Hi,

I'm a 10-dance competition dancer from Germany. I'm very interested in competition dancing in America - what is it like? Apparantly your system for competitions is quite different from ours. What classes and rules do you have in America?

I hope someone can roughly explain that to me...the German system is very complicated.

regards, marian

It's kind of confusing here, too.

Let's start with how you are registered. Are you registered with a German dancesport association that is a member of the IDSF (International DanceSport Federation) or with the WD&DSC (World Dance & DanceSport Council).

If your German membership is with an IDSF-member, then you are eligible to compete in "amateur" events in the USA. If your German membership is with a WD&DSC member, then you are eligible to compete in "professional" events in the USA. In the USA the difference between amateur and pro is kind of blurred, as certain amateurs are allowed to earn money.

Anyway, once you know what system you can compete in, then we get into the question of levels.

Generally, the amateur events take place on four major levels, from lowest to highest.

Syllabus
Novice
Pre-Championship
Championship

You can compete at any level you like, so long as you are eligible for it. We don't have tests that put people into a certain level. What level were you dancing at in Germany? If it was the highest amateur level then you'd be in Championship in the US. If it was the lowest amateur level that still allows you to dance out-of-syllabus material, then you'd be in Novice in the US.

If you are going to enter the professional events in the US, then there are two levels:

Rising Star
Open

You can compete in both levels.

For a full accounting of the amateur rules, visit www.usabda.org

For the professional rules, see www.ndca.org

Now there's one other bit of somewhat confusing information. There are two sanctioning bodies for amateur competition in the US: USA Dance (formerly known as USABDA) and the NDCA (National Dance Council of America). Their rules are SLIGHTLY different, but not in any way that would affect you coming here as a visitor and dancing in events here. Either body will accept any non-North American IDSF-membership as proof of "amateur" status so you can enter the amateur events. You do not need to actually join USA Dance or the NDCA to compete in their events if you hold a registration from an IDSF-member (for "amateur" events) or WD&DSC-member (for professional events).

If you have more questions, please ask!

Hi Laura,

I'm not going to compete in America, I was just interested in competition dancing in the USA. Thank you for your answers.

Yes, we are a member of IDSF. The German dancesport association is called DTV. Competition couples have a book where their places and points for each competition are written down, the points and places you have gained determine your level.

for amateurs there are the following levels:
D
C
B
A
S

You have to start at D and can rise in level by gaining points. You are not allowed to choose a level yourself and you can only compete in ONE level. We've got also age levels - do you have them too?

What about the different dances in America? In Germany it's always international latin and ballroom.
You have to compete in every dance,
for latin it's: cha cha, rumba, samba, paso doble and jive.
for ballroom: slow waltz, foxtrot, tango, vienesse waltz and quickstep. You can compete in latin or ballroom and if you like in both.

I heard that you have more options in America, such as American style (though I don't know exactly what it is) and that you must not compete in every dance of a discipline (ballroom/latin). Is that right?

Do you also get points for your places in a competition?
I don't know if I got that right, you can freely choose the level in which you want to compete?

What about these bronze,silver and gold levels? Are these levels for fun-competitions for social dancers?

regards,
Marian

Laura, I read in another post that you're from California. I'll be in Santa Monica in August and wonder if you can recommend any place where we can dance ballroom/latin? No lessons, just for fun.

We have the same age levels as all the other IDSF-member organizations have.

American Smooth has four dances: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz. The style is sort of like classic showdance in that the couple does not have to stay in the Standard dance hold the whole time. It's very creative and flowing, quite interesting and lovely to watch.

American Rhythm has five dances: Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, Mambo. The Cha Cha is much like Latin Cha Cha, the Rumba is much faster than Latin Rumba, Swing is the American style and is slower than Jive, Bolero is danced at Latin Rumba speeds, and Mambo is one of the root forms of today's Salsa.

I'm not sure what you mean by "you must not compete in every dance of a discipline (ballroom/latin)".

You do earn points in competitions, and once you earn 5 points at your current level you have to move on to the next level. You can compete in any level that you are eligible for -- meaning any level that you don't have 5 points for already.

The Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels correspond to the Associate, Member, and Fellow steplists in the ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing) or IDTA (International Dance Teacher's Association) or other organization's steplists. We have syllabus competitions for beginning competitors where the figures they are allowed to dance are restricted to that syllabus level. Bronze corresponds to Associate, Silver to Member, and Gold to Fellow.

Santa Monica is about 600 kilometers from where I live, but hopefully someone who lives near there can give you some suggestions.

thanks again for your answers.

You wrote:
I'm not sure what you mean by "you must not compete in every dance of a discipline (ballroom/latin)".

I mean, if you can for example compete in the cha cha and NOT in the rumba (or any other latin/ballroom dance).

If one decides to participate in latin competitions in Germany he has to dance all the dances, which are determined for the special level he's in.
3 fixed dances at D-level, 4 at C, 5 from B-S level.
I hope you understand my question now.

marian

We have basically the same thing here for USA Dance-sanctioned amateur events:

Bronze Syllabus:
Standard -- Waltz, Quickstep
Latin -- Cha Cha, Rumba
Smooth -- Waltz, Foxtrot
Rhythm -- Cha Cha, Rumba

Silver Syllabus and Open Novice:
Standard -- Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep
Latin -- Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba
Smooth -- Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot
Rhythm -- Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing

Gold Syllabus and Open Pre-Championship:
Standard -- Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep
Latin -- Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive
Smooth -- Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz
Rhythm -- Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero

Open Championship:
Standard -- all five
Latin -- all five
Smooth -- all four (there are only four in Smooth)
Rhythm -- Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, Mambo

The above is how things are done generally for amateur couples. Because we have two different sanctioning bodies, because collegiate competitions operate under their own rules, and because there is some latitude for flexibility it isn't always exactly as put above, but is generally so. For instance, I'm entering a competition at the end of this month that is running the Open Novice events as two two-dance events rather than one three-dance event. College competitions often run a three-dance event, and then two separate one dance events for the "missing" dances. Around here it always pays to read the entry forms carefully, as you can see!

The Professionals always dance all the dances in their category, no matter if they are doing Rising Star or Open Professional.

Lately I have been speaking with a lady who competes in Australia. She as well did not understand our American smooth...

She explained to me New Vouge dance competition... Do you have this type of dance comp???... If so, I think this is similiar to our smooth, although not danced in a circle

I've never seen New Vogue but I think some of resembles Smooth in that the dancers get out of the Standard closed dance hold. However, I thought the New Vogue dances were all pre-choreographed, sort of like Sequence Dancing in the UK. Not sure though -- perhaps some expert can describe all the differences.

Yes, it is also my understanding that New Vouge is sequence dancing, but like you say not a standard closed dance hold.... Very interesting. Here is a link that shows the sequences if you have an interest. http://www.dancesport.org.au/