Dear Casey: Are choreographed sequences acceptable during a dance contest to live music?
by Casey Schneider
Dear Casey is a satirical twist on the advice columns found in news media. Send your questions to casey@lindybloggers.com
Dear Casey,
What’s your take on competitive dancing? Is it cool or not to have choreographed sequences and pull them out during a contest that is danced to live music? The recent Hellzapoppin’ contest at Frankie95 sparked a debate on the subject (which itself is not new). On one hand, choreography on live music often looks choreographed, and doesn’t necessarily fit the music. On the other however, in order to pull off tricks and to make airsteps less dangerous, it’s useful to have prepared stuff. What’s the best way to go at it?
Please give me advice on how to win!
Jaded competitor
Dear Jaded,
A timely question… Over the last 7 years or so, I’ve observed a distinct trend toward highly choreographed sequences in competitions. I am generally supportive and happy for this, because executing choreography well requires practice and practice makes for better execution and therefore better and more entertaining competitions. Generally, it’s been a win-win. And, as you point out, when a lead is throwing a follower through the air, practical safety concerns necessitate that elements of air steps (i.e. at least the entry) are planned. Not having bloodied, mangled bodies littering the dance floor is also generally a win-win. Thankfully, gladitorial style lindy hop hasn’t caught on. Lastly, as a bit of a purist myself, I hearken back to the grand ol’ daddy of competitions - the Harvest Moon Ball. Those dancers definitely executed choreographies and what’s good enough for a Harvest Moon Ball winner is good enough for me.
That said, there is a fine line between preparedness and over-choreographing. Sequences that demonstrate little to no relationship to common swing music song structures will seem forced and unnatural. For example, a choreographic idea will make more sense if it resolves or culminates at the end of the phrase (read: an air step will generally look more appropriate at the end of a phrase than anywhere else).
I also enjoy some good old fashioned social dancing in a competition. This allows for the truly special and spontaneous moments between dancers and the music where the elements of our art form in a perfect way. (Wow, that was a little touchy-feely. Pardon me. That’s what she said.) The best competitive dancers understand their dance and the music so well, that these moments can and do occur. (Notice I said “best” - IMO, of course - and not most successful.)
Enough of my soap box - you need recommendations. Since I haven’t danced in a strictly in over two years, take this for what it’s worth (although I did win it, so this shouldn’t be totally douchey advice):
1. Prepare choregraphic sequences, but make them short. There’s nothing wrong with longer sequences, but shorter ones are more flexible depending on what type of format you’re given. Whether in an all skate or a spot light, you can easily “plug in” these sequences. You can link them together or separate them with non-choreographed dancing.
2. Do a few things differently. If you’re in spot light format you get the bridge of a song, dance differently than the other competitors that got the A sections (or from how you danced in the A section). The band is doing something different; shouldn’t the dancers? This shows you’re listening to the music. Also, try swinging out on 7. You’ll be amazed at how much of your regular “social” dancing moves hit something in the music without any effort.
3. Dress the part. For better or worse, we’re visual creatures. When I’m judging, my eye naturally tends towards the more attractive and put together couples. This is certainly not to say that I’d advance or place them based on appearance, but when your one couple of 10 (or dear god, 35 at Camp Jitterbug) on the floor in a pre-lim, your primary goal should be getting as much of the judges’ “eye time” as possible.
4. Bribery. I don’t accept sexual favors, but I do take money and chocolate. Email me and I’ll give you my address.
Try not to be jaded. This is just swing dancing. It’s fun. (Remember, many of the top competitors need to compete to keep their names in the public consciousness so that they can continue to be hired and paid to teach and perform. There’s nothing wrong with this at all, but competing is therefore also a business decision for those that rely on dance as their primary source of income.)
Good luck,
Casey
Send your questions to casey@lindybloggers.com and read her previous post Dear Casey: When is it appropriate to ask instructors and professional dancers for advice
This was debated in groups I talked to at Frankie95 too. We generally felt that this particular contest was not the greatest we’d ever seen because of SO much blatant choreography.
However, in the defense of the competitors- the music they were given to dance to was pretty lame. There wasn’t anything that exciting to work with, yet they needed to work in some flashy moves for the win…. so you had a lot of flash that had nothing to do with the music. It may have turned out differently if the band had been one of the Sunday night bands instead…. perhaps one sponsored by the Sydney Bechet foundation…
This is such a popular topic right now. I have been asked so much about “American contests” and formats and even had someone(s) from another country ask about a few contests and said, “how is it possible that everyone knows these same jazz steps and how do people prepare for the contests and how come they social dance the same steps in every contest etc…” Well, I sat down with them and told them about the mini-choreographies that people put together and I showed videos of the same choreos from contest to contest and let me tell you, these people were in SHOCK! I had crushed their dream and felt bad about it, but thought they deserved to know the truth of things. They thought all these contests were completely 100% lead and follow and were wondering “how the Americans did it etc?” I felt bad bursting their bubble, but what Casey said is true and I agree that preparing some stuff ahead of time can and does make for a win-win situation.
That being said, I have to say, I am a little tired of people not listening at all to the music and I am also tired of people saying “well, the music didn’t inspire me….etc” Come on! You are in a finals and you are creative souls and it is up to you to make something awesome out of that music. Do we need more exciting music? Not usually, we just need better listeners, I think. I have so many thoughts on this stuff, but I will leave it here on the music part of things. But urrgghhhh!! I have seen some people say the music “doesn’t inspire me and then seen other couples out there during that same song tearing it up.” So, hmmmm, I don’t usually think it is the music that is the problem area. Sorry to be so forward. Anyway, this is a different topic, back to the main stage.
Why the heck are people, myself included, judged in a prelims or semi-finals based on our social dancing in all-skates, longer spotlights, non-jam formats, and then, when taken into the finals asked to choreograph or prepare 8 eights & be judged by a whole other set of rules? Why are we not judged on the same criterium both times? I mean, we are asked to dance one way to get to the finals and then asked to dance a different way in the finals (not always, but often enough).
Let me say it again….We dance one way in a prelims to get there and then dance another way in the finals? I don’t understand this discrepancy sometimes? And then, I know that judges are told at some events to remember to “pick the people” who will put on the best show in the finals and that it is jam format in the finals. Is this fair? Me thinks not! I have seen people dance totally off in prelims but only to make it because they are known to be fierce in finals. I have felt myself rewarded in the past too and this sucks. Why, if people are expected to jam in the finals, do they not have to deliver that in the prelims too? Why, if you are judged in the prelims based on your social dance skills, are you not expected to deliver some of or a lot of those same social dance skills in the finals too? When I run my “own dance contest” I will make sure there is some consistency between the prelims and the finals. I guess, until then, many of us will have to continue to play the same game we have been playing because we want to dance and we want to work hard and we want to be out there for a plethora of reasons. Well, there are a few of my thoughts. Enjoy.
Carla - very interesting points and agreed RE your comments on criteria A (largely ’social’ dancing in prelims or even worse, the supposition that a couple will be enteraining in the finals) and B (largely how well the execute choreographic sequences in final rounds). I am always interested in seeing different competion formats. It wasn’t so long ago that ’spotlighting’ in phrase battle style was a new thing…maybe we’re ready for another new thing…
I am pretty sure I am ready for a new thing, but I think I am alone on this, or rather more alone than I would like to be to make a change happen. Some of the Pros and competitors I talk to seem “indifferent” to the format or that they actually like it. I have even heard people say that they like the format because they know they will “rock it” in the finals because it is choreography and they know they will put on a better “show.” While I can agree with aspects of a better show happening because people are prepared, what I don’t like is the inconsistency of the judging format and the lack of emphasis on the “social dancing.” Even in Jack & Jills now done to phrasing, I feel the social dance aspect becomes even less of a priority. The leaders can technically plan their 8 eights out in advance…hmmmmm!!! I say, bring on the MORE challenging songs to see what really happens then; you know, songs like “Harlem Air Shaft!” I always make my troupes and partners practice to this song. Seriously!
Anyway, if people want to do choreographies or the organizers want to see planned Jams, then why not have 2 separate divisions: one that is called “Strictly Social Dancing” and one that is called “Jam Competitions” or something catchier, but you get what I am saying ; )
I use to like the old format of the American Showcase, which had you dance to slower tempos, faster tempos and both were improv and then you also did a routine. That certainly shows a lot of different skill sets.
more later….
Hey Carla - I don’t not think you are alone on this idea of a new format. In fact, I think you have a lot more friends than you think. I do agree that there is room for both formats: “Strictly Social” and “Jam”.
These days, I find that these labels have been jumbled up into “Strictly” (which is pretty much the jam format) and “Jack ‘n Jill” (which to me indicates more of a lead-follow challenge - in other words, social dancing).
Hey, if you decide to put on an event with a focus on this topic, I’ll be there
I am with you in this one Carla. I believe that when the rules of the contest state that is a social dance contest and you see choreographed pieces in the jams in the finals I get a little disillusioned by it all. If they have the rules keep ‘em consistent.
And to speak to the notion of “if the old timers did it, it must be good” I disagree. We are part of an evolving art form and just because people did it one way in the past doesn’t mean we should repeat it. It may have been good back then but I think we can aspire to far more now.
Now, I know the benefit of choreographed bits but it pains me to watch them. Tricks and flash only go so far when there isn’t enough substance behind it. A very important part of that substance is working with the music. When it’s not there (as seen recently in competitions at Frankie 95 and Camp Jitterbug) I lose heart in the direction of the dance.
Now the best dancers can do tricks and flash with the music and still dance the hell out of it, but they aren’t necessarily the most successful dancers in competition or they may be done with competing and leave it to others. I can’t say for certain.
Just popped in to say Casey is smart and everybody should listen to her. And so is Carla.
I, too, am sick of the over-choreographedness. To me dancing is a physical response to the music. If you’re not responding to the music, what in the bejeesus are you doing out there? I’ll tell you what - exercising. And watching someone else exercise isn’t exactly entertaining or inspiring to me. I want to see art, not a workout.
Ya know what REALLY bugs the crapola outa me? When a couple actually dances offtime because their rehearsed sequence of tricks works better faster than the song being played. FAIL.
Let it be known that when I judge a contest I will knock off time couples down to the bottom, no matter what else they do. You’re not dancing anymore if you’re off time for a length of time. And it’s a dancing competition.
And couples who do lengthy bits of choreo with no connection whatsoever to the music will also get knocked down.
If you get the piano solo on your turn, it CANNOT look the same as the trumpet solo. Period.
But don’t think I’m anti-choreography or anything. I totally dig mini-routines that show off cool stuff otherwise not possible. But I REALLY DIG when they’re used well.
A swingout is a piece of choreography, ya know. You can’t get it done with pure lead and follow. There was at least a little practice to get both partners to a place where it could be executed. But it’s how you use it, how you color it, how you style it, when you start and stop it, etc, that makes it musical or not. And you can do the EXACT same thing with tricks. If you’re good, that is.
I’d like more of that please. And less jazzercise. Thanks.
Good points all over the place!
I have to note that I happen to like jam-style formats. That’s not to say I like the disconnect between judging criteria for social-style prelims and jam-style finals, but I do happen to love jam-style stuff, or trading phrases, or what have you. Personally, I get more inspired as a dancer and as a competitor when I know I have to “top” what a person just did, or feed off of it, or turn it into something new. I feel much more like an unknown face in the crowd when I’m thrown into a competition with something like 34 other couples.
That being said, I would love to see a unity between formats so that dancers/competitors can stay consistent in their goals, and I think that this would fuel or feed into more transparency between judges, competitors, and audience. I actually am not a fan of audience-judged competitions at all, but sometimes judges make decisions that seem completely at odds with the decisions I or anyone else I talk to would have made (that sounds cocky, but really I just mean that those people as an audience are not a “MORE TRICKS!” kind of crowd usually, and that we appreciate movement quality and musicality), and I think a lot of that has to do with my (our) expectations being different than what the judges want to see–obviously small differences, as judges usually don’t completely disregard technique or musicality or anything
It’s possible that a standard format consistent across the entirety of a competition would help eliminate or at least clear that sort of thing up. Too bad I don’t have specific ideas how to accomplish this..
PS: Carla, you’re totally right re: Harlem Air Shaft! It was played for my last dance in prelims at the CJ Jack ‘n Jill, and I think that Kat having made my lead listen to it over and over again before we got to Seattle had a lot to do with how good our dance was
I agree with a lot of what’s being said here. Especially the idea of “strictly” not being just strictly lindy anymore with all the implied choreography for finals. Carla, I’ve had that same thought watching the discrepancy between criteria for prelims vs finals. That’s why I almost prefer Jack and Jills these days–it’s more interesting to me to see how people match up with each other and what “tricks” can be thrown out in a social dancing format.
It seems that when I was starting out, there was almost the opposite situation…I remember distinctly at ALHC 2000 that the winning couple for one of the Showcase divisions just social danced the whole “routine.” Zero choreography. Although these days it seems like we are inundated with choreography in strictly competitions (especially after seeing Hellzapoppin and CJ 2009 back to back with many of the same couples executing the same material–which let me just add here that I would LOVE to be able to do any of that stuff in a high pressure situation with 2000 people watching), sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. For example, I was really impressed with ILHC’s strictly comps last year–the song for the Advanced finals was not blazing fast and all of the couples social danced it. And even for the Champions division, I thought it was great how 2 of the 3 songs they played were mid-tempo so everyone had a chance to showcase their social dancing talents.
In that sense, I don’t think the American Showcase division at ALHC is such a bad idea. I did it one year and managed to do OK in the final round without even having a proper showcase (we did a box step and then social danced for 2 minutes) because we did fine in the social dancing comps. In fact, I think the fast round really just is a fast-tempo showcase, which is ultimately what the jams turn into anyway, right? Just a thought…let me know what you put together, Carla
As far as I’m concerned, Strictly comps, J&J’s, solo comps, Hellzapoppin’, or any other comp are first and foremost, DANCE Competitions. Dance comes from MUSIC. The music is it’s guide, it tells the story, it sets the tone, the energy, and most importantly (for swing at least) the RHYTHM of the series of moments that follow. I feel like the Swingout is one of the most successful movements in Lindy hop because it is founded in its rhythmic environment, Swing Jazz, and that much of the recent contest dancing purposefully divorces itself from the music for the sake of attention. It seems like alot of what is becoming acceptable becomes so at the expense of the rhythm and music that drives our dance.
It is a very sad thing to watch a dance become split from what makes it so incredibly unique, which is the improvised conversation between two dancers as they explore the music together. That improvisation is so enrapturing, and it’s what stole my heart away when I first fell in love with Lindy hop and Vernacular Jazz dance. Taking that time to connect to a song and to your partner, even in a comp, and then express that connection through movement is where the best and truest dancing comes from; it is DANCING that is born from the music and the moment, not movement that is set to rhythm and tempo. Those dancers who dance best can feel what the MUSIC will say, and then DANCE it with the music, or they let the music guide their movements as honestly as they can. For these reasons, Andy Reid is one of my favorite dancers and competitors. He takes that connection with his partner and with the music first, and then invites you in to see what he’s doing, rather than doing the biggest movements possible to gain attention.
As far as I’m concerned, aerials, tricks, slides, and the like are just other ways of dancing the music. A pancake can be just as musical and honest as a tuck-turn, which can be the same as a circle slide. When I started dancing, dance competitions were for the best dancers to go out and kick some ass by dancing their hearts out, and those who piled these layers of artifice onto their dancing DIDN’T get the nod.
I worry that comps are becoming just another attraction of events, and no longer a place of inspiration, which is what I feel like most dancers today are looking for. Some genuine, honest inspiration that comes from the source of our rhythmic dance. When I watch some couple dance and their inspiration reaches me, THAT is when I feel the dance the most.
The Final thing to consider is that our dance and our dance community is still young. We’re still searching for what works best for US as LINDY HOPPERS. We can’t think of our dance the same way that Ballroom dancers think of theirs, or even that WCS dancers do. We have a very unique dance, and I think a new way of organizing comps is fine, as long as it reflects the nature of the dance. I do think that a great deal of the competition trends and social dance trends are done in a kind of effort to be cool, or gain prestige, which just comes from the wrong place for this dance.
We are bringing back the Jedi swing contest (blindfolded Jack ‘n Jill with helpers to prevent collisions) next week in Montreal. I can hardly see people doing choreographed sequences to it
Btw, Mike Roberts, one of the finalists in the contest, posted an informative reply on Yehoodi. I’ve copy pasted it below:
Choreography can really rock, when done well. Choreography to me is like leaving the house and knowing where to go instead of just getting in the car and driving based on pure feeling and instinct. That is what competitions do in comparison to just pure social dancing. They literally tell you where it is you have to go and what you have to do to get there or win.
{weird, I can’t believe I am actually writing this, cause I do very little choreography in competitions, but I do see the point}
I can imagine that without choreography, it is going to be pretty hard to win some of these competitions that often award well executed choreography. It never hurts to leave the house knowing you want to eat, or even knowing exactly where you are going to eat. However, I still have to drive there, abide by the traffic rules, and keep and eye on the road or I will never end up with that double double animal style. If I pre determined the speed I were going to drive, what time to turn, how much time it was going to take, and pre planed what is usually the magical adaption in the middle I would end up in a wreck…as I and many of us have. This is what happens to many of us when we choreograph and grind in the timing and feel of how it will be executed or just get tense and ridiculous when we compete.
So if I have a choreography I am determined to do, the very least I try to do is execute it in Rhythm. I mean, all good dance music has good rhythm driving it, and if you are going to choreograph and potentially risk missing a lot of the phrasing and melodic elements in the song, at least dance it in Rhythm. Then I can still say, I was just listening to that rhythm guide me through this badass choreography. Maybe it is not enough, but its not off. Rhythm for me is the main part of the music and the one part not to miss if you are going to make sacrifices.
If my desire to execute a routine, or even a social variation, causes me to tense up and loose connection to the most fundamental part of the music, then I think there should be a question as to what the hell it is I am doing. Then I wonder what all that time spent practicing was actually for and if it could have been spent in a better way.
Of course, at the least I aim to dance in Rhythm and if I can bring it further, adjust the plan to fit the feel, the intensity, the phrasing and even manage to express the lyrical and melodic parts of the music, then I will be slammin’. It would be like great social dancing on crack. This for me is a great goal, but better yet, and awesome path to swing down.
-Dax
[...] the use of pre-planned choreographed sequences in social dance contests for awhile now. (Yehoodi, Lindybloggers, and White Heat) Event directors Nina Gilkenson, Tena, and Sylvia shared those same concerns. At [...]
If you want to turn Lindy into a international ballrroom dance by all means encourage choreography and set sequences.
The difference between dancing and gymnastic’s is that you are supposed to be interpreting the the music in movemnt when you are dancing.
If you are so dumb you can’t or don’t want to improvise to the music, then there are plently of ballroom dance classes available. They’ve got things to the stage where the muisic is more or less irelevant to what they do
If you want to do gymnastics to beat, well do gymnastics. . . . .
Less than 1 in 5 people naturally dance to a beat, less than 1 in 10 naturally pick up the rhythm in a piece of music, so in order to make things ‘interesting’ for non dancers its necessary to ’spice things up’ with ariels and footwork that is completely irrelevant to the music.
This is how ‘marrionette’ styl of international ballroom developed (Ballroom Jive is supposed to be derived from LIndy) - God help us if the Lindy community decide this is the way to go. . . .