Ballroom Competitions!

Anyone can compete--it's the best way to practice a lot, improve quickly, and see amazing couples on the floor. You'll drive with us to the competition, possibly spend the night in a hotel or be hosted by local dancers, and spend a day or two dancing rounds, watching Champ-level dancers and shows by professionals, and getting callbacks & winning. There are divisions by skill level, including Newcomer for people who've danced for less than one semester. If you don't have a partner, we can help you find one. Email ballroom@andrew.cmu.edu or the Competition Team Coordinator if you're interested!

What's involved (overview)

Levels and Dance Styles

Newcomer, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Novice, Pre-championship, Championship. Newcomer is exclusively for dancers with less than 6 months of experience; after that, you must move up to Bronze, and you'll progress up through the levels as you get better. For each level, there are 4 styles to choose from: International Standard (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep), International Latin (Cha-Cha, Rumba, Samba, Paso Doble, Jive), American Smooth (Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz), and American Rhythm (Rumba, Cha-Cha, Mambo, East Coast Swing, Bolero). You can typically do any or all of these 19 dances at a competition.

How comps work

Typically, each event (dance) will have 3 or 4 rounds, each being 1 1/2 minutes long with about 20 couples on the floor. About five judges walk around the perimeter of the floor; in Newcomer, they mainly look to see if you're on time, doing the right steps, and looking confident, and in higher levels, they look for technique and style. If enough judges mark you down, you'll be called back to the next round for that dance.

What to wear

Traveling to comps

There are about 2 local comps per school year. Others are 2-6 hours away, so we drive together.

Finding partners

What to look for in a partner: Looking for that perfect someone to reign the dance floor with? Let us help you choose the lead/follow of your dreams:

Time commitment: Is this person wiling to practice with you as much as you want to practice? Goes both ways, if you don't come to practice as often as the other person, they may be disappointed and vice versa. IMPORTANT: talk about which competitions you can make to and make sure there's at least one or two you are both free for.

Skill level: Are the two of you evenly matched in skill level? (Newcomer-Newcomer, rather than Newcomer-Silver) If one person is ahead, be ready to take some time (which may get frustrating) to make the other better. On the other hand, the extra practice will help you form a better connection!

Height: This may seem superficial, but having a guy of the right height really helps (step size, appearance, arm's length, etc). The guy should be taller than you, but not too tall (I think the ideal height is having the lead be about 1.1 times the follow's height).

Their Style: Do they like latin more? Standard? If it's the opposite of the one you like more, it'll be a battle when you decide what to practice.

So there's our advice! None of it is a MUST, but just things you may want to consider when choosing a partner. Of course, once you have a partner, nothing is set into stone--you can always switch it up for another competition. However, choosing a good partner and staying together for a long time will make you an even better dancer.If you'd like help finding a partner, email ballroom or ask one of our officers at a lesson.

Preparing and practicing for comps

You have to be able to survive on the dance floor for 1 1/2 minutes; you have to get the judges' attention; and you have to look good. For surviving for 1 1/2 minutes, learn to recognize the beat of the music right away, and practice remaining composed even when people bump into you or get in your way. Also, make sure you know how to string steps together and what direction each step should face. For getting the judges' attention, you must project: hold yourself up straight, make your movements big, and have lots of energy (even in slow dances like Rumba). For looking good, you should make sure your frame with your partner is correct, make sure you're on time with the music, and look confident. We'll do rounds in our Intermediate and Advanced lessons specifically to practice these, but you should always think about them in any lesson or practice you go to.

Paying for comps

The possible costs involved are entry fees, travel, housing, and food. The club subsidizes all of these as much as possible, and many comps have free housing available. Typically, a comp will cost you $20 to $45 + food expenses.


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Nearby competitions

These are competitions which are either reasonably close or are big enough to merit more travel. We can't make official team trips to all of them, but we try to go to 2-3 each semester. If you want to go to more, ask some officers, and we can see if other people are interested too. The links and dates aren't necessarily up-to-date, but you can Google these comps.


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Clothing & shoes

For info on choosing shoes, check out the Dance Shoes section in our Tips & Advice page.


(See the overview section--more detailed info to come, though!)

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To-take list

by Drew and Mikey, HTMLified by Sam, further edited by Joseph and Jackie

This list has recommended items, but you don’t have to bring everything on it. In fact, plan with friends to share some things; for example, not everyone needs to bring a container of shampoo/conditioner or their own hairspray.

NOTE: Make sure you try on the clothes you are planning to wear for the competition and try dancing in them to make sure they work and don’t have holes in them. Its always good to know in advance.

Everyone

Dance Clothing

Dance Accessories

Remaining clothes

Sleeping Supplies

Bathroom supplies

Driving supplies

Men

Women

Outfit

Make-up

Hair

Misc


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Tips for newcomers

A few tips and reminders for dancing in general:

  1. LOOK HAPPY: You’re dancing! Look like you’re having the time of your life, not like you're worried about taking the wrong steps.
  2. FAKE IT: Even if you're not sure about everything, just go for the feel of the dance and fake your way through a round. As Rachael said, if you stare down a judge in Tango, they might ignore that weird step you did a few seconds ago and write down your number.
  3. RELAX: It’s important to remember that when you’re dancing in a round, there are other couples on the floor and not everyone is staring at you. So relax, dance and have fun.
  4. TIMING: Make sure you’re not rushing in the slow dances (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot) and that you start on beat 2 for Rumba and Cha-cha. Judges check newcomers for timing, so even if you look a bit strange, they’ll still write you down if you’re on time.
  5. PRESENTATION: Your 1.5 minutes dancing each round are a show. Look happy, walk on and off the dance floor nicely, and present yourselves like you’re the most amazing European ballroom dancers in the world.

Lastly, enjoy this moment and keep in mind that you are part of a select group. Not everyone is talented enough to dance in a competition! Hold your head up when you dance -- be proud of yourself and above all, have fun making happy memories that you can look back upon.


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