Ha! No way! Really? It seems like an unlikely place to make any bank in a robbery… Next time, I'll bring a gun.

Blurg. Now I'm going to have to write an article… :P back atcha! :)

Lest you think this post was a veiled criticism of amateur events and the Dancing Times, I interact with students who dance pro-am and other professionals 97% of the time and this post was meant for them. It's really meant mostly for me, since I have complained about all things and wanted change without first thinking how I could get better. Obviously, if a complaint is made and nothing is done about it, write a letter or article or make a petition or do something. If you don't understand your marks, or anyone else's, ask a judge. Note: ask a judge. Ask nicely, but ask them (when you're done dancing). Don't ask your friends or family; they either don't know or they're biased.

"Learn from it" or even "deal with it". There are certain things that happen in a competition that you have no control over, namely what other people do. You have control over YOURSELF (your hair, makeup, costume, attitude, training, stamina, nerves, execution). If you don't like that, you should find another way to showcase your dancing, of which there are many (performance categories at competitions, studio showcases, formation teams, solo routines, etc.). I've heard a lot of dancers lately (pro, pro-am, am) blaming their result on various factors outside themselves. My questions are these: - if you're better than so-and-so, are you better at everything all the time by a lot, or do you just have slightly better footwork sometimes? - if it's not okay when so-and-so wins, why is it okay when you win? - if you are, far and away, the best dancer in the floor, do you REALLY think it matter that no one knows you, that one judge doesn't like you, or the floor is slippery? If you have valid complaints about blatant favoritism, rule violations, or ballroom conditions, be helpful! You should contact the chairman of judges or the organizer. Otherwise, the problems will go unnoticed or unaddressed. In the meantime, practice! Learn! Improve! Be better!

Is it a plateau thing or just a let-down from all the adrenaline and build-up to the comp? Either way: BOO. I've just found that while I'm decent on a certain scale, it's a big-fish-in-a-little-pond deal, where really, I'm a freaking tiny fish in a super humongous ocean. Rar. Also, I'm sick of people complaining about factors that ARE dancesport competitions: judges, subjective judging, preconceived notions, being "better" than other competitors that are beating the complainer, politics, whatever. Instead of focusing on what everyone else is doing, can't we all focus on getting better? Rar. Just keep swimming, I guess.

Hey Babies Mama, I agree. Awesome! Fashionable toddlers unite!