Time 8:32 - Hair and Makeup mostly complete. Some slight tinkering. Heading down to the ballroom now...
Thanks all. So far its been fun. Floor is diminutive and quite slippery. Its been an unique experience adjusting. I am still trying to recognize other DF faces but have not had luck yet. Look for number 414 and cheer for Dance Forums
Kathy Howell and I got to compete against each other in the single dances. We split them 50/50. There were five of us in the dancesport championship. Kathy took first and I took second. So far the comp has been a lot of fun. Everyone here is friendly and the atmosphere is very welcoming. I haven't had a chance to photograph anyone yet. Hopefully I'll be shooting a lot tomorrow.
11:25am. Its quite interesting. I have been watching pro-am rhythm for the last hour and have not seen many mambos danced correctly by either the pro's or amateurs. As a judge at a previous collegiate competition once said: Its a @#&$ing salsa convention. How does one judge an event when everyone is off time?
well, if someone is dancing on the 1 instead of the 2, it's probably less offensive than if they're on the 3 or the 4? don't know, but I see it all the time.
Yeah - I haven't seen anyone dancing on the 3 or 4, but it is obvious that some of the pro's do not understand the difference. And I'm not talking about when a pro has to cover up for their students. I have seen a bit of that as well and the facial expressions are rather cute afterward.
when I was dancing with my rythym partner, he'd ask me to try to realllllly hold the 1 so he'd know where the 2 was *LOL*. Some of the music can really trip you up, too. So much going on.
As a pro couple was preparing for a show, they were obviously not on time - and the studio owner came over and told them so, to my surprise at the time, the male pro responded that no one would notice because its not a comp and the people would just be enjoying the show - to which the studio owner said "the students will know because that's the #1 thing that's emphasized when they learn mambo and they can't ignore it".
I bought a cd (for my fp) that actually breaks down mambo music to bare bones so you can identify all beats. I'll see if I can find it. Edit: this is it: dancevision.com/store/music/browse_by_style/mambosalsa/CD473/
Omg, it is now 3:02am. It is way past my bedtime. Tonight's events were rather interesting. They pro events were rather small with 4 standard and maybe 8 rhythm couples. The largest event of the night was the pro-am open smooth A scholarship. I believe we had 12 couples on a 40x60'ish floor. It was quite an interesting experience for floor-craft (almost like dancing bronze or silver at a college comp). My three highlights from today have to be as follow: 1) A certain professional falling flat on his back during pro-am standard. 2) Buckets & Chairs in the middle of the ballroom floor to stop a leak in the ceiling. 3) Tripping on Larinda's dress at least once in every dance, almost falling twice, and in the process, tearing two rather large holes in it.
yikes! Yeah . . . the semi is almost always the most crowded due to the 12 - the quarter and preceeding for larger comps are often better due to multiple heats - its easy - then a squeeze, then the final is a breeze by comparison.
Reb, what are you still doing up. For that matter, what am I doing up! Goodnight everyone. Goodnight Moon!
Good morning Cleveland! Cantski, this is a crazy story, I hope you can keep your sense of humor about you. I think happy hour at the hotel will help. Seriously, keep your chin up. Better days are to come.
