[8/31/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
P.T. Barnum Class For All
By Markie Bee
National Chicago Style Steppers Day
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A good friend and member of the Chicago stepping community passed. "Steppin'" James Eubanks. I was going to write an article today about a different subject but we were friends so I'll just replay yesterday's story. Bless his soul and rejoice for him because he is in a better place.
When it comes to the World's Largest according to our small poll which ran on SteppersUSA last week you made a strong statement as a community of what you want the contest to be. Seventy eight percent of those who voted want to see the WLSC as more than a giant club contest. In other words, you would prefer the contest to be a serious battle for supremacy guided by strong unbending rules and pre-finals eliminations. In other words you're looking for a serious contest like other more established dance forms have had in place for many years. Correct me if you think I'm wrong.
The point I made not too long ago in this column titled Real Contests comes into play. Essentially a promoter has one job initially; and that's to fill the room by whatever means necessary. They have to create talk and interest in the event and to get you to buy tickets. As I mentioned in my August 9th article there is a genuine conflict of interest that sprouts up when the promoter is also running a contest that is supposed to be more than a club contest. After discussing this with many other people... there are very real doubts the current rules are adequate or that they will be followed in the way the majority of people want to see. So the question keeps rising why won't Chicago style steppers accept the fact that until they can embrace a sanctioning body the WLSC will be more of a modern day P.T. Barnum style dog and pony show?
It does hurt the integrity of the dance each time a rule gets stretched, changed, or added mid-stream but who do we really have to blame? One person we blame is the promoter but in reality we probably should look in the mirror first.

 

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Continued

Even when we as members of the community say we want standards (of any type) created or enforced some "Heavy Hitter" or influential person within the community says they will never support standards. They know their business model could be hurt by mainstreaming the dance (especially if they are unwilling to change with the times). It boils down to egos and pocket books of these near sighted individuals who in reality don't care about the future of the dance. They are happy with the money they are making today and they wouldn't want to threaten a "good thing".
If a separation is created between those who are promoting the contest and those who are running the contest there is a chance at getting the majority what they want. There has to be a way to create that separation without all of the drama. Any ideas? In any case the current poll is farther down the page and it concerns the "Out of Town Category" (poll below)
A class for every reason
I hear and (and/or) engage in some interesting conversations whenever I manage to work at a class. Right now I'm working for several instructors in several roles some photographic, some video, some website and some a combination of all three.
Some times it's the instructor that says something that gets me to thinking, but usually it's the students that create the fertile conversational topics that will send my mind racing. One such conversation I overheard recently went something like this:
Student 1: I go to instructor A's class for the real strong instruction. They are really critical of my every move and if I make a mistake they show me what I did wrong and how to do it right. I've learned so much of the technical part of the dance from this instructor; I just have to come back for more each week.
Student 2: I go to instructor B's class because I will be sure to get a real physical dance workout in. I don't get as much instruction, but I do get that workout I need and it's helping me find my style.
Student 3: I usually take a couple of classes a day on the weekend... one with some heavy instruction then one with a good workout routine. I've taken a few privates (lessons) with instructor A and they really focused on a couple of key points with me and it's really helped a lot.
So you have three different students with different needs finding a way to have their stepping needs fulfilled from different instructors that have a different focus from each other. One thing I didn't tell you about the students was two of them were beginners who have been stepping for less than a year. The third student (not necessarily in chronological order) has been stepping for a few years.
Do you have needs similar to one or more than one of the students in the example above? Are you a new stepper or a more experienced stepper? It comes down to what your needs are at a given point in your training. Do you feel you need to work more on your style or mechanics of the dance? From the two instructors who were described in the conversation which one would fit your needs best?
Current WLSC Poll
As you may remember I mentioned last week I said I was going to run a WLSC related poll every week in the run up to this years 20th worlds largest. This one has to do with the Out of Town Category and where you stand on its existence. The poll is just down the page so take a moment and let's see where the steppers community stands on this question.  (poll below)
NCSSD 2011
When asked if there will be a 2011 National Chicago Style Steppers Day Event, The short answer is yes it will be an annual event held on the weekend of the second Saturday in August. Overall, the event was a smashing success in that we managed to pull the whole thing off. Once we've had some time to digest and machinate what happened over the weekend we will have a teleconference (probably after the WLSC) to discuss what went right and what went wrong and to entertain ideas for next year.

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