17/02/2020
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How to prepare for Bachata Social Competition?⏰
How to handle stress during your first social competition? Which strategy is the best to improve your musicality in bachata? How to connect with your partner at Jack & Jill? With the 5th edition of Warsaw Bachata Social Competition coming in less than two months, Tatiana asked me to share some insights and give advice to future contestants. 👨🏫
➡️Dawid, you have won the Warsaw Bachata Social Competition twice, is it right?
Correct, I got 1st place in Social Competition in 2016 and 2017. Additionally, I won Audience Award in 2017.
➡️And how did that make you feel?
It felt really good – to be appreaciated by other dancers. I felt that the effort put into preparations, years of excercising brought excellent results.
➡️Did the victory come easy to you?
Well, the first time of my competiton I had no expectations. I decided just to check myself, I did it for fun. I didn’t really expect to win. But I did. However the second time is a different story. I have heard that since I won in the previous year, I would definitely not take the first place second time in a row. I wanted to prove to everyone that they are wrong, that if someone works hard for the success, you nac achieve it. And I did so. An additional motivation was the Audience Award that I really cared about.
➡️Got it. Let’s talk about the practice strategy. How to prepare in the best way possible for the competition in March?
Naturally, the more time you spend on the dancing floor, the better dancer you become. But if you have one or two months before the competition, I would strongly recommend to put aside very technical elements and choose just a few sequences, which are simple and easy to follow. Preferably, those sequences are sets of four-eight counts (like we teach in the classes), so you can finish after every eight count and express an accent in the music. After choosing those sequences, like, ten of them, you try to find and show five ways to express the accents there. The best way of doing so is practicing with bachata songs and listening to them. The third step would be to prepare your styling in front of the mirror, so you look good in your dance sequences.
➡️Okay, let me repeat just to make sure I got it right. Firstly, one should choose simple sequences of moves. Secondly, one should come up with accents and try them out to different songs. Thirdly, polish one’s styling in those sequences?
Exactly. Of course, this is the strategy for leaders, not followers. For girls, it is important to read signals from a leader and add her styling onto his leading.
➡️Great. Dawid, since you have already started talking about musicality and accents, could you elaborate on that? It seems impossible to know each and every bachata song out there. The question is how to make accents in the unfamiliar song?
Well, this one is tough. If this song has a simple structure, meaning, every four-eight counts there is a change of phrase, a transition and then a refrain, that’s simple: even if you don't know what is happening at the beginning of the song, you will know that by the next refrain and will be able to make an appropriate accent. But if the song is structured in an unexpected way – only good knowledge of the song will help.
➡️That’s the spirit! Any tips on how to improve musicality in bachata?
It depends on which stage you are at. If you are still confusing in counting “one” and “five”, you need to listen to lots of bachata songs. Because if you get those wrong, no chance you will pass to the second stage of the competition. Second, you need to feel the slow-downs in the music and know how to deal with them. After, try to listen to the smallest accents and show them with your dance. Keep in mind that bachata remixes differ from other bachata songs: you need to follow the singer first and beats later.
➡️Hmm, that is quite a lot to take in and keep in mind while dancing. So, let’s talk about stress handling. With so many people watching you and judges evaluating your every move how you manage not to blackout and forget every single move you know?
First of all, stress is not all bad, because it motivates you to train more. How could you handle stress? As I already mentioned, being open-minded with no high expectations really helps. Try to imagine that it is your regular dance social and enjoy yourself. Second of all, if you feel uncomfortable being judged by others, try to dance with your peers looking at you and giving you feedback afterward. That is how you become used to being judged by others. Of course, it will also help if you perform in public. Just dance and ask for feedback from as many people as you can. Finally, you should train a lot. If you do that, you should be more confident in yourself.
➡️Understood. Now, the connection in bachata partner dancing. It is important, no doubts here. How do you establish the connection with the partner you see for the first time, and you have only thirty seconds or so to dance together and then you move on to the next partner?
That is difficult, indeed. Everyone wants to look at his/her best at J&J and everyone is stressed. The follower concentrates on her stylings, the leader - on his leading… The connection is the last thing everyone thinks about.
You need to dance simply but efficiently. Guys should go for moves that most girls would know how to follow. For girls, the best strategy would be to relax a bit and concentrate on leading from her partner.
➡️And what if you dance with a girl and you see that no matter how hard you want to connect with her, she is still not following you and doing her own stuff instead?
In this case, the best is to use open positions to the maximum and give her many slow turns, so you don't have to lead her. Then she will be dancing her things and you will be able to concentrate on yours. And if you dance in closed positions, opt for the simplest moves.
➡️By the way, when you prepare for the competition, should you dance with one partner or a few?
If it comes to social competition, I’d recommend having one partner to practice with in the dance room and polish your moves and shines. And then you go to socials and dance it all off with many partners, and choose the dance moves that pay back the most.
➡️In March, many dancers will compete for the first time. Is there anything else they should know about preparation?
Keep in mind that competition is physically demanding. You need to dance a few songs without any breaks. Train your stamina and do not save your energy for the next round - it may not happen if you don't dance at your maximum during the first one. Do cardio, intense footwork, running, interval training, and dance a lot without breaks at socials. And above all – have fun! Dance should be a pleasure for everyone! 👊
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