Hi
Charles asked these questions, and they are of general enough interest that I am responding to the list.
My interpretation of his questions (his complete note is after my signature):
What should you do if a collision occurs on the dance floor?
Is there a difference if this is a competition or a social situation?
Before the collision - try to miss them. As a man, I have to be very aware of what is, or might be, on the path that I am asking the couple I am a part of to go. My partner, Hilary, and I each have areas of responsibility for seeing other couples approaching on a collision course. Hilary helps out a lot because she is often looking in a direction that I am not - in particular, behind me. When a collision looks imminent, she will stop, or drop her right arm, or something similar to let me know that something unusual is going to happen and I should not move any more and look around. Most of the time, the two people of a couple are looking in opposite directions, so their fields of view pretty much covers the entire floor. With practice, you can avoid most collisions by simply paying attention to what is going on around you.
If a collision occurs, what you do is the same, regardless of whether it is in a competition or in a social situation. The only difference is when you do it.
I always check to see that the other couple is OK, and I always apologize for the collision (even if I think it was their fault). In a social situation, I do it immediately after the collision, and again at the end of that dance if the collision was a bad one. In competition, I save all of this until after I am off the floor, though I will help someone up if I knock them down.
The next part is the same, competition or social: stop dancing, make sure that your partner and you are ok. Take a deep breath, relax, walk with your partner a few steps away from the other couple, resume dance position, and dance. If you are dancing a routine, it is good to tell your partner where you will be starting in the routine.
If someone just bumps you, but you know everyone is ok, I still recommend the entire process, especially in competition. That way, you make sure that when you are dancing, you are presenting a good picture to the judges, not something that is still recovering from being bumped. The judges know that collisions occur. If they look at you and you are not in dance position, they will look back later.
Why is competition different than social? Because in competition everyone realizes that each couple is trying to show off the couple to the judges, and that some corners are being cut, or assumptions made about where another couple will be, or that it will be ok to go backwards without looking for 10 steps, or something similar. This understood risk is all part of the game. But a social dance, that is different. Social dance, even on a very crowded floor is not bumper cars. As man, my primary function at a social dance is to not run into anyone else. I adjust steps, power, movement, the size of the couple, everything - all to avoid collisions. But on the competition floor, I assume that everyone else knows how big a couple is, and who is going to get to a particular spot on the floor first. Whoever gets to a spot first on the competition floor "has the right-of-way".
Lastly - if someone collides with you, and it is clearly their fault, and they don't accept responsibility, and they don't even ask how you are, don't let it get to you. Apply the process above. In particular, take the deep breath, relax, dance. Later, you can think about what a dork this person was. Getting upset is a counter-productive response in both a competition and a social situation.
Hope this helps. I should have covered it in the pre-class for the competition.
-- Bruce
-----Original Message-----
From: charles joseph smith [mailto:cjsmith2@students.uiuc.edu]
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 4:39 AM
To: Leasure, Bruce
Subject: head-on collision
You didn't cover this matter before the Dancing Illini competition. I am
going to
Iowa this weekend to compete.
What should a couple do if another couple collides with them in
competition?
In a social dance, it is protocal to say sorry to the other couple.
But during a competition heat, should the couple keep their mouths shut
and concentrate on dancing, and then apologize after the heat is over?
Addendum....
And often, a collision will knock the couple out of sync in their timing,
displacing what
would be their planned footwork. You said that the best solution is to
stop movement as soon as possible after you get hit so the judges won't
see the off-timing, if any, listen to music, and get back on time.
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Charles Joseph Smith
URH, 101 Daniels Hall, 1010 W. Green St., #101
Urbana, IL 61801-3097
cjsmith2@uiuc.edu
(217)332-2143
http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~cjsmith2/Charles_Home_Page.html
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