BALLROOM COMPETITION

You are interested in competition and are new to ballroom dancing......GREAT!!  The following is some basic information one needs to understand about ballroom competition in order that one makes an informed decision.

Which Style is right for me?

There are several categories of competitive ballroom dancing to choose from. There are Bronze - Gold levels of syllabus to learn, advancing then to the Open/Championship Divisions. Here is a list of categories:

        American Style SMOOTH
        American Style RHYTHM

   Ian Folker & Gioia Covo                      International Style STANDARD
   Ohio Star Ball, OH                               International Style LATIN

The American Style Smooth and Rhythm were created by the Fred Astaire/Arthur Murray schools and all the figures are based on the BOX step. These steps then develop into a beautiful open style of dancing that resembles the type of dancing performe by Fred Astair. This style of dance is native to the United States and is rarely found anywhere else in the world.


The International Style of dancing is much more strict in its technique and develops into a more stylized form of ballroom dancing. Seen on TV, this style is often called the "Competitive Style". It was created out of many different styles of dance and standardized by the British dancers in England. International style is danced SOCIALLY virtually anywhere in the world so if one travels and know International style one will be able to go to any social studio and be able to dance!


ENTERING A COMPETITION

There are several ways a dancer can enter in competition......as a Pro-Am or Am-Am.

Pro-Am competition is an event whereby a student can enter competitions with their PRO. All the categories are the same...American, International....Newcomer to Gold and Open Championships. Pro-Am is great for those students who have not found a partner but still want to compete. It is also a way for someone to get exposure on the competition floor in order to "advertise" themselves when looking for a dance partner. The downside to Pro-Am is the EXPENSE. Not only does the student pay for the competition entries......they must also pay the Professional his or her fee for dancing with that student in competition.

Am-Am competition is the best way to compete. Am-Am is defined by two Amateur dancers competing as a partnership. The expenses as an AMATEUR dancer is about half of what the Pro-Am student pays....and the fees to enter and train are always devided between the couple. An Amateur competitior must also belong to the governing organization in order to compete. Please see the AMATEUR COMPETITIVE TRAINING page for more info.

TRAINING FOR COMPETITION



There are several ways to go about training for compeitition. The program should include classes, private lessons and practice sessions. Once a student is advanced enough, classes are not as important as the Private lessons and lots of PRACTICE.


Classes provide information in a group setting. This allows one to learn steps and sequences as well as the opportunity to practice with multiple partners. A student can develop his or her parntering skills by dancing with many different body-types and skill levels that are usually found in a dance class.


Jim Archer & Gioia Covo
Stamford, CT


Private Lessons is where the detail work is done. Once a student (or couple) has learned the steps and sequence in a class, then a Pro can then break down and define what each figure is all about. During these one-on-one sessions the Professional can also refine the LEAD and FOLLOW aspects of the dance. Private lessons are a MUST for anyone working towards competition and they help to support what one is learning in class.


Practice sessions are critical to any dancer, but especially to those working on syllabus or competition dancing. One should try to schedule one or two practice sessions a week, outside of the class &/or private lesson times. The practice sessions should last anywhere from 1 - 2 hours each time. Flexibility is important when scheduling your practice times.....but a regular day & time each week lends to one's improvement much more quickly.

Visit my Amateur Training Program (tm) and RATES pages for more on my classes......and for private lesson pricing.