Contests
06.23.11

One of the cool things about WCS is that most of our contests are socially based. In other words, your dancing is judged on how you interact with a partner without the benefit of a pre-arranged routine and even in many instances with a partner you have danced very little or at all. ( i.e. the Jack and Jill )
 
In ballroom contests, almost all contest activity is built around a particular partner with a routine. In West Coast Swing, we have comparable routine based contests as well, usual at the pro or Rising Star level. As a newer dancer though, the emphasis is on socially based leadable ( vs choreographed)moves in your dancing and thus your skills are measured in that arena. A sense of timing, good technique and teamwork are the essence of good dancing here.
 
So, my question is: Why do contests cause so many to shy away from the floor?
 
Being In The Spotlight?
In most instances, your dancing is in heats until you reach a high level of skill. This entails a number of couples on the floor at any one point in time. Although you will get a fair amount of attention from the audience, you are not alone or the center of the entire floor.
 
Being Judged?
This is the one part that so many folks put too much emphasis on. When you watch dancers on the floor, your eye tends to gravitate to someone that interests you. Their dancing catches you attention and captivates you. You have just judged the floor and found the most appealing team out there. Judging is a formalized version of that process. It is an opinion and that opinion may decide the results of a contest, but it is still an opinion.
 
Add to that the fact that the judges have the entire floor and a duty to score each couple. How much time will each judge get to spend on you? Depending on the size of the field, that may vary quite a bit. in novice contests, the answer can hover at somewhere between 8-10 seconds each! So which 8-10 seconds of your dance gets seen? You just don't know, so fretting about an error that may not get noticed or in the target window of when the judges look at you is just pointless.
 
What you want to do is just go have fun. The more fun you have, the more enticing your dance is going to be to any set of eyes. If you have worked on your dance and have your basics down cold, then you work together with each partner you get trying to maximize your strengths and minimize weaknesses, then you will have had a good technical dance. The rest of it comes down to attitude. Smiling, laughing and enjoying the time you have on the floor with each and every partner goes a long way to taking the fangs out of dancing in a contest.