Those of us who are DanceSport Athlete members of USA Dance have already received notice of a new event for Nationals. Perhaps inspired by Dancing with the Stars, perhaps by the relatively new Show Dance competitions for professionals, Nationals will include a Freestyle-Showdance division for amateur couples.
The first Freestyle-Showdance competition was to be an invitational, meaning couples were invited to submit a video recording of the routine they proposed to perform and a committee would select up to six couples to compete. There were no qualified entrants in this division for 2011, but I hope some couples will put something together this year.
The biggest considerations for amateur dancers interested in preparing a routine are the following rules (more detail on which are in the USA Dance Rulebook, free download at www.usadance.org):
- Competitors from all four disciplines may enter: International Standard, International Latin, American Smooth, or American Rhythm; all will dance against each other in a single event (as on "America's Ballroom Challenge").
- The Freestyle event is considered a championship-level event, open to couples in the Youth division and above (not preteen or junior).
- Submitted routines must be between 3:30 and 4:00 in length, excluding entrance and exit, with a maximum of 30 seconds for entry prior to beginning the dance and a maximum of 30 seconds for exit after concluding the dance, with a brief coda of music permitted to underline the couple's exit.
- Each routine must, to be considered for competition, include sections of choreography representing at least three of the dances included in the couple's discipline. For example, a couple entering an American Rhythm routine must include some combination of Rumba, Cha-Cha, East Coast Swing, Bolero, and/or Mambo. It can't be three minutes of Charleston or West Coast Swing with a few East Coast Swing figures thrown in.
- At least 75% of each routine's choreography must represent the dances selected from the discipline. Thus, for the illustrative four-minute Rhythm routine, at least three minutes must represent the selected dances, while up to a minute may involve elements of other dances and dance forms.
- Props are not permitted - that is, nothing that must be carried on or off the floor and/or is not part of the performers' costume.
- Lifts are permitted - a maximum of three lifts per performance, but only in the transitional elements between dances, and not exceeding two measures of music or 15 seconds in duration each. A lift is defined as any movement in which a dancer has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of his/her partner. (Anyone who watches DWTS will recognize Carrie Ann in this. Also, this helps make clear why it is not considered a "lift" if the partner is being assisted or supported, but at least one foot is on the floor. It's a trick, yes - but not a lift.)
- Thus, for the exemplary Rhythm routine, a couple might choreograph a 15-second passage of mambo or tango; transition with a 1st 15-second lift to one minute of cha-cha; then transition with a 2nd 15-second lift to one minute of rumba; then transition with a third and final 15-second lift to one minute of bolero for a total of four minutes.
- One important thing: all dance styles must be at the correct competition tempi. So music will need to be edited. This raises the sophistication level considerably, in terms of the amateur couple and the coach all needing to have some technical ability, or access to it.
It should be noted that many, if not most, of the couples interested in the Freestyle-Showdance event will be couples already well advanced as competitors; the technical work involved will be beyond the scope of most beginning dancers, and the challenge of putting together a long routine that segues between three dance styles is significant. However, anyone who has already prepared and performed any kind of show dance - even if partnered by a professional, as many of our local showcase dancers were - might want to give some thought to this possibility.
Our Los Angeles dancers were sadly under-represented at the USA Dance Nationals which occurred here in 2010. I don't expect many to make it to Baltimore this year - even Mr. P and I don't plan to go. But if this new event is successful, it will be repeated, and Nationals will be back here in 2013. You'd better believe I have my sights set on Freestyle!