Competition Dancing
Friendly Competition
Whether graded or social, local or national, competitors in the Rock 'n' Roll and Swing community respect and value their peers on the dance floor. As a competitor you join that group of dancers who strive to 'raise the bar'. In addition, most competitions are regulated and monitored to ensure civil behaviour should disagreements arise. There is nothing to fear about competition and everything to gain!
Graded vs. Social Competition
Some people like to compete for a bit of fun and to show what they can do. For others competition is about skills development, precision, and performance. This is what graded competitions tend to focus on. However, there is also the advantage that competitors need only dance against others at their own level. Often people are put off competing socially as more experienced dancers dominate the events offered. Graded competition, while sometimes having more rules and structure than a social event, is therefore a great format for dancers to participate on a more even basis.
Local & National Competition
Unfortunately, the support for competition events in WA has been sporadic in recent years. There has also been a noticeable decline in National events and competitor numbers. However, Cool Cats and other like minded dance studios across Australia and New Zealand are determined to keep our fabulous sport strong into the future. Consequently, there are a number of club/studio based competitions/events and registered/graded competitions for keen dancers to get involved with. For those prepared to travel, there is almost certainly a competition available that will suit you!
We have tried to pull together a comprehensive list of available competitions to help you find the right event for you!
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Competition 2011
January
Summersun Festival (Perth, WA)
http://www.summersun.net.au/program/dance-competition
February
??? (???, ???) - March
??? (???, ???) - April
ARRDC QLD State Titles (Brisbane, Qld)
Sandgate Bowling Club
May
VRRDA State Championships (Epping, Vic)
http://web.aanet.com.au/VRRDA/Championships.html
ARRDC SA State Titles (Adelaide, SA)
June
Cooly Rocks On: World Freestyle Rock 'n' Roll & Swing Championships - 12th June
Seagulls Leagues Club - Stardust Room, Coolangatta
http://www.coolyrockson.com/dance-workshop---competition.html
Wintersun: Oceanic Rock 'n' Roll & Swing Dance Competition - 12th June
Port Panthers Club, Port MacQuarie
http://www.wintersun.org.au/dancers_competiton.ews
July
??? (???, ???) -
August
ARRDC NSW State Titles (New England, NSW) - 20 August
Glen Innes Services Club
September
??? (???, ???) -
October
Australian Masters Games - October 8th
Campania Ballroom, Modbury North
http://australianmastersgames.com.au/Extra.asp?id=94
November
Adelaide Rock 'n' Roll Festival (Adelaide, SA) http://www.adelaiderocknroll.com.au/festivals.php
ARRDC Australasian National Titles - Date/Venue TBA
December
Cool Cats Festival (Perth, WA)
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/community.asp
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Sport Dancing
Sports dancing is more than just competition, although that obviously is a key element for many. Sports dancing also includes demonstration and performance, formal assessment, and dancing for exercise & physical training.
Demonstration & Performance
Demonstration generally involves low key public events to display the fun, variety, and character of 'retro' dancing. Demonstration is thus something that dancers of all experience and skill levels can be involved with, providing the opportunity to really show-off your dance. Some demonstrations can be more serious, for specific audiences or events, where more training is warranted.
Performance refers to cabaret acts or dancing undertaken as part of a theatrical or musical production. Opportunities for performance are less common than demonstration, largely because this requires dedication and commitment on behalf of the dancers involved to regular routine practice and skills development. For those interested in performance Cool Cats can help you refine your routine, presentation, and overall choreography. Unfortunately, due to lack of regular dancers, we do not have a performance troupe at this time.
Opportunities
Demonstrations often come out of the blue with little notice, so for anyone interested in display dancing it's best to express an interest early. Otherwise it can be very difficult trying to chase down those dancers who may want to be involved with an event. On average there tends to be at least one demonstration opportunity per month, with more events during holiday periods.
Assessments
Assessments may be structured to provide formal (written) or semi-formal (verbal) feedback to dancers to identify key areas that may be improved. Assessments also provide an evaluation of the standard of your dancing, rather than just acknowledgment of completion of content (as provided by course certificates).
By Request
If you are interested in assessment, please ask. With sufficient interest we hope to hold an assessments day/night at least once during the year.
Exercise & Training
Dancing can be a great way to get fit - but it doesn't just happen! Like any other program to get in shape and stay that way, it's the combination of diet and regular exercise. The typical dance class and social night once a week is usually not enough. However, treat your lesson(s) as a training session and your night(s) out dancing as practice ('game time') and your fitness will improve. |
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Why Join?
Sports associations are essential to the long term support and development of dancing. They serve to promote the social and physical benefits of dancing to the general public, inspiring new people to become involved. Sports associations and their volunteers also organise the competitions that encourage new content and higher standards of dance - which all feeds back in one way or another into the social dance scene.
The real question is, if you've found something great in dancing, why would you not join an association to help others do the same?
National
ARRDC
The ARRDC is the recognised sporting body for Rock 'n' Roll in Australia. The repertoire of dances under the Rock 'n' Roll umbrella has developed into many distinctive styles. The ARRDC is committed to further develop these styles by running competitions Australia-wide and having standard rules apply for all competitors.
DanceSport Australia
Dance Masters International Association
Competitive ballroom dancing. Dancesport and DMIA occasionally include Rock 'n' Roll and/or "Swing Jive" events in their competitions.
Local
WA ARRDC
The WA branch of the ARRDC is currently inactive. We hope this will change shortly.
Cool Cats
Cool Cats is working to further 'retro' dancing as a sport in Western Australia. Along with many other benefits, membership with Cool Cats helps fund our end of year Festival - which includes a club competition. As our course content becomes established we also aim to offer assessments for those dancers interested in improving their dancing based on formal feedback.
Social Clubs
There are several Rock 'n' Roll and Swing social clubs in WA that you can get involved with. Check out our links page and Perth Rocks and see what you can find! Getting involved with any dance group helps support the 'retro' dance scene.
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