There’s been a lot of discussion about the use of pre-planned choreographed sequences in social dance contests for awhile now. (Yehoodi, Lindybloggers, and White Heat) Event directors Nina Gilkenson, Tena, and Sylvia shared those same concerns. At the same time, they didn’t want to tell the dancers how they should dance . . . even though they really wanted to.
I’ve already written quite a bit about this past International Lindy Hop Championships, but to illustrate how complex any one part of an event can be I’m going to give you a peak behind the curtains of The Champions’ Strictly Lindy Hop Division at ILHC 2009. This one competition took about 20 minutes out of a four day event. Theoretically, a dance contest sounds like a deceptively simple recipe: Add one part music, several parts dancers, and it’s off to the races, right? In reality . . . not so much.
There’s a very thin, delicate and ever shifting line between managing an event and just letting it happen. There’s no secret formula for making sure everything goes right, just as there’s no way to anticipate and prepare for everything that can go wrong. There’s a lot of moving parts; not just logistical, but also creative and political. Details are plentiful, and it’s remarkably easy to be tripped up by even the smallest one.
Make good decisions, and if you’re lucky, you may be rewarded with something very special.
Still no word on official ULHS results. Some more videos are making it online. I'll post the better quality ones together later this week or next. While we're waiting on that stuff, apparently not all the action was in New Orleans this past weekend. Here's a quick round up of performance videos from Provence Swing Festival in France.
I'm actually working on some more related ILHC posts, but my job seems to be getting in the way. In the mean time I'll go back to an event that happened about a month ago. Lindy on the Rocks is held in Denver, Colorado. I've already posted a video of this performance, but they just put up some super high quality HD videos up and this one blew me away as much as it did the first time I saw it. Amazing what a well placed color adjustment will do for your viewing pleasure.
2001 was a pivotal year. Sensing the various trends I have outlined, many instructors and dancers were beginning to make serious efforts to actively influence the overall dance style of the community.
Ryan Francois and Jenny Thomas returned to active teaching after their long hiatus from the community for their run on the Broadway musical “Swing!” In the aftermath of the 1999 WLHC debate Ryan talked of forming a “united front” to address the issues that came up in that original debate[1]. Nothing formal ever happened after that, but he was clearly dismayed at the state of dancing when he returned in 2001 and was not shy about making his thoughts known.[2]
I’ve said it before (maybe not here, but elsewhere I’m sure), but I love competition events. There aren’t many events where dancers can just bring their stuff in front of their peers, and I’m glad that ILHC can be one of those places. I spend a lot of my time busting my ass at events these days more than I do enjoying them, but there are little moments here and there that make all the work worth it. I just wanted to add a couple of quick hits that I missed in my other ILHC posts
ILHC results are up complete with pdf files of the scores and judges and links to videos and phtotos. Come and get'em while they're hot. ILHC results link
Feel free to comment about them here.
Sorry about the delay. After I posted on Sunday, I didn't have a whole lot of time plus the cold I was trying to fight off finally got to me. The rest of the event itself went incredibly well. Saturday night comps ended with Cabaret which was a great show with lots of different kinds of acts.
I was able to catch my breath once the comps were done, and even got to spend some quality time with Carla Heiney. She was one of my first teachers when she lived in DC many moons ago, so it was great to spend quite a long time catching up with her.
For me, ILHC has a bit of a family reunion vibe to it. DC has been home to so many great dancers over the years, that it takes a big event to get them back together. I think that shared "heritage" helps to take the edge off the competition part of the event.
Just a quick note that I've updated the previous ILHC 2009 posts with videos or links to videos, including my current favorite footage of Skye & Frida's Classic Division routine. I have some time since I got sick during the weekend, so the good news for you is that I'll be able to finish posting my observations from the event in the next day or two.
Official results for ILHC 2009 will be posted online on the ILHC website hopefully within the next week as the staff makes their way home and catches up on the rest of their lives. I'll post an update when that happens.
Dates and a brand new hotel for ILHC 2010 have been locked in, so stay tuned for that information as well.