DanceSport on the Chapter Scale
By Alexandra Y. Caluen
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Contact me with questions or comments via my website, or at dancesport (at) usadancela.org.
DanceSport is one of the top priorities for USA Dance as a national organization. If you read the national mission statement, you see DanceSport prominently featured. From the very beginning, USA Dance was formed with the vision of securing a spot for DanceSport as a medal sport in the Olympics, and we are inching ever closer to that goal.
As part of this vision, USA Dance encourages its local chapters to organize dance contests, ranging from informal “dance-offs” during social dances to full-scale competitions. Understandably, most chapters start small and grow into bigger events.
Offering competition events is one of the best ways for chapters to reach out and include junior and collegiate dancers. Juniors (under 18) don’t really “do” social dancing; but many juniors interested in ballroom dancing take private lessons, and a lot of them start competing very early.
Another entry point for dancers is college clubs, which offer low-cost lessons, socials, and other events. However, while a studio with many juniors may provide a small-scale studio competition, juniors and collegiate dancers look to USA Dance for a chance to test their skills in a cost-effective competitive format.
A chapter might begin by organizing a showcase. A showcase event provides an opportunity to perform a solo routine with no judgment. If a chapter receives a good response to a showcase event, the officers may then stage a small-scale contest. From there, it’s a natural step to a chapter competition. In areas with many dancers interested in competition, the chapter event may soon grow into a regional championship or National Qualifying Event.
This month, the Phoenix chapter of USA Dance hosted its sixth annual chapter competition – and this time around, their competition is a National Qualifying Event. That means that dancers who competed on February 19 in Phoenix will be eligible to compete in the USA Dance National Championships in April. (Seventeen members of USA Dance LAC were on the entry list as of Feb 12, and I hope to follow up with some of them soon.)
In order to mount a NQE, a chapter must be able to provide a full roster of judges, invigilators, a scrutineer, and other officials for at least one full day of competition, in order to include all the events to be offered at Nationals. Note, they don’t have to actually stage all events – they just have to offer them for registration. If no-one signs up for a particular event (say, Senior II Novice Smooth), it doesn’t “de-sanction” the competition! The only National event not represented in Phoenix is the new “Freestyle/Showdance” event, which will debut in Baltimore in April with a by-invitation group of competitors.
Another Western chapter that is active in competition is Seattle. This year, Seattle USA Dance will offer three chapter competitions under its “Quest for the Best” banner. (See their website at: http://www.dancequestforthebest.org) The event roster includes syllabus, open, and formation events for all ages.
In California, the Orange County chapter has hosted the Southwest Regional Championships in the past and is likely to take turns with Phoenix in hosting the SW NQE. The NorCal chapter in the Bay Area has hosted the Southwest Regionals and the Nationals, and recently developed its chapter competition into the California State DanceSport Championships – which may soon be reincarnated as another NQE under the working title, “The Quake.” (more info to come)
We are looking for ways to expand the activities of USA Dance Los Angeles, in line with our members’ interests. So if competition – of any sort, on any scale – is of interest to YOU, let us know!
