syllabus to 'open' routines....

[elisedance]

I hasten to add - which is also why pro-ams where the pro is particularly accomplished generally win - the judges just see a higher level of dancing regardless of the step complexity.  Not only that the story goes (I have never verified it) that Marcus and Karen HIlton won a world championship just doing syllabus.  And yes, everyone else was dancing complexity to the nth degree.

And its why when you really want to improve your dancing you have to go back to bronze to retune.  Its very much in mind because that is exactly what DP and I are doing now...

[samina]

Yeah, well. In theory it shouldn't matter, but in practice? Suppose we have two couples who're more or less evenly matched technique-wise, but one couple chooses to dance a bit more challenging choreography, and the other chooses not to take risks and dance simpler patterns. Which one should place higher in this scenario?

i'd say... the one with better showmanship. even at the same technique level with more challenging choreo, better showmanship/salesmanship will win out, IME.

i've been in situations with others at the same syllabus level where my technique was better but i was comparatively much weaker in showmanship. in those cases, i generally placed more poorly.

[elisedance]

Yeah, well. In theory it shouldn't matter, but in practice? Suppose we have two couples who're more or less evenly matched technique-wise, but one couple chooses to dance a bit more challenging choreography, and the other chooses not to take risks and dance simpler patterns. Which one should place higher in this scenario?

i'd say... the one with better showmanship. even at the same technique level with more challenging choreo, better showmanship/salesmanship will win out, IME.

i've been in situations with others at the same syllabus level where my technique was better but i was comparatively much weaker in showmanship. in those cases, i generally placed more poorly.

Good point Sam - I think we need a topic on this.

[QPO]

yes. Dancing is still a display, technique is very important at the lower levels but as you advance through the ranks I see technique is not the primary focus as I believe they have the opinion that you should know the technique. Normally when you get to the higher ranks you have been dancing awhile and you should be very proficient at it, this has gone astray in Australia (another story). So showing that you can express the dance will be the clincher. IMO