"To be continued" vol.3 - Jazz Dances vs. Competitions

The idea of ​​a competition for an art form where people express themselves, creating flow and harmony from irregularlarity, always makes me think. The increasing use of social media for self-marketing, visibility, and ego gratification in recent years only adds to the confusion… Oh, and by the way, the fact that it's super easy for people to deceive themselves in the first place stands in all its glory like a giant elephant in the room, while the "but we had a good time" masked ball is truly something else! 😅

In my last article, I mentioned that Herrang isn't a "competition festival" and winked at the ILHC. The International Lindy Hop Championships (ILHC) is a championship consisting of many different categories and levels. These competitions, which have been held in the USA for many years, have started to be organized in different continents such as Europe, Asia, and Latin America after the pandemic. This hasn't been bad for competition enthusiasts. Dancers who cannot travel to the USA due to economic and political reasons are showcasing their talents in competitions in locations they can access. Personally, for the past few years I've been going to ILHC Europe in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and be a volunteer in the organization team.

Besides ILHC, I'd also add Snowball, Savoy Cup, Lindy Fest to the competition festival category. In fact, some festivals like mentioned here are considered qualifiers for ILHC. For example, a couple winning first place in the Advanced Strictly competition at Snowball can skip the qualifying round and compete in the finals of the same category and level at ILHC in the USA. This situation may occur in a different form at local festivals, even if they are not specifically competition festivals. For instance, a couple winning a Mix & Match competition at a local festival might be gifted a party pass for another festival. Of course, this can be another source of motivation for some of us.

Now that we've discussed the technical details of competition festivals, I'd like to delve a little deeper into the intricacies. I'd also love to hear our readers' thoughts on these matters. Write to me please 💬

Besides the philosophical/existential inquiries I made at the beginning of my writing, the different views of some international instructors and my friends from our dance community both locally and abroad, who actively compete, may be the subject of our conversations occasionally. While some of us approach participating in competitions purely as fun or just for show, for others it's taken with a seriousness that extends to self-realization. I believe that everyone at these two extremes of the spectrum, and in between, has their own valid reasons, and sometimes I try to empathize. But whatever the case, I think it all comes down to the individual's character traits. Some of us are extremely extroverted, and expressing/being seen in a flamboyant way is the source of their life energy. Others are completely introverted, and performing in competitions is a complete nightmare for them. They shine in social dance, but their feet get tangled in competitions. Some of us are somewhere in the middle, and participating in competitions provides them with practical motivation to improve their dance.

It's ironic that I sometimes read the posts of those competing in the middle of the spectrum, who sometimes don't win in competitions or make it to finals, but then talk/write at length about how much they enjoyed the process. While the nervousness/ambition in the competition video is clear, they state that "the important thing was being in the final with so many talented people" – is that sportsmanship, sincerity, or just social media hype… I'm not sure. I'm curious. What do you think?

While writing this, I remember this podcast that I listened to a long time ago. In this podcast, Caleb Teicher very roughly says that competition doesn't really mean much for jazz dance, yet in the same year, he won the second place in the ILHC solo jazz competition, which was held online during the pandemic (video below) 😅 Maybe life itself is ironic…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6zH2ay-nVs

How about the inspirational vibe of these videos?! Let's discuss this in the next "to be continued..." 😉