Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, those of us who love to watch great dancing have no choice but to watch videos. Fortunately there is a lot of great video competition footage. I recently ran across some gems and wanted to share them with my dance community.
As you know, I’m a huge fan of basics performed well, as I believe that being able to dance the basic steps shows an understanding of the foundation of all ballroom dancing. In a recent Zoom workshop, Marat Gimaev said that the basic syllabus figures are the closest we can get to the original intention of the character of each ballroom dance. I agree.
the basic syllabus figures are the closest we can get to the original intention of the character of each ballroom dance
So I was thrilled to run across videos of a professional competition in Japan held last year in which each finalist couple had to dance the same routine made up entirely of basic figures. They could add their own spin, but effectively they are dancing the same choreography. Each couple performs a solo so you can see the minor differences in how they handle these basics.
The Ballroom event focused on Slow Foxtrot solos, while the Latin event focused on Rumba.
The WDC World Super Series event, held in Tokyo in June 2019, offers a fantastic look at how beautiful the basic steps really are when danced at a high level. Take a look.
