A publication to engage the dance community. Learn. Discuss. Contribute. Enjoy.

Competition Highs and Lows

What Makes a Great Competition, Or Perhaps a Bad One

by Seth Westlake

In these last 16 months I've seen the most competition floors of my dance career, visiting locations as distant as Baltimore, MA and as close as my home of St. Paul, MN. Ten competitionsÑincluding a critique event, and every single one had its share of both positives and negatives. This article is about what my experiences at these competitions have taught me, and what I'd like to see improved at competitions.

Have that website up to date.

The Internet is an extremely powerful, inexpensive, often free resource, for communicating with attendees, but it's frustrating when we can't find the information we're looking for. Work to have that website up to date as early as possible. People that plan to come to your competition, need to plan ahead several months.

Make sure there's access to water.

Organize water stations. The focus, as a competitor, should never have to be on locating the bare necessities. Make having fun and dancing, the one and only priority. Access to food is a big plus, but if that's not possible, make sure to let the competitors know where they can find it.

Make the cost simple.

If there's anything that attendees despise, it's the feeling that you charge them for everything. We know competitions require significant revenue to turn a profit, but never should we be forced to calculate our cumulative expenditure like a new and frightening set of tax documents. If you're running a pro/am, for-profit competition we know you need to charge per entry to encourage individuals to have as many entries as possible. But, if you're running an amateur, non-profit events that emphasize number of participants rather than number of entries, only charge a single fee for each dancer. A flat fee increases convenience, happiness, and leaves everyone feeling like VIPs.

Never charge competitors per event, or require an additional fee to enter other sessions. A flat fee increases convenience, happiness, and leaves everyone feeling like VIPs.

Give your competitors premiums.

Dress bags, bottles, key chains, and the like (frequently referred to as "swag") are a staple of competition advertisement and good will. We love receiving small gifts and representing the competitions we visit, but most of us stop short of the $30 sweatshirt. Imagine how hard it is to forget what a great time we had when we see the logo on our water bottle every day.

Leave time for a social dance or two.

Dancing is a social activity, so why not let it be social? It costs the organizers nothing but a few minutes worth of time and leaves the dancers time to rest, be social, and meet couples from all over the nation. Positive memories like these keep the competitors coming back and wanting more. Plus, if your mom is visiting, it's the perfect time to get some "awwwwwws".

Every penny you spend on an IT expert is money well spent.

Competitions don't happen without the person behind the computer, so it's always worth it to not only find an excellent IT expert, but to also ensure that they are sufficiently compensated by money, food, or compliments. Competitors live and breathe because of the efficiency of their callbacks. Try to keep those ferocious beasts from waiting.

Same thing with the DJ as the IT expert.

Just cause they're the same DJ the competition has every year doesn't mean they're doing an excellent job. One of the best DJ's I've worked with was a volunteer college student. One of the worst was from one of the largest competitions in North America. Music selections are of utmost importance, including the tempo, beat, and mood of every single song choice. Quickstep is not quickstep at half the tempo. "Ex's and Oh's" is never, not ever, a foxtrot.

Get an MC that balances goals and charisma.

The MC needs to know that their goal is not only to announce the events, but also to entertain and engage the audience. Jokes need to be chosen carefully for their cleanliness. They should be able to talk with the audience and keep things lively when hiccups happen. As a Bonus tip, turn off the music when you're talking. We can't hear you.

Thank yourself, but not more than you thank others.

Credit should be given where credit is due, including the praise given to all of the event workers, volunteers, judges, and supporting schools or organizations. Additionally, the people that attend the competitions should be thanked too. Neither could exist without the other. Businesses need buyers and buyers need businesses. However, the crowd should not be expected to, metaphorically, bow down in gratitude. The applause should be short and sweet, sign offs should be quick, and the people attending should be made to feel special. After all, the goal is to get them to come back again. If we're waiting to go home at the end of a competition and you've been talking for longer than 5 minutes, that thankfulness quickly becomes irritation.

Understandably, making a great competition takes time, extreme effort, and a whole lot of capital. There are people to hire, volunteers to arrange, spaces to rent, and things to buy. It sounds like I've done a lot of complaining here, but assuredly I do not intend to discourage or discredit any of the competitions I've attended. My best wishes go out to these competitions, so that they may improve and grow with every year and continue to help expand the beautiful sport that is competitive ballroom dance.

info@sheerdance.com