Now for a completely opposite point of view.
If all you do are 'flashy', or 'interesting' or 'special' moves (whatever you want to call them) then it quickly loses any interest to the spectator. The whole dance certainly does not become 'interesting' or 'special'. And after 30 seconds or so, the individual moves cease to be special, or even noticable.
A dance needs contrast. It needs complexity, and also simplicity. It needs speed, but also slowness. It needs power, but also finesse.
The best dancers in Ballroom, Lindy, WCS, Cabaret, ballet, jazz etc all have this contrast. Many of those considered the best in Modern Jive do not, and you can really see the difference. Every top teacher (in these other styles) I've listened to, whether in private lessons, or workshops, TV interviews, magazine articles, or just chatting, has talked about this 'light and shade' at some point.
I don't know enough about the teaching or the dancers in Australia or NZ to know if this is their standard approach, and competition dancing is perhaps not the best thing to judge it on. Competitions encourage people to pack as many moves as possible into a song, because you don't know who might be watching.
I would not agree with a teacher who told me to remove all the returns. I'd wonder if they wanted me to dance, or just advertise a moves video.
David
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