DCDI 2014: Gold Rhythm

What does it take to get invigilated in Gold American style? 

I got to answer this question (sort of) at DC DanceSport Inferno this past weekend.  The problem with invigilating American style, as I’ve mentioned before, is the fact that doing so is based upon restrictions rather than one syllabus.  Bronze level has some clear-cut distinctions that an invigilator can catch.  Silver has a few as well.  Gold really only gives two listed restrictions: no lifts, and partners must return to closed hold after eight measures of being in other holds. 

So when you have a Gold Rhythm heat with only enough couples for a final, and one of the couples does something that you think should be disallowed, what, as an invigilator, do you do?  To be clear, the couple in question did return to closed hold within the directed number of measures and did not perform any lifts.  They did not specifically violate either of the written rules.  They did, however, include a number of “tricks” such as splits, drops, dips, and other typically open material.  In other words, the routines were obviously fully choreographed, which goes against the purpose of dancing in a syllabus category.  Gold may not have many restrictions, but it is still technically syllabus.

In this situation, I spoke first with the chair of judges.  We talked about the nature of invigilation and the difficulty of the situation – here was something that reasonably should not be allowed but cannot be disallowed by the actual letter of the rules.  We agreed that calling the couple and having a conversation with them would be the best strategy.  I explained what the chair and I had discussed – that they were not technically breaking any rules but they also were not exactly abiding by them – and noted that because there was nothing to invigilate them for, they were not being penalized, or even technically warned.  I did, however, stress that what they were dancing was clearly out of place in a syllabus category, and suggested that they move into open categories in the future.  You already have the routines; why not use them where they belong? 

     

NDCA Updates 2014

A year ago, I wrote about changes in the NDCA’s invigilation policies that had gone into effect for 2013.  Now, in the latter half of 2014, there have been additional updates to the NDCA rulebook regarding invigilation.  The Appendix on Accepted Figures is now separate from the main rulebook, and may be found HERE.

For clarity’s sake,  points I am quoting directly from the NDCA document are in bold and larger font. 

Some of the changes this year have been cosmetic – cleaning up language, etc.  For instance, where previous updates contained a contradiction in which X-lines were both allowed and prohibited in Silver Viennese Waltz, they are now clearly prohibited. 

The two biggest changes for 2014 are not exactly changes so much as additional information.  First is a preface to the Appendix entitled “Invigilation Guidelines.”  This document explains the process of invigilation for invigilators themselves.  I will say right now that these two pages should be required reading for all competitors.  They contain valuable information about how an invigilator should perform his or her function at the competition, and explain not only how penalties work, but how an invigilator should handle tricky situations with competitors.  Understanding how and why something works can help dispel any fear or apprehension that might surround it. 

Since not everyone wants to read through two pages of information, I do want to highlight a few key points that are especially relevant for competitors.  In the section, “In the Ballroom,” item seven states:

“Simple mistakes and/or bad dancing are not an invigilator’s concern; these are issues for the judges on the floor to assess as part of placing the couples.  Noted infractions must be clear and obvious.” 

Two things occur to me upon reading this.  One: it is very important to distinguish between infractions and “bad dancing,” as the purpose of invigilation is to remove obvious advantages.  Two: “Clear and obvious” could be problematic.  Invigilators for both NDCA and USA Dance do not always agree what constitutes an infraction.  The clear, obvious ones are not the issue; gray area is.  I do wonder how the “clear and obvious” caveat will affect those situations where an infraction is not so cut and dry.

Additionally (and good news for competitors!), item eight says:

“Be conscious of and sensitive to floor-craft situations.  For example, it is far preferable to see a Top Spin in Bronze International Foxtrot than a collision.  Watch the couple in another Foxtrot to see if the infraction is repeated.”

This suggestion means that invigilators should be on the lookout for things that might just have been emergency maneuvers, and that there is some leeway in such situations.

Also worth noting are a couple of items under the “Penalizing a Competitor” section. 

“1. You should not immediately recommend penalties for competitors without giving them a warning and watching to see if they are trying to remediate the infraction, although NDCA rules do allow this.” 

“4. When in doubt ask yourself, “Does the material being used give the couple a competitive advantage?” 

I think both of these items are self-explanatory, and crucial for competitors to know.  

Besides the “Invigilation Guidelines,” the other big, new addition is a massive extension of the International Latin section.  Now the Latin is prefaced by a section entitled “International Latin Notes, Dance Positions, and Holds,” which explains in detail all the positions and holds allowed in Latin dancing.  Most of the information simply expands on things competitors already should have known – no embellishments, no timing changes or hold changes unless provided for. 

Each dance's figure list now includes the timing and holds for every figure at each level, which is information that can be found in the Latin technique books as well.  It is a LOT of information.  I would recommend competitors do take a look at the “Alternative Timings,” “Alternative Positions and Holds,” and “Special Notes” section of each dance, at least, to gain some insight into what is okay and what is not. 

Furthermore, I will highlight one crucial update that appears in the “Special notes and restrictions for all dances.”  Item six states:

“At no time in any of the allowable positions are the couples further away from each other than a comfortable arm’s length.  The only exception is the There and Back in Cha Cha.” 

This particular restriction affects, in particular, any side by side work in Cha Cha, as well as figures like Sliding Doors in Rumba, where competitors often try embellishing by dancing far apart from one another. 

While these updates are all for NDCA competitions, they are worth perusing even if you only compete in USA Dance events.  Both organizations share invigilators, which means that invigilators familiar with the NDCA version of things could very likely apply that to USA Dance as well, possibly without thinking about it.  When USA Dance puts forth its own updates, I will write another blog post covering those changes.  

Mambo Timing

This post isn’t strictly about invigilation, but it does relate and I think is worthwhile.  Additionally, this topic is geared specifically towards collegiate and amateur syllabus dancers.

There is one crucial truth about Mambo that syllabus competitors need to know: if you dance on time, and are dancing something that resembles Mambo figures, you will probably advance rounds.  A couple dancing only a Mambo basic for a minute and a half, but perfectly on time, will likely be scored higher than a couple dancing more difficult figures and losing their timing.  I have heard a judge say on a coaching lesson that anyone who is on time in Bronze Mambo automatically makes the Finals. 

Why is Mambo timing so important?  Truthfully, timing is always important, but most couples quickly figure out how to accurately begin on the correct count in their other dances.  A couple who cannot begin on the correct count in Waltz, Rumba, etc., and is off time throughout the dance because of it, would certainly be marked down or not recalled.  With Mambo, everything is magnified by the unusual starting count – a much higher proportion of dancers end up off time than in any other dance in either style. 

So why in the world am I talking about Mambo timing on an invigilation blog?  How does it even relate? 

1.  Technically, by the exact letter of the invigilation rules for both NDCA and USA Dance, any couple who doesn’t “break” on two in Mambo is committing an infraction. 

But much, much more importantly:

2. No invigilator would ever call a couple up for breaking on the wrong beat in Mambo.

This situation highlights an important aspect of invigilation as a whole, which is that the essence of keeping a level playing field is reducing obvious advantages.  A couple who can dance higher level figures well has an obvious advantage.  A couple dancing – I hate to say it – poorly does not have an advantage over the other couples in their heat.

Learn Mambo timing well first, then build up your routine with figures (that you can still keep on time).  As with so many areas of ballroom dancing, simple things executed well are a better choice than difficult things executed poorly.

Corner vs. Side of Room Figures

Rules for syllabus Standard are probably the most cut-and-dry of any style.  (Not that I’m saying that they are always perfectly clear!)  American Style encompasses many different syllabi, and the Latin syllabus includes suggested alignments, amounts of turn, etc., but the Standard syllabus is very specific about what alignments, amounts of turn, and timings are allowed.  Furthermore, because of the progressive nature of Standard dancing, figures are designated as for use around a corner, along the side of the room, or both.

Many figures can be used both around/approaching corners and along the side of the room, though often figures change slightly in order to accommodate the differences.  Sometimes figures start out as a corner or side figure and only add the other option at a higher level.  (For example: a Whisk in Waltz, which can be ended DC only starting at Silver.  This is because there no figures are available to follow with at Bronze if the Whisk is ended DC.) 

Short of memorizing the entire Technique book, how can we keep straight which figures accomplish which goals?  Here is a short guideline that should help:

1. Chasse figures (including locks) generally don’t go around corners, which is due to the linearity of this type of figure.  An exception to this rule is the Tipple Chasse to R in Quickstep, which can be used around a corner in a variety of interesting ways.  It is worth noting that the way in which the Tipple Chasse takes the corner is by cutting across it, not dancing into and out of it.

   

2. Because chasse figures cannot, for the most part, go around corners, the often-used introductory Quickstep routine of dancing Quarter Turn to R/Progressive Chasse all the way around the floor is technically illegal.  Invigilation on a low level couple dancing this type of routine is unlikely – what would be the point?  However, it is important for couples to learn a cornering figure, like a Natural Spin Turn, as soon as they are able.[1]

3. Tango, especially at Bronze, is the most permissive Standard dance with respect to corners and sides.  Most figures can be modified for different areas of the floor, and inserting two Walks can clear up almost any alignment issues.  However, Progressive Links may not be over-rotated for getting around a corner, nor may Reverse Turns, Lady Outside or in Line. 

4. There is only one figure in the entire Standard syllabus that can only be danced in a corner.  Silver Foxtrot’s Hover Cross has no alternative versions.  You may not change its alignment or amount of turn, and therefore it can only get you into and out of a corner.

5. There is also only one figure that can go around two corners: Running Right Turn in Silver Quickstep.  Running Right Turn may be danced along the side of the room, around two corners, around one corner using the early section of the figure, OR around a corner using the later section of the figure.  

As a sidenote: Since American Style Smooth relies on restrictions rather than a set syllabus, it is easy to assume that alignments matter less than they do in Standard.  While it’s true that no rule provides basis for invigilating, say, a Chasse from PP around a corner, it is in a couple’s best interest to observe Standard conventions about alignments in Smooth dancing as well. 

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[1] As another example, beginner Foxtrot often involves using Feather Step/Three Step to get around the floor.  This is also illegal, though not because of corner issues.  Technically a Three Step is only allowed as a Follow to a Feather Step, not a Precede.  As with Quickstep, it is important to learn another figure (like a Natural Turn) as soon as possible in order to both legalize the routine and show a higher caliber of dancing.   

Gold Latin Continued/Dance Language: "Overturn"

After my last post, I received a clarification question that I had originally intended to answer quickly.  I soon realized, however, that the subject was really too large for a short, bulleted answer, so I’m making an entire post out of it. The question was:

“Can you add when overturns are permissible for syllabus to your Gold [Latin] blog?  I believe I saw a lot of them in Gold [at DCDI] and wanted to check with you when they can be used.”

For those only interested in the short, bulleted answer, please scroll to the list at the end of this post.  Otherwise, please keep reading for some clarifying material.

 

As has happened in the past, I really can’t start answering the question until we nail down some terms.  I used the word “overturn” in my Gold Latin post, which was perhaps not the best choice, but this situation is another where we don’t have solid terminology that always refers to the same thing.[1]  What in the world is an “overturn?” 

In general, the Latin syllabus books give amounts of turn for figures, much like The Ballroom Technique does for Standard figures.  The Latin books also include a note towards the beginning of each book that says, “… in most cases a little more turn may be made to develop rotation … When a precise amount of turn is not given between steps it denotes there can be acceptable deviations to allow for individual speed of turn and expression.”  Not the most precise instructions.  While “acceptable deviations” is fairly open-ended, I think it’s safe to say that this provision allows for a SMALL amount of extra turn – 1/8, maybe ¼, not anything more obvious and significant. 

There are some instances where the Latin syllabus actually uses the word “overturn” for its own purposes.  A good example is in the Jive figure Fallaway Throwaway.  At Bronze, specific amounts of turn are given in the chart.  At Silver, Fallaway Throwaway gets upgraded to the Overturned Fallaway Throwaway, which turns more, but does so still with specific amounts detailed in the chart figure.  Then at Gold, we get the Development of Overturned Fallaway Throwaway, which adds further turn, but again, a specific amount.

The above example is not what I was referring to when I said “overturn” in my previous post, nor do I think it’s what my question-asker was referring to.  The tendency is for Gold dancers to put noticeable, extra amounts of turn over spins and occasionally three step turns.  A better word for what I’m describing might be “overspin,” though that could also cause confusion because a three step turn isn’t technically a spin.  For the purposes of the rest of this post, I will use overspin for lack of a better term.  Finally, when I say extra spin or overspin, I mean what most of us would probably call a “double turn.”  Double turns are not, usually, truly double; they are typically about a turn and a half, maybe a little less or more, whether on one foot or over several steps.

So to (finally) answer the question posed to me, here is a list of figures where overspins are specifically provided for (these are all for the Lady, except for two of the three spin endings of Fencing):

Jive

1. Change of Places R to L Development (Allowed starting at Silver)
2. Spanish Arms, Spin Ending (Allowed starting at Silver)
3. Rolling Off the Arm, Spin Ending with R to R Hand Hold
4. Simple Spin Development (?)

Rumba

1. Fencing, Spin Endings (Man and Lady’s Solo Spin, Lady’s Under Arm Spin to L, Man’s Solo Spin to L)

Cha Cha

1. Cross Basic Development
2. Hip Twist Spiral
3. Follow My Leader
4. Foot Change Variations

Samba

1. Three Step Turns

Paso Doble

1. Traveling Spins (PP and CPP)
2. Fregolina Ending
3. Chasse Cape, Lady’s Spin to R Ending

Please note that, for the most part, these figures do give specific amounts of turn for their overspin actions.  As stated in my previous post, you still may not simply embellish turns by doubling them. 

    

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[1] For further examples see the section of this post about elements/steps, and this post discussing open/closed.

Gold Latin

Why does Gold Latin get its own post?  Simply put: in my own experience, Gold Latin contains the most instances of infractions of any level and style.  For whatever reason, dancers tend to go hog wild in Gold Latin events, and there are certain infractions that I could put money on happening and be much richer in a hurry.  This is a list of those infractions.

Man’s Spin (Jive)

A Simple Spin is an opportunity for the Lady to turn a whole lot on one foot in Jive.  Her leader does not get the same opportunity.  The exact wording of the technique book is, Man: “No turn on the Simple Spin.”  As the figure is described, the Lady turns and the Man closes his feet.

Sailor Shuffles (Jive)

Sailor Shuffles are an embellishment borrowed from American Swing, where they become legal at Silver.  They have a kind of coordinated drunkenness to them that suits Swing’s grounded character exceptionally well.  Many dancers replace chasses with Sailor Shuffles in Jive as a way to make the basic action of the dance flashier and more exciting.  However, Sailor Shuffles do not appear in the Jive syllabus at all.

Sailor Shuffles (Cha Cha)

I split Sailor Shuffles into two sections because the information about them is slightly different in different dances.  At Silver Cha Cha and higher, dancers may use a Ronde chasse – a figure whose action resembles a Sailor Shuffle in some ways.  Dancers may not, however, replace regular chasses with Ronde chasses simply because they want to, nor may they dance the American Style Sailor Shuffle at any point in Latin Cha Cha. 

New York/Cuban Break Variations (Cha Cha)

Some of the most common alterations in Cha Cha are timing and action changes in New Yorks, Cuban Breaks, and Split Cuban Breaks.  These changes include: holding 4, 1 instead of dancing a 4 & 1 chasse in a New York, or any time when the Man and Lady do not mirror each other.  The Man may not dance anything different from the Lady during these figures.  No lunges, no lines, no timing changes.  He must dance the mirror version of the Lady’s part.

“Chugging Turning to the Right” (Jive)

I put this in quotes because that is how I have most often heard it described by syllabus dancers.  In a previous post, I mentioned that one of the most common infractions in general is dancing an Open Continuous Tuck-in Turn or Tap on the Shoulder from Bronze Swing in Jive.  “Chugging Turning Right” is how a lot of dancers choose to describe the Swing figure.  Just to repeat: the syllabus figure Chugging turns left overall; there is no Latin version of an Open Continuous Tuck.  

Samba Roll Variations (Samba)

Good news: Samba Rolls are allowed at Gold.  Bad news: They are not allowed in Shadow Position, or with a cross-hand hold above the heads.

Sliding Doors Variations (Rumba)

A large proportion of dancers like to include a full turn for the Lady after her Cucaracha in Sliding Doors.  This is not permitted.  The Lady must step backward out of her Cucaracha rather than turning around into her back rock. 

Syncopated Basic (Cha Cha)

You are permitted to dance 4 & 1 of a Cha Cha chasse as a “close, close, side” action.  You may NOT dance the same action over the 2 & 3. 

Honorable Mentions: Continuous Locks and Double Spins

Continuous Locks (Cha Cha, Samba) are not allowed.  The syllabus is very specific about how many locks you may do and in what position before you need to dance something else.

Double Spins: This one is tricky because there are places in the syllabus where “overturned” turns are allowed.  Generally speaking, however, double turns are not permitted as replacements for single turns.        

  

Quickstep Locks

One of the most common Quickstep infractions is dancing multiple sets of locks forward or backward.  Many people dance two (or more) sets of locks in a row because 1. Locks flow naturally into each other and 2. Multiple locks in a row send a couple flying down the floor, which is an attractive prospect especially for lower level dancers who do not yet have access to other figures that accomplish the same goal.  Furthermore, lock steps define syllabus Quickstep – a full third of the Quickstep syllabus involves locking actions – so more are better, right?   

On Back Locks, the book is very clear.  Precede for all levels: Progressive Chasse to Right.  Follows: Closed Impetus, Tipple Chasse to Right, Running Finish, with Tipsy to Right added at Gold.   Specific figures are spelled out in a way that clearly indicates a Back Lock may not Precede or Follow itself.[1]

As an additional note on Back Locks, we have the Natural Turn and Back Lock.  Though this figure gets its own chart form due to alignment differences and slight alterations in foot positions, a Natural Turn and Back Lock is basically just a Back Lock with a different entrance.  Therefore, I would classify 1-3 of a Natural Turn as a second Precede for a Back Lock along with the Progressive Chasse to Right.  (Follows for Natural Turn and Back Lock are identical to the Follows for the figure called Back Lock.) 

Forward Locks are not addressed so clearly.  Precedes are, “Any figure ending with the Right Foot forward Outside Partner.”  Follows are, “Any Natural figure” in Bronze, and a number of more specific figures in Silver and Gold.  What do we do with this?  If we go by the Precedes, Forward Locks should be okay to dance twice since they end RF forward OP.  If we go by the Follows, double locks would not be allowed, as a Forward Lock does not meet the definition of “natural figure” because it doesn’t turn to the right.

Discussions of specific technique book language are fascinating (to some of us!) and valuable.  However, in practical terms, the ambiguity of the book’s wording on Forward Locks doesn’t translate into much gray area for Invigilators.  Most Invigilators would likely call up couples dancing multiple sets of locks, so it’s best to avoid the problem entirely by dancing only one lock at a time. 

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[1] By Back Lock, I mean the specific figure called Back Lock.  A V6 incorporates a type of backwards lock, but is not what I’m discussing here.  That being said, you may not throw an extra backwards locking action into a V6 either.