When the partnership 'effort' is not even

[elisedance]

Here (canada) we basically have three syllabus and two championships.  So 5 levels would be pre-bronze- or no competition training at all   So I doubt that that is equivalent.  It really depends on how many levels you have - that way we can get the approximate proportional difference...

Then 5 levels, level 1-5. Assuming that level 5 is our highest, and championship is your highest. I'm level 4, so that would be pre-championship?

I'm guessing that your syllabus are equivalent to our bronze and the rest are divided (but we would have to compare actual dancers to really figure this out).  In that case you have 2=silver, 3=gold, 4=prechamp, and 5=championship.

That is probably not too far off.  Even so, the person you are discussing would then be 'bronze'.  I'm guessing that even if she were very talented to get her up to your level may take 2 years..  OTOH, you are young and if your hearts are set on it its what you have to do...

[samina]

Z... what does she (or your unique connection) bring to the table, to possibly make up for the disparity in experience?

is she a fast learner, like a sponge? is she humble, a great listener, but also confident enough to go for it if she's thrown in over her head and sharks are swimming about?

do you have great communication chemistry, so that lesson & practice time just flows and feels great? is she enthusiastic? how bad does she want it? how dedicated is to to her goals, as far as putting her action where her mouth is?

these are the things, IMO, that will make all the difference in the world. who knows... she could be that rare creature who can get up to speed to your level very quickly because of these special assets.

[elisedance]

[word to the wise..

Z... what does

that would be SW I think - unless you were referring to something earlier]

[samina]

oh yes... i missed the date on that. ah well! 

[QPO]

oh yes... i missed the date on that. ah well! 

no it was also zac as he felt that his partner was not putting in the same time to practice as he wanted. she would come to the lesson and just want to run through the routines and he wanted to break down components and improve them, she felt  that he was trying to teach her...I am not sure what eventuated.

[samina]

oh yes... i missed the date on that. ah well!  

no it was also zac as he felt that his partner was not putting in the same time to practice as he wanted. she would come to the lesson and just want to run through the routines and he wanted to break down components and improve them, she felt  that he was trying to teach her...I am not sure what eventuated.

it's tough when partners have different understandings or values around practice.

for a time awhile back, i was taking latin lessons with my regular instructor and with my then-BF, and when we would practice we experienced the only genuine arguments we'd ever known. i expected to work on the figures and technique, he expected to do lead-and-follow, including sloppy technique and the invention of his own non-syllabus choreo (the way one would when social dancing for fun). turns out... we had radically different values and purpose around dance, and our practice time together revealed this very quickly.

i eventually considered it a wise thing to stop the lessons and practice with him.

[SwingWaltz]

Z... what does she (or your unique connection) bring to the table, to possibly make up for the disparity in experience?

is she a fast learner, like a sponge? is she humble, a great listener, but also confident enough to go for it if she's thrown in over her head and sharks are swimming about?

do you have great communication chemistry, so that lesson & practice time just flows and feels great? is she enthusiastic? how bad does she want it? how dedicated is to to her goals, as far as putting her action where her mouth is?

these are the things, IMO, that will make all the difference in the world. who knows... she could be that rare creature who can get up to speed to your level very quickly because of these special assets.

She's got pretty much what it takes, most of it but not all. But I can't say 100% sure because we only danced together 3 times, twice at social and once just practise alone. She picks up dances that she's never done before on the spot, whilst not really technically sound, but she follows if I lead her into something. Infact, she follows at anything I throw at her even she doesn't know the footwork, her body keeps up. Confidence is what I think she lacks, I would like the "I'll put in 100% if you give me a go at pre-champ level", but I get the "I'm too far off from pre-champ level, will it work?". Enthusiastic wise, she's more keep to get on the competition floor than me. Which sort of contradicts with her confidence. So I'm thinking she's looking for someone closer to her level, level 1 in australia, so syllabus levels in American terms. Her goals? Get on the competition floor asap. My goal? Take the time to develop a successful and competitive partnership at championship level.   That is the reaons we're still deciding on where to go with this potential partnership.

[samina]

mebbe just set up a goal for a few weeks to work together and get a better feel of your compatibility, both on the floor and with your goals. no need to make a rush-decision...

[elisedance]

I agree.  She must be in seventh heaven with a championship dancer interested in her (we all want to dance with someone better right?).  Trouble is - and you are obviously aware of this - that it might not be the best thing for either of you.  Once she competes at championsihp she can no longer (I presume) go back to her own level. 

To be fair to her, you need to raise the prospect of what happens if it does not work out?  Then you can go find a new partner in championsihp whereas she would have a very hard time doing the same (lack of equivalent skill) but would be locked out of the levels where here true peers are.

I know of one couple here who were married but the husband was far advanced compared to his wife (it is said that he was a pro in his country of origin but switched to AM here ).  His wife was good but not at his level and they were determined to dance together.  So the wife found a partner at a lower level and worked hard to get up to par.  Meanwhile the husband continued dancing with a different partner.  Once the wife was close they started together and are now highly ranked as a couple together. 

IMO this is the right way to get a partnership when one person is advanced and the other not.  Its both fair and practical. 

[ZPomeroy]

Trouble is - and you are obviously aware of this - that it might not be the best thing for either of you.  Once she competes at championsihp she can no longer (I presume) go back to her own level. 

She will go back to registered Level 1 and will win points for elevation if they win in level 4. Its a bit hard to explain, but lets say if they win and move up to level 5 then the girl is able to go down to level 2 because by wining level 4 she has elevated her starting level of 1 to level 2. Hope that makes sense

Zac

[elisedance]

Trouble is - and you are obviously aware of this - that it might not be the best thing for either of you.  Once she competes at championsihp she can no longer (I presume) go back to her own level. 

She will go back to registered Level 1 and will win points for elevation if they win in level 4. Its a bit hard to explain, but lets say if they win and move up to level 5 then the girl is able to go down to level 2 because by wining level 4 she has elevated her starting level of 1 to level 2. Hope that makes sense

Zac

Oh!
Well that sounds a lot more civilized than here.  If you do one competition at a higher level without also competing at your own then you are stuck there (I think there are exceptions if your level is not offered).

[Dora-Satya Veda]

That said, just like love conquers all so does a determined dance partnership.  The propblem as I see it is that you are both likely to rush and she may miss out on crucial basic training - and that may become a handicap down the line.

I wonder if DSV has some advice here...

I know this is an old post but I do feel like answering it.

I read through SW's post. Finding somebody that is your own level can be very difficult and almost seem impossible. I have seen many dancers over the years that have come up the ranks fast because somebody (future partner or teacher) saw something in them that they didn’t see in themselves. I will give the same advice that my teacher would tell students that asked just that question.

Find a partner that is light on the feet, hard working, open minded and that you can work with. It is easy to train somebody to dance that is light on their feet, hard working, open minded and that you can work with professionally. Never worry about the level of the dancer as that is only a matter of putting skills together in the right order.

[ttd]

Does it make a difference what your role is? I always felt that it's easier for the guy to bring the girl up to his level, rather than other way around.

[Dora-Satya Veda]

Does it make a difference what your role is? I always felt that it's easier for the guy to bring the girl up to his level, rather than other way around.

It really doesn't matter.

Here are a couple of examples of where the men were the weaker link in the beginning

Luca and Lorraine Baricchi (Standard)

Corky and Shirley Ballas (Latin)

[elisedance]

Does it make a difference what your role is? I always felt that it's easier for the guy to bring the girl up to his level, rather than other way around.

It really doesn't matter.

Here are a couple of examples of where the men were the weaker link in the beginning

Luca and Lorraine Baricchi (Standard)

Corky and Shirley Ballas (Latin)

The second is obvious (I know that Corky was a pro-am partner initially) but the first is a surprise.  OTOH I always felt Lorraine was the stronger dancer .... (and thats not 20:20 hind vision either - got me some surprised looks!)