Hi you!
I have been dancing only since February this year. I am 16 and living in a very small town--and will only finish bronze in 2 weeks time.
My dream is to be ( or even just reach trials ) an provincial dancer. Am I too old? A friend of mine will be going to the Provincial Championships ( i only found out he indeed is a dancer this week ) he said I can come along and see. How do I get into even being noticed?Currently I am having lessons at a Social Studio where we only have a matchdance every 3 months. The manager et all said that I am a fast learner and a good dancer and entered me 2 levels hihger than i am supposed to be for our upcoming matchdance. ( HOPE!! )
Also, my teacher is the exact same hight as me - when I wear my shoes - and a strong leader though small in a way that I refuse to drop back for the one step in the jive. ( i am a hockey player/swimmer thus = a biggish young lady )

Blait put me intouch with fedansa who kinda explained how trials and stuff works.Lily Ford told me that they were holding a festival nearby but unfortnately it was too late for me to find out more. I have mailed her again thanking her and asked her to put me intouch with the local fedansa member , but with no success yet.

ADVICE AND OPINIONS ARE WELCOMED!!!
thank you in advance
happy dancing!
angua
PS - Thanx for last time blair!

Angua,

Are you too old? At 16, most definitely not. (Though I think I should warn you that we have some of the most talented young latin dancers in the world. Some of these kids could dance before they could walk )

How do you get noticed? Simple, you have to start competing in competitions sanctioned by the amateur controlling body of South Africa, FEDANSA.
At these competitions you will compete against other graded and ranked dancers. You will also be judged by qualified judges who usually hold ISTD qualifications (Licentiate/ fellowship/ etc.). You will have to start at the beginner or bronze level like all other dancers. It's only by peforming well at these competitions that you can gain points that will allow you to be promoted to the next grade.

You cannot compete for the South African national amateur title or "world trial" amateur titles unless you are an open syllabus dancer. That means you must be, at the very least, a novice grade dancer. You are a long way off the target at this point. Its going to take you at least a year or two to get to the open syllabus level, assuming that you have some natural ability and are willing to work hard.

The first thing you should do is find out from your teacher if he is able to prepare you for "competitive" dancing as defined by the official South African dancesport associations. In your case this is FEDANSA. (Dancing in a social dance competition held by the local dance school may have its merits but you want to take the sport a little more seriously).You may need to join a "competitive" school to learn the stipulated syllabus figures allowed in the particular grades and the technique of how to dance them correctly.

E-mail me (Lenn@uskotec.com), if you don't know where to find the competition calendars and other important information concerning dancesport in South Africa. There are a few websites that have a more local flavour and content that provide this sort of information. I will give you these links. You will also find a list of teachers and schools on these sites.

Take care,
Len.