Win or lose, if you competed last year I don't think you're a newcomer this year.

Quoted from "rodeogrrl"
Win or lose, if you competed last year I don't think you're a newcomer this year.

All the competitions I've danced in (three or four) have been Newcomer/Novice combined. Best of my limited knowledge, you're not out of the Novice category after one competition.

Quoted from "joanne66"
been taking any lessons lately? ask your instructors what they think. or ask someone in the scene whose opinion you respect. someone familiar with your dancing. ask humbly, and you'll probably get an honest answer. it may or may not be what you want to hear.

Well that's kinda what I'm trying to do here. I am asking in real life, too, but I figured the more insight I could get, the better :)

-- M

Put yourself in an open level and when the results comes in, judge for yourself where you see yourself the next time.

If you start at the novice level, some will say you're guilty of sand bagging the event. But if you come dead last in the advanced level, some will also say you think you're better than you are. It's doesn't matter what people think, is where you feel you still got game that matters.

Wait, which pants did I wear? And besides, I won didn't I? Obviously it was the pants that pushed me over the edge ;)

-- M

That's weird, it looks like the only choices are "Newcomer/Novice" or "Intermediate/Advanced." Would be nice if they had a level in between...

I've never seen you dance, so I have no idea. But you won it last year... so how much better do you think you are now than a year ago? If it's been a breakthrough year or something, I'd say step it up to the Int/Adv level. If it's been a busy year with little dance time, maybe try New/Nov again. Being a major event, even the first level of competition is going to have at least a handful of good dancers in it.

There's always people who, in retrospect, danced in the "wrong" division. As long as it's not intentional smacking down of newbies, I don't think anyone would care... or shouldn't, anyway.

Well technically, overly baggy pants on guys would be a no-no at ballroom competitions because they hide the leg lines. But then everybody is wearing baggy pants and a blazer during comps so you can't see anything deductible. :dunno:

Indeed,

I would tend to aggree with the general trend of answers... Compete at the highest level available to you. Most events have some form of description for each category and there are sometimes even limitations on the upper and lower side. For instance at my Canadian Championships, you COULD NOT compete at the Newcomer level any longer after having placed in another event.

I would add to the comments however that competition has many facets and formats and if you have competed in one realm, you can try other reals such as choreography or multi-style improv (bal, shag, charleston, wcs, lindy...) etc... if you look at comps these days there are endless arrays of possibilities for you to express yourself and challenge yourself in different ways.

All the Best!

That's the thing, I don't know what my level is. That's why I'm posting here. But the posts here have been very helpful in figuring it out. Thanks, everyone.

-- M

I've never seen an "Open level" competition to enter anywhere.

-- M

FR! You are definitely intermediate/advanced. no question. and so what if you compete in INT/Adv and you don't win?

And don't listen to jester! all the girls think your pants are hawt (even if they're a bit long)

i'm in a similar situation... placed 2nd in Newcomer/Novice at Summer Hummer a year ago, in a very small group that went straight to finals.

Frankly, most of the people I consider 'peers' were in the higher level. So, I plan to move up this year, dance with people i love, adn get my ass handed to me on a platter by the more graceful and innovative followers. :)

I competed for the first time at the Canadian Championships, and did both the Newbie J&J's, but also somehow got the courage to sign up for the interregional championships, where you dance with someone from another region than you. My partner was from France. I had so much fun, and neither one of us was doing it to win, but it was just a great time. I was also really nervous, cause everyone else in the comp was a way better dancer than me.. but anyway. Glad I did it. So I say compete a level up. Even if you don't place, just do it for the fun of it.

The things a dancer should consider:

1) Have I won anything? Competition level is based on COMPETITION EXPERIENCE not general dancing experience or that you've taught before or that your friends signed up for Level X. If you have competition experience (ie: won some stuff) then you should jump to the next level. If you've never competed or never made finals, then you should stay down until you do.

2) If you are in a situation like Fools where you have only won once then - and only then you should consider who else is dancing in which level. But here's the thing most people get wrong - don't consider the other people who dance your role (leaders for a leader or followers if you're a follower), consider the people you will be dancing with. Would any of them be upset if they drew you instead of the rest of the pack? Would you be able to dance with and show off most of the people competing?

When I first started doing jack and jills my goals were: Meet new people to dance with later Make my leader get into the finals

And there were quite a few comps where I didn't make finals but all my leaders did. And that to me meant I was at least doing a good enough job to not screw up anyone else.

Oh and by the way, I have told a ton of people who were having issues with not doing well in and not enjoying comps to dance down. The ones who took my advice did a lot better than the ones who jumped up or stayed up when they shouldn't have.

Erring on the side of dancing down is always better in my opinion.

[edited because I can't spell!!]

Once you've won a division, you're essentially moved up to the next level of any competition where that level of that division is offered.

You've won N/N, there for, you're no longer Newcomer ANYTHING. You can still compete Novice if you want, until you win (1st) Novice. Then you're INT/ADV or Open. In lindy we have fewer levels than other dances. Newcomer/Novice (sometimes only Nov.) Open Champions (by inv. only) those are the usual options.

If you get to one that has Int/Adv as the highest level, you can compete there, but consider what Mouth said, think about the follows and if they drew you would they be saddened that they got the least experienced dancer? (not to say that you are)

Again, each competition is different.

Take your competitive dancing experience this year and compare it to the other dancers in your division options' dancing experience last year. Do it like this: 1: "Ok, so this year I have won ________ competition(s)" --Man, I am good!!-- 2: "now, I'm entering a competition (lets call it ALHC...) I've never been to. so I'm going to go to the website and look at the competitors list from last year." 3: "Now, I see my options, and I see where I am at by comparison. Gee, that really helped me decide which level to enter. Because really, who wants to compete against Kevin and Carla, Nick and Denise, etc? All with the chance of drawing said partner?!?!" 4: if you're still not sure, contact the event coordinator (Hillary Alexander at CH/ Paulette Brockington at ALHC) They have hotline numbers to answer your questions, as well as emails. Hillary clearly states, if you're not sure what division, contact her she'd be glad to help you.

;)

I will sometimes compete at a higher level. Typically, this happens when it ends up being an open category or it's a smaller competition. If they're nationally based, the rules are out there clearly stated. With west coast, they suggest the win and 20 points. However, there are some people that are good enough to start making waves and advancing more quickly. I know a westie from Wichita that's a good example of someone moving fast through the ranks.