Hi dancers
How about concentrating on good basic work for a change instead of stage managed routines. Remember the world championship has been won on dancing a basic waltz. Would it not be nice to see couples dancing together with a nice top line, a fair treat in these times

This is a good point. How often does it appear that as couples move up through the levels, their routine gets constantly harder while their mastery of it lags far behind? So we see the same mistakes at all levels, because they try to do more and never step back and spend time just trying to do their present material right.

Quiet topline is good. Also unbroken sides and back. And no collapsing in promenade.

I don't know if you are referring to the Waltz win of 1958 by Harry Smith-Hampshire and his partner Doreen Casey in the British Open in the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. I will always remember in that competition, Desmond Ellison dancing with Brenda Winslade, classical English style. Although down the prize giving line, Desmond and Brenda went from strength to strength.

I WAS referring to Harry Smith Hampshire & Doreen Casey. As a dancer from the old school like me, you obviously recognise good dancing when you see it. Those were the days when politeness in the ballroom was the normal thing. We will not see those days again. Happy dancing !

I have on a tape from Blackpool. A couple who reached the professional final in modern. In the semi finals where the camera kept on them , in seventeen bars of the modern waltz did the same group three times. A person i know ,a competitor boasted to me that he can dance eight sides of a ballroom without repeating any group . Personally i think that is ridiculous.
Is it possible that his coach doesn't want the judges to get two looks at what only can be describes as bad technique as they blaze from one group to the other.

This is an interesting discussion.
I am a firm believer in good basics, in any area of sport, or i guess life in general.
but don't forget the following:
1)It's natural to want to learn a wide range of steps, even though they might be danced in a somewhat flawed way. Nobody wants to read the same book over and over again

2)Not all learning is just for comps. A wider range of steps adds to the fun of 'just dancing'

3)My experience of working on more advanced steps is that they make the basics seem easier(which i know may be misleading) but they also add to my repertoire of movements

It is important to practice basic steps regularly. A couple of rounds of basic slow waltz before practising the 'real' routine makes a big difference. And if you REALLY want to learn basics well, start teaching them!
I well remember watching a top New Zealand squash player in the 1970s (his name was Cam Nancarrow) in his knock-ups(5 minutes before the match starts). He wouldn't do anything fancy, but he did exaggerate the 'watch the ball' principle. This was his way of working on basics.