Last night our West Coast Swing (WCS) dance club had a Jack and Jill contest. Jack and Jill is a contest style in which the contestants draw a (new or unfamiliar) partner on the spot and dance to a song not announced beforehand. So the contest is supposed to mimic social WCS setting.
The little contest was for fun, and in part for preparation for the state contest the club is hosting this year. There are several clubs participating in the OK/KS state championship contest, and once in several years each club has the role of hosting the annual state contest event.
So, how do we determine the winner? I wrote something similar before in this blog, but I'd write this again.
West Coast Swing is highly improvisational dance. After several basics are taught, most dancers keep using the basics and the variations (which are also taught by many pros).
Now, think of ballroom contest for the sake of contrast. The pros use a few established syllabus to teach patterns to the beginning student, and when they have contests at the levels of Bronze, Silver or Gold, the judges are watching the executions of the established patterns.
It is not the case for WCS contests. Numbers or levels of the patterns are not the primary consideration for the judges any more (once they were. Judges even counted the number of patterns in contest. That style of judging didn't work well).
There are important judging criteria for novice/newcomer contest, and they would be considered in this order.
[Timing >> clean execution, partnership > musicality, fun (smiling dancers)]
If/when I am watching and judging, say, 12 newcomer/novice couples in the same heat, I'd pick three or four couples who are keeping her footstep timing for further consideration for winning, and immediately eliminate three couples who aren't.
Keeping her footstep timing has that much importance in WCS newcomer/novice judging.
Occasional use of syncopation, like using hitch-and-step instead of regular-looking triple step, is fine. Also stepping on at a slightly modified timing (e.g. "leaning forward""laid back") is fine, if it's with the music, consistent, and both the lead and follow are doing it. But you got to get the footstep timing right.
Newcomer/Novice followers are usually not as good as professionals who can correct the leader's wrong timing. That usually means, if the leader is out of rhythm, the couple is out of luck. There is the "luck of drawing"-factor.
Dancing with a pro, who knows what he/she is doing, is easier than to dance with a fellow novice and to get the dance work. In the sense, newcomer/novice is a very difficult category to survive.
So, don't be discouraged even if your placement is not the first. Think of the dance as one of many dances.
If you had a friend who was video-ing your dance, the video should help you to figure out what went wrong. Besides, you may not always win even if you are doing everything right. There might have been a few stronger couples in the same heat, for example.
Contests can be fun. Also, contests can be an opportunity to get feedback to go for your best.
The only way to be a better or even a great dancer is to keep achieving your personal best.
Great dancers like Baryshnikov say that.
