CBA dance awards

Admin Age : 57 Joined : 21 Feb 2007 Posts : 743

Every year... well most... there are always grumblings regarding the dances that win the awards. Not about the actual dances - but the level which the choreographers have leveled them at.
This year a new award was introduced - that of Absolute Beginner Dance Of The Year..
This, the first year the award went to Val Myers and Deana Randall for their dance 'Simply Mambo'.
A small, but appears growing number of people reckon this dance is really a Beginner dance mainly it seems because of the inclusion of syncopations.
If you look at another of the nominations 'Sailors Hornpipe', that too included syncopations. Does that mean if that dance had won there would have been the same grumblings - possibly so.

What are your thoughts on this.

Were the dances placed in the wrong level ? - a number of people seem to think so.
Could, or should the word be 'would' YOU teach ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS these or any dances that contain syncopations.

Admin Age : 57 Joined : 21 Feb 2007 Posts : 743

..and any thoughts on the other levels.. Beginner...Improver...Intermediate...Advanced.... even Dance Of The Year (this one always suprises me as why JUST dance of the year - surely its also the top dance of a particular level also - isn't it)

Did anyone go to the CBA's - your thoughts/reviews would be nice... good bad or indifferent.

Subject: Re: CBA dance awards Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:36 am

I didnt go (but ive ordered the dvd! lol!) because i couldnt find anyone who wanted to accompany me. Everyone said "no thanks"! One local instructor said she doesnt go because there's too much sucking up and kiss-assing and its the same old faces every time! Rolling Eyes

I hate gettin into the dance-level debate, its too wide open. Its up to choreographers to choose the level (and often its done tactically!) and theres still no 'official' guidelines from the ppl at the very top (as far as i know!) so nothings gonna change! Plus no one wants to choreograph real true absolute beginner dances cos theyre not 'cool'!

What i find interesting (and im not criticising anyone, i admire everyone who's talented enough to win a cba) is that val myers' (co-choreographer simply mambo) A-B Series for Absolute Beginners doesnt include any dance with syncopations. He doesnt introduce such a dance until the Beginners Dance Programme which he advises should follow on from the A-B Series. Yet his own AB dance has syncopations. Just an observation though, and I may be wrong, or completely misinformed!! Laughing

What i also find interesting, and possibly a little sneaky, is that when one of the messageboards has been discussin AB's theres suddenly a wave of AB dances and the choreographers are waving their hands saying "look at me, im doing u a big favour with my new AB dance". Obviously, im not saying thats a bad thing, always need AB dances, but i often wonder if they are really AB dances or have they just been labelled that beacause its a hot topic and it'll get ppl looking at the dance?? Question

Too cynical??

Dance Diva Age : 46 Joined : 16 Jan 2007 Posts : 92

Hi Jennie,

you make a good point about the ab dances - I have to say, it has crossed my mind that the 'true' ab dances still cant really be covered by an award at all as they are, as you say, a tad on the uninteresting side!

the sailors hornpipe is not an ab dance - waaaaaaaaaaay too fast for any ab to manage without damaging themselves - and simply mambo is a beginner dance, not an ab dance either....thats only my opinion of course for what its worth Basketball

not that anyone cares for my opinion much, but hey, it never stopped me giving it anyway! lol

for what its worth i think splitting up the awards into more levels WAS a good idea tho - something had to be done as the award for 'beginners' dances was getting more and more silly each year,. the problem is that a real ab wouldnt vote for a dance as when they are brand new to linedancing they dont know about awards, dont know about dance levels, dont remember the names of dances (or even know they exist!) and so the dances are actually being voted for by other people - probably their instructors, and possibly other levels of dancer anyway...

funny you should talk about people jumping on the ab bandwagon - as only today i thought of a funny song that would make a perfect ab dance lol lol - i didnt think that the song would be on itunes, but it was, and so i put together a little shuffly routine for my ab's to have a go at - they get the chance to practice scoots and hitches (dont get many of those) with a quarter turn and a jazz box.....lol

ill let you know how it goes - and you never know - i may even type it up eventually!

Julie xxx
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Dance Diva Age : 46 Joined : 16 Jan 2007 Posts : 92

pmsl - just noticed it says my age is 35 on here! LOL LOL

i must have clicked the wrong button when i was typing it in eh?

jocolor

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You gotta Rock N Roll with the punches - Life Can Be Short - So Smile and Be Happy!

Admin Age : 57 Joined : 21 Feb 2007 Posts : 743

Hi Jennie...

Not cynical at all.... its every possibility of being 'spot on' - and that includes you observation regarding Simply Mambo.

Admin Age : 57 Joined : 21 Feb 2007 Posts : 743

Nipped onto the LD site... and .. if you check 'Simply Mambo' it appears that someone has now decided that the dance is a..... Beginner.. and NOT an Absolute Beginner.

Now... if this is correct and the Choreographers agree... why else would it be 'allowed' to be classified a Beginner dance if it were not with the choreographers consent.. then what happens about the CBA 'Boot' awarded to the dance.. and to be quite honest .... it proves that maybe there are a lot of dancers out there... instructors AND choreographers included who maybe DONT know what constitutes an absolute beginner dance. Val Myers should have known better - or maybe he did... and it was just a 'slip off the pen'.
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