London Jitterbug Championships |
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Swing Patrol is proud to present the first London Jitterbug Championships. This event presents a
great night of competition and entertainment, and a fantastic chance for all to
social dance between heats. Bring your dancing shoes and come and celebrate
swing dancing in its many exciting forms.
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This year, the competition divisions will be:
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Below are the specific guidelines for each division, please
read carefully before registering. Aerials are allowed in all events.
Like a
Virgin
If you have never before felt the thrill of entering
a swing competition, then you are a competition virgin and eligible for this
division! It does not matter how long you have been dancing for, as long as you
have never competed before (excluding Jack n Jill comps). You must enter as a
couple and dance swing. Everyone will dance on the floor at the same time in an
all-skate.
BPM
Range: Medium
Format: All-Skate for 90sec to 2 minutes
Up & Coming
This event is only available to those who began swing
dancing AFTER January 1st 2009 (you may only enter an Up & Coming division
once). It's a great opportunity for eager and promising new dancers to get out
there and strut their stuff. You must enter as a couple and dance swing. You
don't need to worry about spotlights or phrase by phrase formats; everyone will
dance on the floor together in an all-skate. Get out there and have some
fun!
BPM Range: Medium
Format: All-skate for 90sec to 2
minutes
Showcase
This is an exciting division for individual couples to strut
their best by choreographing their own routine to the music of their choosing.
Swing styles are assumed. This may include Lindy Hop, Balboa, Shag, 20's
Charleston and Blues.
Routine
length: Maximum of 3 minutes & 30 seconds
Format: Performance order will be chosen at
random.
Slow Swing
This division is all about expressing and bringing out the
subtleties of the music, now that you have the time and skill to do it. If you
like your swing smooth and intricate, this is the event for you. You must enter
as a couple.
BPM range: Less than
130bpm
Format:
'Spotlight' - 2 blues phrases per spotlight, 2 spotlights each.
Strictly
Lindy
This division is for the pure Lindy lovers. Couples get on the floor and dance Lindy Hop to the music provided. You must enter as a couple.
BPM
range: 160 to 200bpm
Format: -Spotlight' - 2 phrases per spotlight, 3 spotlights each. There will be a short un-judged all-skate before, and a judged all-skate after the phrase-by-phrase format.
Fast and
Furious
This division is all about speed and style! This is NOT a Strictly Lindy event; the more Shag, Balboa and 20?s Charleston dancers there are, the more interesting the event. Dance the style of your choice, or mix them all up! You must enter as a couple.
BPM Range:
Upwards of 250bpm
Format: 'Spotlight' - 2 phrases per spotlight, 3 spotlights each. There will be a short un-judged all-skate before, and a judged all-skate after the phrase-by-phrase format.
All Balboa
Jam
Balboa lovers, this is your chance to showcase this old-world dance we love so much. This division is not necessarily about pace, it's about style and finesse and your chance to demonstrate an understanding of what Bal is all about! You must enter as a couple and dance Balboa (Pure Bal and/or Bal-swing) to the music provided.
BPM Range: 180 to 220bpm
Format: Single Spotlight of 60-90 seconds. There will be a short un-judged all-skate before, and a judged all-skate after the spotlights.
Solo Charleston
It's
solo, it's Charleston, there are no other rules! We will provide the music and using a phrase-by-phrase format competitors will bust it out with their best 20's and 30's Charleston moves. Depending on the number of competitors, there may be the need for heats and a final. The crazier, the better!
Open Jack n'
Jill
This event is for everyone and anyone of any level to jump in, and have some fun. In a Jack n? Jill dancers are judged on their ability to lead/follow. Dancers will also be expected to dance swing and will be judged accordingly as per the judging criteria. You enter as an individual and you don't know who your partner will be, it's completely random!
Heats: Your partners will be determined randomly. You will dance to 3 tracks, of various tempos in an all-skate ? with a different partner each time. You will be judged individually.
Finals: Your
finals partner will be chosen randomly. All couples will dance in three sections
with the same partner: all-skate, spotlight, all-skate, each approximately 60
sec long. You will be judged as a team.
All divisions will be judged using the below criteria and guidelines. The judge's decision will be final.
Elegibility: This competition is open to all dancers
Registration
fee:
1 event = £7.00
2 events = £10.00
3 or more events =
£15.00
Registration fee cap:
Registration fee cap: £15.00
Swing
content: Each event must display a majority of recognisable swing content. This may include associated swing dances such as Balboa, Shag, Blues and 20's Charleston. Aerials are allowed in all events.
Formats: The format for each division is explained within the division description. Should there be too few entries in any division to run heats, an instant final will be run. Should there be too many entrants in a division, then extra heats may be required on the night. All events with the phrase-by-phrase format will include a short un-judged all-skate before and a judged all-skate after the phrase-by-phrase spotlights. The number of phrases and spotlights for each event may also vary please read each event description carefully.
Prizes: Will be awarded for 3rd, 2nd and 1st
in all divisions.
And finally...remember,
dancing is about having fun, so have stacks of it!!!
Judging Criteria
Technique: The ability of the dancers to use core dance and movement technique to execute all of the criteria below.
Lead & Follow: The skill of clear leading and following techniques that enable the flow, individual expression, moves, musicality and execution of the dance.
Timing: How well the couple stays in time with the music and each other. It is all about flow and connection.
Entertainment: The showmanship and entertainment value of the competitors. It is the dancer's ability to engage the crowd.
Level
of difficulty: The complexity of the moves and interaction between the couple, lead and follow ability in the context of the moves and musicality. Innovation will also be considered under this criterion, being the ability of the couple to execute moves to the music that are clearly not scripted/choreographed moves (except the showcase division).
Musicality: How the music is interpreted by a couple, suitable expression of the music, use of musical highlights. Interpretation and understanding of phrasings.
Definitions
All
skate: Where all couples in an event dance on the floor at the same time.
Soptlight: Where one couple at a time takes the floor to dance on their own for a set time or number of phrases.
Phrase by phrase: A Jam format where each couple takes turns to perform solo for a set number of phrases and spotlights. Couples keep rotating through until they have all had the correct number of spotlights.
i.e. 1 phrase is equal to 4 x 8's (Jazz phrasing) or 6 x 8's (Blues Phrasing).
2 phrases are equal to 8 x 8's (Jazz phrasing) or 12 x 8's (Blues Phrasing).
Swing: Any dance style that falls into the
20s/30s/40s 'swing era' i.e. Balboa, Shag, 20s Charleston, Blues, Lindy Hop,
Fast Lindy etc.