RPI Ballroom Competiton 2014
A lot of my viewers might not have any exposure to the Ballroom world at all, so I'm going to make a brief run through of what this day was like for a lot of these competitors. There are several types of dances that fall into certain categories of dance.
Smooth/Standard dances encompasses dances such as Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot and several others.
Rhythm/Latin dances encompasses dances like the Cha-Cha, Rumba, Swing and several others.
It gets even more complex in terms of the structure of the dances and why they are categorized in this fashion and how couples are supposed to structure their body when dancing. Some of these dancers practice everyday to make sure that they perfect their movements, execute the moves with precise technique and remember to smile (except for tango because that's about tension).
Competitors before the competition ready themselves to put on a show for the audience and judges. Its about the show, looking good, having character and making sure everything is in order.
Every competition has a different schedule that starts the day off, at the RPI comp Standard & Smooth starts the day off in a graceful fashion, floating couples all around the room in a "Line of Dance". The basic concept of Line of Dance is that the dance moves around the dance floor in a counter clockwise movement. some inexperienced dancers might find themselves bumping into other competitors, but the most graceful of them will find ways to navigate through the crowd with the greatest of ease and the happiest of smiles.
Latin & Rhythm are part of the next two sections heating up the dance floor with its passionate and expressive body movements. Most of these dances are ones that are danced in place, with the exception of several different types of routines that allows the displacement of the couples. The sensual power of both dancers in the couple are playing, flirting, and romancing through the dance.
Faces/Feet
The faces of dance are as important as the steps of dance, in this set of photos I present to you, the funny, the scary, and the happy mixed in with the elegant and the proper.
Special Event
Part of the Ballroom community is its involvement and love for the community up here in the capital district. Every 3rd Sunday there is a USA Dance that is held at the Polish community center and at a certain point of the night they usually have a special event held to dance with those who normally don't get to dance, in honor of that RPI has integrated that into its competition as a special event after the Smooth portion. When this happened, I forget how emotional it can be, I almost couldn't see through my lens, i put myself in their shoes and it really is so beautiful to give to those who would completely enjoy it to the fullest.
