Finals must be earned
The firestorm of controversy about the recent SnowBall Classic finals stretches all the way from Montreal to Vancouver. Judging from a stream of E-mail traffic these past two days, it seems that all the talk at Classique has related to the fact that Canada's top couples didn't get marked into the finals at two key SnowBall events. Apparently, some people are upset that these couples didn't get automatically called back by the Canadian judge.
Last time I checked, it was expected that you had to earn your way into any final, it was never a "right" based on previous results. So what if Anton and Karolina were in the finals of the World Championship Ten Dance a few months ago. That doesn't automatically grant them entrance into every world-class Ten Dance final from that point on, Canadian judge or not. People are trying to call this a sport, yet they're expecting politics to take precedence over the quality of dancing. I was at the event. Here's what I observed:
Similar shapes, different levels of qualityKamil and Kateryna are Canada's top Latin couple and both are superb natural dancers. Yet their technique simply doesn't match that of the European couples. To the inexperienced eye, many things go unnoticed because the athletic activity level is fast and furious. But judges are paid to see things we usually miss. Like feet turned in rather than out. Knees bent when they should be straight. Shoulders pulled up slightly or the head moving ahead of the movement of the spine. Judges see these things, and so does the camera. In the two photos shown here, you can see somewhat similar moves which demonstrate the contrast between Canadian and European quality. At the top, you can see that Kamil's weight is too far back. Note the incorrect balance of weight, with Katya's left foot lifting early. Kamil's left leg is not as straight as it should be. Compare that to Jurij and Jagoda of Slovenia, who show perfect form. The contrast is remarkable. In many of the pictures I took, Kamil's feet are not correct, and his weight is often in the wrong place. The photos of the Europeans, in sharp contrast, always show excellent or perfect form.
I'm not nearly at Kamil's level of quality, so I would not notice such things while watching them dance, but these are the kind of things judges look for, and if the Canadian judge didn't feel this level of quality matched what was shown by six of the European couples, then it gives me faith that the system is working the way it should. Kamil and Katya may be great natural dancers, but they need to work on the basics.
Anton and Karolina did not dance up to their normal level on the weekend, and even syllabus dancers were noting it in discussions throughout the day. Which of the more deserving European couples should have been left out of the Ten Dance final just so that the Canadian couple could be in it? For Kamil or Anton, or their coaches, or anyone else to feel that they should have been marked into the final regardless of how they danced is absurd. If we want this sport to be taken seriously we need to take it seriously ourselves. Only when we admit that we have work to do to match the quality of dancing in the rest of the world will we begin to develop the skills needed to compete effectively. The last thing we need to do is expect our judges to show favoritism. That, in my opinion, would destroy everything. Bravo to the Canadian judge for having the guts to call it like it was.
Last time I checked, it was expected that you had to earn your way into any final, it was never a "right" based on previous results. So what if Anton and Karolina were in the finals of the World Championship Ten Dance a few months ago. That doesn't automatically grant them entrance into every world-class Ten Dance final from that point on, Canadian judge or not. People are trying to call this a sport, yet they're expecting politics to take precedence over the quality of dancing. I was at the event. Here's what I observed:
Similar shapes, different levels of quality
I'm not nearly at Kamil's level of quality, so I would not notice such things while watching them dance, but these are the kind of things judges look for, and if the Canadian judge didn't feel this level of quality matched what was shown by six of the European couples, then it gives me faith that the system is working the way it should. Kamil and Katya may be great natural dancers, but they need to work on the basics.
Anton and Karolina did not dance up to their normal level on the weekend, and even syllabus dancers were noting it in discussions throughout the day. Which of the more deserving European couples should have been left out of the Ten Dance final just so that the Canadian couple could be in it? For Kamil or Anton, or their coaches, or anyone else to feel that they should have been marked into the final regardless of how they danced is absurd. If we want this sport to be taken seriously we need to take it seriously ourselves. Only when we admit that we have work to do to match the quality of dancing in the rest of the world will we begin to develop the skills needed to compete effectively. The last thing we need to do is expect our judges to show favoritism. That, in my opinion, would destroy everything. Bravo to the Canadian judge for having the guts to call it like it was.
