Yes, they did appear to expect to win. I, too, expected that to happen until the dancing....
Professional Smooth
This report is mostly about The Couple Who Appeared to Expect to Win. I marked them mostly 2nd and 3rd. That couple entered the floor with an attitude that they expected to win. That's good, so now I know who I will watch first. The Couple Who Appeared to Expect to Win set up between 4 other couples; the female partner indicated her desire to change positions, but the male partner insisted on staying put, but the male partner insisted on staying put. She re-indicated. He re-insisted. The music started and the couple got banged into twice in the first few bars and they had to hold back their movement. Demerits for strategy. Other than that, their waltz was very good, and in spite of the poor strategy and obvious friction between the partners, they deserved 1st in waltz.
Then the tango. Not too convincing and the characterization sort of not what I hear in the music. Same for the foxtrot. Even though the dancers were really, really good, even though they put a lot of mid-century jazz into the routine (which I LOVE), I never caught them foxtrotting--not even a little. That doesn't mean they didn't do it, I just didn't see it. Why? Because it was a 7 couple final. Ninety seconds divided by 7 equals 12 or 13 seconds per couple. Not much time to really scrutinize the dancers' dancing.
Viennese waltz was not appealing or impressive to me. At lunch judges were discussing a Big Shot champions' competition work, and two judges agreed they couldn't say what was wrong with the Big Shot couple's performances, so naturally, I had to chime in and fill in their blank. The couple they were talking about doesn't develop the character of what we expect in the Viennese waltz. We automatically expect either a sense of a royal party, a romantic ballet or a Disney fantasy. Not posturing, internalization, body hisses. Anyway, back to the competition and The Couple Who Appeared to Expect to Win. They missed the mark with what we expect to see in the Viennese waltz. Their dancing was too accented and too extreme for my taste. Their dancing looked like a semi-clone of the Big Shot champions. They were very good dancers, but that is NOT the only criterion.
Moral of the story: Looking the part is very important. Four dances requires four different interpretations. Personal style suffers if your 'strategy' isn't defined.
PS: They did win. It would be nice to have them challenge my marks or at least to question my marks and think about why mine were not following the status quo.
Professional Smooth
This report is mostly about The Couple Who Appeared to Expect to Win. I marked them mostly 2nd and 3rd. That couple entered the floor with an attitude that they expected to win. That's good, so now I know who I will watch first. The Couple Who Appeared to Expect to Win set up between 4 other couples; the female partner indicated her desire to change positions, but the male partner insisted on staying put, but the male partner insisted on staying put. She re-indicated. He re-insisted. The music started and the couple got banged into twice in the first few bars and they had to hold back their movement. Demerits for strategy. Other than that, their waltz was very good, and in spite of the poor strategy and obvious friction between the partners, they deserved 1st in waltz.
Then the tango. Not too convincing and the characterization sort of not what I hear in the music. Same for the foxtrot. Even though the dancers were really, really good, even though they put a lot of mid-century jazz into the routine (which I LOVE), I never caught them foxtrotting--not even a little. That doesn't mean they didn't do it, I just didn't see it. Why? Because it was a 7 couple final. Ninety seconds divided by 7 equals 12 or 13 seconds per couple. Not much time to really scrutinize the dancers' dancing.
Viennese waltz was not appealing or impressive to me. At lunch judges were discussing a Big Shot champions' competition work, and two judges agreed they couldn't say what was wrong with the Big Shot couple's performances, so naturally, I had to chime in and fill in their blank. The couple they were talking about doesn't develop the character of what we expect in the Viennese waltz. We automatically expect either a sense of a royal party, a romantic ballet or a Disney fantasy. Not posturing, internalization, body hisses. Anyway, back to the competition and The Couple Who Appeared to Expect to Win. They missed the mark with what we expect to see in the Viennese waltz. Their dancing was too accented and too extreme for my taste. Their dancing looked like a semi-clone of the Big Shot champions. They were very good dancers, but that is NOT the only criterion.
Moral of the story: Looking the part is very important. Four dances requires four different interpretations. Personal style suffers if your 'strategy' isn't defined.
PS: They did win. It would be nice to have them challenge my marks or at least to question my marks and think about why mine were not following the status quo.
Sandra Fortuna
BA Dance
Quintuple Fellow
Author Teacher's Manual Wheelchair Dancing
Owner Universal Ballroom Dance Center
BA Dance
Quintuple Fellow
Author Teacher's Manual Wheelchair Dancing
Owner Universal Ballroom Dance Center