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Jack and Jill Category – How To Prepare & How You’re Judged

 

NO PARTNER ~ NO PROBLEM

No previous competition experience is required and no parter is necessary to participate in this category. 

 

Rules & Criteria

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  • NO PARTNER NECESSARY – you will be judged as individuals, not as couples. Any person (regardless of gender) can participate as leader or follower.

  • 3 ROTATIONS each round – you will dance 3 songs per round, each with a different leader/follower (randomly chosen).

  • SCORING done by judges using the “ranking system”. This category is intended to be freestyle with consideration given to each dancer’s connection, musicality, technique, and style.

  • COMPETITION DAYS – Sunday only.

  • REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT –

 

AM: $60 registration fee ($50 Early Bird – expires on April 30, 2023)

 

PRO: $70 registration fee ($60 Early Bird – expires on April 30, 2023)

 

Is required for Jack & Jill competitors to have one of the following options:

 

  • Festival Full Pass

  • Milonga Full Pass

  • Or be registered in any other competition category

 

 

How to prepare for Jack and Jill competitions

 

Let's break down the three T’s that competitors should focus on in Jack & Jill competions. That is: Timing, Technique and Teamwork.

 

Timing/ Musicality

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Timing/ Musicality is simply your ability to step and execute the movement on the right beats of the music. This means you’re not early or late, but simply ‘on time’ to the music.

 

When both dancers are on-time, even basic movements look fantastic.

 

Simple movements like walk or rebounds( rock step) are great training drill exercises that can help develop your timing and agility. Plus it’s a lot of fun to dance and experiment on your own to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.

 

Technique

 

Technique is how you perform your dance actions and movement. It’s where you demonstrate your ability in each component of your movement while you dance.

 

Posture, extension of the legs, balance, coordination to transfer weight are examples of technique.

 

Ask yourself: Is your movement smooth or jarring? Do you have bent knees or straight? Are you engaging your core and maintaining your frame through your movement? Do you stumble through turns and spins or are you upright and spotting?

 

Good technique is never awkward. It’s why we’re so attracted to pro’s in all dance forms and sports.

 

Focusing on the position of your feet, pass though the axis, smooth weight transition and engaging your core and frame while using your body will get you 99% of the way.

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Teamwork

 

Argentine Tango is a partner dance and well… you’re supposed to dance together as a team. Not as two individuals.

 

Many times in a Jack & Jill competition participants came from different styles and dance experience. When this happens, each dancer should aim to dance together, as a team. And the key for the success will me the CONNEXION and the COMMUNICATION at the embrace.

 

Feel the other and connect in a deepest level is the best way to understand each other. is a great example of teamwork.

 

When you see the opposite… One partner dancing at a high level and ignoring their partners ability (or current lack of)… it looks terrible. It’s like watching a train wreck where one person makes their partner look bad, awkward, flabergasted or leaves them standing there wondering what the heck they’re supposed to be doing.

 

 

So for Novice Jack & Jill competitions, my best advice is to keep it simple.

Focus on the three T’s and forget everything else until you reach intermediate.

In doing so, your competition will be less overwhelming and more enjoyable. You may not feel like you’re pushing yourself or dancing to your full potential. I know I certainly feel a little robotic during my competitions. But I remind myself that I’m in a competition… and to compete is to play by the rules and do my best to win.

 

So keep it simple. Good timing, technique and teamwork will do it.

You’ll have plenty of social dances at the event to show off your fancy moves or experiment with some newly aquired skills.

 

At the end of the day, having fun in your competition and dancing to the best of your ability is all that matters.

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