DanceSport Talk

When I first began to get serious about ballroom dancing, the biggest issue for me was my frame. Of course, that's true for most people who haven't had formal dance training. No matter how good the rest of your technique, a bad frame destroys the look. In Ballroom, especially, dancers at every syllabus level struggle with proper frame. Desperate to improve this weakness, I went out and purchased an obscure item called "The Dance Frame."

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The World Superstars Dance Festival is an annual event held every August in Tokyo, featuring the world's best professional dancers performing breathtaking showcase routines. This year's DVDs are out a little ahead of schedule (we normally don't see them until November).

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I thought it would be helpful for competitive dancers to get some more details on the organizations known as the IDU and the IDSA. Those of us involved in IDSF-associated amateur organizations hear those terms all the time because the IDSF has a policy that you are not to compete in competitions held under these banners. But what are those organizations all about? Note: Additional information came to light in an E-mail responding to this report. You can read more about that here.

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I had an interesting discussion the other day on this whole issue of dance as an art vs. dance as a sport. I don't object to the term "DanceSport" as my friend does, but he made some excellent points. Of course, we all recognize that it is more art than sport. On the other hand, we also know that it takes a considerable level of athletic ability to dance well. But where is the distinction, and what does it mean?

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A lot of dancers, myself included, find ourselves sometimes practicing alone. It's a great chance to work on basics, go over the routines, or work out timing issues. If you're in a studio, you have to put up with the music that's currently playing or use your iPod. I see many dancers now practicing while holding onto their iPods or clipping them to clothing where they (or the cords) can sometimes get in the way.

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Dancers are getting into YouTube, the awesome new online video engine. A vast selection of dance video footage is starting to appear. Just search using the keyword "DanceSport" and you'll see a wide variety of stuff ranging from syllabus home videos to professional competition scenes to lectures.

Most of it is pretty awful, but there are some real gems.

One of the best dancing videos I've found so far on YouTube is a series of excerpts from a lecture by the great Luca Barruchi, the Italian professional champion, and his wife Lorraine.

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My family loves viewing DanceSport competitions. Of course, nothing comes close to the magic of watching dance in all its rich three-dimensional reality on a real floor, with a real audience shouting numbers around you. But the events we can't attend are sometimes available on video, and even those we do attend can be relived to some degree on DVD, so we tend to invest in major DVD releases like Blackpool, the UK Open and others. A new competition DVD has just been released that takes a new approach to making the experience as close as possible to being there.

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As a result of the heated battles taking place on the world scene, DanceSport competition has lost some of its innocence. However, we as members of DSBC don't have to lose heart or despair over what's going on. I believe we can do something constructive to maintain a strong and healthy future.

My vision for DanceSport BC is that members renew their sense of community.

Let's enjoy what we have and build on the strengths that exist to create a stronger, more effective organization. There are many constructive things we can do to rebuild a sense of value and pride in the organization.

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A war of wills is currently underway on the international stage of ballroom DanceSport, representing two very different philosophies. Whether we like it or not, this affects BC DanceSport competitors even when we only dance locally. I hope the following will help give fellow DanceSport BC members some useful insight to understand the current conflict. While I really hate politics in dancing, the more we understand the big picture, the more equipped we are to work through it.

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Born in 1968 as the Western Canada Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association (WCABDA), DanceSport BC originally represented all of Canada west of Manitoba until 1989, when Alberta formed its own organization.

Its mission is to increase public awareness of both social and competitive ballroom dancing, to promote DanceSport and BC-based DanceSport competitors throughout the province and around the world, and to act as an advocate for DSBC members. Part of the responsibility of the organization is to regulate DanceSport competition.

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Among my favorite dance music albums have been the series of "Mix" albums from Casa Musica. Each of the first three sets featured two discs each with generally high quality tracks. While some DanceSport music albums offer only one or two good songs, these have a number of above-average tracks on each album. Casa Musica has just released another pair of these compilations. Here's a quick look at what these new releases have to offer.

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