Remember the ‘MAGIC’ tips are just a few of my humble suggestions, make of them what you will….
Day 1
M is for MUSIC!
1. When the song starts, try to move as soon as possible – the judges don’t have very long to look at you, so you need every second you can get to impress them!
Having said that, don’t start so soon that you panic without listening to the music and the first move you do ends up being off time!
2. At this event, certainly on the Modern Jive day, the music selection is made up mostly of popular Top 40 songs that you probably hear on the radio and at your local classes.
However, you may get a song that you don’t recognize, and you’ll possibly get a song that you don’t like. So, it’s a good idea to practice before the comp to songs that are totally out of your comfort zone and not on your preferred playlists.
3. At the higher levels of the competition, set yourself apart from the other competitors by interpreting and playing with the music. If you’ve been dancing for less than two years you can stop reading this paragraph now as this is totally not expected at the lower levels (but that’s no reason not to do it if you are able to though!).
By interpreting and playing with the music I mean things like hitting the ‘hits’ (most commonly, but not always, on the count of 1); demonstrating some of the lyrics (not every time though….the judges saw that you heard that word was “you”, you don’t need to point at them five times in one minute….) ; syncopating, slowing down and accelerating to highlight the musical changes, etc. (Hey beginners….I know I’ve lost you…you’re not meant to be reading this bit, remember?….). And if you’re really aiming for the top, try also adapting your styling and your moves according to the feel or genre of the music, and not just dancing the same dance to every song.
I’ll tell you something interesting – at a couple of Modern Jive competitions that I’ve judged in the UK, at the highest level the competitors don’t actually dance a Final. They dance six songs of six different genres throughout the course of the day and they are judged on each separate song with the six lots of scores being put together at the end to determine the winners. I surprised myself at the different rankings I was giving each couple across the different songs because some of them were for example great at the fast pop or rock n roll type tracks, but then they danced in exactly the same way to slow blues tracks, which totally didn’t work.
So, if you are competing at the higher levels, remember one of my favourite phrases: ‘Dancing is what music looks like’, but above all, and this applies to every level (so beginners you can come back now….), whilst doing so you must never compromise or sacrifice your essential “3 T’s” (Timing, Technique and Teamwork).
Phew, that was a long section!
So now last, but very definitely not least, is:
4. DANCE IN TIME TO THE MUSIC!
Some of you know how passionate I am about this! Maybe even more passionate than I am about sparkles….
At this event the number 1 judging criteria is TIMING relevant to the dance style of that competition day, so that’s what our judges will be looking for above everything else. I’ve often seen dancers rushing ahead of the beat on the slower songs on the Modern Jive floor, so, as my now famous t shirt says…Keep Calm! And Dance In Time to the Music!
Really ‘T’ for ‘Timing’ could be a whole other day’s topic, but then my MAGIC might have turned into TRAGIC and that wasn’t really the message I was aiming for…. ☺
Thanks for listening!
Tune in to Day Two of MAGIC tomorrow with the letter A…..what will it stand for I wonder…?