How do you Choose a dance partner for comps

[stewart38]

I know we have had a thread like this before but I thought no harm getting new ideas/ comments

I was flamed before as selfish arrogrant git that i am , I always thought it would be better to find a female dancer who was much better then I am

Purely on the basis we would have a 'chance' of getting through a round in a competition.

My best performances in the lucky dip at Hammersmith have of course been when Ive been paired of with teachers. I know they wouldnt want me as a dance partner etc

Taking a reality check i guess it might be an idea to find someone and just practice and see where we go. However I know im not that good so I also think even if i practice for a year i wouldnt, with a equal, have a chance of getting through a round. I dont want to make up the numbers :sad:

Are great dance couples made through practice or do the greats find each other out when both are already 'Great'

[Donna]

Are great dance couples made through practice or do the greats find each other out when both are already 'Great'

It does help if both couples are already experienced dancers and are able to adapt to each others style. It takes some getting used to though when freestyling. The easiest part is learning new moves together. Either way, it takes some a while to get it looking 100% whether you were great dancers to start off with or not. Me and Steve have been dancing for a year and even now, we're still trying to get used to freestyling. Learning new moves is easy and usually run smoothly. A lot of practice is very important though and you find even taking a week out makes a big difference to how you perform. We've spent all over the Easter break just practicing and now my body aches from head to toe and have to do it again tonight. :( I'm exhausted and yeah, it's stressful but that's something you have to put up with if you are going to take your dancing seriously and compete.

[Ghost]

I was flamed before as selfish arrogrant git that i am , I always thought it would be better to find a female dancer who was much better then I am


Seems like a good idea to me; but to answer your question.

I'm still figuring out the "why" but there are a few ladies who I can lead easy as breathing. They have very little in common - from beginners who've never danced before, to a lady who'd been dancing all her life. I just get this nice warm feeling and away we go :clap:

My advice would be to try and find someone like this who suits you. It'll probably involve asking ladies at freestyles.

Good luck,
Christopher

[Donna]

My advice would be to try and find someone like this who suits you. It'll probably involve asking ladies at freestyles


Or ask on the forum. There are plenty of websites too where you can find dance partners.

[TheTramp]

A lot of practice is very important though and you find even taking a week out makes a big difference to how you perform. We've spent all over the Easter break just practicing and now my body aches from head to toe and have to do it again tonight. :( I'm exhausted and yeah, it's stressful but that's something you have to put up with if you are going to take your dancing seriously and compete.

Sorry. Can you please explain. What is this 'practise' thing?? :confused:

[Baruch]

Sorry. Can you please explain. What is this 'practise' thing?? :confused:{Pedant mode}It's a verb that means what you do during a practice.

[Donna]

Sorry. Can you please explain. What is this 'practise' thing?? :confused:

Oh trampy you wouldn't know! With your dance partner living down under, it's impossible to get much practice at all! :D

[stewart38]

Or ask on the forum. There are plenty of websites too where you can find dance partners.

really where ?

I know i dont want a hotshot dancer there still alive and well i fear :sad:

[Andreas]

I was flamed before as selfish arrogrant git that i am , I always thought it would be better to find a female dancer who was much better then I am
Oh that was YOU! :eek: :rofl:

I'd have three pieces of advice:

1. Look for somebody who suits your style and is about at your level.
2. Look for somebody who has a very distinct style to yours and is about your level.
3. Never go for the easiest option.

Now we all know that option 1 will be the easier way to go through champs. BUT, if you opt for option 2 both of you will probably get out more of it because your contradicting styles will enrich your respective pre-existing ones. If you put in enough work or are adapting easily your chances at a comp may also be higher.

And to option 3, looking for somebody who is significantly better than you just to make it through one more round is intrinsically wrong. Neither of you will benefit from that at all. Well, perhaps your EGO will but hers certainly won't. And if you are honest to yourself your ego will not either. Trouble here may only be that it may be easier finding a female partner that is better than the guy than one at the guy's level because there is a larger number of good ladies around than men. Anyway, if you are really looking for a better partner just to make it one round further then you'll just support my (wrong) claim that people only compete to stroke their egos. So don't! :rofl:

:flower:

[Paul F]

Are great dance couples made through practice or do the greats find each other out when both are already 'Great'

Thought I would add my tuppence worth.

I think it depends on what your time scales are. For example, if you wanted to compete next month or even a few months down the line then, yes, I would say you need to find someone at the level you are looking to compete at - not neccesarily your level but the target level you feel you are right for in whichever comp.

If you are thinking further down the line though I prefer to find someone who is maybe less experienced (or should I say less conditioned) than you. That way you can work together and, given time, form a strong bond.

The main website I use which, although mainly b+l focussed, still contains many MJ'ers is www.dancepartner.com. I have found a few girls through there that have been less experienced than me but, after working together, we have menaged to gel. And then I move house :rolleyes:
If you do post a profile though I would be tempted to keep exactly what you are looking for quite generic. I found ladies are less likely to contact you if you say " I want to compete in competiion x, y anz z". Rather I would put "social and maybe some competiitons..."

Best of luck :cheers:

[Anna]

First of all, be warned that a dance partnership is like a marriage.

Anything that you dislike about them will NOT change, it will only get worse.

It is crucial that :


You get along VERY well
You have similar dance styles or styles that compliment and mesh well together
You are a suitable match aesthetically - I think either same height or the man up to about a head (ish) taller looks good but get opinions on this
You live in the same city - like relationships, long distance dance partnerships are a strain and ultimately fail
You can work well together as a TEAM and will SHARE responsibility for organisation etc 50/50. If need be I suggest you write out some kind of agreement (pre-nup? :rofl: ) at the beginning of the partnership outlining who will be responsible for what, ie. music, costumes, practice venue, etc and agree on what your goals are and what you would like to achieve


Hope that helps :flower:

[Alice]

First of all, be warned that a dance partnership is like a marriage.

Anything that you dislike about them will NOT change, it will only get worse.

It is crucial that :


You get along VERY well
You have similar dance styles or styles that compliment and mesh well together
You are a suitable match aesthetically - I think either same height or the man up to about a head (ish) taller looks good but get opinions on this
You live in the same city - like relationships, long distance dance partnerships are a strain and ultimately fail
You can work well together as a TEAM and will SHARE responsibility for organisation etc 50/50. If need be I suggest you write out some kind of agreement (pre-nup? :rofl: ) at the beginning of the partnership outlining who will be responsible for what, ie. music, costumes, practice venue, etc and agree on what your goals are and what you would like to achieve


Hope that helps :flower:
:yeah: :yeah:
Very important to have a clear idea of what you want out of the partnership- and AGREE before you start how much practice time you are expecting to do/have available. Disasters happen if this isn't balanced:whistle: ...and you're just setting yourself up for frustration and disappointment.

As far as looking for a partner goes, I've posted twice on the CMJ Oz forum and found partners for routines/comps- then it was just a case of seeing if we gelled well on the dance floor. Second time round we discussed how much time we could put into practicing- it wasn't much, but that just meant we used the time available more efficiently.