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Randy and Gen competing at Enter the Blues || Photo by Ben
I have flipped flopped back and forth many times about my own views on dance competitions. By nature I am a very competitive person and there was a time when I have taken them, just way too seriously. Competing is in my DNA, something that has been a part of me ever since I can remember. Taking dance competitions way too seriously in the past however has been an actual detriment to my performance and overall enjoyment of these events. I worried about which moves I was going to pull off during the competition and whether or not the alignments were going to work based on where the judges were sitting or standing. I tried to predict which songs were going to be played based on the dj that was spinning for the comp or familiarized myself with the repertoire of the band. Tie or no tie? Should I wear a hat? What if I dance with a taller follow and the hat hits her face? Seriously, all random questions and self-doubt I could have done without.
What I have finally come to the conclusion is that you are never really ready for a competition. You are never one hundred percent, “I did everything I can to prepare” ready. So why stress yourself out?
You know that you’ve spent the countless hours practicing, rehearsing, and watching youtube clips to try to gain any sort of insight that will make yourself look awesome in the eyes of the judges. You’ve gone to great lengths to pump yourself up in the hopes that you might actually believe that you deserve to win this competition. Sometimes you actually do believe it and it helps you get through the next five or so minutes when you’re out there in front of everybody. No matter what though, whether you think you’re ready or believe you’re supposed to be up there, the competition cordinator counts you in, “five, six… five, six, seven..”
… and there is nothing left to do but dance your face off.
