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"Have your Say"Jay

April 2002
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December 2000
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Three couples in the Final (Mar 2000)
The Adjudicator's Side (Mar 2000)
Your Mag Is The Most Wonderful Thing (Feb 2000)
5 Couples in the Final (Feb 2000)
Couples Tired In The Finals (Jan 2000)
I Applaud Felix Moroder (Jan 2000)
Dancing, You Lead The Way (Jan 2000)
José the Judge Replies (Jan 2000)

Exciting Developments for DanceSport (Nov 99)
Senior Citizens Compete (Nov 99)
Where to go Dancing (Nov 99)
Lilian Dooley and the Jungle (Oct 99)
Reply to "Moffies Like you wear Earrings!!" (Oct 99)
Gay Rugby Players--(Sept 99)
My First Exhibition--(July 99)
World War III in KZN-(June 99)
Reply to World War lll -(Dumisani Answers July 99)
So Dull and Boring!! / Video Cameras at Comps--(June 99)
Only Moffies Like You Wear Earring!!-(June 99)
Total Disaster-Allan Hammond's reply -(June1999)

Dancer's Second-hand Shop -(1998)
TC Dance School Does The Flit -(1998)
You are the best-(1998)
Where is your Dancer's Dictionary?-(1998)
Doing a Great Job -(1998)
Time Wasting-(1998)
What's That?-(1998)

Too Stupid- Ed's reply (1997)
Response to "Too Stupid"-Jose Montoya's reply (1997)
No "Dancing" Exams for me Please!-(1997)
Tactless and Uncouth-(1997)
Dancing alone -(1997)
Ridiculous--(1997)
Can't Lead-(1997)
I would like to teach - Ed's reply (1997)
Would like to teach - Cathy Gibbons' reply (1997)
The Point System- Ed's Reply (1997)
Promo Point System- Chris Manning's reply (1997)
Tipsy Teachers-(1997)

e-judging for comps, you lead the way

Dear Jay

I regularly attended competitions and know the dancers quite well. How do you explain dancers winning in a previous competition and not even making it to the finals in the very next one? I understand that different judges are involved at every competition, but if a dancer is of such quality that he/she wins a section, they must surely at least make it to the finals in the following competition.

Being part of the crowd I have heard many of them, which include the parents, asking questions, doubting and losing faith in the honesty of the judging at such competitions. I do however not blame them for not speaking up, knowing the history of what happened to one parent who felt he was owed an explanation.

If you have nothing to hide... At least have the decency to send out letters to participants and their various schools letting them know what exactly you will be looking for in their routines. I say this noticing that every DANCE competition is becoming more and more like a gymnastics display.

A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY IS PUT INTO THESE PARTICIPANTS DANCING - DON'T LET THEM LOSE FAITH!

Disappointed guest

Ed
To your Q; "How do you explain dancers winning in a previous competition and not even making it to the finals in the very next one?", the other answer is (an extract from my Dancer's Dictionary on the net) "QUALITY FIELD: To win a contest against poor competition or inexperienced dancers proves little. To place 1st when you are the only contestant proves nothing. To win a contest in quality company, against stiff opposition (the top dancers) is a major feat - a true reflection of your genuine worth as a performer. This level of opposition is referred to as 'quality field' competition."

Though, with all the complaints we've receive of unfair judging, I'm not too sure my dictionary definition holds true these days. There are too many ifs and buts.

Sadly, it's too soon to appoint electronic equipment to do the judging job. What we need is a robot mounted high over the floor in a strategic spot with its multi-vision eyeballs set to scan the couples in each round, let's say 20 of them. Rather than have couples wear a number, tag a tiny microchip to the male and female's back.

Each electronic eye will be focused on a specific chip or couple. Zoomy the robot will be technically, pre-programmed to detect and scan all the basic criteria required for the section of the dance being scrutinised. For example, in standard ballroom, the Waltz basic dimensions; posture, length of movement and control, lines, rise & fall, neat footwork, would be built and calculated into the computerised equation. A correct posture not maintained, or incompatible with the programmed  image of our electronic friend Zoomy deducts points. The points of the 5 basic requirements are added and then automatically divided by the number of dances (4).

Zoomy's main assignment is to assess the logical specifications of each couples' technical performance. Which systematically eliminates the biased element of judging; you know? those creatures who destroy forests, have almost wiped out the entire animal population, pollute our ears, nose and the planet, yes, the 2-legged ones.

Let's not get rid of our judges comprehensively. We'll merely relegate them to semi-redundancy - the illogical, emotional side of judging. Their primary role will be to judge charisma, attire & grooming, expression, musical interpretation, poise, floor presentation and personality. The judge is therefore only responsible for the "finesse" elements. The judges' scores, which are noted on an e-pad and linked directly to Zoomy, are then added instantly, and Voila! we have at least a 50% fair decision.

The beauty of this auto-system is that competitors could immediately, after their section, visit Zoomy; zoop her bellybutton and from out her mouth, slithering down her tongue emerges a complete evaluation of what was right & wrong with their dancing - why they were dropped, or what got them to the next round. Eventually, as Zoomy becomes more erudite, i.e. emotionally inclined, we'll eradicate the human foible totally - isn't that wonderful – just a fair and friendly thought for the new millennium.

"At least have the decency to send out letters to participants and their various schools, letting them know what exactly you will be looking for in their routines." I like the idea,  better still, publish the requirements in DI.

The main reason for parents and competitors thinking there is too much unfairness and dishonesty in the judging system, is that they are uninformed of what's supposed to be, because nobody told them. That's my point, there is too much artificial ignorance, and ignorance mostly suggest unfairness, or breeds ugly thoughts of it.

So Dull And Boring / Video Cameras at Comps !!

The Editor
DanceInfo SA

Dear Jay
I recently watched a couple at our studio having a lesson on the American Style Viennese Waltz - what fun !! Such lovely steps to do and so much Scope. It makes our International Style Viennese Waltz look so dull and boring !!

Perhaps it is time we thought about changing our Viennese Waltz? How about a New Style Viennese Waltz to celebrate the Millennium ?

Deanna Steyn
Tel: 011-888 5681 (H)

P.S. I wrote to you some months ago regarding producing videos of competitions in Gauteng - there has been absolutely no response. Why ? Is nobody interested? Surely the advantages of video footage as a teaching or learning tool must be appealing to most dancers? The possibility of generating extra funds should also be appealing. I would really appreciate some comments.

Ed
Deanna, on both counts, I ditto wholeheartedly. In 1998, TV1 treated us to a series of the American Ballroom & Latin championship dancing. Personally, that was one of the best I've seen so far. We were given full view of each couple most of the time. Not the disjointed hopping, at close-range, from a big nose, to a distorted foot, to an outrageous hairdo and back to the nose, offering little definition of dancing - the clear irritant we Ballroom viewers have been forced to accustom ourselves to.

Further, the American Standard Ballroom Style, on the whole, presents much more in the way of variety, choreography and entertainment. They permit freedom to many open positions, underarm turns and spins, lunges, and I must say, the way the girls use their arms and wave their dresses offers superb entertainment. And all this is done without losing the fine technical Standard required of International dancing.

I could never understand how this suppressed English version of Viennese Waltz ever managed to weave its watered-down way into the comp arena. Every contestant is restricted to four figures: the reverse and natural turns and the reverse and natural fleckerls, which are difficult, fast turns on the spot. Traditionalists and liberals world-wide are engaged in heated debate. The liberals are calling for lifts, lunges, curtsies and other figures to be introduced to add excitement and interest. But, the four standard competitive figures remain those authorised for competitive use. This gives adjudicators little to rave about and causes most spectators to yawn that extra yard. I thought the powers shoved the VW in as a time-filler, a substitute dance, or for some other obscure, inexplicable reason. It seems ironic. Here we have music so exquisitely classical, so full of feeling and variation, which few other dances offer, then it's choked to death with the drab essentials.

But let's talk Viennese Waltz the lively "American way". Americans loathe inertia or everything that bores; hence their apathy toward cricket as a sport. Action is the word the Yanks live by, so when a thing doesn't move, they plant a cracker under it. The many intricate figures used in their VW are not only great to watch and very exciting to dance, but are also specifically phrased to complement the beautiful, classical music which emphasises the many highlighted, harmonious sounds of this elegant dance; sounds every generation enjoys. Why frustrate its melodic, lively expression with a limited array of moves. This dance is turbo-charged, packed with character, light and shade. It needs diversity to announce the ultimate utterance of its make-up. International VW could clearly do with an American lumbar-punch - let's liberalise, let's put a little fun and action into this section.

The first thing the powers must do is to reduce the VW tempo from the whistling, break-neck, dizzy-inducing speed of 70 bars per minute to between (a respectable and safe) 55 and 60 knots. By so doing, the more tricky figures could be better characterised and presented. At present Viennese Waltz serves no competitive purpose, except for giving Latin dancers time to change for their section.

Since everyone ignored your video appeal, let's conjure a few hypothetical reasons of why videos are debarred from Gauteng comps, while KZN & the Cape merrily feel it's a great assist. My guess is that adjudicators would rather not be judged against the electronic eye. This could expose a few intriguing intrigues of couples not being watched, or too closely watched by family/friend/trainer adjudicators, or couples dancing out of time and getting through to the next round, etc. Or could it be that top Gauteng dancers fear their work will be plagiarised or permanently borrowed by the lesser privileged or inexperienced dancers?

It could also be that the average competitor would not be able to afford the extra cost for the recordings, so the prospect of a would-be operator earning the odd buck is dismally bleak.

Sadly Deanna, as much as the two of us are gagaly gung-ho for videos being used at comps as an educational tool and the dancer's personal entertainment, I think we are definitely flogging a dead donkey here. But why don't you give Bill Toseland (National Vice-President of FEDANSA) a call @ 011-61 4981 / 011-633 2783. I'm sure Bill has all the official reasons why videos are barred in Gauteng.

Tell Bill that couples never see their rivals, while in action, so it's difficult for them to know how they measure against the opposition, or why they placed higher or lower. Tell Bill it can only enhance the standard of dancing in general if competitors themselves can see their own mistakes - a great coach. Tell Bill it's an excellent motivator for the suicidal, wary dancer. Tell Bill in the stone age dancers never had the luxury of videos and since it's part of modern technology let's use it to capture the wonder moments of our blood, sweat and tears. Tell Bill it's so nice to have a complete library or record of ones dancing and that I said he is a very helpful, understanding official who will do anything to assist the dancer if he can. Deanna TELL BILL.

Couples Tired In The SA Finals

Dear Jay
If you have to run a marathon; surely in preparation, you make sure that you are fit to do so?

As previously at comps, I was once again stunned at the SA championships by the dancers slouching around, gasping for breath like so many guppies in-between dances. The posture disappears,  the smile is gone, the costume is pulled and adjusted (even 5-year old ballerinas know this is not allowed!); and when it is all switched on again for the next dance, one can hardly believe those are the same people!

I know judges are marking the dancing and not the break, but surely these dancers must realise they are still in front of an audience?

If I had not practised enough to be competition-fit, I would definitely not let on by huffing and puffing so obviously – it leaves a bad impression.

Before you think I can only grouch: Our top professional latin couple Michael and Beata showed here that they are truly world class – they had as much oomph and vooma, bounce and energy to the very end of the jive as when they exploded onto the floor for the introduction. Style and presentation was maintained throughout and that look of “I am enjoying this” never lost.. Dancers: watch and learn what makes a champion!

Leonora van Zyl

Ed
The expression, "an ounce of wisdom is worth a pound of learning" holds true in fitness programmes as well. If sportsmen have the slightest ambition to reach the top or thereabouts, they must resign and apply themselves to the gruesome reality of practising 16 to 20 times longer and harder than it would take for each dance in every round of a comp, and 16-20 times a session is a moderate stint if couples are truly earnest about hitting the big leagues of dancing.

Let's take the Jive, you are as ready as you  could possibly be routine-wise, technically, etc. you've "peaked". Now it's time to get comp-fit. Stop doing what you have always been doing. You play your music and begin to practise. Your partner spots something, you stop to correct it. You start again. After a minute of jiving you're totally effete, kaput. You flop into the nearest chair, huffing and puffing heartily. During this recovery time your mind says, "go, go, go," your body retorts, "ouch and eina!". Your partner sighs, "let's do it one more time." You think, "good, the end is near, one more, that'll do for me". You go home to enjoy that well-earned rest and a cigarette. You say, "we're ready!" Well, not quite, the only thing you guys are really ready for is another well-earned rest and that cigarette, but for the comp (unless you're the only contestants) don't even bother to enter.

Getting comp-fit requires a specific programme of endurance to help lift your "energy levels," stretch your "staying power," increase your "DANCE fitness to go all the rounds" with lots to spare. This is how Michael & Beata do it. It's called tunnel-vision to fitness fanaticism - the stuff champs are made of:

· during this FITNESS session, get your mind psyched for one thing and one thing alone, FITNESS, i.e. don't think technique or routine, focus on fitness - PERIOD

· select a dance which exerts lots of energy and requires speed (Jive, Cha-Cha or Quickstep)

· record 5 Jive numbers; tunes you'll enjoy dancing to. Each recording should be the length played at comps (2 minutes). The first recording a medium Jive tempo. The second a fast Jive. The third a medium Rock 'n Roll. The 4th a fast Rock 'n Roll and the
5th a very fast Rock 'n Roll. These must be recorded one after the other with a 2-second gap between each cut.

Now, from the start of the tape, LET'S JIVE. You haven't even begun and you're slumping. Each movement needs strength, spring, vigour, no spaghetti arms, flabby torso, no slowing down… GO! GO! GO! And keep that fresh smile smiling.

During the 2-second gap between cuts 1 & 2, turn to your audience, the people who paid to watch, smile, look sprightly. Cut 2… GO! GO! GO!… no stopping or even a suggestion of slowing down, exert every ounce of energy, push for stamina. Gap 2, wave a smile to the people who pay to watch. Stop fidgeting with your strap, and looking so down-at-the-mouth, and tell your partner to unslouch and to breathe lightly (the people at the back can hear him). Will you guys ever make it? You still have 3 fast ones to GO! GO! GO!… I doubt it. She's thinking of that cigarette, he's looking at the chair… and they want to become champions, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha.

This little exercise you do once a week for each dance and push for power, push for endurance with VOOMAOOMPHULELA. At the end of your non-stop, 5-dance session, give yourselves 5-minute's recovery time before energetically launching into the next dance.

For inspiration, whenever you feel fazed and flagged, haul out that video recording of Michael & Beata or any other world classer dancing in a final, and just soak it in. Watching the champs dance, before or after a session, is a great motivator - try it.

What is DANCE fitness?
Dance fitness consists of three elements; strength, stamina and flexibility. Each element is important to your overall fitness as a dancer.

Strength is the ability to exert and sustain force. The strength required by a dancer has characteristics that are different from other physical sports such as rugby, tennis, etc. Dancers must possess a contained strength. They must be able to exert a considerable amount of pressure effortlessly in a consistent maintainable force.

Strength is what allows the male to lead and the female to follow with sharpness and unity. It maintains the correct posture across the dances and allows the fluid, effortless glide or speed of movement. Without strength dancers generally have poor connection and are unable to maintain the correct posture, and begin to slouch or appear sluggish.

Beginners, especially females, often have little strength. This is seen in the ‘spaghetti arms’ syndrome that so often afflicts them. Lack of physical strength is also often the reason why beginners are unable to maintain the correct top line. The man’s shoulders start to hunch and the women’s left elbow drops. Upper and lower body strength is required in dancing with the focus particularly on the back, shoulders, arms and calves. Every dancer should try to develop a strong body to improve his/her technique.

A great deal of control over the muscles in the abdomen is also required, especially in Latin, to maintain the isolation between the ribcage and the lower half of the body. Developing sustained strength should always be part of your training routine. You gonna have to go to the gym to pump up the jam a little.

Stamina refers to aerobic endurance. This is the ability to maintain a supply of oxygen to the muscles to sufficiently feed the workload of the muscles. Aerobic capacity is important, particularly for the faster dances such as Quickstep, Cha-Cha and most notably Jive.

Aerobic endurance is what stops us from getting ‘puffed out’ after a run or looking like death warmed up in a final. The degree of stamina you need for dancing also depends on whether you're a competitive or social dancer. Strangely, competitive dancing requires a higher aerobic output but less endurance because the routines are faster and the rounds last in spurts of 2 minutes, just 120 seconds! Although 2 minutes sounds short, it can be a lifetime when you're jiving at the end, particularly when you're not as fit as you should be. The 5-dance practice-routine will increase your aerobic endurance and output considerably.

The flexibility you need, depends on the requirements of your routine. Some routines need more warming up time than others, but flexing the muscles is generally necessary for all dances.

Stretching before and after dancing can not only improve your basic technique but it also helps you to perform these skills sooner and with less strain or attrition of the muscles. It, therefore, lessens your chances of injury. Common injuries in dancing caused by not flexing beforehand are; Achilles tendon and pulled muscles. strained ligaments. Less common is ‘shin splints’ which is caused by poor flexibility in the muscles of that area.

Talking about tiredness, so often we hear cricketers, top tennis players and rugby captains say after losing a tournament, "it's been a long hard season, the guys are really tired". But what about the winners, they too had a long hard season, except they had the willpower (mental fitness), strength, stamina and endurance to go the full hog and more to earn their salt. These sportsman are paid a lot of money to DO their job, to be FIT for the job of entertaining us and trying to win for their country, and then they're too tired to finish the job properly.

If they're too tired to GO the distance, then replace them, or pay them less. Mick Jagger and Tina Turner who are in their late 50s are more energetic during their final hectic rock number, than they were when they started 4 hours back, so what's your problem Leonora DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!… pull that tummy in; get it off your knees.

One thing I could never appreciate about competitive dancing is what you say "The posture disappears, the smile is gone, and when it is all switched on again for the next dance, one can hardly believe those are the same people!" it's so plastic, so phoney, so hypocritical. No wonder my trainer could never get me to smile like a cheshire cat.

Sometimes we need a silent observer to sway us  out of our little limbo land, back from slumber city. Thanks for the jolt and your valuable contribution.

I Applaud Felix Moroder

Dear Jay
Being a parent of an up-and-coming young dancer, we entered the Freestyle dance scene with great expectation. But after two years of attending nearly every competition, I have to say with much disappointment that all we feel at the moment is absolute disgust.

The SADTA is run by certain people who just do as they please and people do not dare complain or question them, because that would be the end of your child's dancing career.

I applaud Felix Moroder, and so do a dozen other people. He has the guts to tell it like it is. Unfortunately, it does not really make a difference.

In the SA National Freestyle Competition his son Daniel Moroder was "dropped". It was so blatant, it was a joke. Sammy Viana who came 2nd in the Champion Of Champions event (what a joke) was out-danced not only by Daniel but by at least 4 other competitors, what is it that the judges find so compelling in her dancing? She does no splits, no jumps and no real dancing, and yet she beats dancers like Daniel.

The same thing in the 16-18 yrs Championship SlowDance, M. Parreirinha should have walked that section. She out-danced anyone on the floor. And yet once again "The Prom Queen" wins the title.

I might sound bitter Jay, but these children practise 2-3 hours a day, if not more, and the blatant unfairness of it is tragic. I would really love to see the score sheets (or do the judges just pick who they fancy for the day).

That is exactly as it works, they just choose who they think is cute and nice, what dancing? e.g. 9 yrs and under girl's Championship, #155 S. Kruger is an outstanding little dancer note the dancer. She has been winning almost every solo section this year, but not in the Nationals, she is beaten by #146 T. Blom, what a tragedy for dancing, what dancing? I ask the question again, what dancing? That child, and the decision of the judges to place her 1st above #155 is an absolute disgrace. Are we doing acrobatics, gymnastics or dancing?

I can go on and on but what would it help, my children, unfortunately will not do Freestyle dance again, for I see no future in this sport, it is an absolute waste of time and money. How a judge that is really dedicated to dance can place a child above another dancer just because of who they are or who their parents are, I cannot comprehend. Do you know how that can break a child?

I unfortunately cannot give my name. I am not as brave as Felix Moroder

Anonymous

Ed
Anonymous = fictitious and fictitious still lends no support or help to the plight you, Felix or the other dozen parents face. Felix is a Lone Ranger, the only real one who now must face the Mambo music for his bravery. Some think Felix a fool, and without valid support that image grows on him like an infested wart. Your anonymous letter is at least a frail consolation, a suggestion of "smoke"; that there is some truth in what he is saying, but far too remote to make a believable or substantive statement.

Your paragraph, "The SADTA is run by certain people who just do as they please, and parents dare not complain or question them because that would be the end of their child's dancing career", sums up the sadness of this whole affair. If there are a dozen others, and you sincerely applaud Felix, and you genuinely respect the many hours the children practise each day, and how much money you have to pay out, then form a close-knit clump and arrange to talk to the authorities concerned. No individual leader of a dance school, will or can compete with a clump of complainers, but you as a group have to personally converge onto those responsible.

A story I read some time ago which made a marked impression on me, was told by a leader attempting to inspire teamwork. It went something like this: "Here I hold in my hand a small twig. This twig represents a single man in this room. No matter how strong he is individually or how forceful he is in standing up for his rights, he, as an individual, is easily  broken" (the speaker breaks the twig) "but when I take a bunch of these twigs and hold them together tightly, it is almost impossible for any power, however strong, to break them... IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH."

Anonymous, you, Felix and the dirty dozen need CLUMP action. The procedure is, all 14 set up a meeting with the alleged officials. In this meeting you tell them exactly what you feel. Then you let me have all the constructive news that transpired, and I'll forward these to the dancer. Should they refuse to hold a meeting with you, let me know as well, and I'll take it from there. That will be sensational news, not that we need sensational news, but it would be a refreshing change.

One thing in yours and Felix' favour is that the SADTA, by not defending their side, have brutally incriminated themselves in the eyes of the dancer. When a news reporter asks a politician who is about to be exposed, "but where did all the millions which our taxpayers paid go to?" the cliché is, "NO COMMENT", and we all know what that means.

As for the ever-vexed question of judging in the competitive or social dance world, be it Ballroom, Latin or Freestyle, there is no way an individual can ever win the battle, since the outcome is essentially based on opinion, and opinion is made up of many facets. Clump action is about the nearest solitary solution, and that's also not guaranteed, because when we talk opinion it's tantamount to catching smoke. At least clump action will make judges more aware of the majority being very aware of every decision they make, and that what competitors really want is an honest evaluation from each judge. But where do we start with our "judging of the judges."

What are the fundamental criteria? In ballroom, the criteria a judge might choose or consider are too numerous to examine singly, since several couples are usually being assessed simultaneously. The judge must, therefore, rely on the impression each couple or individual (as in Freestyle) makes against the others. An experienced judge, one who has seen and studied dancing at all levels, can quickly assess the best of these factors collectively.

The criteria of adjudication embodies many elements of dancing, such as, style; poise and posture; showmanship; soul and charisma (that certain, special something); expression of the feet and body; floor presentation, audience & personality projection; technical dexterity; balance and control; musical interpretation and feeling; rhythm and timing; choreographic adaptation; neat and correct footwork; arm styles, line and movement; the positioning and use of the head and shoulders; 'two-getherness'; portrayal of the character of the dance and music; show of confidence and pattern-knowledge; partner interplay; body lines; facial expressions and gestures; attitude and individuality; good grooming (attire, manner and appearance); sharpness and strength of movement; floorcraft; a dancer's bearing and image; stamina and endurance; speed and effortlessness; the degree of difficulty in solo routines. As well as the judge's individual interpretation and expectations, plus his/her integrity and unbiased opinion.

Then there are the INTANGIBLES. Such as the reputation they have set as dancers (track record); the strength and individuality of the solo performer; how a couple "look" together, whether they "fit" emotionally, their neatness of appearance, costuming, the flow of their choreography, and whether they look like "dancers", all have an affect on a judge’s perception, and therefore, on his/her markings.

Different judges have different predilections in what they want to see, and weigh these factors differently. One judge, for instance, might be especially interested in technique, while another wants to be moved by musicality and expression. While both these qualities are obviously important and need to be considered, it can result in couples getting widely disparate markings.

Dancers wondering what a judge saw to give them a particularly high or low mark should know that any one of the many factors listed could be responsible. The use of a heel when a toe is warranted, or a slight fumble can just as easily hurt a couple in a judge’s eyes as a meticulous closing of feet or a perfect landing in Freestyle can help. Because the judge sees each couple for only a few seconds, anything that draws the attention, either positively or negatively, could very well be the deciding factor on how dancers are marked.

Competitors can at least be assured that virtually no qualified adjudicator will mark them for any reason other than his/her honest evaluation of their performance. Most judges rate their own opinions highly, and try to do a conscientious job. Anyway, no one judge can make or break a couple or an individual performer. The use of a panel of these experts usually insures that the end result is the correct and equitable one.

But what about the unscrupulous judge, the judge who blatantly favours his/her own pupils or own children or knows that that child dancing in the corner there is the offspring of the parent who complains. Will that adjudicator honestly not let these things influence his/her judgement of the performance?

So you see Anonymous, there are too many variables, too many ifs and buts. The best guideline to take is from the average score of the panel, and that too can be questioned if the panel consistently belongs to the same geographical clump or institution or studio - it's called an unfair regional monopoly,, a stranglehold on proceedings by those in direct command.

"She has been winning almost every solo section this year, but not in the Nationals" that statement of yours carries little weight. For instance, I would always win the contests held in Ogies, Mieliesdorp and Pofadder but when it came to the big ones, nobody even saw me not get through to the second round.

The one thing that really confuses the dancing daylight out of me with this Freestyle affair, is that I was always under the impression Freestyle, along with our system, was punctilious in every way. Then, take what happened to us in last month's issue when a pupil spelt out the flaws in our judging system by saying "the whole thing seems an absolute farce". And take what's happened to the Freestyle. At least I've accepted the criticism in good faith and have promised to honour the people who support our system, by amending matters in year 2000 - to err is human, to keep quiet about it, is DISASTER… it's criminal.

José the Judge Replies To Last Month's Letter "Only Flaw In The System"

Hi Jay
Firstly, I would like to point out that the examiners who accept an invitation to examine, do so for the love of dance and not for financial reward.  Examining at a function such as the one mentioned involves long hours during which we are under tremendous stress because of the time limitations.  Even so, we contribute our expertise willingly in the interest of the dancer.

Trying to write a report which will be of any use to the student is tremendously difficult under the circumstances, to top it all, we are asked to sign certificates in between as well!  I do feel that the organisers should try to allow us more time in which to write a fair report. This will avoid situations where students feel they have been unfairly marked, because the report will tell them,  in a constructive and encouraging way, where there is room for improvement. A mere “stunning”, with a mark that does not portray “stunning” is of little use to the performer who, artist at heart, knows he/she can improve, but has nothing specific to work on because no comment has been made on the report.

The other point I feel strongly about, is that the examiners should be separated entirely from the audience. Examiners are dealing with confidential reports, and do not need people looking over their shoulders and listening to their comments. Something must definitely be done to rectify this.

The comment about me looking down at my scribe all the time was a very unfair statement to make. The sole reason why I bring a scribe is so I do have time to look at the student. If it was felt that I was looking down at my scribe, the reason was that I was trying to give a good, constructive report, which I feel is important to the student.

As for the comment made to Brenton; I had not examined at DanceWell for close on 2 years, at which time Brenton was merely another man-in-the-street taking dance lessons. My comment, “Well, are you  now a teacher here?” was purely one of surprise to find that he was now a teacher at Dancewell, and was taken out of context totally by your writer. If I offended Brenton in any way, I apologise, but I think this was a case of meddling by someone who was not even part of the conversation. I admire Brenton’s work – I think he is a stable teacher, his students are well prepared and confident. He is a confident teacher and an asset to his studio.

As far as JJ’s problem of examiners is concerned: There are probably not many people around who are prepared to give up so much of their time to examine.  I find the work interesting, and must give credit to all the teachers of DanceWell, especially JJ & Ursula, who do a superb job of preparing students in such a short time. I think DanceWell will go from strength to strength, but I hope the problems of allowing more time and of separating examiners from the public will be addressed. We are employed by the studio head to do a job, which I feel we did well under the circumstances, and would do better without the distractions.

I would be honoured to be invited to examine at DanceWell again, but I shall be looking down at my scribe from time to time, in order to give a fair and constructive report. I would suggest that the person who wrote the letter go and look at the reports students received from me - maybe this person will then understand why I do look down at my scribe and that, I might add, is after I had seen what I wanted to see as far as the entrant's dancing is concerned.

I take personal exception to the comments made, but regard this matter as closed. One suggestion to the writer: spend more time looking at and encouraging your fellow dancers, and less time checking up on what the examiners are doing.

Regarding the marking of students at various levels and different ambitions, I'd like to offer this suggestion. As all of us in the industry know, some people take dance lessons purely for fun, exercise and social
interaction, while others want to become professional show dancers or teachers.

Let me tell you about a system we have in the Spanish Dance Society, which I think you should seriously think of adopting. When an adjudicator is handed a report form at an exam function, the form is marked in such a way (we use colour coding) that the examiner immediately knows into which of these categories the student falls.  The examiner will then obviously mark the serious student strictly according to technique and styling, while allowing the others more leeway and awarding points for being there and presenting the flair, fun, etc of the dance.

I think in your system, where examiners do not always know what level of student they are dealing with, it is something to consider.

Regards,

José Montoya

Ed
José, I'm told that your main dancer Karen fell and broke her leg while walking off the stage after a performance at Viva Espana recently. From all of us at DI we wish her a speedy recovery. I hope no-one said "break a leg" before the show.

99% of our pupils who enter for exams or exhibitions, deep down inside, want to be the best. They want to know from their teacher and our examiners how they can achieve that status. Many might doubt their capabilities against others in their section, but the desire, on a less intense scale to competitive dancing, is a reality to them. When I prepare my pupils for exams and exhibitions, regardless of their talents or their amount of dancing experience, I prepare them with one thing in mind, TO WIN. We don't go to these functions to marry Caesar, we go to murder Caesar.

That's the beauty of our system, no matter what your shape, your age, who you are, who you're not, or what you are, or how much you've paid or how little you've paid, how much dancing experience you have or have not, or whether you complain or docilely accept everything, all have an equal chance of winning, except that some might be a little more equal than others. Meaning, they have a ballet or modern background, or have danced for years before joining our studio, or are naturally gifted. But despite these seemingly unfair advantages, the others still have a fair, fighting chance to win, which very few exam systems offer. We have many names on record of pupils who have won, who few would have given a chance.

We started with a one-on-one system where everyone competed against everyone else. Then the over 60s complained that they couldn't compete with the youngsters, so we changed that. The couples dancing without their teacher's assistance said that they can't compete with the Pro-Ams, so we changed that. The single males said they couldn't compete against the single girls, so we changed that. The adult females said they couldn't compete with the female scholars so we changed that. The 10-year-olds and under said they couldn't compete with the adults, so we changed that. Now we have a section for all seasons; Golden Greats, Adult Males, Adult Females, Male Scholars, Female Scholars, Couples, Juniors, thus giving greater opportunity for many more to win.

What's more, we list 24 dances, which again offers more  opportunity for our variety of abilities and styles to win. A ballerina might excel in Waltz but look awkward in Sakkie-Sakkie. Whereas the farmer's daughter will whip the ballerina at Sakkie, Sokkie, Peabody, Rock 'n Roll, and so on.

An examiner starts marking at maximum (999%). If the entrant, from start to finish, does nothing to make the judge deduct points, the entrant keeps 999%. Should the examiner detect a fault such as, untidy or incorrect footwork, loss of timing, poor posture, pattern errors, movements out of character with the dance, unsuitable dress, or anything that detracts from the requirements, then points are deducted.

With our system, we don't mark one pupil against another. They are judged against the criteria and requirements of the dance and the standard that they have entered for. In a sense, they compete against themselves and how well their teacher has taught them, then hope the examiner will give them a winning score.

The examiner sits there and says, "how can this entrant help me keep this mark at 999%, with her pattern-knowledge, posture, rhythm, presentation, grooming & attire, movement, style and neatness, enjoyment of the dance or an error-free performance?" If the entrant falters or does little to help, then marks are subtracted. Although a score 991% might not be the highest overall, it could be a winning score for that particular section.

The examiner is a friend, an encourager. He/she wants all the pupils to win, to earn 999%. It's then up to the entrant to earn 999% by pleasing the examiner with a sound all-round performance. Our system of regular exams and much encouragement from our examiners, has managed to produce excellent results by bringing the best out of the pupil's dance ability in the shortest time. More importantly, although our exams encourages stiff competition it still maintains the happy, FUN element.

I have been bombarded with a barrage of complaints from pupils and teachers, and their crucial  issue is that the examiners don't look at the entrant being marked. Some say the examiners know the pupils so well that they just give a predetermined score and comment, without watching once, as if they know what's going to happen.

The teachers train their pupils to smile at the examiner, "look friendly," "show you are enjoying yourself," and smile they do, but for naught. For instance, at the exam function under fire, I danced a 2-minute gold Rumba and only once, for a brief spell, did the examiner marking look up to focus on the wrong couple.

The role of our examiner is more meaningful than just a once-a-month friendly visit. To our teachers and pupils it's the "cherry on the top"; the guiding force that neatly steers and rounds off everything our teaching and dancing system offers. How we please the examiner is the constant drive that gives both teacher and pupil inspiration and incentive to improve.

I've always received praise from our pupils for the way you do it with your scribe, and José, thank goodness you do have a scribe; your hieroglyphics is worse than mine, and mine is atrocious. What most like about your comments is that they are personalised, they tell us "you saw our dancing, the things we did well or what needs work", "that you appreciate our state of nervousness and that we don't have much time to prepare." That's chiefly all we want from the examiners, a very short comment that clearly indicates "we were watched, we were examined," plus a percentage that uniquely & accurately corresponds. Your marking and comments defy the criticism of you looking down.

José, speed has always been our greatest nemesis. What we are doing now, however, is pedestrian by comparison with a few years back when we regularly churned out 500-600 entries with 6 examiners and 6 couples on the floor non-stop, for hours and hours. That was the veritable cattle market you talk about. I then redesigned the examiner's report, listing the requirements so that all the examiner needed to do was tick off what had to be worked on, which then also showed why the % dropped below maximum. The purpose of the section at the bottom of the form "Examiner's Special Notation" I included for the examiner to say something short and sweet - a personal note.

Regarding the signing of the diplomas separately, or giving the examiner time to do so before the next session starts, is something we will seriously have to consider.

Ursula accepts the blame for placing you guys where she did for the exam section of this function - backs exposed to the dancers and spectators with no defence. In her own words, "big sorry, that was real dumb".

That thing about Brenton being a teacher reminds me, the other day someone came up to me during an exam and asked me, "how long have you been taking lessons?"

José, your reply has achieved 3 important things; 1st created dance talk. 2nd clarified your side as an examiner and gave you the opportunity to offer a few positive suggestions. 3rd I was able to answer the question which a few dancers have asked me, "how does your marking system work?"

Don't forget to remind Karen, "no playing soccer for at least 6 months"

Exciting Developments for DanceSport

Dear Jay
Thanks for publishing the info so quickly. Here is some info on the DanceSport meeting held on Sunday 3/10/99. The main purpose of the meeting   was to have some input from the dancers on their ideas of DanceSport and whereto from here into the new millennium. The first AGM is coming up on the 31/10/99 in Cape Town so this was the time to raise any issues, concerns and bright ideas on improving this wonderful sport of ours, for the committee to take down to Cape Town.

There seemed to be a misconception that this big monster "DANCESPORT" was trying to take over the dance scene totally. Actually, the fact is that DanceSport is merely a joint committee made up of 6 SANCBD members and 6 FEDANSA members. A section 21 company was set up to handle sponsorship, marketing and promotions as Rama would not hand over any monies before the company was registered.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints and pressure from the sponsors not many people were allowed the opportunity to give their input into the drafting of the Memorandum or Articles of Association, which has led to some concern.

The good news is that nothing is cast in stone and at the AGM those clauses which are causing the problems will be addressed and hopefully altered accordingly.

Two independent attorneys have now viewed the document and their recommendations will be carried forward to the meeting. Please remember that our sport is a mere infant compared to other sports and we are learning as we go along; learning to overcome communication problems, learning to negotiate at a high level with various potential sponsors and learning the basics of sport administration. For example we will be doing random drug testing in the new year to conform with the requirements of the National Sports Commission and the Olympic Committee.

We would welcome any comments and suggestions before the AGM in Cape Town so if anyone would like to email me my address is ahfin@mweb.co.za

More Great News
Great news from DanceSport. As I have mentioned before DanceSport have appointed a marketing agent called IMG to be the official marketing agent and event co-ordinators for the Regional Championships and the South African Nationals.

Anybody who was at the Free State Provincials and the Eastern Cape Provincials will have realised that IMG are doing a fantastic job not only of organising the events but also promoting dancing in this country!!!

Now for the really good news:
IMG have just concluded additional sponsorship as follows:

Metropolitan are on board to the tune of some R2mil over the next 3 years. Pioneer have sponsored a sound system to the value of R80,000. PG Bisson have subsidised a portable dance floor. Sun International are the official accommodation and venue suppliers. And in addition, wait for it, our very own South African dance series on television.

This will include Saturday evenings at 18:30 for 10 consecutive Saturdays on eTV, as well as inserts on Sports Buzz, Mabeleng and other SABC programmes.

Well how is that for exposure, and all in the short space of 4 months since the agreement with IMG was signed. WELL DONE TO ALL AT IMG!!!!!!

Jay, I read with interest the various "sagas" from your October issue and would like to express my personal comments:

Is it not such a shame that in the light of all the good work and precious hours that one spends away from social and family life to put something back into dancing, petty personal differences of opinion can cloud the real enjoyment and encouragement of this Sport???

The funny thing is that over the last 27 years that I have been involved in competitive dancing, as a husband of a dancer, then as a father of 3 dancers and now as an administrator, it is apparent that the problems hardly ever come from the more experienced dancers themselves but rather from the parents of youngsters, who I believe are trying to "relive" through their kids, some wild dream and fantasy of being a top athlete.

Believe me we often have to handle some very tricky and controversial issues, for example when senior dancers deliberately falsify their dates of birth so that they can dance in the senior section before they are eligible to do so, but somehow when these issues come from the dancers themselves, they always seem to have a better understanding of the situation and solutions than the emotional interfering parents.

We should all be putting our heads together to address the issues of propelling this sport and this country into the international arena. After all we are on the brink of some really major sponsorship and television coverage which will bring us into the public eye not only in the face of the future Olympics but also future potential sponsors which we so desperately need.

Is it comprehensible that our entire SOUTH AFRICAN DANCESPORT TEAM to represent us at the World Championships does not have a sponsor and have to rely on fund raising and the very kind assistance from FEDANSA?

Can you believe here are 22 dancers going overseas with no sponsor's name on their tracksuits, bags, caps and outfits? With all the pending television coverage, some company out there is missing a golden opportunity to adopt our National Team!!!!

So come on parents, teachers, studio heads and dancers let's all channel our efforts towards the same goal and look forward to many hours of happy dancing!

Allan Hammond
(FEDANSA)

Ed
Talking about falsifying ones date of birth, I've been doing that since age 21, 10 years later, I'm still 22… see! it works for me. But Allan let me say, your letter and the one Lilian Dooley wrote in the October issue of DI, has definitely added thrust, respectability and meaning to the image of DanceSport. Dancers must now realise that DS is the gentle GIANT doing its utmost to promote and improve things. It is good to know that DanceSport is ablaze - on the verge of really, really becoming the 3rd most popular sport in South Africa, with the healthy prospect of overtaking soccer and boxing in the near future. We need regular input from those who grind the wheels. In dancing, SILENCE is definitely not golden. Silence sows suspicion and manufactures mistrust. It keeps the informed well informed and the multitudes ignorant.

You mentioned "learning to overcome communication problems". An effective way for DanceSport to communicate info to the dancer would be through DanceInfo. I've laid the golden egg but nobody seems to want to hatch it. The German dance federation distributes a thick, exquisite, full-colour glossy magazine each month to each studio FREE as their communication contribution to the dancer. That's how seriously they feel about the effectiveness of a dancer's journal as their main communication medium.

DanceSport should take advantage of my insane passion to do the job, the job nobody else wants to touch with a 10-foot bargepole; not ignore me and my poor man's, black & white drab, unsaddle-stitched, news-printed magazine, as someone once put it. DI needs major cosmetic surgery or something tangible to show the dancer what DS is doing for the sport. What's more, the bodies that be, should appoint someone specific to furnish the info my way for nation-wide distribution.

Agreed, by comparison to other sports, DanceSport is an infant with a wet nappy, and it's great to know that that's not being used as an excuse for the teething problems. Plenty of positive action is taking place. The one I like most is "our very own South African dance series on television", which will definitely spark regular interest. Sponsorship comes from TV interest. In the States, sport & sponsorship is no longer associated with billions of dollars, they talk trillions. Here's for those not too sure of how much a trillion is. If I were to give you a $1000 a day for 3 years you would have a million. If I continued to give you a $1000 a day for 3000 years you would have a billion, multiplied by the R/$ conversion rate of 6 or so… and we haven't reached a trillion yet.

DanceSport needs Steroids
This is not political, but I think DanceSport have missed the chalk for the cheese. Years ago, Ali Bacher the cricket administrator saw how thousands of Pakistanis jammed the cricket stadiums to watch the sport which the English foisted on these Asian people. He said, "AH, HA! Big bucks here" and started his grass-roots' development scheme, and he is still trying to wedge blacks into a sport which they have little or no natural passion for. And recently (I don't want to believe it) Ali contrived another R100 million sponsorship to make it a R200 million merger between Castle Lager and MTN for his UNNATURAL development plan.

I just can't imagine a South African black family sitting in the stands of a cricket stadium, tanning and drinking Castle all day long watching cricket - it is just not their style, no matter how great the commercial temptation might be. Meanwhile cricket keeps raising millions through sponsorship for their unnatural development plan. And the rugby administrators are doing the same, but the worst part is that the government, with its affirmative action plan, is forcing rugby development onto the majority who prefer soccer, boxing and dancing. And even soccer is a horrid English hand-down which the suppressed people played as a rebellious alternative to rugby, the game their oppressors raved about at the time.

DanceSport, hear me out! Let's take DANCING, RHYTHM, MUSIC, SINGING and the African people. It's their natural heritage, a genuine innate capacity. It's their EVERYTHING, the pure fibre of their total BEING. Every other nationality admires their spontaneous talent and natural ability for DANCING, RHYTHM, MUSIC, SINGING. They even do it in parliament. Why are the comps growing in leaps and bounds, almost uncontrollably?… without Ali Bacher or sponsorship… because DANCING, RHYTHM, MUSIC, SINGING is a natural, spontaneous expression to the people and the sport which should be sponsored. The people who can't live without their radio, music, dance and song. The people who dance when they are happy, dance when they mourn, dance when they protest, sing when they work That's the future viewership which the TV people should be aiming at and which the DS administrators should be furiously plugging for. Something that will attract a natural audience from the majority of the people.

Most heavily sponsored sports are in essence very boring to watch. Take golf which gets billions from businesses; a man and his caddy stroll around the park with a bag of sticks, "Oh! He hit it further than me, gee!" And this walking goes on all day, for days. Cricket; they stand for hours all day, for days scratching where they shouldn't. The camera turns to two birds crooning in the grass, then to the empty stands and zooms in on a few spectators snoring on a bench, or nodding their heads as they catch cob. And the sponsors pay millions. There is something very wrong with the system. Here we have a vibrant, glittering, natural sport for the majority of the people of our land and we just can't get the sponsors to see its huge viewership potential.

But fear little, Jay has fathomed it out. The public watch sport on TV, not for the excitement of the game, but to see who will win all the big bucks. To draw the crowds and the mega purses, tennis needed a Mc Enroe and Connors with their court abuse and foul language. Tennis is so boring; he hits an ace, he hits another ace, he hits another ace, he hits another ace and wins the game, and we don't even know who he is. He doesn't hit an ace, they begin to hit the ball back to each other (the other guy, who's that?), to and fro, more fro than to. The crowd is agog, their heads turn left then right, left then right as they follow that little round thing all day long, as if to say "no, no, no", only to see who will become instantly rich or richer than rich - the average, poor person's dream. We know how hard we have to work for the little we earn, so to "us poor people in the street" or is it "on the street?", that's vicarious paradise.

Boxing needed a Cassius Clay (Mohamed Ali and his big mouth) to generate millions. Recently a boxer received $30 million times R6 for losing, and our local fights, at their worst, are much, much more exciting than this one was. Sun City introduced their $1,000,000 winner-takes-all, one-off golf classic. Beauty contests spell it out loudly; "the winner gets so much, plus a luxury car, a contract with such and such a Co, for so many years". The runner-up becomes an instant millionaireressy. DS, it's not the sport that attracts TV viewers for sponsorship, it’s that big FAT carrot and how the big FAT carrot is manipulated and promoted that connives viewers. It's an artificial insemination, but someone has to be there to inseminate.

This sounds ludicrous, but it is not as laughable as the act of unnatural sports being sponsored millions because somebody pushed the issue for commercial reasons. To get DanceSport on the TV map, let's, at major comps, arrange for our sponsors to pay R30,000 to each couple that qualifies to the final. The winner gets R200,000, the runner-up R150,000 and 3rd R100,000 in each section - dancers, you like that? thought so. The sponsor must also do what the Americans do when they launch their sponsorship, SPLASH IT! give it the big BANG build-up, a vigorous TV preview promotion, "the R1,000,000 DanceSport extravaganza… who will win the big one?", etc. Let the finals be danced the next week as a TV show with mega bucks flying around as a spectator appeal. Ha-Ha, Ha-Ha, Ha-Ha, I'm also killing myself, don't worry.

If they can do it for sports that mean sweet fanny Annie to the majority of the population, then this one should be a cinch… dancing doesn't need artificial insemination, it's there, ripe, ready and waiting for the picking. DS needs something enterprising, a posse with a mission, a Sol Kerzner passion, starting now, not tomorrow, even at the expense of revising the system to suit TV appeal. Alternatively, let's stay the 3rd most popular, poorest, unknown, orphan, Cinderella sport in the land ad infinitum - always begging.

They tell me that the game called Squash is played by more people in the world than any other sport. What is Squash? No! you don't squash your opponent. It's that game with a little black ball which you run after for an hour like a loony while holding a racquet in the other hand. The only reason it has no sponsors or gets zilch TV coverage is that nobody has discovered it, there are no Mc Enroe and Connors in it. Squash is played by gentlemen and gentlewomen… the so-called fools of sport. And to be top-league squash-fit, squash players have to practise as hard as the top dancers - both get nothing for it and nobody knows who they are.

A word to our traditionalists, ballroom is no longer the gentle art you once knew, it's now a big city, hard-ball, grubber game, and the sooner we accept and latch on to this new concept, the better. Let's get rid of the old stale, staid stuff that keeps ballroom unknown, let's manipulate its TV presence. As usual, nobody is listening, and all think it's a fool's paradise; the same "Sun City paradise" Kerzner fabricated, and that guy who fantasised about an oasis in the middle of the desert, now called Las Vegas - amen.

Senior Citizens Compete

Hi Jay,
Thank you for another interesting copy of Dance Info. We note another dance school in KwaZulu-Natal share the same name as our club "Let's Dance", but as they say great minds think alike. We would greatly appreciate their address so that we could possibly visit them when in that area.

You know Jay, one thing that amazes me , is the unnecessary bickering and biting in the dance world. People have so much to be thankful for. We work with underprivileged black kids who cannot afford dance shoes, clothes or transport to the various competitions, but they are so grateful just to be able to dance.

Dance is such a wonderful sport for young and old. Freda and I turned 50 when we started competing. It actually came about because the kids were no longer in the house, I played computer games and Freda was either sewing or reading when she gave me an ultimatum - "We are going to start dancing OR ...! We started off with social dancing and from there went into competitive dancing and it really keeps the adrenalin flowing.

We would like to encourage other Senior people to take up this sport, because it is very enjoyable, a good form of exercise, which a husband and wife can enjoy TOGETHER. It also generates much more communication and conversation in the house - Not so peaceful and quiet in the house anymore.

There is basically no age restriction or age limit to start dancing and we also need more "matured" people in this section.

Johann Olivier (Odendaalsrus)

Ed
In Gauteng, when the name "Let's Dance" for a club or studio reached #7, I stopped counting. I thought they were all part of a franchise, but they're independent happy-chappies who have one serious thing in mind "let's dance". The people to contact in KZN are Mark and Charmaine @ 039-6822622.

Biting and bickering in any sport is unpleasant, but a necessary part to maintain stability, sanity and justice. Officials must not be permitted to indiscriminately manipulate matters with their power and authority. It's transparency we want from the authorities as they go about helping, organising and improving the sport.

We hear too much of sport administrators, government officials, etc. using their power to shape, misappropriate and deceitfully control things for their own convenience. Similarly, dancers must also realise they cannot make and break at will. But they must be given opportunity to air their views and know that someone is always there to hear them out and try to accommodate their worries and woes.

Talking about underprivileged, enthusiastic kids who cannot afford dance shoes, clothes or transport to the various competitions. The other day a teenage pupil of mine hobbled her Paso, I said, "what, a new dance?", "No, shoes too small, they're killing me". A few mags back I suggested a Jumble sale for the needy, and as a cleaning-out operation for unused outfits. This pupil of mine will hence forward definitely not shrink, so her almost brand new shoes, shall either be given away or sold at little more than nothing.
The same goes for dresses, tailsuits, etc.

The grapevine tells me that DanceSport is secretly doing this by asking trainers to collect hand-me-downs for those in need. Now why would they want to do that secretly without the generous help of DI - are they making money out of it? The grapevine also tells me that I won't be able to get the results for the comps because DanceSport now has its own website, IS THAT PETTY OR WHAT? The grapevine had to inform me of the SA colours our dancers received. Grapevine = secrecy and secrecy mostly always = deceit. Here, I'm not talking confidentiality, I'm talking of doing things stealthily because we want to keep that nose clean or are afraid to announce or tell others for some or other reason.

Why am I getting this suspicious, sneaky, grapevine feeling that DanceSport is suggesting I work AGAINST them and not FOR them. The day that happens will definitely be a very sad day for them and the sport.
I'm looking forward to when DanceSport in SA grows up into a mature, cooperative body with two predominant things in mind; keeping everybody well INFORMED, i.e. immediately, all the time, and to promote dancing the way DI and the DI website does it.

In the very unlikely event of DanceSport's development programme ever being sponsored with the same millions and thrust that cricket enjoys; where coaching, venues, equipment, etc. for the rural areas are financed, then I suggest there be no give-aways. For every Rand the dancer and the administration collect from their side for their own development, the sponsors should double that figure.

Johann, I hear what you say, "they are so grateful just to be able to dance". These rural trainers even bring their kids to me on a Sunday for answers, queries or just to gain dance knowledge because there is no-one in their area to help them. Most of these trainers have also purchased my international technique & dance-pattern video tapes, and believe me they scrutinise them.

Dancing definitely has no age limit, except for those who die at 30 but are only buried at 70. Our system is the living proof of that. We have the most animated, energetic people in town, comprising age groups from 5 to 105. The most active being the "Golden Greats" section which starts at 60 and Rock 'n Rolls all the way up. These dancers walk upright, carry their chins and crowns proudly aloft, and step with sprightly spring. You watch them dance, Mamma Mia Catharina! Even the youngsters ogle in awe - a treat to behold.

The best time to enjoy the full benefits of dancing is once the monsters are out of the house terrorising other turfs. That's when mamma bear and papa bear are ready to roll, because at that age;

you are financially more secure, and can reap the rewards of your hard work through dancing
your bones are ready to seize up if you let them - dancing is a wonder lubricant and a fun-form of exercising
you have more time to yourselves to prepare and travel to contests and see the country
dancing is something you can do and enjoy together - creates and maintains interesting and exciting communication
comps, exams or exhibition dancing pumps the adrenalin - the spark of life
getting your outfits and paraphernalia ready is a tremendous twosome adventure

Where To Go Dancing?

Hi Jay
I had a look at your site and am very impressed indeed. I have surfed a few "international" sites and they all have their different pro's and con's, but they seem so impersonal.

I came across a new restaurant in Rosettenville (JHB south) on Sunday afternoon, called Samba Danceteria. They wish to promote dancing, which they cater for in the restaurant. I have given them your details for possibly advertising in DanceInfo.

We will be going to the Lions Club on Friday night (second visit), as most of the dance places out my way have closed down due to lack of support/mismanagement, except for the Dance Palace, which has become overcrowded over weekends and appears to be catering more for the younger crowd with live bands, etc. and no longer the ballroom dancer (Louis says they sell more booze that way!) This has resulted in their
Thursday nights for ballroom becoming overcrowded, as the "ex weekend dancers" now try and get their ballroom in on a Thursday instead, and there is just no space to dance comfortably anymore.

We attended the Eidelweiss club in Bedfordview last Saturday, but unlike previous times, they appear to cater more for the ballroom steps these days and hardly any up-tempo latin, swing or boogie. So we are now continually searching for decent places to dance. Maybe we will just open up our own someday!

Regards

Wez

Ed
Wez, "why are we waiting?" You sing, cut, edit and customise CD's for dancers to suit their needs and the occasion; you dance; you have DJ-ed for the best; you know what kind of music gets dancers up and boogieing… Wez, "why are we waiting?"

I've tried to analyse the reason why dances designed specifically for "the dancer" fail, and I'm still scratching my nut. Here in Pretoria there are three Sakkie-Sakkie parlours which cannot cope with the throngs each week. They literally spill over at the seams, and the crowds keep coming, and the organisers keep jamming them in like sardines. These places could be filled three times over if they had the space.  A fellow phoned recently and asked why the organisers advertise "ample space to dance" when turning on a tiekie without a partner is about all you can barely do. But, each week the Sakkie socialites keep rolling in for more, with friends to jam the joint.

At the beginning of 1999, because of this tidal overflow, three ballroom dancers each decided to start their own do for the "fed-up dancer" who needs space to Tango, Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo. Two fizzed after a month or so, and the third is piddling; having reduced the event from twice a month to once a month and sweats blood to survive.

How often haven't l heard the wary wail, "there's no place for us to go dancing where Tangos, Rumbas, Sambas are played and space to dance". But few dancers support the people who run the dancer's ball. And let me tell you these organisers take a lot of trouble to please the dancer.

Here's my theory to why a dancer's club never seems to work no matter how good the music is, how much space there is or who runs it. Wez, you go out dancing for all the right reasons; to sweat it out in time to oomphy, melodic sounds; to mix with dancers; to practise your variety of patterns and dances; to burn out the fat frustrations of work - to you it's simply a dance blast. The average dancer has all the same ambitions but would prefer to sit at home holding hands, watching Igoli. Then, on the rare occasion, springs to action, goes out dancing and wonders "where did all the flowers go?"

Dancers tell me the main reason why they avoid these do's which cater specifically for them, is that the atmosphere is too professional. It's one big show-off parade for the advanced dancers.

The Sakkie brigade however, do it for similar reasons but theirs is mainly as a social night out - their weekly, meeting place for couples, single men and single women. Dancing, to the majority of them, is secondary. They want people, bodies (the more the merrier), new faces, conversation, that's what it's all about.

To get the people mixed, the organisers use the Bus-stop parade. All those without partners stand in a row as if at a bus stop. The female in the front gets asked for a dance first, and so on. Some girls don't like this bus stop thing, but it's a pleasant way for the opposite sex to meet, particularly in SA where women feel awkward or embarrassed to go out at night on their own, like they do in the UK and States.

Wez, let us know whenever you find a new place or restaurant you think the dancer will enjoy.

Lilian Dooley and the Jungle

October 1999

Dear Jay
I received a copy of your magazine from Mr Moroder. It is very interesting and I especially read with interest the article on Rumba in the Jungle. It has always been our goal from the inception of the competition 9 years ago to create a platform for Ballroom Dancing to:

· Receive mass media coverage, both print and electronic.

· Generate interest within the corporate sector to benefit all.

· Create a following for dance within the public sector.

· Create events locally that are of an international standard.

· Create a platform to profile our local talent.

· Create a broadcast to profile the sport that can be viewed both locally and internationally, we also utilised this medium to create exposure for needs within our communities to motivate potential investors. The events have been broadcast on Eurosport for several years creating exposure for our dancers within the European circuit. This exposure has also served to market South Africa as a destination available to international dancers to prove to the international decision makers that we as a nation have the capacity to stage events and therefore encourage them to allocate titles to South Africa. There was a great hesitancy for many years and the international council members were very wary of the capacity within South Africa, in 1998 we were allocated the World Pro Latin Championship.

· Create mechanisms for the development of the dancers: prizes have included: shoe vouchers, dance music cassettes, fabric vouchers, lesson vouchers and above all to create a entertaining event for both the competitors and the audience, we want them to remain in our market both in the dance schools and as repeat visitors to events.

In the beginning the motivation was also to create an event where all dancers irrespective of their affiliation to associations could feel free to compete. You will recall at one time we did not have unity in Ballroom Dancing, dancers then had an opportunity to compete against each other with a completely international board of adjudicators. This year we utilised the opportunity to further promote our local adjudicators. Our objective was also to try to make household names of our champions. As in other sports once they are known by the public and a following is developed all sorts of benefits are assured.

There are a number of very dedicated people within Dance Sport today as there have been for many years, and it has been a long road. Today we stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us in building the sport so that it receives the recognition, funding and exposure it deserves. We have by no means reached the ultimate goal but from where I am standing the future looks very bright indeed.

In closing I would like to add that the success of any project is only possible with a reliable team of people who share the same vision.

Thank you for your efforts in promoting the Dance Info magazine, this is another opportunity to promote the Dance Sport cause in South Africa.

Yours Sincerely,

Lilian Dooley

P.S. I note that you do not have my qualifications listed, they are as follows:

Latin Fellow / Ballroom Fellow / Freestyle Fellow and Examiner ISTD

Ed,
Lilian, the first thing I'd like to do is thank you for announcing your qualifications. Now we know, according to the DanceInfo list and the one on the net, that you are the highest qualified official around, and the tragedy is, nobody knew it. Not even the DanceSport officials who issued the info. That is bad, and really a sad commentary of things. This country desperately needs DanceInfo to get the SA dance-world totally au fait.

For those who don't know, Lilian is the presenter who sprinkles the technical jargon for us viewers during the "Rumba In The Jungle" TV broadcasts each year. Lilian is also the chief organiser who hops abroad to arrange the top dancers, top DJ's and overseas' adjudicators for this dazzling Sun City event.

The next thank-you is for all the valuable info to the dancer. It's good to know that so much is being done by so many for DanceSport and that enormous progress in the development of dancing and ballroom "media exposure" is taking place. For me to help, I need input, but input is very hard to come by.

Just recently many dancers received their SA colours for ballroom and Latin, so says Ryno van den Berg a  casual visitor from the UK. At this point of writing, I still don't know who these couples are. Here I am scribing my butt off trying to get dancers informed about anything and everything that moves in dancing. An historic event takes place and not a sole squeaks. I also heard that a SA DanceSport team was select for the Olympics. The news comes to me by accident and I'm still not sure whether it's an accident or bona fide.

My personal view is, DanceSport seems to have become too huge, too fast for many of the officials  - I'm only trying to help, but they either think no-one reads this magazine or that announcing major events is unimportant to the dancer. I have a page on my website for "special notices", i.e. for newsflash items which official and dancers can use to list important dates and events. I upload the info the moment I received the details, and more and more dancers are using and relying on the net these days.

It's amazing, immediately after a ballroom & Latin dance programme has been screened on TV, the dance schools are flooded with calls from people of all age groups wanting to do it like that. There is so much depth, so much potential, so much interest in dancing that it is almost frightening.

What the TV people don't seem to gasp is that it's not just the dancing that attracts interest, but also the dresses and the glamour of the sport, and if well produced and appealingly presented, there are millions who will enjoy the splendour. It's a natural form of entertainment. Dancing definitely needs more TV exposure - a regular dance programme like the "Come Dancing" series which the English have been running every second week for 50 years - they have perfected it the hard way, let's copy them.

Reply to "Only Moffies Like You Wear Earrings!!"
From Charmaine Field - Let’s Dance - Setting the Records Straight

Dear Jay
Unfortunately I did not receive a copy of the June Dance Info. So I have to admit I was rather shocked to read Pam Esterhuizen’s reply to the letter by Deanna Mouton, which was directed at us, so please forgive us if our reply seems to have taken a long time. (Thanks for faxing the copy so quickly).

I am going to start my letter by going straight to the point.  In November 1998, we asked Deanna Mouton to remove her child from our studio, this was done simply because Mrs Mouton was causing problems with the majority of our competitive parents.  These parents came to us and asked us to do something about it, or they would be removing their children from the studio. This was not an easy decision on our behalf, as Mark and I had to think of the effect it would have on the couple. We decided that since the couple were already taking lessons at another studio and enjoying it, the effect would not be that great, so the decision was made. This decision has had a few repercussions. However, at no stage have we regretted it.

On rereading our letter and your reply in the April issue my comment has got to be that Mrs Mouton is obviously a very unhappy person, unhappy because all the underhandedness that she has directed at our studio and us has not worked. The studio IS a happy place especially since she is no longer a part of it.
At present we have approximately 180 students ranging from age 5 years to 75 years, if we are such bad trainers could somebody please explain why these couples and students are still dancing in our studio.

“Let’s Dance” has a very social side, we try to get the youngsters that dance with us to interact with each other in other aspects of life and not just dancing. Our aim is to keep as many youngsters happy and off the streets as possible. In the last two weeks we have had a party night that was attended by between 80 and 100 youngsters ranging in age from 5 - 17 years old.  The studio entered two soap boxes into a soap box derby, these soap boxes were driven by dancers, who with their parents also helped to make them (one of our soap boxes won their section and age group). The studio entered a mini hockey tournament.  18 dancers took part from the studio, with one of the junior teams taking second place.

Mrs Mouton starts her letter off by saying, “we have tried so hard to get out of the viscous circle”, if this is the case why is she still, after 9 months, trying so hard to hurt our studio and us? At no stage have we attacked her or anything she does no matter how incorrect we have thought it to be, we have replied to her ‘anonymous’ letters in the local paper with dignity, but she just goes on and on and on. However she is now going a bit far with her accusation of ‘getting away with murder’ which is somewhat libel and will be acted upon.

Her first accusation - we advise gentlemen to drop partners - my question to her is, HOW DID HER DAUGHTER GET HER PARTNER. Let ME explain, her daughter and partner decided to dance together, fine SHE was partnerless at the time, but HE wasn’t.  So this young man's partner was told on the dance floor during a general lesson, “I am not dancing with you anymore, I am dancing with her now”. A bit harsh - I would say so. So in Mrs Mouton’s eyes it is only okay for guys to drop partners if HER daughter benefits.  NEPOTISM?

As for the bronze couple in her letter. At no stage did I instruct the young man to drop his partner, he came to me for advice, he was concerned with the partnership. His partner had only attended 2 out of 10 lessons. I told him once again that we do not get involved in partnerships and he must do what he feels best. (It must be stated that the 8 general lessons his partner missed he trained with the young lady that later became his new partner, as neither of them had a partner at the lesson).  It amazes me though to read that this young lady had made a new dress, bought shoes, etc. and yet had not bothered to pay for or enter the competition.  Does this young lady recall dropping a previous partner she had entered into a competition with - two days before the competition?

I was never confronted by anyone in connection with this matter - as it states in the letter.

Accusation no 2 - I would love to know how we could affect my children’s marks at competitions.  Unless as Mrs Mouton insinuates later in her letter, she feels that we can influence adjudicators in some way (“As was the case with the trainer’s children who had training sessions with the adjudicators before comps”). We had many workshops with Natal trainers and if she feels that all of these trainers now adjudicate at competitions for our students benefit I truly feel that she is aiming her hatred at a lot of people that have no connection with this matter and she should be careful in her accusations.

“In a nutshell” - (boy, have I been dying to get to this section). Accusations: Not issuing points at a competition - Asking a couple to leave the studio - Ignoring some couple at lessons - Stealing partners - Not giving free extra time - Not giving new routines - Three stagnation couples - Moffie question.

Since when does the organiser of a competition issue points. FEDANSA have their rules which relate to every promotional competition, and have nothing to do with the organisation at all.  Which organisers at the event did she contact? Mrs Mouton insinuates that it was me, unfortunately this never happened, if it had I would have made the facts known there and then.  This makes me feel that Mrs Mouton is not on about points she is on about the fact that in some sections trophies were handed out for second place (with only two couples on the floor) and not in others.

Let’s recap the organisation of the comp. To make matters easier for me (since I was running the comp and had lots to think of and do at the event), I had made a list of the number of certificates and trophies to be issued in each section ahead of time and according to the program. These were handed to the scrutineer and to the certificate maker at the beginning of the competition.  Just before prize giving I realised that sections would have changed due to non-appearance of dancers entered.  So I spoke to a FEDANSA official and brought this to his attention. A quick decision was made to continue as per program so as not to delay prize giving.  I had not checked the sections and cannot even recall at this time what they were, and how many were affected.  Does anyone really think that I would jeopardise everything that we have achieved on the Coast for a R2,00 certificate and a R6,00 trophy?  my daughter (to whom Mrs Mouton is referring) is a 12-year old child who in the time she has been dancing has earned more than 40 trophies.  These trophies are very special to her and she has worked very hard to win them.

Is this now Mrs Mouton’s aim, to take her anger and hatred at us out on a 12-year old child?
As for the couple that did not dance I think that this was covered in Pam Esterhuizen’s reply in the July issue.

Continuing: the couple that was asked to leave the studio - this was her daughter and partner - I have explained above. As for being ignored and not taught in a lesson, - “please” - would you continue to bring your child to a lesson she was being ignored in, without actually saying something to the trainer?

Back to my daughter (Mrs Mouton’s favourite subject) - her current partner was dancing in another studio with another partner, yes, however my daughter was informed that he had left that studio in December 1998, and he was no longer dancing. On notification by her then partners mother in January 1999 that he was no longer dancing with her, she contacted this youngster and asked him if he wanted to dance with her, he agreed immediately as they had been partners prior to this and knew each other well.  The young lady that was ‘left partnerless’ has apparently taken on another partner, this young gentleman changed partners without letting his current partner know he had changed.

Let's now get down to the three other couples that left the studio because they were not being given new routines or given extra time - HANDS UP ALL THE PROFESSIONALS OUT THERE THAT GIVE FREE PRIVATE LESSONS TO ALL THEIR STUDENTS. My two children with their partners had at that time recently achieved gold latin so yes they were having some extra time to enable them to get their routines together, as was extra time given to Mrs Mouton’s daughter and partner ALSO at no charge. (Although I don’t hear her complain about that, actually she doesn’t even mention it, does she).  NEPOTISM?

Continuing with these three stagnating couples. Did any of them ask for extra time?

Couple 1 – only started dancing together after leaving our studio so how were they stagnating (this young man while dancing in our studio went from bronze ballroom and latin in February to gold latin by August ? 8 comps and gold ballroom in December ? 12 comps). We won’t go into how many 1st’s and 2nd’s had to be achieved to get through so quickly.

Couple 2 – a very new couple (only danced 2–3 competitions with our studio). The young boy was quite new and had to compete in silver ballroom, as that was where his new partner was. This couple were given extra time (no mention of this in Mrs Mouton’s letter) this couple took 2nd place in their second competition together.

Couple 3 – achieved at least two 1st places, three 2nd places, two 3rd places in the last 6 months that they danced with us.

So what is Mrs Mouton’s meaning when she says that since they have changed trainers they have started taking 2nd places?  Unfortunately in her endeavour to hurt us, she has not looked at simple facts that can be proved with FEDANSA records.

Since Mrs Mouton is so on about partner changes etc, let's just carry on with these same three couples. Couple 1 – he was already re-partnered when he let his ex-partner know they were no longer partners. Couple 2, her partner could not make it to a competition because of a prior commitment, so she danced with someone else and let her partner know after the competition that they were no longer partners. Couple 3, he phoned me personally on the Wednesday and offered to partner my daughter who had been dropped on the Tuesday.

The moffies story, as this was only a very small section of the letter, Mrs Mouton obviously knows exactly what context this would have been said in, but has decided to try and use it as a weapon against us. (She is so rapidly running out of credible firepower, first new complaint for 1999).  Most of her letter has been directed at myself, so I'm not sure who she means when she says the trainer in question. I have never marshalled a competition however Mark has.

If anyone has ever seen Mark with the youngsters at competitions, they will know that he is always in the marshalling area with our students and others that we have got to know over the years.  He jokes with them and tries to get them to relax before taking the floor. Mark is not a malicious person and will never say anything to deliberately hurt a child. If anyone has taken offence to something he has said, please speak to him at the next competition and I am sure that the matter can be cleared there and then.

We have not been asked by FEDANSA or PAB to address any of these complaints, and we would be happy to do so if asked , as Mrs Mouton has twisted matters in her ‘badly spoken’ letter to suit her hate campaign.
Jay you say in your reply to Pam Esterhuizen’s letter in July issue “that you worry how this whole cross-fire affects the kid’s dancing”. We try very hard not to let it, but it does, especially when things are continuously directed straight at a particular child whether their names are mentioned or not.

No matter how hard trainers try I am sure that somewhere along the line every single one of us has had unhappy students or parents.  Mrs Mouton is just that  - an unhappy parent who left our studio 9 months ago, how much longer is she going to carry this on before she can finally let go?

I, like Pam Esterhuizen had believed that we had got past the bickering stage now that the new FEDANSA committee had been formed. However, it seems that Mrs Mouton has not and I am sure that she will continue to try and undo everything good that we try and do.

Mrs Mouton ends her latter saying that you should be aware of the true facts and what the competing children have to contend with, Jay you now have all the facts in your hands, facts that can all be proved.

Keep up the good work.

CHARMAINE FIELD
LET’S DANCE STUDIO

Ed
Charmaine, I am the humble servant and messenger boy of both the dancer and official. For me to become embroiled in personal disputes or studio/student conflicts would be contrary to what DI stands for. I fight for each parties, and have over the years given each the opportunity to speak out frankly (free speech), with the hope justice will, for the sake of dancing, WIN. Although, my main mission is to promote dancing and to enlighten the dancer, I cannot ignore the problems that beset the dancer, and BELIEVE me! I hear them all.

Yours and Mrs Mouton's wrangle is not unique, it's common. Many studios have an identical problem. Both sides have now presented their positions. Our readers must cast their judicial vote to whom they feel wins the war or loses the battle. I must, however, mention that Mrs Mouton preferred  me not to publish her letter. That part of her fax I couldn't read.

For a long time I have been thinking of unloading my feelings about the dancer and the malicious stigma that surrounds and sours our exciting sport. Dancers seem to be spawned into a vindictive mentality. Your letter and a number of recent phone calls I have received plus the many discussions I've had with dancers, have finally prompted me to divulge. And here I am not just talking about the competitive side of ballroom dancing, but the social as well.

Let me begin with the social scenario, since that's the one I'm commercially closer to.

Don't ever ask an Arthur Murray, Fred Astaire, TC or any other independent little social dance school to mix or associate with the other, that is total taboo - a very sad scenario. Some even bar their staff and students from discussing, visiting or mixing with their competitors. "Competitor" being the war word. And Hades help anyone who endeavours to stage an inter-social-studio dance contest - SACRED! It could get other dancers to mix and even socialise.

Each thinks his/her system is the Sun god's gift to the market, and that the others are only reject replicas. Arthur Murray, who are arguably known to be the forerunner to social dancing, I won't say stole, I'll be more euphemistic, borrowed figures and step-patterns from the competitive dancer and devised a bronze, silver and gold syllabi which was socially acceptable and easier to learn. Fred Astaire studios soon followed, using the exact same recipe, copying it indiscreetly to the letter, and a million others jumped on the bandwagon. So no one social studio may lay claim to be the original pioneer, they are all reject replicas. A political definition would be "inter-socio-cultural, artistic development", and who cares what system is being used, so long as the service to the public is good and what they offer is usable. The average happy-chappy just wants to be able to move around the dance-floor with reasonable confidence and with a useful variety of patterns, doing the thing most do socially. This system is now known as the American System, although in the States, it has become very competitive.

In South Africa, the social dance industry (here's a shy, mild guess) is 50 times bigger than the  competitive, and most competitive studios can't make it financially without their social dancers. The late Jack Calder was the only one, since timedot, to have run a competitive ballroom dance school in Pretoria and he barely survived. Now there are at least 3. My point is, there are hundreds of thousands of social dance schools but nobody knows anybody except for those cloistered and clustered in their own closet - an icy detachment.

The social dance scene is an enormous contradiction in terms. They stress that dancing is a friendly, fun, sociable recreation. A sport where people with the same interest will meet other people, enjoy good times together, etc., i.e.  provided the alien socialites don't interfere - you can be happy, but just don't show it. To them it's RAW BUSINESS - dog eat dog and vice versa.

Ever wondered why these "big-name" social studios don't appear in DI (the dance enthusiast's only magazine, that talks dancing per se) No! not because they are too busy teaching, but because this liberal magazine generously opens doors to all forms of dance. It tells the democratic truth about what's happening. For their pupils to know these things is a formidable threat to their studio's business. Dancing is used mainly as a convenient, commercial instrument to attain business; everything else is shrouded within their own 4 walls.

For example, I've been the editor of DI for 5 years; run a social school and don't know a soul in the circle. Yet I'm familiar with most of the names of the officials of the competitive side. That's the icy social detachment I'm talking about.

Our social school is by far the largest in Pretoria. At one stage we taught a 1000 active pupils each week, without advertising. We are genuinely liberated. Our studio plugs DANCING all the way. We run on the "buffet" system; you pay X amount, so eat yourself to a fizz (no pattern starvation, and learn whatever dance/s you want to learn until it comes out of your ears).

We encourage our pupils to attend comps; 90% subscribe to DanceInfo; we want them to visit the other social schools, and invite the public and other dancers to our functions; we have for years sold our dances and steps (on video) to our pupils, to the public, and to many of the students of these "big-name" social studios who hunger for pattern-variety.

Because of this, sure, we have lost pupils to the Competitive side, to Modern, Spanish, etc. but in return have gained many more, and dancing, from our side has been the victor. I find this cloistered, verkrampte, shrouded stuff so petty - a social dance studios' disease.

You seldom hear complaints from students of social dance schools, and the reason being, they have nothing to complain about because they have nothing to compare with. Hitler did that during the war, he shut his people out of anything that would influence them from thinking anything other than what he wanted them to think and then brain-blasted them with how superior their race is… and we are supposed to be part of a democratic society - freedom and liberty for all.

Social schools will have a huge problem when DanceInfo is sold at bookstores, because no matter to which section the dancer belongs, the dancer will always be interested in reading about the exciting activities of dance.

The competitive arena is no better off, theirs is the same animal with a different feather. Hades help parents who ask an adjudicator why he/she scored their child 4th when the other four each accredited 1sts. A question like that could get the kids kicked out of their studio and will label them for life as trouble-makers - definitely not a benefit to them at future comps.

There is little wrong with a question like that. In fact, it's every couple's democratic right to know what an adjudicator doesn't like about them. Getting to the finals is the next best thing to winning for every couple. That's what dancers practise so hard for - to qualify for the finals.

Adjudicators must make it their 1st priority to memorise each and every assessment of every final they judge in case a dancer decides to ask, no excuses. Anything less is an insult to the finalists and the many hours of toil and application these dancers put in to qualifying, and they must not expect payment for their answer - that's an insult to dancing, the improvement thereof and the colours of our country.

The healthiest part and quickest path to progress or improvement for every dancer is not praise from the experts. Praise certainly encourages but it can also be horribly deceiving. Dancers prefer to know why they are not featuring. They want to know what they are doing wrong and must be allowed to speak their minds without being branded as moaners.

The thrust and long-term goal for South African dancing is the Olympics, and as we prepare for the Olympics, corrective comments from our boffins will mean more than anything else to spurring our dancers on to greater heights.

It's time for all to stand together and support the country. We've been in the international wilderness for long enough, now is the time to unite, to avoid pettiness, suppression and selfish ideals. If dancers and parents continually feel they will be prejudiced because they speak out or query results then I'm afraid SA dancing will stagnate and even retrogress. Communism is dead. Children learn by asking questions, those that don't, stay dumb.

Marcus & Karen Hilton, the defeated World Professional Ballroom champs only became out-spoken, frank and open after their retirement from competing. Before that, they either lied about how they felt or had to shut up… is that what they call the "politics of dancing?" I call it oppression on a grand scale - a disgrace to the sport. Give me Carte Blanche and Fair Deal any day.

On the other hand, parents and dancers should also be very discreet about how and when these questions to the adjudicator are posed. They should watch the other couples' performance closely before jumping to conclusions about what place their children should get. And they shouldn't take what their friends and family members say too seriously.

I suggest OPEN MARKING be used for every final so that the ugly-duckling adjudicator is exposed to the public. When we use Open Marking for our Olympic exhibitions, it takes one round to sort out the cats from the canaries, thereafter, it's like magic. All the judges are suddenly on par, either low or high together, as if breast-fed by the same sow.

Another nasty that has worried me about competitive dancing is the bitchiness and jealousy among competitive dancers - it plagues the sport. Of course it's natural, the level of competition is so fierce, but surely there must be a friendlier way. How do other sports congeal? In the UK they apparently arrange a "happy hour" after comps where competitors mix, mingle and socialise - sounds good to me.

But the most disturbing element of the competitive side, however, is that dancers are compelled to zip-the-lip whenever things worry them - doggy, SIT, play mute, GOOD BOY. The reason for this is that there are too few top trainers for the number of competitors. It's so easy for trainers to say, "if you don't like what you are getting, then go some place else". They have a strangle-hold on proceedings, because changing a coach is a bitter pill for any competitor, particularly if it happens under a heavy cloud; and finding another trainer is even worse.

In this respect social dancing is less dictatorial. We are forced to look after our pupils, the enterprise and options for the customer are too great. If students don't like us or the way we do things, they simply click their fingers, we jump up, stay there for 3 measures, salute, smile, gracefully descend and say "ja baas, dankie baas. Or they migrate to greener pastures or just exit from the scene entirely - otherwise known as private enterprise.

Charmain, I might occasionally forget my name, but I always, and I stress ALWAYS remember promises made to me, and I judge characters on how promises are met. You and Pam Esterhuizen both promised to send info regularly from the banana fields, I'd really like that for our readers all over South Africa and abroad, because many interesting things seem to happen down over.

Thanks for your response, there is nothing like "two sides to a story".

Gay Rugby Players

September 1999

Hi Jay
Who said that dancing is the 3rd most popular sport in South Africa? And where do they get their figures from? As Cinderellas, we are lucky if dancing is televised once every 3 months, and then the little they do show is not worth watching. If it's not rugby, rugby, rugby it's cricket, cricket, cricket to a handful of fanatics. The other 40,000,000 haven't the slightest interest in rugby, rugby, rugby or cricket, cricket, cricket.

They also say that there are approximately 3,000,000 active dancers in SA. If that is so, then you can conservatively times the 3,000,000 by 3 or 4 to include their non-participating, supportive families and friends. Then you must also add the many millions who sometime-or-another, over a span of 50 years, have taken a few or many dancing lessons. They would also be interested in dancing because they can relate to it. These millions I am talking about only include Ballroom and Latin competitive and social dancers, it does not account for the hundreds of thousands who enjoy Freestyle, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Line Dancing and even aerobic dancing.

If nothing else, the TV people could show regular, short edited versions of the many major Ballroom, Latin, Freestyle and Social contests held each year, plus Modern, Tap, Jazz and even Aerobic dancing and the highlights of the Eisteddfods. There is an infinite variety of dance forms that  could entertain the millions each week or every other week.

Another gripe; "Men who can't dance" has been the topic of wild discussion in your mag I know, but since woman now have a day of their own to celebrate, I thought I'd liberate a little. It's absolutely disgusting that the majority of men can't realise that knowing how to dance is a social thrill for most women, and that not knowing how to dance or lead is an insult and an embarrassment to their partner. If they could only understand the frustration and agony us females suffer while sitting out when lively or romantic music plays, then they would surely do something about this serious social limitation of theirs.

How often don't you see a girl at a wedding or dance desperately drag her man onto the dance floor, then, when he is supposed to move around in time to the beat of the music, stands there looking like a wimp.
What's wrong with South African men? If they think being a dancer is being timid and effeminate then I've got news for them. Firstly, I know rugby players who are Gay but that doesn't make them weaker than the other players. But not knowing how to dance doesn't make a man macho. As a matter of fact, it does the opposite, it makes him the wimp I mentioned earlier.

Secondly, many dancers are much stronger and much fitter than rugby players. For instance, a girlfriend of mine who dances at a social studio was preparing for an exhibition show. Her average-sized, lean-built dance instructor would, with effortless ease, hoist her into an over-head lift. When she tried that same lift with a friend's boyfriend, who is one of those burly, rough, tough rugby players who can't dance a step and calls dancers sissies; this guy couldn't even get her past his shoulders. For me, that was the laugh of the year so far, I really enjoyed that.

And on the fitness side, if you watch how much speed, energy and movement is put into each heat by competition dancers, then rugby players have got a long way to go to get that fit; they would be exhausted after the first round.

In the UK, the States, Europe, Japan and many other countries, good dancing for a male is a social etiquette, an important facet of his education; dancing is big, it's popular. In America, the Arthur Murray School of Dancing promote a macho image for men, next to a Ferrari, with style and above all being a good dancer. Their caption goes; "male celebrities who can't dance are nobodies" and "the ride to the party in the Ferrari is short-lived, what happens there will be long remembered or soon fizzed out".

In South Africa our black community perceives  good dancing a privilege, their white counterparts have this verkrampte, sissy mentality about learning to dance. The thought of taking dancing lessons embarrasses them. Why do the majority of the men the world over see dancing and music as a natural instinct; as merriment, joy, celebration, a physical and emotional expression and a cultured means of flaunting their partner, while the white South African men see it as an embarrassment? Jay, it's about time you did something about it.

Regards, and thanks for your magic magazine.

Veronica White (Springs)

Ed
 Veronica, I have tried so hard, but the boys won't dance with me either.

To your first Q. I agree, the TV people should really do something positive and entertaining about compiling a weekly programme that caters to the millions who have a personal interest in dancing. Like eating, dancing is a basic instinct and a very necessary part to balance the scale. Whether we do it well or not, dancing is an inborn urge; our physical way to express inner feelings. With our tongue we say what we think. To music, with our body we say what we feel, live our emotions, let the music take control. And while we are doing that we are burning up those excess, unwanted calories, firming up the muscles and extricating all our office, home or other woes and frustrations - it's a tonic to the mind and body, and very handy when you're at a place where they supply a dance floor, play music and you are supposed to have fun.

But no! the TV people have other ideas. Their next most popular sport to rugby, rugby, rugby and cricket, cricket, cricket is eat, eat, eat. Yes, 3 times a week on different channels they foist us with those delicious, succulent, sizzling, exotic cuisines – be a pig, stuff your face as much as you can, splurge your guzzle instinct to the hilt… you slob of a blob.

Can't they please sacrifice just one of their delectable "eat, drink, and get fat" programmes for an energetic "dance, dance, dance, keep fit, relax and be merry" programme.  Ask the average person what he/she watches on TV, and their average cliché is, "very little, there's so much rubbish on TV these days, mainly the repeats of all the old movies we've seen many times over".

Veronica, you mentioned the various forms of dance that could be televised; Ballroom, Latin, Freestyle, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Aerobic, Ballet, the Eisteddfods, Line Dancing. I can add a few more; Folk dancing, Square dancing, Spanish dancing, Zulu and Mine Dancing, River dancing, Ku fung dancing, Hip Hop, Argentine Tango.

There is an endless list that could be covered to interest most viewers. In 4-week sessions, of a ½- an-hour each, TV could deal with the competitive side of Ballroom and Latin dancing; its brief history; how these comps are run, highlights of the major championships, the dress fashion, the system of judging, the champions' approach, etc. The next 4 weeks they could either cover Social, Spanish, Freestyle, Modern, etc. That would be a whole lot more fun to watch than most of what's presently dished out, and I'm certain this type of entertainment will gain many viewers for them. Particularly if it's run regularly each week.

But Veronica, if it's an exciting variety of entertainment you're looking for, then treat yourself to a major Freestyle competition. If anything is as magic as our magazine, then this is it… WOW, COOL, mega magic. At these contests the youngsters truly get into dancing like you cannot believe; it's Rock 'n Roll, Solo performances, Exhibition shows, lifts, drops, swings, slings, throws and jumps, and there are hundreds of them totally focused, totally absorbed in a dance world of their own, and they gyrate mostly to modern and the 50's music – it's one heck-of-a-blast… I just don't know where our TV crew have been since 1978, except for wandering in soapy and mystery-murder land.

Your second gripe. Veronica, you see, South African white men are brought up (not as in hurling) to believe that they are the strongest species on earth, and SA tradition has it, that if you don't play rugby then you are a pansy. Our men used to be strong when they still ate mieliepap for breakfast, but look at them now; can't lift an average–sized floozy past his shoulders, can't beat the Welsh, the English, the Australians or the All Blacks at rugby, and on top of all these failures, have the worst record as dancers – as you say, "it's absolutely disgusting", no social finesse or respect for the fairer sex who do the cooking for them.

What I can't understand is, why these painfully vainglorious creatures think it's an embarrassment to learn to dance. Good leading on a dance floor gives the male an ego boost, gives him complete authority, chauvinistic assertiveness, I mean he's the real boss. Think of it, dancing is one of the few sports where the female can actually, physically feel the so-called superior strength of the male. Unless they mud-wrestle at home. But no, what does Mr Conceit do? He remains a wimp. But all's not totally lost Veronica… we beat the Italians at rugby, and as one of the commentators said after that game, "South Africa really played well, they have completely regained their confidence as the current world champions" – Hip! Hip! Hooray!

My First Exhibition

July 1999

Hi Jay
I just want to say thanks to all the DanceWell staff for a fine exhibition function on Saturday 12 June.
I performed my first exhibition but made so many mistakes, that I felt I could never do another exhibition again. I thought my exhibition was going to be a redo, but with luck I got my shield.

I love it when the students say good luck to each other.

I also just want to say thank you to my teacher Gideon. I never had the courage to dance in front of other people but he gave me the courage to do it.

Thanks to all of you

Carin van Heerden

Ed
Carin, I'm sure you admired the stylish, confident way the more experienced dancers performed their exhibitions? Well, you should have seen them the day they adorned the stage for the first time. You would have proudly given yourself a pat on the back for your recent performance. The inaugural act merely serves to break the ice. From now on it's… up, up and away - things can only get better.

Studying your video will help you improve many things. It will force you to see the niggling parts you don't like, hence, get you better prepared for the next one. When we first started our exhibition system, many mistakenly judged our standard by the way these first shows where done, they didn't see the potential, the big picture. We are not very concerned with how you perform the first one or the second one. It's what "exhibition dancing" does for you immediately, personally and most importantly, what it will do for your dancing ultimately.

To fill you in a little and ease your mind, here are a few personal tips I'd like to share with you and all those who are still new at the exhibition game:

· Select your favourite dance. The one you presently dance with comfort or like most, and be choosy about the music you pick. You must feel the rhythm, hear the beat clearly and like the tune, and make your music selection long before the exhibition month.

· Don't try to be different by dancing variations beyond your present standard or capabilities and avoid choreographing fancy routines. You'll only complicate matters for yourself. Keeping it simple makes dancing exhibitions fun and exciting. Play it safe, stick to the Bronze steps - rather feel sure and confident about what you are doing.

· Use the same exam routine of your favourite dance which qualified you for the exhibition. By doing this, you have more time to spend on styling and neatness because you already know the routine and the patterns.

· For your entrance and exit, borrow a step from the silver or gold syllabus and doll it up a bit. And do your entrance and exit close, or in contact with your partner. To dance anything away from your partner while you're still a greenhorn, is looking for gremlins, your knees won't permit it.

· Although we are allowed two-and-a-half minutes per demo, avoid going over the 2 minute mark. Stop when the audience want more. My seven exhibitions that reached the top 10 on the Saturday in question, were ± 1 minute, 45 seconds and comprised basic patterns and styles, done confidently from start to finish and they look spickerish on video - I am proud of them.

· Very important. Once you have choreographed your routine to the music, practise it non-stop from entrance to exit. And I mean without stopping in-between. Get accustomed to rectifying mistakes in the flow of things by continuing to the bitter end of the music - regardless. We all make mistakes but some make a mistake look like an embarrassing blunder, while others make a mistake look good or even cover it inconspicuously, and often, it turns out to look better than the original. You learn to handle mistakes better when you practise correcting them in the act. This exercise helps us err less - it's our best insurance against obvious, unnecessary errors. During this little exercise, don't worry about styling or how you do it, just arrange your routine so that it starts with the music and ends with the music. It's called basic choreography.

· You know your routine from start to finish, now polish the style, and exaggerate your lines and movements to complement the action for the video and compensate for the distance of the stage, and add a little smile to the style. Oh yes, you're allowed to breathe as well.

· Be nervous. When dancers tell me they are not nervous prior to going on stage, then that makes me nervous. Being nervous is a very essential part of dancing on stage or in contests. It is the adrenaline, the excitement; that immense feeling of respect you have for your partner, your audience, the judges and yourself - the dignity to entertain and please others. It's that feeling of knowing exactly what to do and hoping it all goes well. Here I'm not yapping about the nervousness caused by being unprepared or unsure of your routine, style or whatever. This type of nervousness I call neurotic fear, which is harmful to your health and really an insult to all who have nowhere else to look but at the stage to see you nervously flounder around groping.

· Finally, treat your shield and video tape with respect, these items symbolise the pride you have in dancing exhibitions. They signify your enthusiasm for your hobby - a great hobby, i.e. shine your shield and take good care of your video-tape. Your shield and your video are the tangibles, the living proof, the history of your dance action.
When I prepare my pupils for their exhibitions, I don't prepare them for the audience or the judges, we think video and make sure every prominent line or action is front-on to the video. No backsides smiling at the video; we strive for minimum error and we even rehearse going onto and leaving the stage properly for the video. If we battle with a movement, without hassle or hesitation, we simplify it for the sake of the video. Everything is oriented towards how it will appear on video.

The better you dance your exhibition with the video in mind, the better it will look on stage for the judges and audience… the video is your judge; your audience.

Bear in mind that long after the audience and the judges have forgotten who Carin is or what she danced, the video will still show where she went wrong or how great she was, who partnered her, what music she used, when and where she performed, what Carin wore and how much she received for it - the video lives on, it's the memory of all the fun and excitement of your hobby, and it will either please you or make you blush, but whatever it does, cherish it.

Carin, if you were to ask me; "what are the most common mistakes made by beginners when performing exhibitions?" I'd say they try to be too fancy. They attempt difficult moves or steps from the gold syllabus when they are hardly able to master the basics in bronze. At the elementary stage, where everything is new and muddling, it is safer to keep things plain and simple. Work on the basic elements; neat footwork, rhythm, arms, etc. If you can't do these correctly, you'll never bring out the true character of the dance or even look good on the dance floor, no matter how great your talents and abilities are.

Every time I do the videos, I see very talented dancers step wide legged, never bring their feet together when they are supposed to, dangle their arms in orang-outang style, hunch their shoulders, look to the right in closed position, step with a bent knee on break positions. These are basic things that take precedence over patterns.

Many learners erroneously believe that knowing the patterns is the be-all and end-all to dancing… it's the beginning of dancing. Any baboon can be taught a pattern, but it takes more than a baboon to dance comfortably, look good, appear stylish, etc. Don't think of exhibitions as social dancing, it's a hobby, a serious hobby, but more than that, it's a public presentation, and when we perform to the multitudes, we owe much more to ourselves. We must feel well-dressed in every move - nervous, but totally confident and prepared.

The other problem beginners have is that their demos go on far too long for the standard they're on, with the result, they dance millions of boring basics (mostly smiling with their tails to the audience) before launching into each step.

Many of our dancers seem to have this mental block about dancing every exhibition for the full 2-&-½ minutes allowed. For instance, you can dance all 10 steps of most the bronze dances, plus an entrance and exit, within a minute and a half.

Anything longer than 2 minutes, unless it's a Sun City extravaganza, loses the onlooker mentally. We are on stage to impress, not to bore, and the things that impress those watching are: looking confident, the music, the outfit, being neat and stylish (parading the character of the dance) and then knowing it's not going to go on and on and on… stop when the audience want more. Short 'n sweet is the operative length.

Carin, by dancing an exhibition on stage, you did what most people fear most to do, and that is to perform in public. Whether it be making a speech or dancing an exhibition, that's the thing most fear to do. It's also the reason why so many politicians mechanically read their canned speech to us, and the reason? … they don't know their sequence.

You said, "I love it when the students say good luck to each other". I say, "that's what keeps the serious competitiveness of our exhibition system so friendly and so encouraging"

World War III In Natal

Dear Jay
Smiths Dance School (16/5/99)

For a very long time now I have been burdened with many irregularities and inadequacies in the running of DanceSport in KZN. There just seems to be no control, discipline or even care for the sport or the dancer from the top. Dumisane Mhlongo the Chairman of FEDANSA KZN does not appear to understand the feelings and needs of the competitor. In my opinion, if Dumsani is allowed to remain where he is, then dancing will die in KZN. He has already succeeded in severely damaging it. All we get from Dumsani is resistance and antagonism - no co-operation.

I have tried to keep out of writing to DI for a long time, but my feelings and love for the sport run too deep to remain silent. I'm really distressed for dancing in our Province. I have sent you pages of my correspondence to Dumisane which obviously cannot all be printed but ideally, are the things I'd like other dancers to know.

Below I list the questions I would like to ask Dumisane Mhlongo. The contents of which epitomises the chaos presently taking place in our Province, and I'm not the only one who would like these questions answered:

· Who are you, other than for power, and why are you involved in dancing?

· Are you a dancer – what section did you get to?

· Do you enjoy bullying your members and committee into blindly doing your bidding?

· Where in your constitution do you have the power to overthrow one of your regional committee's contracts on judges at the last minute – or at all?

· Where in your constitution does it give you sole mandate to make decisions?

· Why is there not one professional that holds you in any respect or esteem?

· Why do the majority of your members not know who you are and the few that do have no time for you – only fear?

· Who do you think you are, prying into and interfering with professional matters and affairs?

· What are your short-term, mid-term and long-term visions for DanceSport?

· What have you actually done for DanceSport – apart from causing rifts between people and chasing your members away from dancing?

· What have you done to ensure that pros and amateurs and different races all settle their differences amicably?

· Why are you so rude to nearly all that you speak to?

· Why do you allow your personal feelings to affect important dancing decisions?

· Why are you so racist and then accuse everyone else of racism?

· Why are you so afraid to sit down with me face to face? Why, instead, do you slander me; and publicly attempt to humiliate me?

· Why do you view one teacher’s popularity with your members as such a threat?

· Why do you try to veto the development work that I am asked to do in certain regions?

· Why do you sit in a meeting, agree to the outcome of a subject, and within a few weeks directly contravene that decision? ( I refer as an example to the changing of the dates of the Metro Festival and KZN World Trials).

· Have you even paid the agreed fine thereof? In fact, have you paid your sanction fees for any of your comps?

· Why do you misinterpret your roll of chair-person?

· Why do you try to destroy anything that is good for dancing?

· Why do you turn things so simple into nasty complicated issues?

I appeal to every competitor who has an intense passion for the sport to stand up and be counted, for the sake of the sport. At present the only way things can go for dancing in our Province is down the tube.

Only for dancing

Martin Smith

Ed
IT SOUNDS LIKE WAR, and war usually starts from petty indiscretions, which no-one takes seriously, then develops into mud slinging, to A-Ks, and final BOOM. Yours is bordering BOOM.

Martin, as I see it, your problem is; just because you want a little sanity and order in the way things should be run, and since you know what you want and are not afraid to ask for it and expect it, all will call you a Bolshevik, the Natal chronic-kicker. But don't let that bother you, it's your right, and it shows you have the guts to stand up for your rights - the dancers' rights. And while you are doing that, you are representing and protecting the sport. If you cared naught about what happens in the sport, you would do what most would do, say sweet fanny-Annie and let the bulldozers ruin the rest.

My definition of a difficult customer is; a customer who knows exactly what he/she wants without being influenced, swayed or intimidated by others, and when a difficult customer doesn't get what was promised, stands up and speaks out. Now what's wrong with that? I think that's an excellent customer who is helping to right the wrong caused by inefficiency, which otherwise would remain an oblivion. In fact, being a docile dupe is, in principle, a crime. Being trodden on by individuals who are inadequate and disorganised is silent corruption called gullibility or gutlessness. Every time we remain silent about a wrong-doing, we give our culprits licence to continue, and so become co-crooks in the poor quality or standards set.

At the moment, our country is going through a very precarious phase, brought on by the enforcement of change. For the sake of change we are replacing competent people with incompetent people. In principle, that is morally the correct thing to do I suppose, but in practice it spells disaster. It encourages corruption, misappropriation, failure and deceit. Inadequate people cause frustration, delays, long cues in the Bank and at the Post Office, aggression and eventually war. Take all the poverty-stricken countries in the world, they have a common denominator - GENOCIDE, caused by an uncontrolled birth rate while those alive are starving; corruption, incompetence, financial mismanagement and failure.

Your letters to Dumisani are hot and extremely emotional, and according to the dates, the rancour has been inflamed for more than a year now. How come the two of you have never sat down face-to-face to deliberate the issues? He seems intransigent, but surely someone in Dumisane's position must make concessions and be accessible to every complaint or suggestion. Particularly in your case, where you do so much for dancing: You adjudicate, help with the Development Programme, enter many competitors each comp, help other trainers, travel to Zimbabwe to assist them, loyally subscribe to DI, the only Dancer's Magazine in South Africa, etc.

I can understand your over-zealousness but maybe being so forthright with Dumisane got your titties in a tangle, hence his reticence towards you, and it is probably also the reason for your summary dismissal from the adjudication panel which caused such a furore recently.

Martin, the majority in our sport are submissively and dutifully sweeping the feathers that hit the fan under the carpet, yet from the letters I receive, something desperate must be done to wipe out the deterioration of things. We cannot allow vulgar elements to besmear and reshape the dignity of ballroom and I mean this in general. It has reached an epic state of crudeness, a laughing stock, and even an embarrassment for me to publish all the dregs. I dread to think what is still to come.

If a function I organised, held the dancers and the spectators up for 1½ hours, as you say in your letter happened recently at a comp, then I would give them their money back and tell them to all go home - it's a raw deal known as disorganisation.

Someone somewhere will have to wake up and smell the coffee. Your initiative is a brave start but you need to talk to someone higher than Dumisani if you get no joy from him.

Hi Jay, it's Martin. In reply to your fax regarding Dumisani. To answer your question, "How come the two of you have never sat down face-to-face to deliberate the issues?" The reasons for that are, Dumisane has;

1. Directly shunned me in public and told me not to waste his time.
2. Put the phone down on me before.
3. A while ago, called me to arrange a meeting and then cancelled at the last minute, never to re-schedule.

It is pointless trying to talk to him, and you can prepare yourself for many more complaints from dancers who feel the same anxiety about his belligerence as I do. I dance for the love of the sport not to argue about how things should or shouldn't be done. I can really do without that. This disorganisation is only making the sport very unpleasant for a lot of competitors.

"Dumisani's reply to Martin Smith"

Dear Jay
First I want to express my disappointment in the manner you handled this issue. I was not contacted to get my side of story but you did manage to reach Martin Smith whose second letter is also published. Secondly your view on the matter also leaves much to be desired as you refer to the government placing incompetent people in positions, I want to say that people who know the achievements of FEDANSA KZN know that I deserve to be where I am and the fact that I have been elected unopposed for 2 consecutive years also is an indication to that effect. I cannot be apologetic about it. I respect your paper and what it stands for which as you say, is to promote dancing, its integrity is important and I am happy that you did apologise for not reaching me when we spoke on the phone.

ABOUT MARTIN SMITH’S STORY
There is no war in dancing in KZN but there is war between him and I, this goes back to the past 2 years and I am surprised that he has not achieved what he is trying to achieve. He has tried to use innocent dancers, some came back and told me, tried to use dance structures, the joint structure in particular also failed now he is using your paper.

His has nothing to do with dancing but personal. He would like me to run FEDANSA-KZN subscribing to his destructive ideas and that will never happen. I also have nothing to talk to him about because he does not represent any dance segment but his own pocket. He is the cause of all the problems in this province. Just to take you through a few:

He has being disqualifying our members in competitions when he is not judging, the victims would always be dancing against his couples. I received complaints, and I did not take the issue to DI but to the Joint structure because I understand office protocol and that was stopped. Do you think he was pleased with me?
We have developed funds kept at joint level, the agreement is that professionals will invoice after running workshops. Martin was engaged in one of our regions and demanded to be paid cash there and then by our poor members. That is good work for development.
He was hired to judge one of the competitions and he got there and ran the show, stopping music until everyone was fed up. I approached to suggest that he speaks to organisers if he noticed something wrong, guess what the answer was “who do you think you are”. I communicated this to his chairperson not DI.
Recently he abused one of our members in front of the public until they wanted to manhandle him and was protected by the same member. He is a professional, if that is what it takes I rather remain an amateur. The letter of complaint from the member concerned is attached. I would like it published as well.
He has involved himself in our promotion system creating a lot of problems, a letter written to his body is also attached.

Most of these have been communicated to his chairperson, who seems to be very protective of him, perhaps because they share a studio. These are swept under the carpet and are never tabled in the professional council meetings. I attach one of the letters.

It is interesting that he calls me a racist when we have information he has been hosting all white caucus meetings in his studio before our AGMs, why would he do that if he were not racist. I would like to know who is a better racist between the two of us. He questions my involvement in dancing when I am not a dancer, I guess he will be writing to all national presidium members questioning the same.

My involvement in dancing is both significant and historic as a new comer he should ask. Myself and progressive people like Chris Manning and Nigel Hawkins were the first to demonstrate the integration of DanceSport and our contribution nationally led to the formation of an all inclusion structure FEDANSA  in October 1994. I am widely recognised for this and I do not need his recognition because I do not think he would have supported that course even if he was in dancing then.

One of the issues that not only concerns our members, but also other professionals is the rotation of engagement of judges in our competition. I have a duty to ensure that this happening in order not to subject our members to same views all the time. He will obviously not be impressed because he thinks he has a licence to judge every competition.

We have the best structures in the province, regional executives, provincial structure (PAB) where three representatives from each region participate. I have also created an additional forum called KZN Dance Indaba where the PAB interfaces with the general membership in December every year. This year it is taking place on 11 December 1999. We easily pick up concerns when they exist. Perhaps we must invite him in future, he seems to like amateur affairs. We have a working relationship with professionals at joint level and we do not deal with individuals on official matters, he seems to battle to understand office formalities and structures.

He would like to replace me with a stooge chairman who listens and does what he says, I wish him all the best in his mission, but he must not use dancing, he does not like me and I do not think I like him. I wanted for once to set the record straight and I may not be able to respond to all the issues that he sends to your paper because I am not a famous author that he is. But when I am convinced that he has done enough harm to my integrity, I will demonstrate to him that his rights are not absolute.

Lastly, no dancing will go down the tube in KZN, his business will, because he spends a lot of his energy throwing papers and trying to secure fame and power instead of looking after it.

Many thanks

FEDERATION OF DANCE SPORT SOUTH AFRICA
KZN Provincial Administration Branch
Box 36817
NTOKOZWENI
4066

phone 0331-62284 fax 0331-462541

Dumisani Mhlongo Chairman (083 308 7313)

Ed
Dumisani, thanks for giving your account of the vendetta between you and Martin. To your first sentence "I want to express my disappointment in the manner you handled this issue". I agree, the right and proper thing for me to have done, on receipt of Martin's complaint, was to confer with you first, get your side of the story and then take it from there. But I'm afraid Dumisani, in the real dancing world it just isn't that simple. My burden of waiting for replies from dancers is over. Even your letter arrived 5 days after my deadline, which tells me DI and its news is inconsequential to you.

Frustrating past experiences have taught me that the one being attacked must first see it in print before being detonated into action. Yes, that procedure is totally obsolete in my book, I discarded it a looong time ago. My new method is less savoury but much quicker and PAINLESS. Most dancers are excellent talkers but hopeless doers. They talk the hind leg off 3 elephants, then when I say WRITE, they take FLIGHT with fright. The only time dancers become doers, is when the pain is immediate or the benefit direct. Very few will voluntarily do things for the sincere love and interest of dancing.

You said, "Secondly your view on the matter also leaves much to be desired as you refer to the government placing incompetent people in positions". What I meant is, because civil servants know that we, the man/lady in the street, are at their mercy whenever we need or request their services, they care very little about our time or inconveniences. They have no sense of urgency or enterprise and it has always been like that in the government service, "I'll do only what I get paid for and that's all I'm going to do" is their attitude as they watch the clock to tea time, to lunch time and on to chila time. And don't ever phone them close to these times.

But these days, because of affirmative action, people who are not ready or qualified for the job are unceremoniously plonked into it, and to make things doubly worse, they adopt the same "don't care" attitude as the old government servants did. I go to the tax man for the answer to a basic question, which nobody knows, and with it, I'm taken on a detailed tour of their building, as each refers me to someone else who also doesn't know. This wastes an hour of my time, and I'm still left with minus what I came for. I report a case to the police, at the station it takes ages for them to spell my name, Jay. Readers are appalled with condition at comps these days; laughable dress codes, starting hours late, theft, screaming and shouting, filth in the dressing rooms, washing in basins, devouring toilet paper, soap and towels, etc. and most of these complaints were levelled at KZN. You're right, I am concerned about the efficiency of things in DanceSport SA. The problem is rife, it's REAL and it's worrying because nobody seems to be concerned about eradicating the mess. The things that make for quality work and the efficient, orderly running of the sport must be urgently addressed.

What we need now is action, not meetings. To use a political phrase, "The people on the ground" must now get down on the ground and grind.

Many moons ago Martin threatened to write a scathing rebuke. At the time, he didn't say what his predicament was. I said, "Martin WRITE, don't TELL me, SHOW me". Then one fine day, very recently, he stepped from the fluffy fringes of fairyland and spoke out. The straw that broke the camel's back was that he was told without official or sufficient notice that he's services as adjudicator were not needed. As I see it, Martin's move wasn't just an impulsive act, it has been brewing and bothering him for a long time, probably in the same way yours has.

There is no way your letter or Martin's letter will prove either to be right or wrong. Some will say you are unapproachable and uncompromising, some will say that Martin is bull-headed and stubborn. I will say, you both have sound, personal reasons for why you feel the way you do. But you guys have a CHRONIC problem, a total clash of personalities which only Madiba and his magic wand plus a lot of muti will ever solve.

When I, as a neutral, read between the lines, the clear message that keeps emerging is that you're both hot-blooded and that the major stumbling-block between the two of you is race oriented. Unless both yield, the war will rage on, which I'm afraid is not good for DanceSport - this wrangle has to be reconciled, and very soon too. The sport and the dancers of KZN must be your first consideration.

The 2 letters you attached re the complaints against Martin by Musa Cele and D Mhlongo I will judiciously have to omit because it would be unfair to Martin, since the 9 pages he sent on this issue weren't published either, and there is no way the entire saga can be debated here. You are going to have to sort it out personally. And let me tell you, an incident like this can cause severe damage to our dance image and to the two of you directly.

I know Martin better than I know you because he has loyally supported DI since its inception in 1995. Through our regular communication, I have found him to be one of the few dancers who is a genuine DOER rather than an idle TALKER, and that I respect of him. Based on the info which he sends me of his studio and student activities each month, he seems to care a lot for his dancers and the sport in general.
You having been elected unopposed as chairman for 2 consecutive years speaks handsomely for itself, unless nobody else wanted the job. Your implementation of the KZN Dance Indaba indicates effort and progress. You say, "We have the best structures in the province, regional executives, provincial structure (PAB) where three representatives from each region participate". And you also say, "no dancing will go down the tube in KZN". That's great news, but then, and I stress, the ironing out of all the niggles at comps must also be given urgent priority so that the stately image of ballroom dancing in South African can proudly prevail. I wonder what my overseas subscribers think?

Dumisani, without me getting too embroiled, the disagreement between you and Martin is so personal that both have totally lost sight of the wood for the trees. As respected members of the dance fraternity, it's time to think rationally so that sanity and order can squelch the fumes of rage. Ask yourself as chairman, "what will this furore do or what is it doing for DanceSport?" Let peace be. You are both leaders in your field and any leader who cannot put his pride in his pocket or compromise for the sake of order in the main issues, is not worthy of the position.

Finally, Dumisani and Martin, you are both prominent members of DanceSport. Both have a mutual interest and goal - DANCING. Both of you are total devotees to the sport with your main mission to help promote dancing, whether amateur or professional. Now is the time for amends, for compromise. It's time for you to transform your aggression, your venomous, negative energies into positive, productive work for the sake of dancing, by finding a way to work together as examples to the sport and to other dancers. I hope the next letter I receive is delivered by a white dove - that would be nice.

So Dull And Boring !!

The Editor
DanceInfo SA

Dear Jay
I recently watched a couple at our studio having a lesson on the American Style Viennese Waltz - what fun !! Such lovely steps to do and so much Scope. It makes our International Style Viennese Waltz look so dull and boring !!

Perhaps it is time we thought about changing our Viennese Waltz? How about a New Style Viennese Waltz to celebrate the Millennium ?

Deanna Steyn
Tel: 011-888 5681 (H)

P.S. I wrote to you some months ago regarding producing videos of competitions in Gauteng - there has been absolutely no response. Why ? Is nobody interested? Surely the advantages of video footage as a teaching or learning tool must be appealing to most dancers? The possibility of generating extra funds should also be appealing. I would really appreciate some comments.

Ed
Deanna, on both counts, I ditto wholeheartedly. In 1998, TV1 treated us to a series of the American Ballroom & Latin championship dancing. Personally, that was one of the best I've seen so far. We were given full view of each couple most of the time. Not the disjointed hopping, at close-range, from a big nose, to a distorted foot, to an outrageous hairdo and back to the nose, offering little definition of dancing - the clear irritant we Ballroom viewers have been forced to accustom ourselves to.

Further, the American Standard Ballroom Style, on the whole, presents much more in the way of variety, choreography and entertainment. They permit freedom to many open positions, underarm turns and spins, lunges, and I must say, the way the girls use their arms and wave their dresses offers superb entertainment. And all this is done without losing the fine technical Standard required of International dancing.

I could never understand how this suppressed English version of Viennese Waltz ever managed to weave its watered-down way into the comp arena. Every contestant is restricted to four figures: the reverse and natural turns and the reverse and natural fleckerls, which are difficult, fast turns on the spot. Traditionalists and liberals world-wide are engaged in heated debate. The liberals are calling for lifts, lunges, curtsies and other figures to be introduced to add excitement and interest. But, the four standard competitive figures remain those authorised for competitive use. This gives adjudicators little to rave about and causes most spectators to yawn that extra yard. I thought the powers shoved the VW in as a time-filler, a substitute dance, or for some other obscure, inexplicable reason. It seems ironic. Here we have music so exquisitely classical, so full of feeling and variation, which few other dances offer, then it's choked to death with the drab essentials.

But let's talk Viennese Waltz the lively "American way". Americans loathe inertia or everything that bores; hence their apathy toward cricket as a sport. Action is the word the Yanks live by, so when a thing doesn't move, they plant a cracker under it. The many intricate figures used in their VW are not only great to watch and very exciting to dance, but are also specifically phrased to complement the beautiful, classical music which emphasises the many highlighted, harmonious sounds of this elegant dance; sounds every generation enjoys. Why frustrate its melodic, lively expression with a limited array of moves. This dance is turbo-charged, packed with character, light and shade. It needs diversity to announce the ultimate utterance of its make-up. International VW could clearly do with an American lumbar-punch - let's liberalise, let's put a little fun and action into this section.

The first thing the powers must do is to reduce the VW tempo from the whistling, break-neck, dizzy-inducing speed of 70 bars per minute to between (a respectable and safe) 55 and 60 knots. By so doing, the more tricky figures could be better characterised and presented. At present Viennese Waltz serves no competitive purpose, except for giving Latin dancers time to change for their section.

Since everyone ignored your video appeal, let's conjure a few hypothetical reasons of why videos are debarred from Gauteng comps, while KZN & the Cape merrily feel it's a great assist. My guess is that adjudicators would rather not be judged against the electronic eye. This could expose a few intriguing intrigues of couples not being watched, or too closely watched by family/friend/trainer adjudicators, or couples dancing out of time and getting through to the next round, etc. Or could it be that top Gauteng dancers fear their work will be plagiarised or permanently borrowed by the lesser privileged or inexperienced dancers?

It could also be that the average competitor would not be able to afford the extra cost for the recordings, so the prospect of a would-be operator earning the odd buck is dismally bleak.

Sadly Deanna, as much as the two of us are gagaly gung-ho for videos being used at comps as an educational tool and the dancer's personal entertainment, I think we are definitely flogging a dead donkey here. But why don't you give Bill Toseland (National Vice-President of FEDANSA) a call @ 011-61 4981 / 011-633 2783. I'm sure Bill has all the official reasons why videos are barred in Gauteng.

Tell Bill that couples never see their rivals, while in action, so it's difficult for them to know how they measure against the opposition, or why they placed higher or lower. Tell Bill it can only enhance the standard of dancing in general if competitors themselves can see their own mistakes - a great coach. Tell Bill it's an excellent motivator for the suicidal, wary dancer. Tell Bill in the stone age dancers never had the luxury of videos and since it's part of modern technology let's use it to capture the wonder moments of our blood, sweat and tears. Tell Bill it's so nice to have a complete library or record of ones dancing and that I said he is a very helpful, understanding official who will do anything to assist the dancer if he can. Deanna TELL BILL.

"Only Moffies like you wear earrings"

Dear Jay
I am writing with reference to a letter in the April issue of DI "Let's Dance". It was in sad disbelief that I read this letter and rendered sadder still by your reply.

We have tried so hard to get out of the vicious circle, but in vain; those who get away with murder will always be one step ahead. The unfairness, nepotism and manipulation will go on and on. Is this what dancing is all about?

I quote an example of where a child (in this particular studio) on bronze level was advised to drop his partner(also bronze) by his trainer (now rated as top trainer in your mag), to train with a girl in silver whose partner had quit dancing. Four days before the comp, the girl in bronze who had been dumped (on her trainer’s advice), had to inform  her mum of the fact that she was without a partner for the comp which:

was being danced in 4 days’ time;
a new dress had been made for;
a new pair of shoes had been bought for;
all paid for by the single mother.

The trainer, when confronted, simply shrugged her shoulders and said “I have nothing to do with this - kids do it all the time”.

I find it extremely strange that the ex-partner danced in silver with a new silver partner 4 days later in the comp.

Trying to get behind this, the mum of the ‘dropped’ girl phoned the lady in charge of the comp entries and was advised that entries had closed a week previously and her daughter had never been entered!!

I can, in fact supply you with a whole list of parents, unhappy with the treatment their children received at this unprofessional studio; who wish to make the facts known, but have been advised to go carefully with having names published as this could affect their children’s marks at comps. These parents are concerned for their children’s dancing careers and not prepared to get into any drawn out and costly legal wrangles. I truly sympathise with this, but feel you (and the dancing world) should know these things. How else will you be aware that there may be a bit more behind a friendly, convincing voice on the phone and a neat, well “spoken” letter?

In a nutshell:

During a competition held last year, in one section where there were only 2 entries, one place and points were awarded, in another section where 3 couples had entered, but one couple had been promoted before the comp, so only 2 couples could compete, 2 places and points were awarded. The organisers of the event stated, on being queried, that the committee had decided on allowing a second place. Strange that the couple who came second and were awarded a place and points happen to be the organisers’ daughter and her partner - stranger still, that I was informed by the promoted couple that they had NOT entered that section because of their promotion!!

Another couple was asked to leave this studio since they also made use of the advice of a professional trainer.

On 3 occasions this same couple was ignored during lessons (paid for) and finally not taught because they also attended classes with a qualified trainer.

Yet another mother mentioned that her daughter’s partner had been taken away to partner the trainer's daughter, leaving the girl without a partner, 4 points away from Gold.

Three other couples left the studio because they felt they were not being taught new routines or given extra time, as was the case with the trainer's own children, who had training sessions with the adjudicators before comps. These 3 couples felt they were stagnating and, on changing trainers, started taking 2nd places and challenging the winners at competitions.

In another incident, a young man waiting in the marshalling area, was told by the trainer in question, who was acting as marshal, that “Only Moffies like you wear earrings”.

A letter of complaint concerning one of these incidents has been addressed to FEDANSA KZN. A reply was received from the chairman, Dumisane Mhlongo, stating that the matter would be discussed at the following PAB meeting. He further encouraged the parents to become non-dancing members of FEDANSA and open a branch in our region as there was none in place.

All the parents concerned are awaiting the reply from FEDANSA. Nonetheless, I felt you, as pioneer for “the dancer" should be aware of true facts and what the competing children have to contend with.

On behalf of concerned parents and for the sake of the children in KZN.

Greetings in Dancing

Ed
Why do I have that sleazy sensation that I was hoodwinked by my former scribe - your accused? But let me piece this whole thing together as I  see it now. You were upset, so you approached the alleged and mentioned something about going to DanceInfo with your problem. Your alleged knew that would cause a stink (fairly or unfairly), who then hastily phoned me to paint a pretty picture before I received the bad news from you.

Since DI is the humble, servile servant of both the dancer and the official, I accept anything and everything that helps promote dancing or clears misunderstandings or could in any way improve conditions for the dancer or would be of interest to the dancer. I therefore embrace whatever's submitted without question or quibble and convey it to the dancer.

Obviously, there are two sides to every story and your side is a reality which all should know and be aware of. At present there seems to be a lot of unwritten discontent in our sport and the more we debate it the better. Fortunately more and more dancers are speaking their minds. In this particular case I would have to side with you on the issue, because the promises that where made to me in the April letter you refer to were idle ones; of a political nature.

What perturbs me most in your letter is the unprofessionalism of the trainers in question. Whether trainers are qualified to teach or not, the moment they receive payment for their services rendered, that's the moment they are deemed professional, and remember, collecting the money is the last part of the deal. The first is giving good service, which begins by knowing your product backwards, i.e. being qualified. You don't ask for money if you can't deliver the goods properly and professionally. In our studio we say "the customer is never right if we deliver very good service". No matter how little a trainer charges, be it R1 or R100 a lesson, the same rule applies.

Next is fairness to every customer regardless of what he/she pays or who he/she may be. It's being courteous 99% of the time and believe me, saying to a dancer “Only Moffies like you wear earrings”  or surreptitiously pirating partners and being abusive publicly, or snubbing children just because a qualified trainer helps them, is definitely not the way professionals behave. Whether you are wrong or right, that's the way they made you feel. The personal jibe “Only Moffies like you wear earrings” I find abhorrent and totally unacceptable. I have a Taurus friend who wears a ring in his nose, so what?

Other very unprofessional habits are; when a trainer who is being paid, asks another trainer how to do a step or styling, or runs to the manual and teaches out of it. Or sits and smokes during lesson-time, or arrives late for the class or ends the lesson early. Or spends half the lesson-time telling the pupil about his hangover, her heartaches, ailments  and those aching dogs of his. Did I hit a few false notes here? Because those are the things that normally happen when unqualified staff run a studio or club. These trainers I call petty pilferers, who should first seek training for themselves before charging others for the little they know… that's when the customer is always right.

Ridiculous

Hi Jay
I find it ridiculous that the name of Ballroom dance now has to disappear because dance has been declared a sport. Here’s an excerpt off the internet, “The word "ballroom" has been banned from the world of competitive ballroom dancing. Dance organisations that still use the word have been instructed to change their titles so they refer instead to "dance sport". And dance publication editors have been ordered to use the new term as well.”

Does the acceptance of dance as a sport suddenly have any affect on the dancing? Has it changed in any way? Are the steps now suddenly modified to look like gymnastics or perhaps discus throwing? Are participants now required to dance in athletic gear and spikes?

The truth is that the beauty and grace of ballroom dance, which originated in ballrooms, will be preserved and intensified, whether danced in a ballroom or a sports hall. The essence of the discipline remains, why change the name?

Tanja Laxton

Ed
Recently a reader phoned to asked me what the Afrikaans word for Ballroom was and I told her Balkamer. Whether or not it’s Balkamer, Ballroom is still the best word to describe the “moving”, or “progressive” dances or, as it is known these days in competition dancing “standard” or “swing” style. In the days of king Arthur when dragons were real, and Latin dancers still wore tails (believe it or not… and WE think we have problems), then the meaning of the word ballroom engulfed all 10 dances, i.e. Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Jive, Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep and Viennese Waltz.

I still say my Dancers’ Dictionary distinguishes the three categories of “ballroom” dancing best:

The Ballroom section includes dances where females wear ballgowns, males tails and the couple hold in closed contact and stride, move or progress in an anti-clockwise direction around the floor or the ballroom to the sounds of dramatic, classical or flowing music, namely: Slow Foxtrot, Slow Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Tango, Quickstep, Two-step, Sakkie-Sakkie, Sokkie, Peabody or any other progressive (moving) dance held in closed position.
The Latin-American section constitutes any dance danced to exotic rhythms where the couple hold slightly apart, break away from each other, spin, jump or swing their hips extensively, namely; Cha-Cha, Samba, Paso Doble, Rumba, Mambo, Merengue, Salsa, Lambada, Bossa Nova, Bolero.
The Beat section also known as Modern Beat or Rhythm dancing includes: Boogie, Disco, Freestyle, Rave, Head-banging, Moshing, Hustle, Rap, Hip-hop, Rock ‘n Roll, East and West coast Swing, Jive, Twist, Salsa, SAROC or any dance that is danced to a heavy rhythmic, accented beat – be it modern or bygone.

The above is how it is classified by the “in the know” social dancer, but Tanja, I agree, why discard balkamer from the dancer’s vocabulary. It has such an elegant ring to it; befitting the refined artistry associated with the effortless Slow Foxtrot, elegant Viennese Waltz, scintillating Quickstep, etc. Why change what is appropriate.

For instance, Tango in competition Ballroom dancing is also considered as the odd man out; is it Latin or is it Ballroom? Tango might have a Latin personality but I say it’s Ballroom… the attire is Ballroom, the progression is Ballroom, the technique is Ballroom so why all the doubt.

Here’s some real doubt for the competition dancer… Jive is definitely not Latin, yet they have plonked it in the Latin section; now how do they explain that? And if they can’t explain that, then leave Ballroom as Ballroom and let “Dance Sport” encompass the entire division of dancing with Ballroom as the classical section for the “moving” or Standard dances and Latin as the Latin section. I just don’t know where we are going to put Jive.

Tanja, what we must all realise, for Ballroom dancing to have been accepted as an Olympic sport, the powers that be had to extract the art out of it and replace it with muscle, that’s why the Quickstep will be danced down the straight of the 100m track at the next Olympics.

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