I really, really enjoy solo blues.  I love to teach it, I love to put it in my partner dancing, and I love choreographing it.  However, you may have noticed that solo blues competitions are, shall we say, not my thing.  For one thing, I'm a follower- improvising a dance just isn't my strong suit.  But there's another reason I stay out of solo blues competitions: they're usually not solo blues competitions.

There exists, in other street dance forms, a type of competition called a cutting contest.  In case you haven't seen them done, picture break dancers or hip-hop dancers.  The idea is straightforward: you watch your opponent dance, then you respond, building or improving on what they did.  Essentially, you're trying to one-up your opponent.  

Allow me to give a ridiculous example (I'm assuming their dancing is interpretive- I'm just un-interpreting):

Dancer 1: "I'm awesome.  I ride a unicorn, and fire a bow and arrow."
Dancer 2: "Oh yeah?  I ride not a unicorn, but a pegasus, and I rain snakes down on you!"
Dancer 1: "Nice- I think you've wounded me...  Too bad for you I have a snake slingshot, and launch them back at you!"

Clearly, dancer 1 has won.  How do you come back against snake slingshots?  

Seeing the potential for interesting, entertaining, and challenging competitions, blues organizers have latched on to the idea of cutting comps.  But I'm afraid I simply have to say it: we, as a community, just aren't mature enough to play that game.  What usually happens?  Here, let me interpret again:

Dancer 1: "I'm awesome.  I ride a unicorn."
Dancer 2: "Well, I'm humping your unicorn with infinite sexiness."
Dancer 1: "Well, I'm in your face, and I have infinite sexiness plus 1."
Dancer 2: "Well, I have infinite sexiness plus 2, and I'm even more in your face!"
And so on.

There are a few notable exceptions- people who can make the game more interesting by (this is rare) yielding in a fun way, or paying attention to their opponents, and answering their movements.  But most of our competitors, most of the time, don't have that particular skill; they go for intimidation, rather than cleverness; they wind up with frantic shouting for attention, instead of musically appropriate phrasing.  So rather than good cutting, or even just good solo dancing in its own right, we get a competition of who can be the most ridiculous and aggressive.  Our only entrance, it seems, is to get in our competitors faces.  Or, failing that, wander up right behind them and shadow them until they notice it.   Why?  Because a cool entrance would never get noticed, or get the floor.

Interestingly, charleston competitions- which are never called cutting comps, and have structured solo time- often still result in cutting.  Go watch for the interplay in top-level competitors; I like to think that when our community is ready, we'll get there.    But until our solo dance competitors more experience, confidence, and flexibility under their belts, I just don't think they're ready to add another layer.  So for now, let's just focus on good dancing.  Let's build a community of awesome solo dancers, and see where they take things.

 


Comments

Randy link
04/20/2011 08:47

I'm with you 100%. :-) I'm very glad that I read this post this morning because I've been having the same sentiments the past year as well. For better or worse, I've been a part of those solo blues competitions and while I always have a lot of fun while during the competition, I struggle to try to get my friends excited about it after the videos surface afterwards. ;-)

Reply
John
04/20/2011 09:40

Yeah. One of the solo blues comps I witnessed reminded me of a South Park episode in which Paris Hilton and Slave competed in a "Slut-Off." They were all on a stage with other competitors vying for the distinction of being the sluttiest and it was one big chaotic hot mess. This one particular cutting contest had an all skate that was just as chaotic with people trying to get noticed stepping in front of each other. It was actually kind of funny and interesting to see what people did to stand out by either doing less or more.

Reply
Chris
04/20/2011 09:40

Pretty much. (Although there's a whole sub-genre of rolling around on the floor that needed to die two years ago, while we're at it.) Part of the reason I'm so reluctant to enter solo competitions is I'll get smoked, hard, the way they're being done right now - and it's because of the valuation of sexiness (or what people construe as that) above all.

What I haven't figured out yet is if this is a throwback to earlier blues scene evolution (think "everyone bodyrolling to St. James Infirmary") or if this is something else. Either way, we made it out of that phase so I think we'll make it out of this one, too.

Reply
Breanna link
04/20/2011 10:58

OH MAN, AMEN. You just summed up my distaste for solo blues competitions as they currently stand.

As far as solo jazz (charleston) goes, though, I don't feel this way. It could be better, yes, but for the most part I still feel that the solo jazz competitions end up being up about individual bests, the way any competition would be. There are certain competitors that favor a more aggressive (or playfully aggressive) cutting style--"Hi my name is Bobby and I can do 7 million backflips, how many can you do?"--but I've come to expect that of them, because I don't think it surfaces much otherwise. Maybe that's just a factor of relative scene/competition "age", though?

Reply
Sarah link
04/20/2011 12:26

You nailed it. I've noticed this about all solo jazz dancing comps (blues or otherwise) lately. Even charleston/jazz comps (that I've seen) are less about damn good dancing, than one-upsmanship, clowning and sophomoric sexy time.

I want to see some rad syncopations, well executed classic movements, and an honest call and response relationship between the competitors.

:/

Reply
Joe Westie
04/20/2011 14:09

Maybe one could encourage creative cutting by adding a collaborative element:

Instead of one big cutting competition, have several small random groups compete. Judges rate each group as a whole compared to the other groups and also rate the individuals. Individual scores are combined with their group's score. This provides incentive to make the group interesting.

Reply
Kam Leitner
04/20/2011 15:24

Nice analysis, Mike - I haven't seen enough solo blues competitions to really have an intelligent opinion, but I can see how judging such an event was at best a difficult endeavor - I mean, what are you judging? Anyway, just wanted to chime in with a "yes, I agree" type comment - hope to see you soon.

Reply
Randy link
04/20/2011 17:19

I think a real tangible way to make a difference in these solo blues competitions if it's not vibing with you is to actually go out there and show what great solo blues can look like. One of the great aspects of the dances that we do and love like lindy hop and blues is that you can do it your way no matter what everybody else is doing and it's actually encouraged and applauded.

And really how can you dislike dancers just going out there and putting themselves out there and having fun. When did these competitions become so serious? :-)

Reply
Brenda link
04/20/2011 20:11

I totally agree and regularly express those observations to organizers and in my solo classes.

To comment on Randy's suggestion...If we were to go in it would be nearly impossible to move because people get so close to you waving their arms and leaning in that no ones sees you dance. There is no structure to allow you to show your musical interpretation. I am not an actress, I am not good at comedy/character/acting improv. When the game becomes an improv contest instead of a dance contest I'm out.

I was bummed to see the solo contest video from Urban Blues Recess last week because I was the contest coordinator, but couldn't attend the event, so it was turned over to others and they didn't keep my vision of doing a cat walk comp. I thought for an alternative event having people walk down the isle and back would have given them the time to do their think solo, then the next person responds. Instead it ended up a mash of people jumping in and out at each other.

Reply
Christine
04/20/2011 23:18


YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

hence my love of hijacking the dancefloor for solo songs in the middle of a dance. no-one's watching, no one cares, and hence people actually let go and MOVE to the music, instead of showing off or aggressing with thrusts of their unmentionables. Hu-zzah, Mikeness, for calling this out as a respected member of the blues scene. (I miss you, lady.)

Reply
Carsie
04/21/2011 10:20

Yay Mike!

So true.

Reply
Alan
06/14/2011 06:40

Absolutely totally agree.

The same goes true for most crowd judged competitions though, solo or couples.

All it takes is one bad apple in the group to decide to make their one-upsmanship about increasing crassness for other competitors to see the audience response and one up the crassness with a move thats even more lude.

Reply
Stephen
06/15/2011 10:54

Minions riding flying mongooses, that's how you come back against snake slingshots.

Reply
Sexy Lingerie Wholesale link
03/01/2012 17:27

Do you desire to shock your companion along with your hot sexy lingerie and alluring <a href=http://www.wholesale-lingerie.cn/Sexy-swimwear-cl115.shtml>Wholesale Sexy Bikini</a> on seaside? Are you dying to glance extremely captivating and sexy? Then it's the time you alter your normal underwear with super sexy swimwear and lingerie from <a href=http://www.wholesale-lingerie.cn>China Lingerie Manufacturer</a>.

Reply



Leave a Reply