USA Dance Los Angeles County

By
Alexandra Y. Caluen
Do you read me?
www.ombailamos.com

There is one big, important difference between competitions sanctioned by the National Dance Council of America (NDCA) and those sanctioned by USA Dance: USA Dance is run by and for amateur dancers. Any USA Dance competition designated as a “Championship” will include multi-dance syllabus events in all four competitive divisions, as well as “open” events. An NDCA competition, on the other hand, is not required to have any, or any particular combination of, events for amateur couples.

What is “Open”? It’s a designation for events in which choreography is not confined to any syllabus level. Generally speaking, the only thing you can’t do in an Open event is a lift. The Open events are designated Pre-Novice, Novice, Pre-Champ, and Championship. The dances must still be recognizably waltz, foxtrot, rumba, or whatever, but you are not otherwise restricted. In these events, technique is more important than figures.

If you are looking at the upcoming NDCA competitions in our area, and considering entering an event, you’ll want to pull the entry forms ASAP and look them over; in my dozen years of experience no NDCA competitions offer multi-dance Syllabus events. Those are available only through USA Dance competitions. To dance Syllabus at an NDCA competition, you would need to enter single-dance events in which you would be on the floor at the same time as pro-am couples (but judged separately).

In an NDCA-sanctioned competition, your placement in any amateur event (including a Championship) will not relate to, or affect, your rank within USA Dance.

The use of terms Pre-Novice, Novice, Pre-Champ, and Championship is extremely variable – with the exception of Championship. A Championship always includes all dances in the style unless it is designated as a Masters Championship (for dancers age 65+ usually) in which case Viennese Waltz is usually excluded in Standard or Smooth, Mambo is excluded in Rhythm, and Jive is excluded in Latin.

Pre-Novice, when offered, is usually two dances from the style. In Standard it might be waltz and quickstep. Novice is usually three dances. In Standard it would most often be waltz, tango, and quickstep. Pre-Champ, when offered, would be four out of five possible dances; in Standard it is generally waltz, tango, quickstep, and foxtrot.

When you enter an Open event, you must dance all dances in the event – no stepping out for the dance you don’t know yet. Thus it is advisable to pull the entry forms well in advance so you know exactly which dances to prepare.

How to match up syllabus to open events

If you have been training in bronze/silver, you would most likely want to enter pre-novice or novice. The events – even though am/am couples generally do choose their own level – do follow a sort of progression. So even if you have already been studying and are familiar with all dances, a bronze/silver couple is generally not going to have the technique or (perhaps particularly) floorcraft to make a final in Pre-champ or Championship.

It’s worth noting that you can enter a multi-dance Open event and single-dance Syllabus events. One does not preclude the other. So if you wanted, you could enter pre-novice for your waltz & quickstep, and then enter Bronze Tango, Foxtrot, and/or Viennese Waltz. The entry fees add up horrifyingly, but it’s great experience.

Most dancers would want to have at least a year of Gold syllabus and some competition experience before entering the “higher” levels of open competition. It’s my personal experience that it is better to enter at the lower levels, place well, and then work up rather than to start high and struggle. Much more rewarding to make the final, or even to place, than to be cut in the quarter- or semi-final.

If you are dancing Standard: based on observation, most am/am couples start out doing exactly the same sequences of figures. So whatever you have been taught to do as a syllabus combination, look for ways to change the sequence that still work on the line of dance and are stylistically correct, and add a few picture lines, maybe some syncopations, and maybe one showy move per dance, like a series of pivots, to make the choreography fit better into the Open category.

If you are dancing Latin, the actual figures are rarely the important part – it’s all about making pictures, syncopations, moving fast and stopping on a dime, and having a really expansive top line. Am/am dancers are usually a little tentative in their carriage and styling from the chest up, until they are quite experienced.

That said, I would choose figures that lead most naturally to big pictures, meaning they create a natural stop in the movement. And experiment with arm stylings – syllabus students are often taught particular stylings and I’ve seen am/am Latin events where every single arm styling was identical from couple to couple.

A note on rules: NDCA rules for amateur competitors are nearly identical to those of USA Dance. Download the USA Dance rulebook (free!) at www.usadance.org.

Submit your question about competition dancing to dancesport@usadancela.org!