structure, dancers are still competing against others of their own gender, age group, and proficiency level.  This helps to ensure a level playing field, and a dancer who really puts in the work can advance quite quickly with the help of a professional partner.

So, when you are watching a pro-am event at an NDCA competition, what you are seeing is an amateur dancer being judged alone as he/she dances with a professional partner.  Most pro-am events are single dances, meaning the dancer is judged individually on his/her cha-cha, rumba, jive, waltz, tango, etc.

A dancer may enter in up to two adjacent proficiency levels and up to two adjacent age levels.  A dancer may also enter multi-dance “scholarship” events at the syllabus levels, or multi-dance “open” events in the Novice, Pre-Championship, and Championship proficiency levels.

Once a dancer is permitted to advance to Novice, the only limitations on choreography are that no lifts or props are allowed.  In any of the syllabus levels (Bronze, Silver, or Gold), specific lists of allowed moves are published and the competition has invigilators to ensure all dancers in an event are staying within the bounds.

USA Dance, Inc. is the governing body for amateur competition.  The Adult and Senior division winners of Standard and Latin Championships at USA Dance Nationals become the U.S. representatives to the IDSF World Championships and the World Games.  USA Dance helps to cover the costs of our champions attending these world events.

The structure of amateur events under USA Dance is almost exactly the same as pro-am events under NDCA, with the exception that most USA Dance sanctioned competitions schedule only multi-dance events.

This means that, for example, in Bronze Rhythm, an amateur couple must dance cha-cha and rumba, and in Bronze Smooth they must dance waltz and tango.  The official dance selections for each level are laid out in the USA DanceSport Rulebook, which is available for download free at www.usadance.org.

The lists of dances included in each division (American Smooth and Rhythm; International Standard and Latin) can also be found in the rulebook.  By attending a competition, the spectator can quickly learn to see the differences between, for example, International Standard Foxtrot and American Smooth Foxtrot; or between International Latin Rumba and American Rhythm Rumba.

The spectator can also quickly divine that DanceSport truly is a sport accessible to all – from age 4 to 84, from absolute beginner to multi-title-winning champion.  Where else can you find such variety of competition, combined with great music and fabulous costumes?

And all you need to get started yourself is a piece of floor and some dance shoes.  Hmmmm …. !

— Alexandra Caluen