please
waltz me
home
... No! it's not iceskating, that's my style
please
waltz me
home
... No! it's not iceskating, that's my style
The annual “Winter Festival” held in the Pretoria City Hall drew a large crowd of spectators and eager competitors. Using the programme as a rough guide, I counted over 330 entrants for the Medal Grade section. The largest amount of entries were in the Juvenile Bronze Ballroom and Latin-American categories, with over 30 entries each.
The start of the competition was delayed. Many entrants were not on the programme. The Youth Bronze Ballroom section was particularly affected, and after the Quarter Finals had been danced, the entire section was redanced. This came as a big disappointment for those who had made it through to the Semi Finals, as quite a few that had made it through to the next round after the first time this section was danced, weren't so lucky on the second round. For competitors new to this sport, this can be very off-putting.
Rules, Dress Code and Syllabus.
The buzz word on many lips.
Right at the start of the competition, compere Jabu Mhlanga read out the
dress code:
Boys/Gents
During the competition, the Chairman
of Adjudicators, Cathy Gibbons, addressed the matter of syllabus and dress
code. An appeal has been made to all club heads, trainers and dancers
to adhere to the Rules and Regulations. In particular, the dress
code and syllabus. According to the adjudicators, far too many dancers
are using incorrect variations, especially in the Latin American dances.
Open steps and sequences are for the dress sections, and not the Medal
Grades. Dancers will be disqualified for dancing out of syllabus
– as has been done at the RDTA Grand Prix.
Cathy Gibbons warned that trainers and studio heads are to correct their dancers by the 16th September 2000, the “Star Festival”. No exceptions to the rules will be allowed, and dancers will be disqualified. Dancers, this is almost more than a month, let’s get this sorted out.
Despite the hiccups with the entries at the start of the competition, sections ran smoothly during the rest of the day. Jabu Mhlangu entertained the competitors and spectators with line dancing during the breaks.
A mishap in the Adult Bronze Latin-American gave me food for thought. Elzani du Toit took a fall during the Jive, injuring her ankle. There was no First Aider at all. Are there any First Aiders, or Red Cross people who would be willing to volunteer their services at such competitions?
Prize giving was held at the end of the Medal Section, and not at the end of the competition as indicated on the Programme.
See you around,
Spectator
Ed
Spec, thanks for your wonderful support.
I think we need a few more helping hands of your kind on the officialdom
list. That would be a grand boost to DanceSport - the willingness to serve...
without a name, and without being registered.
Hi Jay “That Latin Thing” - LATISSIMO DANCE EXTRAVAGANCE
Carnival City will go Latin-American crazy with “Latissimo,” a brilliant new revue, which defines the whole “Latin Thing” in a stunning dance and musical revue on Saturday the 2nd September. Audiences will turn on to the Rumba, Samba and Mambo as fourteen of South Africa’s most dynamic new performers transport audiences to the sensual heat of Latin America.
Paris Dance phenomenon, Harold Van Buuren will lead this energetic cast together with Salome Sechele, the SA Professional Latin Dance Champion. Lattissimo is devised and directed by Neil McKay, produced by Lilian Dooley with choreography by Tyrone Watkins. Musical direction is by the celebrated Johan Laas.Highlights of the show are the Paso Doble challenge between the male dancers and the infinitely exotic Tango and a contemporary Techno Cha Cha. To add style and weight to this awesome production, Vic Kotzen will sing the latest Latin music.
The cost per ticket is R 103.00 inclusive of a “Buffet” Dinner at the Lotta Foods Restaurant. Dinner will be served at 19h00 for 19h30 and the show will start at 21h00 sharp at the African Experience Theatre at Carnival City - one of Gauteng’s premier theatre venues. The relaxed cabaret feel of the theatre allows for audience participation and the
entire family can enjoy a night out on the town.Social Club will contribute R 50.00 per ticket for members. Please email me with your requests and notify me of your employee number and whether you are a member of the Social Club or not.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require additional information.
Kind regards
Claudia
Lily Ford's reply is extremely rude and highly insulting
Dear Jay
You are probably wondering what happened to me, well I have been quite ill and ended up with Pleurisy.
I apologise for taking so long to thank Pam Esterhuysen of Kwazulu-Natal for giving us their supplementary rules. It is just what is required by dancers and is so easy to understand. I will be asking a few more questions later on in connection with these rules. I think Pam, or someone like her should be General Secretary, as she knows exactly what the dancer wants to know.I would also like to thank the other readers for their kind comments re, my letters. At least they understand why I feel it is necessary to write, and their comments make it all worth while.
I have just picked up the latest letters from your Website. Well now, I have seen everything!!! Who is this Lily Ford? Is she an ex-dancer? She can’t be a Professional as she is on the Amateur Association. I find her letter extremely rude and highly insulting. She obviously, like most of the Amateur body, is totally unaware of the rules for Dancesport.
If she is not prepared to get her facts right, she should step down from the position of General Secretary and let someone who does know the rules to take over. Since when have rules been available to members only? We have been getting the British Council rules, which, I have said, are the same as the WDDSC rules, for years. We do not belong to their association and never have. They are available to anyone who wants them. You have to pay a small fee for them, but they are in a lovely book form, not a photostat copy and as you say they cover everything in detail.
May I point out to Lily that Professionals cannot join an Amateur body nor can an Amateur be a member of a Professional body, so where has she got this ridiculous story from that only members of FADANSA are entitled to these rules? The I.D.S.F. international rules, which were adopted from the British rules, cover only the parts required for the Amateur Association. They do not list all the details as these are all the same throughout the world and are obligatory to Dancesport.
The information she has given in her letter is taken from the I.D.S.F. rules and means zilch to the dancers. These are more for the organisers not the dancers. The dancers in S.A and Zimbabwe (Our Amateur body have taken all their rules from FADANSA almost word for word – the blind leading the blind) want to know what adjustments have been made to suit our situation, for instance the “Points System”. I do not know of another country that uses this system for upgrading couples. Someone concocted it in S.A and we followed suite. But it is too easy to cheat this way and it is proving to be highly unsuitable.
In all the rulebooks I have, it does not say a dancer is forced to be a “MEMBER” of any association. It states all Amateur dancers must be “registered” with an Amateur body and this is purely for administration purposes. This is why we have lost most of our black dancers because they do not want to become members of a corrupt organisation who controls them and who’s officials don’t even dance.
The dancers should be required to register with the National Body of their country as all other sports are. Adjudicators, Scrutineers, Competitors. Professionals’, etc. should also be registered with the National body. The Professionals have sat back and allowed the Amateurs to try and take over the entire Dancesport scene, so it is about time, they realised what is happening to Dancesport in our respective countries and do something about it before it is too late. There is far too much emphasis on the “Dress Code”. The public want the beautiful dresses, not the leotards and skirts. Whatever a dancer wears does not affect their status, so pay more attention to the rules and stop the corruption.
I would like to point out an incident that happened at a competition in Harare (27/5/2000). The Amateur Association states one of their members should be present at every competition. At the competition all the top Amateur officials were present but no one did anything about a rule they had introduced and it was ignored. In the Modern Sequence section they had stated that if a couple were of Novice standard or higher in Ballroom, they must dance the Intermediate section because Modern Sequence is Ballroom Dancing. The only difference is that all the couples do the same thing in each dance.
The one couple who are one of our top Novice couples in Harare were entered in the Preliminary (Bronze) section. When they should have been entered in the Intermediate section. Needless to say, they won it and no action was taken – so much for rules!!!
To get back to Pam, one question I would like to ask is – When you state Star grades are you referring to Bronze, Silver, Gold sections? Could you please tell us what is “Rising Star”?
In the FEDANSA rules it mentions “Youth with young Adult”. Why, as no such section is mentioned in the age categories and, what does “Open Masters" mean, or are these just lines copied from other rules and no one knows what they mean? You can have “Open Adult” but “Masters” is one age category.
I would like to inform the officials in S.A that nearly all our Amateurs are teaching dancing now – who licensed them to do so, God knows, as some of them are still in the lower grades. These people are still all competing as Amateurs.
If the Professionals have to be qualified to judge and teach certain grades as Lily states, then what qualifies these Amateurs to teach and adjudicate, and how can the officials of the Amateur body decide who is a qualified Adjudicator when most of them have never even danced in their lives?You have a lot of highly qualified professionals in S.A so why can’t they write in and say the Amateurs are wrong in their interpretations of the rules for Dancesport? What are they scared of? I cannot believe that these highly qualified people are allowing the unqualified ignorant Amateur officials to make all the decisions and now dictating to them.
Britain will not allow the Amateurs to dictate to them.It is about time that the Professionals stood their ground and stop the Amateurs from destroying Dancesport before it is too late. The fact than even S.A are cancelling or postponing competitions proves that something is wrong.
Well Jay let’s hope we will eventually get our questions answered and get a copy of the FADANSA updated rules.
Jay, your answer to Lily was excellent.
Cheers for now.
CHERIE (Zimbabwe)
Ed
Cherie, glad to have you back on the "dance talk" scene (the web highway) and to hear that you are healthy again. Yes, there are a number of readers who have expressed their appreciation for your invaluable input. I'm sorry more officials don't do the same. But worry not Cherie, according to reliable dance source, us few willing crusaders need no help, we are managing just fine all on our little lonesome.Yvonne & Milton Demmer have been threatening to join your next comp, which I know they will thoroughly enjoy, but need a Zimmazonian lasso to get them entered. Here's their e-address ydemmer@bshq.alcatel.co.za - haul them in.
Could someone please explain the meaning of "Floor space, tempiheat rotation and other rules as declared in this document must be adhered to", I'm still befogged.
blonde, latin dancer flies first class Hi Jay
A plane is on its way to Cape Town when a blonde Latin dancers in Economy Class gets up and moves to the First Class section and sits down. The flight attendant watches her do this and asks to see her ticket. She then tells the blonde that she paid for Economy and that she will have to sit in the back.The blonde replies, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm a Latin dancer, I'm going to Cape Town and I'm staying right here!"
The flight attendant goes into the cockpit and tells the pilot and co-pilot that there is some blonde bimbo sitting in First Class who belongs in Economy and won't move back to her seat. The co-pilot goes to the blonde and tries to explain that because she only paid for Economy she will have to leave and return to her seat.
The blonde replies, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm a Latin dancer, I'm going to Cape Town and I'm staying right here!"
The co-pilot tells the pilot that he probably should arranges for the police to be waiting on landing to arrest this blonde woman who won't listen to reason.
The pilot says "I'll handle this. I'm married to a blonde. I have learned to speak 'blonde!"
He goes back to the blonde, whispers in her ear, and without question or fuss she gets up and Hockeysticks back to her Economy seat. The flight attendant and co-pilot are amazed and asked, "how did you manage to get her to waltz so willingly?". "I told her First Class wasn't going to Cape Town ...
Regards
Lynne
Review & Preview Hi Jay
2000 Ido World Disco/Freestyle Championship Held
In Helsinki, Finland 19 May 2000World Disco/Freestyle Championship - Sun City - 26th - 30th April 2001
A report by Pam Smith
Here is some news for you. Hoping to find you keeping well and I miss your printed magazine a lot.What a tremendous "sport" this Freestyle Dancing is. In May, 8 of South Africa's top-performing Freestyle dancers enjoyed the opportunity to travel to Scandinavia and at the same time take part in an official World Championship in their chosen field of dance for the very first time ever! Review
Surely the experience shared by the 24 of us - dancers, parents, friends, trainers and "IDO trainee adjudicators" will remain with us for a long time. We all learnt a great deal - there is no substitute for first hand experience - and have returned with South Africa now officially having at last joined the "global community" of Freestyle Dance.
Thanks are extended to all who supported this team and made it possible for the trip to take place.
Our trip to Finland proved to be an enlightening experience - even though everyone drives on the wrong side
of the road! This has to be one of the cleanest countries on earth and we all enjoyed excellent hotel facilities with the Championship being held in the magnificent 14 000-seater Hartwell Arena which is usually equipped with an ice rink for the national sport, ice hockey.I found Helsinki to be steeped in culture - all magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, etc. which I saw (although not written in English) showed dozens of photographs and articles of "performing arts". In fact, the entire week had been a school holiday with Eisteddfod events taking place for all school children in music, art, theatre and dance.
Thursday evening saw the Closed Finland Championship, although we missed most of this competition. The World Championship was held on the Friday and on Saturday evening, the "Best Of The Best" Concert was held featuring all the winners of the previous week's Eisteddfod events. This concert was amazing - the acts comprised all ages of school children including some "handicapped" groups, and featured all kinds of dance and music items. It was also attended by the Finnish President - a lady everyone in Finland seems to be very proud of.
The organization for the World's was magnificent with hosts greeting competitors and visitors long before the entrance to the stadium and everyone being constantly, carefully looked after. Our dancers had the strange new experience of dancing on a large stage area with the adjudicators seated in front, but by the 2nd round were coping magnificently.
Disco/Freestyle incorporates a certain percentage of acrobatics (as against the Disco/Traditional which bans acrobatics).
The true strengths at this particular competition were featured in the Show Dance Couples and Men's Solo sections, where extremely high standards were displayed.
The IDO World Championship is also "open", meaning that professionals as well as amateurs compete and this year 15 countries were represented. In the competition itself, our dancers (all amateurs) certainly did South Africa proud, especially as this was the first ever World Championship which we have entered.
With our 8 entrants obtaining 3 semi finalist positions and a very fine 3rd place, South Africa has earned 16 points to be entered onto the IDO ranking list of countries.
Congratulations to our representatives - South Africa can certainly be proud of you all : Alcione Goncalves, Michele Parreirinha, Samantha Kotze, Henry Viana, Nicky Dawson, Graeme Beveridge, Riaan Vorster, Tanya Fourie.
The excellent results obtained were :
** 3rd Ladies Solo Samantha Kotze - winning 2x first places in the process! (behind Italy and Finland)Our South African team and their supporters looked great in their national track suits with huge flags draped everywhere and our dancers were very popular with the large audience receiving loud applause whenever they appeared.
** 11th Ladies solo Michele Parreirinha
** 7th Mens Solo Nicholas DawsonWe 5 trainee adjudicators - Beryl Cilliers, Sheila and Cindy Blignaut, Erica and Pam Smith - found the IDO to be a hugely professional organization with everything conducted to a high degree of business standards. We were fully included in everything pertaining to adjudication which also incorporated an adjudicators' seminar held the morning following the competition - where we discovered that, even all the judges are assessed after each event according to their mark sheets!
A comprehensive adjudicators' briefing was held on the morning of the championship where we all received strict instructions regarding the rules governing the competition, e.g. the balance between dance and acrobatics - with a stern reminder that the origins of disco/freestyle dance are not to be ignored. It was an incredible learning experience being part of the working team at an official Freestyle World Championship and I would like to thank Gloria Fish for instigating this exciting development in Freestyle Dance in our country.
The adjudication system employed by the IDO is excellent and in my opinion gives each dancer a more fair and a better balanced assessment of their dancing abilities than anything else I have encountered in all my years of judging competitions.
The 3-D adjudication system with its "points", "crosses" and "half crosses" etc., requires employing large amounts of concentration from judges - but, after all, that is what our dancers deserve!
I would strongly recommend that this approach be more extensively employed by South Africa in our competitions. We can go only forward and become more an integral part of the world dance community through following up new developments. Hopefully, South Africa will maintain the contacts made with global dance bodies such as the IDO and capitalize on all the positive aspects of this and any future relationships we may develop.
Preview
IDO World Disco/Freestyle Championship For South Africa
A Magnificent Opportunity To Finally Put Freestyle Dance "On The Map"Freestyle Dance in South Africa has received a shot-in-the-arm lately through the "IDO connection", after having reached almost a comfort-zone kind of existence, with all competitions being conducted mostly along identical lines and with no new developments for several years now.
Lately however, in just the first five months of this year, South Africa has :
i) held a qualifying competition for the 2000 IDO World ChampionshipGloria Fish, President of the SADTA Stage Branch, is also the official IDO (International Dance Organization) representative for South Africa. The IDO holds the World Championship rights to most Disco/Freestyle dance disciplines. Last year, this organization approached Gloria with an offer to stage a World Disco/Freestyle Championship in South Africa.
ii) been represented in the 2000 IDO World Disco/Freestyle Championship in Helsinki, Finland
iii) official ranking on the IDO ranking list for freestyle dance - due to the excellent results of our 2000 IDO World Championship competitors
iv) held an IDO Information Seminar and an IDO International Adjudicator's qualifying course, including a 3-hour written examination and an international practical exercise
v) had 5 adjudicators "mock" judge at the 2000 IDO World Championship in Finland
vi) 5 freestyle adjudicators who passed their IDO examinations and now hold an IDO International Adjudicator's licence
vii) organized, and is conducting a qualifying series for the 2001 World Championship
viii) obtained a licence to stage the 2001 IDO World Disco/Freestyle Championship in South Africa in 3 divisions : adult 16/over solo men adult 16/over solo ladies adult 16/over disco show duos/couples
ix) been officially recognized by the controlling body for Freestyle World ChampionshipsIt is a huge honour for our country to be recognized in this manner, with our over 20 years of hard work and development of Disco/Freestyle finally being acknowledged. Sun City has agreed to host the event on 29 April 2001.
The 2001 IDO World Championship will be attached to the 12th annual Battle Of The Giants Dance Festival.
An absolutely amazing weekend of Dance therefore awaits us at Sun City in 2001 from 26th - 30th April, with All Styles featured at the BOTG and the IDO World Disco/Freestyle Championship offering 3 World titles! What an incredible opportunity this will be to foster sponsorship and business ties to Freestyle Dance and to also increase the general public's knowledge of, and interest in our business. The South African Freestyle Dance fraternity owes Gloria Fish a debt of gratitude for her hard work over the last 2 years in making all this possible for Freestyle Dance in our country.
An event such as a World Championship is obviously reliant on huge amounts of sponsorship and we hope and trust that all teachers, trainers, students, parents and supporters of this dance style will instigate proceedings in their own areas and with their own contacts to support the drive for financial assistance. Surely we can show the world that South Africa can host the best ever World Freestyle Championship!
Gloria Fish has secured it for South Africa - Sun City is hosting it in the Superbowl - it is our own responsibility to do the rest! Please contact Gloria directly with any contacts : tel (011) 907 7280 fax (011) 907 8360
LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN!
IDO WORLD DISCO/FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIP - SUN CITY - 29 APRIL 2001Regards,
Pam
Ed
Pam, exciting news and good to hear that great things are happening in Freestyle Dance, and that the "WORLDS" will be stage in our land, a momentous achievement. Thanks for the positive input, and good luck for next year.No Joy with the Comp Entry Forms Hi.
Can I make a suggestion with the Entry Forms Section of your site? Well I tried to print one of the entry forms but didn't have much success. Can you perhaps post the Entry Forms as MS Word docs. This will make them easier to print and download.Another thing, I was checking out your UPDATED Calendar for 2000 and found that you still have the Rumba in the Jungle listed. I have an updated Calendar for 2000 as well and mine does not have the Rumba in the Jungle. I heard that Rama is not sponsoring Dancing anymore and that is why the officials had to cancel Rumba in the Jungle. Can you please clarify????
Frans
Ed
Because I send thousands of updates regularly to social and competitive dancers, and because the microsoft mail system (which I hope to upgrade soon) can only handle 25 names a batch, it will take me hours to send entry attachments. The best I can do for now is ask Jason Kisogloo who sent me the forms (those you had a problem with), to design them so that they fit onto an A4 sized page. You could then select the pages and print the selection, as can be done with the KZN forms.I'm busy designing an entry form where the applicant fills in blank fields and submits, but that will take a while still and I must also know to which officials these must be directed. In the meantime, to help, I'll realign funny forms to make them web-print friendly. Sending entry forms by email will really make it very convenient for both the dancer and the official.
I've taken Rumba in the Jungle off, but that was my mistake. When Jason sent me the updated Calendar, I saw no Rumba, but couldn't believe that such a prestigious comp would be cancelled, so left it on as a printing error, sorry about that. Thanks for letting us know.
reply to competition rules from FEDANSA Hi Jay
Firstly I would like to inform you that there is no secrecy about the competition rules. Any registered member of Fedansa has the right to go to their provincial administration branch and ask for the rules.This time it is the competition rules, what will it be next? If any member of Fedansa has a problem with rules, dress-code etc. they should feel free to inform me and I will contact the respective PAB.
I will supply you with the necessary information now, but do not expect me to do it the next time around. I do not owe you any explanation, as you are not a registered member of the organisation.
COMPETITIONS
MAJOR COMPETITION STATUSNot all competitions will be recognized as promotional. Competitions will have to adhere to the following requirements before it will be recognized as a promotional competition:
Floor space, tempiheat rotation and other rules as declared in this document must be adhered to. An experienced compere has to be used. It is recommended that the venue has sufficient dressing facilities. There must be at least three adjudicators for a local competition and 5 for a World Trial, Provincial Championships and the South African Championships. These adjudicators must be recognized by Fedansa or S.A.N.C.B.D.
Associate qualified adjudicators may only adjudicate from bronze to gold sections with Member and Fellow adjudicators, adjudicating the Open sections with 2 scrutineers for five adjudicators. The competition date must have been reserved at least 3 months in advance. There must be an official close date at least two weeks before the event to allow enough time for a programme to be printed. There must be a programme indicating the names of the competitors and the sections in which they are competing. Entries on the night may not be accepted. Should a competition start more than 30 minutes late without a valid cause, it will lose it's promotional status. However, it is expected that all competitions will start timeously. Only FEDANSA registered couples may compete. The floor space may also dictate the type of competition held.
Thank you
Lily Ford
General-SecretaryEd
Lily, the pure meaning of the word transparency of the comp rules is buried in this UK link Competition Rules. It appears in my Dancer's Dictionary on the web, and is nestled in the "Dance Shop" page entitled Competition Rules - international. The UK link clearly shows how open they are about the rules being displayed for all to see, study and to query if transgressed by others. When I checked the UK rules in 1997, it contained 89 pages, listing every conceivable comp rule, and has since grown considerably, and the comp rule-list of the USA is miles longer.Although competitive dancing in South African must conform to the laid-down international standards and rules, there are many variations uniquely tailored to suit our circumstances. Here are two; our dress code, our point system, which have been debated ad infinitum over the past 5 years in my magazine. SA dancers want to know what the rules of this country are, and when these are amended, need instant updates. They shouldn't have to go looking under rocks for answers. I'm only trying to help make it easy for both FEDANSA and the dancer. My SA dancer's website, or any website for that matter, is a wonderful way to distribute information and knowledge. If FEDANSA has nothing to hide, then what's the problem? and believe me Lily, it will save you the agony of being accountable for every query I send your way - just ask the Gauteng people, they'll tell you all about it. Here's a link well-worth clicking on.
I agree with you on the first count, "I do not owe you any explanation, as you are not a registered member of the organization." My earnest effort to convey info to the dancer has nothing to do with whether I'm a registered member or not, because the only two flimsy things that separate me from a registered member are, 1. the annual fee, and I know of a few officials who haven't yet paid theirs for the year 2000, and 2. I have for years made an in-depth study of dancing and all its problems and intricacies, which the majority of registered dancers have not done. In fact, many registered dancers first contact me for help or advice, before inconveniencing their registered compatriots and superiors. I don't need to be registered to assist those who request help in our sport, it's my unregistered pleasure.
The rules you sent are only a mere fraction of the specified rules. These can be easily found on my site in the 200-page dictionary section. What I really want for our registered dancers, and social dancers, is the full set of the SA rules, indexed from A-Z - UK style. This will help dancers understand what is expected of them, and reduce the nagging questions they constantly ask at present. It will also sincerely prove that there is nothing to hide in the FEDANSA camp - that there is no secrecy. If FEDANSA has a website, they could put the SA rules on theirs and I could link it to mine for the many dancers who visit DISA, which I'd prefer to do anyway.
What disturbs me most, is your statement, "This time it is the competition rules, what will it be next?" It sends a distinct note of irritation to serve the dancer, a reluctance to help. If you haven't the patience, the time, or the inclination to help inform dancers, let me do it. I'll happily assist. My site is specifically designed to help officials dispense info, and to help dancers receive and understand info.
Talking about understanding, I'm always on the lookout for new, plain dance terms and expressions for my dictionary, but this one in the rules that you sent completely defies comprehension, "Floor space, tempiheat rotation and other rules as declared in this document must be adhered to". That would need major surgery before anyone could understand it, or did I lose something in the translation?
I'm tired of writing letters like these, which are always caused by the evasive authorities who are too afraid to fully answer questions asked by dancers. It unnecessarily casts suspicion on our voluntary, hardworking officials. It leaves us thinking that the average DanceSport official is reticent, narrow-minded, selfish and very short-sighted, but more than that, it unfairly labels me, and all those who ask reasonable questions, as the big bad wolves of dancing. What is wrong with the South African official? I find it totally absurd that I have to keep justifying my sincere efforts to help the sport (and those who want to know more), just because registered officials, for some obscure reason, shy away from the responsibility of fully clarifying their side when things are called into question by dancers.
Here's what I'd rather write at the end of an official's letter; "dancers can now look forward to seeing the complete set of SA rules on the net soon, a giant step forward for DanceSport, thanks to FEDANSA and their co-operative officials", "thank-you for sharing your knowledge with the dancer. It couldn't have been put better", "Dancers will really appreciate your words of wisdom", "I agree with you completely, officials are the unsung heroes and heroines, thanks for your help", "a most enlightened account of the marvellous progress being made through the development programme", "I'm sure that solves the mystery that shrouds the Dress-code saga, thanks for your prompt reply", "we appreciate and respect your knowledgeable views. Thanks for making and taking the time to answer", "a most informative workshop report, I thank you on behalf of every dancer" ... HELPFUL, POSITIVE things that will enrich and uplift the sport, excite and enthuse its members, get dancers to share their joys for the sport, help dancers to better understand the procedures, allow dancers to spill their grievances without being prejudiced for doing so or the authority coming down on them from a dizzy height because of what they said. Not what's happening now, either silent or petty argument.
competition rules Hello Jay
Great site, and you're doing a tremendous job with your letter's section. Unfortunately, I don't have e-mail, hence the snail mail. My problem is, Cherie of Zimbabwe wrote to you in June this year No Update on the Rules or Dress Code and still no-one has come forward to furnish the RULES. Pam Esterhuysen of KZN, however, was kind enough to take the trouble to supply the supplementary rules of KwaZulu-Natal, which I'm sure Cherie and many dancers are grateful for.What bugs me is the apparent secrecy about the rules. While I was surfing your site at our local Cyber Café, I went into your world-wide dance links and found that the UK, Germany, USA, Tokyo and Australia have the rules on the net for everybody to see, not only dancers. Rules, as I understand it, are there for all to see and comprehend. Why don't the authorities give you the South African rules for your site? This way dancers could print out the rules for themselves and not have to keep writing to you or bugging the authorities for answers.
It's nice to see the Western Cape and KZN Competition results coming through these days. That picture of Table Mountain on the page of the Cape Results is real cool and a good idea. Keep up the good work.
Best regards
Sam
Ed
Sam, re the Rules; twice I phoned Lily Ford, General-Secretary of FEDANSA in the Cape, from Pretoria - my money I spent. Vivier Nel (the then National Secretary of FEDANSA) gave me Lily's number and said that she was busy typing the amended rules and would let me have these for the net once completed. I think Lily thinks my site is a funny farm or some hilarious joke.The first time, she promised to get back to me, which she didn't. The second time she told me that Ace Kika (National President of FEDANSA), I think it was Ace she said, does not want the rules to be exposed to all and sundry. Registered dancers should contact FEDANSA directly for answers. What Lily doesn't seem to know is that I send updates of my site to thousands of dancers each week and even those who don't have email get the news.
To put it very sweetly, this holding back of the rules is a load of pure BULLAMALERIA, which blatantly suggests that there are many humungeous snakes in the grass, hence the SECRECY you talk about. The traffic dept. keep foisting the rules of the road on the public through the various media.They force us people in the street to understand the rules of the road so that we don't ride over other people in the street.
How can dancers obey rules they don't understand. Rules must be shoved onto those who have to obey them - not hidden. Rules have to be repeatedly spelt out, exposed, foisted, bombarded, advertised... is there anybody out there listening? But what do our authorities do? They hide the rules under a rock and then send us on a treasure hunt, and if we are very lucky we might find a constitution or two, let alone understand its contents. FEDANSA should pay me to put the rules on the net, and then, every time there is an amendment, dispatch these changes my way (with a bonus attached) so that our dancers can read and understand what is expected of them whenever they wish, via the net.
For both the Cape and KZN comp results we say thanks to Arthur Isaacs of the Western Cape. He also supplied the grand Table Mountain image. Yes, it sure looks stunning. Arthur is not only a very important link but he is also extremely fast and efficient. What pleases me most is that, for years the people of the Cape have promised to send info with naught results. Arthur doesn't promise, he just delivers. My other important Cape contact, on the social side, is John Murray Dance Studios - it's all in the name of dance.
Sam, I sent your letter with my reply to Lily Ford, here's her reply
Thanks for writing
where we first met Hi Jay
Since Rienie's neck operation in April, without any social dancing whatsoever, the time had finally arrived when we decided to see if she could dance again, without any restrictions that is.Last Friday night we returned to a small little dance club in Northcliff (where we first met) and we waited in anticipation for the right music to be played and proceeded with caution on an almost open floor with a boogie and hey, presto! she could move through all the steps without too much discomfort. Then a mambo, then a swing but alas, we then had to take a break, as she was beginning to get a bit "eina" which was understandable. Besides, I was also slightly breathless at the lack of exercise our dancing usually provides for us - it seemed like years. We continued with plenty of breaks in between until about 10:30pm and then called it a night - and what a night it was! Oh, the wonderful joy of moving to music once again, was such a high for both of us. I can only describe it as being what I imagine a dope addict must feel like, when getting a fix ! We were totally overjoyed. I know we fell asleep exhausted, but definitely with smiles on our faces -this time from the dancing!
We of course still have to take it easy and gradually get back to our previous energy levels, but we can now start learning some steps from your last lot of instruction tapes which have had to gather dust all this time.
We dance again, we live again... at last.
Jay, your website just gets better all the time, keep up the good work.
Cheers & Regards
Wez Mayo
Ed
Wez, glad to hear Rienie's neck op went well, but remember, dancing "without any restrictions" means throwing your partner up in the air, letting her stay there until you whistle. Then catching her a centimetre from the ground, whipping her over your shoulder, through the legs, round your hips, into a loop-dee-loop... what happened to the good-old Ruk 'n Pluk? OK, agreed, COOL it for now. At least, your dancing is back on its feet, vertical and progressive... you're mobile and moving - a healthy, exhilarating drug every BODY needs.Talking about action, here's a job for you Wez. I plan to start a page called "the Dancer's Favourite Dance Spots" and I'd like you and Rienie to start the ball rolling. This page will list the venues and clubs that couples enjoy going to, for space, good music, etc.; places specifically suited for the discerning dancer. The idea is to get it from the horse's mouth, and not as it would be advertised, but what the dancer thinks, experiences and enjoys.
On this page the couple's names "Wez & Rienie's favourite Dance Spots" will appear. Whether other dancers know you or not, they will respect your choice as a dancer. I think the idea could serve to serve the dance community, don't you think?
Here's three hyperthetical examples:
Wez & Rienie's favourite Dance Spots Tanz Café (phone number & area)
Why we enjoy going to the Tanz Café is that there is no cover charge. On arrival, at the entrance, we are always welcomed with a glass of chilled bubbly, and as a touch of romance, the lady receives a white carnation, while the red carpet is rolled out. We are then carried to our seats to the sounds of fanfare joie de vivre. The food is light, delicious and affordable. The music super-authentic; mainly Latin-American; Mambo, Cha-Cha, Samba, Salsa, Rumba and of course their house dance the Argentine Tango. Could play more Ballroom tunes; waltzes, fox-trots, etc. Tanz also often puts on very entertaining shows performed by their own members. The floor space could be bigger but generally, it's comfortable to dance on. Out of 10, Tanz gets an 8.
The Palace (phone number & area)
We avoid The Palace on Fridays & Saturdays because it's always overcrowded and the music is mainly for teenyboppers. Thursday night is the "Dancers' rendezvous", where we can practise our Ballroom and Latin steps because it's not too full and they play a variety of great dance tunes and tempi. The crowd is orderly since dancing and exercise is their chief orientation. Drinks are a little pricey, and we take our own picnic basket because the P does not provide F. For pure dance and exercise The Palace gets a 9.
la Provence (phone number & area)
The very formal la Provence is the ultimate for Wine, Dine, Dance, Romance and Candle light. Gets a 10 from us. Pricey, but worth every cent. What Rienie enjoys most is the violinist playing soothing sounds at our table as we slowly sip dry red wine, and she simply adores the white gloves worn by the waiters. This all gives the la Provence its special, classy, cosy ambience - a unique characteristic these days.A customer or dancer's review... the good, the bad and the ugly, so that other dancers will have a pretty fair idea of where to go dancing, what to expect and who to avoid. Wez, I'm glad you like the idea - looking forward to publishing your thoughts, and remember, the Mambo starts forward with the left and you swing your hips for Africa.
I have printed the SA ballroom champions Hi Jay
Thanks for so much on your website. I have printed the SA ballroom champions (amateur ballroom) from 1930 to 1999, professional ballroom from 1936 to 1999 and SA Latin champions (amateur latin) from 1959 to 1999 finally and the professional latin from 1959 to 1999. These lists come from your DanceInfo.There must be more people interested in our champions. So I hope we get some info soon. I would like to know the WP ballroom & Latin champions and well. What about the other provinces ???
Jay, you must know that the universities also offer ballroom/latin dance classes to the public. I was very impressed to find out that the Stellenbosch University offers such classes for so little fees. Their instructor (wow I'm so impressed) Eddie Goudge, as I quote from their web site "left a distinct impression in the SA dancing profession. Eddie started to teach in 1968 just after completing his amateur medal training. It wasn't long before he began to focus on competing as a professional with his wife. At the end of their competitive career in 1986 they have been WP ballroom champions for 9 years and Latin-American runner-ups for 5 years. Their accolades would surely have been even more had the Ten-dance section been mature enough for formal trophies. His successful competitive career can partly be attributed to intensive training overseas under the likes of former ballroom world champion Peter Eggleton and Brenda Winslade. Even today, he keeps his contacts in England and travels there for updates and further refinement. During his teaching career he had the opportunity to teach several provincial champions as well as SA champions. He runs a school in Bellville.
At the moment, for ballroom, Eddie is an associate of the Imperial society, Teachers of Dancing (England), holds a licentiate from SADTA, registered with SANCBD as a Championship Adjudicator for both ballroom and latin.
Stellenbosch University are no doubt, privileged to have a teacher such as Eddie Goudge." unquote.
Okay, now we know that the various universities battle it out. This year, Stellenbosch has the privilege of hosting this extraordinary social competition. Teams from tertiary institutions countrywide converge to meet in battle. What about the universities champions lists ??? That would be nice to know.
Thanx Jay and I luv your style of writing...
Cheers
Jeanette
Ed
Apart from all the past SA champs and their families and friends who would like to see a complete list (on the net and on record) of all those who have won a title in our country, I'm sure, there must be many other dancers who would be interested. That's the exact reason for my list. I honestly thought it would excite dancers, but now, at least, I know that there are definitely two affectionate aficionados, Jeanette and Jay. Everyone I phoned for the missing teeth couldn't help, Even those who held the trophies on which all the names are engraved. There seems to be a deep apathy for historical stuff in SA dancing.I have emailed Arthur Isaac of the Western Cape and Cherie Scott of Zim to help salvage those missing from my list. Let's hope a few former champs will read our SOS and render positive input. Here's Arthur Isaac's Reply, "I am preparing a list of past and present Cape champions together with their photo's." Cheers Arthur.
No, I didn't know that the varsities held social dance contests or offered classes to the public. I thought, all they do is rave on campus from morning to night, then take a holiday break, four times a year, three months at a time... interesting, very interesting. Now that Jay is totally au fait, could the intellegentsia be cordial enough to send him the results for publication. Jeanette, I reckon Tuks wins these contests hands-down every year.
want to compliment you Hi Jay
I want to compliment you on this new website venture! I think this was long overdue.Niel Botha
Ed
Thanks Niel. As Wez Meyo said two letters ahead of yours "your website just gets better all the time". A big improvement is the "Dance Shop" link, the first link on the homepage. Dance Shop takes you to every other link on the site - a one-stop-shop. From the Dance Shop page you can get to the list of studios by clicking on the "Studio" link or the "Dance Studio" link, etc. To get to the list of advertised dresses, you can click on "Dresses" or "Outfits" or "Costumes"The other reasons are;
My goal is to eventually develop this site into a Dancer's Yellow Pages for South Africans, with up-to-the-minute news and information. Most encouraging is that dancers are willingly coming forward with helpful hints and useful info, but there is still a long way to go.
- I try not waste time uploading info
- As the number of subscribers increase, so the info becomes more classified for easy, quick find
- I avoid heavy graphics and frames which drag their feet on downloads
- Tongue, talk and text being the motto
- It's personal, plain and to the point
- The main thrust is to promote dancing and to inform dancers