• Performance & Competition

    10 Jack and Jill Questions Answered

    August 23, 2019 - By 

    You’ve seen Jack and Jill competitions. Maybe you’ve competed, maybe you think you may do one, and maybe you swear you’ll never do it. Regardless of which camp you fall into, it can be helpful to understand the nature and structure of a Jack and Jill. Here, I’ve compiled ten of the most asked questions I’ve heard about Jack and Jills. Should I compete? That’s a personal decision. Your attitude, expectations, and outlook on competitions should be your primary factors in determining whether or not to compete. The guideline I give my students looking at competing for the first time is…

  • Beginner-Friendly - Congresses & Travel - Health & Safety - Performance & Competition - Social Dancing - Workshops & Classes

    Guest Article: The Importance of Warm-Ups

    January 21, 2019 - By 

    A Note from Laura: Sydney is a lifelong dancer who holds a Masters degree in dance and has substantial experience in both solo and partnered styles. She is currently travelling around the world to better understand the history, culture, and technique of Brazilian Zouk. Given her extensive classical training, she seemed like a great person to author a piece on the importance of a full warm-up and cool-down in the context of partnered dancing – an aspect many social dancers neglect. We hope you enjoy her debut piece on TDG.  Injuries: One Potential Culprit Social dancers often don’t think about dance…

  • Etiquette - Performance & Competition

    Jack n’ Jills: Do people ‘deserve’ better partners?

    March 2, 2016 - By 

    I remember my first-ever Jack n’ Jill competition in West Coast Swing. I was competing in Newcomer, but I had several years of dance experience before WCS. So, I had an ‘advantage’ over some of the people in the category. I ended up making it to finals. I drew this sweet, older gentleman as a partner. He was very, very nervous. We competed, and in the end I think we came 5th. Not shabby. Then, after the results, he came up to me and apologized for drawing me in competition. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it was something along the…

  • Performance & Competition

    Why do I Perform?

    December 10, 2014 - By 

    When I was three years old, I was in my first play. I was a Christmas Gift.  My costume was literally a box with holes for my head, arms, and feet. The idea of having the young kids play Christmas Gifts is that they could hide *in* the boxes if they got stage fright.

  • Performance & Competition

    A message to all performers!

    February 21, 2013 - By 

    Dear Performers, I love you guys. Seriously. Not everyone has the kohonas to get up on stage, strut their stuff, and be brave enough to risk making a fool of oneself on stage. It’s great! It’s fantastic! Besides, unless it’s a really big mess-up, no one will even notice if you broke on 5 and it’s an On2 routine that one time. Maybe Eddie Torres will if he’s in the audience, but I’m sure he’s done it before and won’t really care either.