TOsalsa: Salsa Dance Competitions

Competitions should really be about recognition. From the competitor's perspective, the main reason to enter a competition is to get recognition for the effort that goes into training. Some people do not know what it takes to prepare for a competition.

First a choreography is needed therefore music must be chosen carefully and cut or mixed accordingly. Most choreographies have a theme to capture the crowd. Some themes are dramatic or funny depending on the mood the dancers want to create or what they’re trying to express. Costumes are made according to the theme and sometimes more than one costume is needed for one routine, which can be quite expensive.

It takes many hours of work to create a good choreography and it's always a working progress. There are endless hours of training. When creating a routine, some standards must be covered. Most competitions have similar criteria such as Timing and Rhythm, Choreography Execution, Showmanship, Couple Dynamics, Costumes, Effortlessness, Audience Impact, Shines, Dips, Spins and Lifts. Basically, the choreography must contain everything to get the most points if it’s executed properly.

A lot of time and effort goes into a routine that most people don't know about BUT the judges should.

Sometimes clubs host a competition only to get a large crowd to attend but they don't understand what a competition should be about. Here are some things for coordinators to consider. First and most important: the JUDGES. When a judge is chosen, he or she MUST be qualified. This person must have experience not only as a dancer or instructor but also as a competitor. He or she should have in-depth knowledge on the subject, in this case Salsa. For example, many competition coordinators hire a ballroom instructor to judge a salsa competition when this person does not know anything about salsa timing or technique. Latin Ballroom and Salsa are NOT the same.

A judge should be qualified in the subject and should also be professional. This means judging according to the FACTS and not according to personal choice or POLITICS. Anytime there's an international competition, judges place and choose competitors according to the city, country or dance school they're representing. I cannot stress this enough, JUDGING SHOULD BE BASED ONLY ON TALENT!!!! It doesn't matter if the first 3 places are given to the same city, as long as they are given to the most talented couples.

The crowd may not be qualified to judge technique BUT they know when they see a good show.

Everyone benefits from a fair competition, the dancers, since they will be motivated to compete again, the judges for knowing they were fair, the crowd for watching a great show and the host from having a club packed with a happy crowd and talented dancers.

When a competition is fixed or based on politics, nobody really wins. The judges know they didn't do their job, the crowd will be unhappy with the results, the dancers will be so disappointed that they will not likely compete again at the same place therefore the club will loose.

Competitions should be about giving the dancers the recognition they deserve to motivate them to go on, keep practicing, be more creative and just be their BEST!!!!

I'm sure every competitor can relate to this article and has gone through the politics of competing. This is for all you... don't give up! Life is not always fair but just do your best, keep your head up and keep practicing. One day, you will get the recognition you deserve and all the effort and endless hours of practicing will be all worth it!