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Thread: What do you want in a Showcase ?

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    Registered User stewart38's Avatar
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    What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Ok we had 9 show cases in the ceroc champs, I think that’s a record ?

    I thought the overall standard was very poor and very predictable

    I think judging on woodface performance in double trouble an hrs practice in the garden by him and he may win if he enters next year.

    Please can we have a some decent show cases like we use to in the past ? If that means only 4 decent entrance so be it



    Quote Originally Posted by woodface View Post
    .

    Was a little disappointed in the showcases. Nothing I saw made me go "oooohhhhh" thinking that that might be the cat I look at doing for next time.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rocky View Post
    Lots of comments on the showcases and as a judge in this section, I clearly don't have to, but will give some feedback.

    A showcase is a showcase - that encompasses all areas of what that means. That is, that it is not purely a showcase of dancing. It's about theater, it's about entertainment, it's about presentation and it's about creativity, technical proficiency and musicality. But apart from that it's also about consistency.

    Amir and Cat's and Simon and Nicole's showcases where all those things, but it was felt that there were some inconsistencies in both performances. In addition neither had a truly cohesive story line and both lacked some element of theater.

    The advantage that Amir and Cat had was also that they performed a tango routine which immediately sets it apart from the MJ based routines of the other competitors. That sets it apart for the audience, but that just made it different, which is not the same as 'better.'

    Phil and Alex's routine was inventive, flawlessly performed, stunningly syncronized, beautifully danced, technically challenging, excellently presented in terms of costumes and props and ultimately developed into an excellent piece of theater.

    Could you honestly fault them in any of these areas? It might not have been your 'cup of tea' but then again you can't judge a showcase on that criteria.

    Of course judging is a subjective thing, but we had 5 judges from different areas of the Country, 2 of whom were not Ceroc teachers or franchisees and all of whom had different dance backgrounds. It WAS a very difficult choice to make but ultimately we had to choose a winner, and in this case the final placings were unanimous.

    Of course people will have differing views, but in all cases there was a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the hard work and commitment that all the competitors displayed.

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Showcase is an interesting category as you have both show cases and cabarets competing against each other – and they are completely different items. And to clarify what I mean – Mary Poppins is a cabaret, Phil and Yuko’s routine (assuming same routine as at Blackpool) is a showcase.

    My personal preference would be to have to different categories one for Cabaret and one for showcase as they really are completely different forms.

    But back on topic – in a showcase I want to see dancers dancing to the absolute top of their ability, with real dancing and musical interpretation, the sort of thing that makes me ohh and ahh because the dancing alone is lovely and if I am really lucky makes me *sigh* and wish I could dance like that – but primarily the thing I want to see in a showcase is DANCING

    And to be picky in a Ceroc/Modern Jive Comp I would prefer to see Modern Jive as the primary dance form in the showcase rather than other styles - if I wanted to see lindy, ballroom, wcs, tango - I'd go to a performace/competition of that style

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Yliander View Post
    My personal preference would be to have to different categories one for Cabaret and one for showcase as they really are completely different forms.
    I think it's interesting that you make that distinction, and now that I stop and think about it I have to say I agree with you.

    I think I would much rather have seen how the Phil and Alex's Mary Poppins routien fared against the Thriller team cabaret rather than against Amir and Cat or Simon and Nicole's showcases.

    Showcases IMO should be about showcasing dance - and if you want a story line to go with it then you need to make that clear to the entrants before they start.
    Theatricals and props are for cabaret dancing.

    Both of these categories are challenging in their own ways but I think after seeing them compared to one another at the weekend I'm not sure that they should be in future.

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    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Yliander View Post
    And to be picky in a Ceroc/Modern Jive Comp I would prefer to see Modern Jive as the primary dance form in the showcase rather than other styles - if I wanted to see lindy, ballroom, wcs, tango - I'd go to a performace/competition of that style
    One thing that is emphasised in the rules for the Showcase section is that it can be any dance form and it is made equally clear in the rules for the other categories that the content must be principally MJ. I like it this way though I agree it makes judging more difficult.

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by robd View Post
    One thing that is emphasised in the rules for the Showcase section is that it can be any dance form and it is made equally clear in the rules for the other categories that the content must be principally MJ. I like it this way though I agree it makes judging more difficult.
    I am aware of the rules - wasn't disputing them - just saying what I want in a Showcase as per the thread topic

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Yliander View Post
    ... My personal preference would be to have to different categories one for Cabaret and one for showcase as they really are completely different forms...


    A showcase is a place where you put something to be admired, usually for its beauty. We cauld have a showcase MJ category, as the next logical step up from CerocX Here we should see MJ and some things that could or should be part of MJ. If the judges disagree with the could or should then the competitors could be moved to another category or disqualified.

    We could have a general showcase section where other dance forms could be presented. This could be another way of getting TV coverage. We could get the SCD dancers in. Doing this enthusiastically could soon get us into the dance festival scene, and require another day (at least).

    The cabaret section should be about dance related entertainment, with "How much did I enjoy it?" as the principal factor. This could easily be another way into TV coverage, we could have dancers doing routines from West End Shows. Doing this too enthusiastically could result in this category also over-shadowing the MJ aspect.

    It seems necesssary to have a very clear vision of the direction that we want the championships to take, and the limits that we want to set.

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    i would want to see sex appeal, astonishing aerials and fantastic spinning. I love watching dancers who make me go oooooooohh and aaaaaaaaaaah......

    I also like to see tight trousers and a bit of booty.!!

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Trouble View Post
    I also like to see tight trousers and a bit of booty.!!
    next year my dear... next year

    (Actually.. me in tight trousers? never going to happen.. I would look like an over stuffed sofa.. and would dance as good as one too !!)

    What I would like to see is a bit of OOOOH and AAAAAH .. something really cool. Some of the showcases did seem very.. well.. (adjectives fail me here but for want of a better word) uninspired.

    Thriller was amusing , mary poppins was odd, The tango one with SF was interesting but none of them really made me gasp. Amir's one (maybe getting my showcases and my cabarets mixed up here) was fantastic IMHO.

    but then not being a high enough calibre dancer myself I can't really comment on content and style.
    Last edited by Beowulf; 8th-May-2007 at 01:05 PM.

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Beowulf1970 View Post
    (Actually.. me in tight trousers? never going to happen.. I would look like an over stuffed sofa.. and would dance as good as one too !!)
    Brilliant. I wish I had met you so I could confirm that was a good description.

    Thing is though Beo...loads of men do wear tight trousers at dancing and they soooooo don't have the body for it. You feel like asking "do you have mirrors in your house?"

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sparkles View Post
    I think it's interesting that you make that distinction, and now that I stop and think about it I have to say I agree with you.

    I think I would much rather have seen how the Phil and Alex's Mary Poppins routien fared against the Thriller team cabaret rather than against Amir and Cat or Simon and Nicole's showcases.

    Showcases IMO should be about showcasing dance - and if you want a story line to go with it then you need to make that clear to the entrants before they start.
    Theatricals and props are for cabaret dancing.

    Both of these categories are challenging in their own ways but I think after seeing them compared to one another at the weekend I'm not sure that they should be in future.

    For me a show case would be

    2 people

    props etc if required fine

    A story or theme , sadly missing in many instances

    Dancing and movement to the music

    Many of the show cases I saw had the props and the theme but poor dancing

    Others no theme or ‘props’ but great dancing

    If you have no theme story then it could become,

    ‘here is what we are going to do in the next lesson’ type stuff

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by stewart38 View Post
    For me a show case would be

    2 people

    A story or theme , sadly missing in many instances

    Dancing and movement
    Many of the show cases I saw had the props
    IMHO
    sounds like a really boring porn film to me.

    Sod the story line, if you have enough excitement throughout the show, you dont need a storyline, or props. You need a little bit of chemistry, a little bit of skin and a lot of daring, exciting moves. FANTASTIC

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Personally I like the way that the Americans categorise their WCS competitions with the Classic Category being a choreographed routine but constrained by strict rules to keep the dance 'pure' then the Showcase Category allowing more flexibility to the rules but still maintaining a WCS essence and finally the Cabaret Category that is an anything goes category with other dance forms and props and everything.

    I think that MJ has a long way to go before the interest level is reached to allow such distinction between categories.

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Yliander View Post
    But back on topic – in a showcase I want to see dancers dancing to the absolute top of their ability, with real dancing and musical interpretation, the sort of thing that makes me ohh and ahh because the dancing alone is lovely and if I am really lucky makes me *sigh* and wish I could dance like that – but primarily the thing I want to see in a showcase is DANCING
    Like a great fire work display ?

    ooooooooooohhhhhhh

    aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

    some displays dont do it for me but when its good is good

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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    My first response to this question would be Amazing Dancing in whatever style (Amir and Cat, Simon and Nicole) rather than Theatre. However this is entertainment and part of entertainment is the controversy, the different point of view, the variety, the pushing of the tolerance level and discovering the new.

    Rather than saying, I don't like this, i ask myself "have i missed something here? do they understand something that i am ignorant of?"

    In my opinion there are a lot of categories and when there are too many it gets very predictable and loses that great surprise element.

    In conclusion, in showcase, i want entertainment, surprise, fantastic dancing of course and anything dancing related done very well, (whether i understand it or like it or not).

    .

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    Commercial Operator Rocky's Avatar
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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    The problem that you have with splitting the Showcase category into, cabaret, classic etc. etc is that you wouldn't have enough entrants in each section - this is not the US, so we simply don't have the breadth of dancers to call on.

    I personally don't think there is a distinction between 'Showcase' or 'Cabaret'. The Showcase rules and criteria as set out on the website are very clear about what the judges are looking for - the winner will be the couple who fulfill more of the criteria and who fulfill that criteria in a superior way to the other competitors.

    It's also actually self regulating: if a couple concentrate on too many aerials then their dancing fails, likewise if they concentrate too much on props or a single underdeveloped premise. Because the judging criteria is specified in advance it actually doesn't matter what you call it or how you classify it - all we are concerned about is, does it meet the criteria by which we are judging.

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    Registered User David Franklin's Avatar
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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    Quote Originally Posted by stewart38 View Post
    A story or theme , sadly missing in many instances
    The thing about expecting a theme is that you only have 3 minutes to express it, and you have to do so by your dancing, which is really rather hard.

    So what frequently happens is that people don't actually create their own theme; they take a theme that's already well known - e.g. a popular movie or musical. This saves a whole bunch of work - not only do you have that creation to steal from (sorry, "pay homage to"), but there's a whole load of shortcuts you can take, because you don't have to actually tell the whole story yourself. You can just give a few highlights, and people will know the rest of the story, not because of anything in your showcase, but because they already know the story.

    Which isn't entirely bad. It certainly makes for good entertainment. But in some ways it stifles true creativity, because people are "merely" adapting the concepts made popular by others.

    (Note that I'm not saying it's impossible to create your own theme, but I'd say it's the exception rather than the norm).

    The other danger is that the themes become more important than the dancing. There's a big salsa competition in the US called the Mayan, and the routines that won usually had a theme. So there was a gradual shift towards everyone worrying more and more about their theme and gimmicks and less and less about their dancing. At it's worst, one couple did a "salsa" routine that involved absolutely no dancing for more than half of their two minute routine. (They were literally standing around posing with fake guns for 60 seconds). The routines may have been entertaining, but they didn't have a lot to do with salsa.

    Disclaimer: None of this should be taken as commentary on this year's competition, which I didn't go to.

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    Registered User Graham W's Avatar
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    Re: What do you want in a Showcase ?

    I don't know what showcases were at CeRoc but assumed, there were some overlaps with Blackpool which I thought were good and a bit groundbreaking;
    Mary Poppins in that it was a homage to a musical, Phil & Yuko - included some higher quality moves I thought, and 2 showcases included miming to the lyrics quite effectively.

    G

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