UK Open Latin Champs DVD

[Chicklet]

I have just taken delivery of a DVD of the UK Open Latin Championships, a gift for my pa for X-mas and am checking it works I know that there may be many comps that give themselves this title, I picked one that had Brendan and Camilla and Darren and Lilia in it (I'm such a celeb-hag ).

Ordered it back in Nov so had hoped to be able to post this in a pressies thread for this year but too late now...but maybe next year..

Negatives - took over a month to get here, from Japan (!!) so liner notes in Japanese, it's only about an hour long and has cost £50, and (not a fault of the DVD but) I didn't know that each dance was only for about two mins.
BUT
Positives - dancing takes place in full light so all detail of outfits, makeup and hair dos are there to be seen, and that's just the men, the man ponytail was BIG. The camera work is really good, stays on each couple, in the middle of the shot, for 30- 60 secs or so at a time

Fun stuff - the number of professional floorcraft fouls is hilarious !!, some fantastic collisions worthy of Hanna Barbara.

Thought provoking stuff - don't buy this if you're just starting out with MJ and feeling insecure, in the nicest possible way, it makes a lot of what we do look terribly, well... pedestrian, I'm afraid. But if you are secure and would like some glam, ballroom type inspiration, it's a fab piece of glitz!

Given this is the first of these I have ever seen let alone bought, I may not have picked the best to buy, anyone with a secret library care to make a recommendation for next time?

C

[Chicklet]

another quick question - do the competitors get the music in advance?
I always thought they (at least mostly) performed prepracticed routines but some of the phrasing in the pro section is so perfect it does suggest the either there's some freestyle or else the routines have been prepared with the exact music...as opposed to "a rhumba track".

[DavidB]

Originally Posted by Chicklet

another quick question - do the competitors get the music in advance?
I always thought they (at least mostly) performed prepracticed routines but some of the phrasing in the pro section is so perfect it does suggest the either there's some freestyle or else the routines have been prepared with the exact music...as opposed to "a rhumba track".

They don't know the music in advance. But the music usually follows a standard structure, with no breaks of bridges to complicate things. So you could easily choreograph a 32 or 64 beat routine that would fit the music even when you repeated it.

The exception is Paso, where there is always a break in exactly the same place.

[Chicklet]

Originally Posted by DavidB

They don't know the music in advance. But the music usually follows a standard structure, with no breaks of bridges to complicate things. So you could easily choreograph a 32 or 64 beat routine that would fit the music even when you repeated it.

The exception is Paso, where there is always a break in exactly the same place.

That is as I had suspected, guess they're just damned good at it!!!

While you're there Mr B, any recommendtions for websites to buy US Swing champ DVDs??? I can play region 1.

And can I just say I LOVE Ballroom Jive

[DavidB]

Originally Posted by Chicklet

While you're there Mr B, any recommendtions for websites to buy US Swing champ DVDs??? I can play region 1.

http://www.thumbsupvideo.com/WCS.htm

[Andreas]

Originally Posted by DavidB

They don't know the music in advance. But the music usually follows a standard structure, with no breaks of bridges to complicate things. So you could easily choreograph a 32 or 64 beat routine that would fit the music even when you repeated it.

The exception is Paso, where there is always a break in exactly the same place.

Very true! But you can still see if somebody was lucky enough to choreograph a routine to a certain 'content' of the music. There are often differences like night and day in the actual 'fit' when various couples are compared, despite the fact that all of them are fabulous.

[Evgeni]

Originally Posted by Chicklet

Given this is the first of these I have ever seen let alone bought, I may not have picked the best to buy, anyone with a secret library care to make a recommendation for next time?

C

If you wanted to see a show, look for a release titled, "World Superstars". They hold this every year in Japan and rather than being a comp, the top 6 professionals perform their full 5 dances to music of their choice. With comps, the ring master will only play the music for 1min 30 to 2 minutes max, show routines will run for about 4 minutes. It is a show, so it is only one couple out at a time, so you see eveything, and I think it cost the same as other DVD's.
The only down side is you don't see the amateurs. Bar the top 3 or 4 professionals, the top six amateurs would give the pros a run.
Regarding paso, the usual track they play is one called Espani Cani. All the choreography is done to this piece of music - three highlights and a time change in the second highlight. If they play anything else, then it all changes. You just have to react and drop everything when you feel the highlight coming..haha
However to make it to a final of an IDSF open event, you are looking at at least 15 years dancing/comp experience.