Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 65

Thread: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    London
    Posts
    59
    Rep Power
    11

    What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Just wondering what Competition organisers, Judges and the General Public think of when they see competitors in either the Advance or Open sections.

    Are they dancing and interpreting the music or just going through a prepared routine - in which case maybe they should be dancing in the Showcase section.

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    6,312
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Roger C
    Just wondering what Competition organisers, Judges and the General Public think of when they see competitors in either the Advance or Open sections.

    Are they dancing and interpreting the music or just going through a prepared routine - in which case maybe they should be dancing in the Showcase section.

    I haven't been to many competitions but it appears that many couples are repeating well rehearsed sequences or segments of dance routines within freestyle competition.

    I have only entered one non DWAS competition.
    My partner and I practised several flashy moves which I tried to put in whenever the music suited. what went around them was totally unscripted but hopefully in time to the music.

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Sunny KSA :/
    Posts
    3,383
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Roger C
    Just wondering what Competition organisers, Judges and the General Public think of when they see competitors in either the Advance or Open sections.

    Are they dancing and interpreting the music or just going through a prepared routine - in which case maybe they should be dancing in the Showcase section.
    if they are just dancing a prepared routine then they should be in the Showcase section.

    In a freestyle category then freestyle should be what it is about -at all levels - but especially Advanced and above as these dancers are supposed to be at the top of their games in all areas of their dance and that means freestyling as well. Personally if a couple is using more than 3 moves in a sequence then they aren't really freestyling.

  4. #4
    Ceroc N.I. Franchise Owner drathzel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Bridport, Dorset!
    Posts
    8,175
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by under par
    My partner and I practised several flashy moves which I tried to put in whenever the music suited. what went around them was totally unscripted but hopefully in time to the music.

    I think this is the best way, as your partner knows whats coming but its not always* we do this move then that move then that move then this move, pose, start again!*

  5. #5
    Senior Member Minnie M's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Hove Actually
    Posts
    7,924
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by under par
    ....... practised several flashy moves which I tried to put in whenever the music suited. what went around them was totally unscripted but hopefully in time to the music.
    I reckon the judges are looking for a wow factor as well as dancing chemistry and musicality as well as being technically good. The standard in the advance just gets better and better

    Problem is in the lower end ...... we keep seeing the same dancers in the advance comp over and over again ..... where is the new blood, or are they just shy


    --ooOoo--
    Age is a question of mind over matter, if you don't mind, it doesn't matter
    Leroy (Satchel) Paige (1906-1982)

    Mickey Mouse's girlfriend, Minnie, made her film debut, along with Mickey, in "Steamboat Willie" on November 18, 1928.
    That date is recognized as her official birthday.

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,227
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by under par
    I haven't been to many competitions but it appears that many couples are repeating well rehearsed sequences or segments of dance routines within freestyle competition.
    I would extend that statement to MOST.

    Last year I couched (incidentally) my girlfriend and her dance partner and made them focus on practicing a great variety of moves and musical interpretation. It was clear that I made their life harder than if I had given them set sequences of 3-5 moves to rehearse and combine. However, this is an approach that I deplore as the word sequence alone already implies lack of true freestyling. Well, it all paid off and they came second in Adv. Open w/o doing proper aerials. And to be honest, I'd always choose my approach again because I enjoyed their dance more than that of the winners (I know I am biased) because of the variety. There was no combination of three moves that was repeated all through the comp.

  7. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,227
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andreas
    I couched (incidentally) my girlfriend and her dance partner
    Well, actually, I only couched my girlfriend but coached the two of them


    can't believe that happened

  8. #8
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Norf Lundin
    Posts
    17,001
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Minnie M
    we keep seeing the same dancers in the advance comp over and over again ..... where is the new blood, or are they just shy
    Possibly competing at an advanced level is just such a different (and separate) discipline, that most club dancers don't have the time or inclination to do so?

    I'm a real competition-sceptic, of course; I think competitions are mainly used (at least at the advanced level) as business promotion tools. "Come and do X and Y's workshop, they won the Lower Sidcup World Championships three years in a row"...

    Mind you, I'm also warped by the world of salsa "competitions", it wouldn't surprise me if there was a Lower Sidcup salsa world championship...

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,227
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidJames
    Possibly competing at an advanced level is just such a different (and separate) discipline, that most club dancers don't have the time or inclination to do so?
    I actually think it is a mentality thing. Most dancers in the UK that I have met enjoy the dancing for dancing's sake. In NZ and OZ this is completely different. People are incredible competitive. the result is that you have very well attended competitions and a lot of new competitors coming through.

    When I noticed how the ball is rolling down-under it always reminded me of the times of the cold war: USSR and USA were fighting it out with sports. Competitions were used to display ones superiority. The same kinda thing is what happens down-under. Positive side effect is that people spend a lot of time exercising.

  10. #10
    Registered User Lynn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Belfast
    Posts
    8,925
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by under par
    I have only entered one non DWAS competition.
    My partner and I practised several flashy moves which I tried to put in whenever the music suited. what went around them was totally unscripted but hopefully in time to the music.
    Having seen a bit of your preparation I think you had a great balance of practicing some neat moves, then freestyling them with the music. Which worked really well - and clearly the judges thought so too!

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Swindon Wilts
    Posts
    264
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andreas
    I actually think it is a mentality thing. Most dancers in the UK that I have met enjoy the dancing for dancing's sake. In NZ and OZ this is completely different. People are incredible competitive. the result is that you have very well attended competitions and a lot of new competitors coming through.

    When I noticed how the ball is rolling down-under it always reminded me of the times of the cold war: USSR and USA were fighting it out with sports. Competitions were used to display ones superiority. The same kinda thing is what happens down-under. Positive side effect is that people spend a lot of time exercising.
    I think competitions should encourage freestyle in competition by scoring style and musicality higher.
    I for one am not impressed by routines that are based almost completely on lifts and airsteps, a trend i think we have picked up from OZ.
    Typically the man moves from one big move to another often ignoring the music leaving the lady to do all the musicality. The big moves wow the crowd but is it dancing? Personally i want to see the man dance with style and finesse not just as the foil for his partner

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    96
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Cool
    I think competitions should encourage freestyle in competition by scoring style and musicality higher.
    I for one am not impressed by routines that are based almost completely on lifts and airsteps, a trend i think we have picked up from OZ.
    Typically the man moves from one big move to another often ignoring the music leaving the lady to do all the musicality. The big moves wow the crowd but is it dancing? Personally i want to see the man dance with style and finesse not just as the foil for his partner
    im attracting negative rep at the moment . ive still got 31 points left, so may as well continue speaking my mind until its all used up.

    its all very well saying musicality should be scored higher, but there is a big problem. people arent that good at it. it takes more than hitting a couple of breaks to be 'musical'. what about the rest of the song? 'feeling the music' is ok for you and your partner, but has little visible effect on most dancers. if you cant see it then how do you expect the judges to mark it?

    people are a lot better at doing flashy moves. they can fill a whole dance with them, so when they get the judges attention for their 10 seconds they get their flashy moves seen.

    the few dancers that are visibly good at 'musicality' are usually just good at one type of music, or the dancing becomes too individual and not a partner dance any more. funky solo dancing does not interpret smooth blues.

    musicality means different things to different people. i thought viktor and carol were superb at jive masters last year, but other people had a completely different opinion.

    you are not alone in your vocal dislike of airsteps , and one airsteps couple in particular. so mr cool, a question for you. who, aside from this couple, does more than one decent airstep in freestyle comps? how many dont do any?

    imho the australian influence has been on presentation. this was almost nonexistent a few years ago, and is far better now.

    i would like to see musicality rewarded, but only if it is done well enough. while im waiting for that to happen id like the rest of the dancing to be interesting.

    alex

  13. #13
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    I believe that it is possible for an advanced dancer who knows a particular track to be able to choreograph it on the fly, including long sequences of moves. This is outside of my personal zone, and I am extrapolating such extraordinary abilities from my experiences in other fields.

    I also believe that there are quite a number that know a track and can remember sequences of moves that fit in perfectly. I do not see this as "cheating", or to be discounted, but rather as an extrapolation of the ability to remember one move that fits. We all learned language starting with one word at a time, and moving through phrases to sentences. I think the language of dance is the same.

    There is usually a difference between exhibition dance and partner dance. The only real way to assess partner dancing is for the partners to do the judging. Otherwise we we have to assess what we see, and the feelings that that arouses, rather than experience first-hand the "connection". It is usually beyond our ability to see the nuances, so we have to settle for competitors "dancing big".

  14. #14
    Registered User jockey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    316
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Minnie M
    I reckon the judges are looking for a wow factor as well as dancing chemistry and musicality as well as being technically good. The standard in the advance just gets better and better

    Problem is in the lower end ...... we keep seeing the same dancers in the advance comp over and over again ..... where is the new blood, or are they just shy
    The last time I did Blackpool (2004) the advanced dancers were to be seen in the intermediate section pothunting - 5 advanced couples filled 5 of the six final places in the intermediate final; we made the semis and with insider help worked out we were about 9th or 10th. Therefore if they had stayed where they belonged Amaia and I would have made the final. That"s a 600 mile round trip from Brighton and how far is it from Spain? (ironic)
    (Was that whinging or criticism? Answers on discarded competition entry forms only)

  15. #15
    Registered User jockey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    316
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidJames
    Possibly competing at an advanced level is just such a different (and separate) discipline, that most club dancers don't have the time or inclination to do so?

    I'm a real competition-sceptic, of course; I think competitions are mainly used (at least at the advanced level) as business promotion tools. "Come and do X and Y's workshop, they won the Lower Sidcup World Championships three years in a row"...

    Mind you, I'm also warped by the world of salsa "competitions", it wouldn't surprise me if there was a Lower Sidcup salsa world championship...
    The most successfull comp couple in recent years, Clayton and Janine, dont teach and are not allied, especially to any dance co. in this country which could be promoted by their winning as they are Australian.
    So one big counterexample; and there are others; a link between judging criteria and the aims and values of the organisers is not something I would entirely rule out of court (it helps to be young and slim, alledgedly) though...

  16. #16
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Norf Lundin
    Posts
    17,001
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by alex
    im attracting negative rep at the moment . ive still got 31 points left, so may as well continue speaking my mind until its all used up.
    ?? Nahhh, you've gotta do something really dumb to reach that level...

    Quote Originally Posted by alex
    its all very well saying musicality should be scored higher, but there is a big problem. people arent that good at it.
    { snip lots of good points }
    Well, my response to that is that, assuming you're a believer in the value of competitions, people will only get good at musicality if this factor becomes more important in the judging criteria. If judges only judged on musicality, you can bet that competitors would work on that aspect.

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver
    I believe that it is possible for an advanced dancer who knows a particular track to be able to choreograph it on the fly, including long sequences of moves.
    Certainly sounds plausible to a large degree - for much of a familiar track I'd imagine you'd remember particular musical sequences and move sequences you could do to those musical sequences.

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver
    The only real way to assess partner dancing is for the partners to do the judging.
    That's very interesting. Are you suggesting "Dance with a judge" (DWAJ ) competitions?

    Hmmm....I can't see any reason why this would be an inherently dumb idea. Possibly a bit too radical, but I like it. And for me, that's good.

    Quote Originally Posted by jockey
    (it helps to be young and slim, alledgedly)
    Next you'll be telling me that winners are chosen because they'll look good on the publicity shots.

  17. #17
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidJames
    ...That's very interesting. Are you suggesting "Dance with a judge" (DWAJ ) competitions?

    Hmmm....I can't see any reason why this would be an inherently dumb idea. Possibly a bit too radical, but I like it. And for me, that's good. ...
    I read something on the Internet that seemed to suggest that they had dance competitions in the USA where they swapped partners, and the ladies judged the men, and vice versa. I failed to to get any clear info on if, or how, it happened. I have tried to think of ways such a competition could be organised, but am not yet convinced by any of them.

  18. #18
    Teacher Paul F's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Caterham, Surrey
    Posts
    2,408
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Im very tired after just driving home from Surrey but I am going to give my humble opinions for what they are worth, starting with a bit of a sweeping statement.

    I dont consider those that win the advanced section of a competition as the best dancers. (may as well start with a bit of controversy)

    ....at least, not the best outside of the showcase dancers.

    Whether you can dance well with a regular partner or with a stranger is completely different. I have seen some cases where dancing with a regular partner has decreased the ability of the guy/girl to freestyle.
    To me, the best dancers are the ones who can consistently dance to a high degree with numerous different partners. I dare say a lot of the competition winners cant!

    Unfortunately though this current way is how competitions are judged in most styles. The category may well call for freestyle but what is delivered is anything but IMO.

    I think most guys would have a few mini-routines that they like to do but it boils down to whether their partner is familiar with them. If they are not familiar with it the guy then has to work hard to lead it and the lady to follow it. Perfect! Thats something I would like to watch.

    I wish there was some way of developing the 'Dance With A Stranger' idea as this really does show the leading/following ability of the couple. Alas, I guess its unfair to potentially pair up a seasoned dancer with a beginner ....or is it?


    Its this ability to 'grab' someone and dance with them that makes Ceroc so enjoyable to a lot of people. This should be reflected in the competitions. If we want to see choreographed sequences we can watch those categories.

  19. #19
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Norf Lundin
    Posts
    17,001
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul F
    { everything he said }
    A very big to all those points.

    I'm still intrigued by the DWAJ idea though...

    And obviously I've patented, copyrighted and trademarked that term, so I'll sue if anyone ever uses it again. Ever.

  20. #20
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,227
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: What is Freestyle in Dance Competitions?

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidJames
    A very big to all those points.

    Totally agree with your agreement.

    Excellent post Paul and I'd give you rep if I could.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Dance Competitions are Evil
    By Gus in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 83
    Last Post: 8th-November-2005, 07:21 PM
  2. Do Dancers Win Dance Competitions?
    By Jive Brummie in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 68
    Last Post: 26th-July-2005, 01:35 PM
  3. Dance competitions next six months
    By stewart38 in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 25th-October-2004, 01:28 PM
  4. Competitions
    By skippy in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 9th-September-2003, 07:11 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •