Should a dancer be described by a level.
eg I am Bronze dancer if he/she have only completed the Latin and 0 standard?+ 0

jo

Great replies! and I am aware of all the possiblilties but when you describe yourself or other to another dancer labels limit us! so please clarify.
How do you identify any dancer? In ballet can they do a clean pirouette or do they tip? This leads to classification.
Mixing and sharing dance is very important in my life. and this is where I think proam stands up to challenging the amateur to be better dancer for every partner , not just the competitive partner. I look forward to hearing more.j.†

jo†

How sad as it may sound, same thing with my danceschool. Only difference is that we have even more diplomas to acquire: bronze, bronze w/ star, silver, silver w/ star, gold, gold w/ star, topclasse 1, 2, 3 etc. Like curl said, the only thing you are judged on is the number of variants you know, it doesn't matter how well/horribly you dance.

The only time when you get to dance with someone more advanced, is when your partner happens to help out in a less (than his own) advanced class due to the lack of gents, or when you have friends/family in "higher places".

I don't know how it works on the other side of the ocean, but because of this strange system I don't value "bronze-level", "silver-level" etc. much, simply because I'm never sure if it means that the person dances well or if he/she just knows a lot of variants.

"Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero." - Horace

Bronze to silver to gold is probably more
indicative of studio profit rather than student
achievement.
The syllabus level thing is such a commercial
tool for studios in the US. Its definitly a play
on the ego and vulnerability of the students,
and if and when they get sucked in,
can become a cash cow bonanza for
the studio. Advanced levels can involve
more than just lessons and studio competitions,
but extensive travel engagements with instructor
participation.

Hi Joel:

They are very tough questions to answer.....

I have seen top American inter-colligiate competitors dancing championship Standard in person with very impressive results. But when the same couple started to do the Latin, it made me wonder if they were beginners. Same goes with lots of the top Latin/Rhythm competitors, when they danced the Standard/Smooth off the competition floor, they showed they are just average dancers.

Some dancers are talented in Standard and some in Latin. Same goes with American Smooth or Rhythm. I myself, I admit, am better at Standrad/smooth than Latin/Rhythm. And I know, I could never be very good at Latin even if I tried real hard.

As Bill mentioned, as far as Pro-Am competition goes, it is hard to judge if certain Amateur competitor really up to that level just because he/she is competing in one. If his/her instructor was not around, he/she could/perhaps have a tough time dance to others. On the other hand, at last year's Holiday Dance Classic, I looked at this pro-am couple and thought the lady was the instructor, but it turned out that the man was indeed the instructor after I checked into the program again.

Just some random thoughts.

Keh

It depends on the context you're talking about. In competitions, each style is separate and it's perfectly fine to be at different levels in each style. Maybe you train lots of international and can now do open latin and gold standard, but only recently started American style so you're at silver rhythm and bronze standard. That's fine. How would you describe your level overall? I don't really know. Encompassing four different styles when you're at a different level in each is rather tricky. Personally, I dance just international and estimate my level from my ability in both standard and latin. While I'm certain that I need help I tend to do latin around gold level but standard more at silver level, so I'd probably say I'm a silver to gold level dancer. But you could use it in a more general sense as bronze = beginner, silver = intermediate, gold = advanced, and not necessarily to mean did you learn every step in the syllabus at some level. You can say whatever you like though. It might be a good idea to ask people in your area how they decide what level they say they're at and follow their lead. But if you want to play it safe, just always add the style on to it; e.g. bronze latin.

--
James Marshall
marshall@astro.umd.edu
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall

I think "levels" are only inportant for pedestrians (dancers that think they are very very important). in europe we have a different level system. in danceschools the social dancers uses the levels beginner,bronce,silver,gold,gold-star & gold-star with something (dont know) since they are very very important. but the social dancers have fun with this and are very proud of their medals, you get the medals after a test after each course ( nobody can fail) .if you like to dance with a gold-star girl and you dont have similar... oh boy thats get real hard. since these gold-star dancers think they are now nearly Pros; sometimes they visit the amateur dancesport clubs to make a good show... but ... whats happen... even the pre-competive couples looks better. thats hard, so they leave and go back to the danceschool to show the beginners there their great medal variations.