competitions...hmmm?

emeraldswift started this discussion · 6/5/2012

So I'm thinking about competeting for my first time! Exciting? Well..more stressful than anything! I feel the pressure of everything..not being good enough..routine not being good enough...not enough "dance stuff". Lol. Maybe I'm in over my head. Do the judges favor someone who has more flexibility over someone who doesn't (me). Someone may have had a background in dance, gymnastics or ballet for example..will they take that that into consideration? I've seen girls do minimal pole work and do things like splits on the floor..and win a competition. How does that work? Should I wait til next year until I have more flexibility?

4 replies

JeHanne · 6/5/2012
Each comp is looking for something specific and normally they have some general scoring criteria and requirements. It can be extremely subjective and even more so when it is things like 'musicality' or 'costuming' or 'audience participation/response'. Generally a well rounded competitor is appreciated even though each dancer will normally shine in certain areas (strength, floorwork, fluidity, flexibility, etc). Occasionally there is a dancer that can really nail multiple areas. I have seen dancers also that are growing there technical abilities but really shine with their personality and passion for dance! If you decide to compete enjoy the experience! If the experience begins to get extremely stressful and you are losing pleasure in it... it might not be the best choice for you at this time. As long as you keep your passion you are doing great planning for it! You can also get great feedback and learn about your strengths and weaknesses, refine technique based on comps. I know I didn't give you one solid answer but that is because there really isn't one firm answer. It sounds like you might be having some second thoughts... as long as you get out there and live your dream, you can't fail. Regardless of where you place, stepping up on that stage places you in a category of winners. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there.
chemgoddess1 · 6/6/2012
You need to know going in to the competition what they are looking for. Any good competition will let you know how they score. I entered a comp a while back as a last minute thing because they did not have a lot of girls and ended up losing to a girl who stripped down to a bra and g string....it was not that she was necessarily better she just went to a place I never would have. It was supposed to be a pole dance competition but I guess the judges did not know that....😕
chemgoddess1 · 6/6/2012
Oh, showmanship will always win out over tricks and flexibility.
Mary Ellyn · 6/6/2012
You also need to research the judges and their backgrounds. That helps to understand a bit about their point of view. However, most judges will score you regardless of your background. Maybe I read it wrong but it sounds like you are asking if they will give you a break on your score if they know you don't have the same dance/gymnastics background as others? They won't make that allowance...they should be judging everyone on exactly what they see and comparing finalists side by side.