| Subject: Re: Varsity - the view from the Slithery side |
Author:
The Serpent
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 11:44:40 05/21/03 Wed
In reply to:
Di
's message, "Re: Varsity - the view from the Slithery side" on 10:41:51 05/21/03 Wed
The Serpent is available at a very reasonable price... :P
Chenyi - the reason his not-quite-all-seeing slitheryness has focused on the top couples is simple - he simply doesn't know who many of the mid-range couples are! Of course, that is less true with the Varsity match, though as a part-time volunteer consultant to the Oxford team he has more knowledge of them than the Cambridge team. Furthermore, whilst the nice side of the Serpent is generally shown on the forum, as a poisonous snake he is of course venomous when attacking prey. I will try not to be too hard on the people who are discussed here. Anyway, let me discuss a few people who I know competed in the Varsity match who did less well....
Scott and Sarah (Cambridge) Everyone knows who they are. The man with the Beckham style hair cut smoothed it down for the ballroom section of the match. However, Scott and Sarah's ballroom left a fair amount to be desired, which was slightly surprising given Scott's good posture. But it looked short on confidence and not polished enough to score well. Both partners looked uncomfortable dancing in hold, especially Scott, for whom this is a new experience. Without the practise of dancing ballroom opens during the year they looked a bit ropy. Generally danced too high, and lacked swing. They should do some ballroom next year as well as latin. The latin was good, and I thought they would beat Solon and SuAnn, who as I said had a bit of an off day. But they were never likely to beat Tris and Jumin. Scott's Cha technique needs work, as the legs don't always straighten and he needs to develop more body rhythm to go with his speed.
Peter and Jane (Oxford) Danced nicely in the ballroom, as ever. Unshakeable top, good movement etc. Got almost straight firsts in the ballroom, and would have got even more marks if they had more charisma on the floor. Not for the first time, they lacked a slight competitive sparkle that would give them the edge. Latin was competent, but they are obviously ballroom dancers. Peter especially often gave the impression of being slightly off balance, and was a little hard in the cha. More body rhythm is also needed, and both Jane and he looked unsure what they should do with their arms. Jive was better, though the knees were not brought high enough and generally too much energy was expended on too little.
Jeff and Rachelle (Cambridge) hmmm.... I think Rachelle made a mistake in choosing to dance with Jeff. The former Oxford man has not danced for three year, and it showed. The ballroom was frankly dreadful, neither partner looking either confident nor really competent. Top line was collapsed, with both looking like they were hanging on to each other. Whatever they had done in the latin after that was unlikely to be noticed, as the judges' impressions were likely set by then. The latin was, in fairness, a little better, though Jeff's lazy style did them no favours (nor did his blue velvet top). Rachelle has been a great captain for Cambridge this year, and this was not the right way for her to end the year.
Sugata and Hazel (Oxford) Winners of this year's 'Black Horse Trophy' (the award given for the 8th placed Oxford couple). Slightly unlucky to finish last, I don't think they were Oxford's worst couple (and they did beat most of the Cambridge team). Ballroom was good, as ever, and scored well. Sugata still needs to work on his posture, as he is clearly back weighted, and needs more strength in the centre. His elbows are too far back and he takes his left side away. This prevents him from getting a full swinging action, because his weighted his always behind him. That said, he has lovely feet and good musicality. Hazel needs to soften through the knees and also try and keep her weight further forward. But she is also a very expressive dancer. In the latin, they look like Chalk and Cheese, Sugy far too soft, and lacking the domineering look needed for latin, Hazel again probably too hard and straight, needing to get more action between steps and use the hips and the body more. Softer arms and a greater range of facial mannerisms would also help.
Viraj and Emma (Cambridge) Like much of the rest of Cambridge's team, they were below par in the ballroom. No movement, didn't stand up properly, lacked a proper top line. Not much more to say. They were obviously in the bottom two or three couples in every ballroom heat (though it should be said that the Oxford team was very strong in the ballroom). Slightly unlucky in the latin, where I thought they were quite a bit better, but they lacked presence on the floor (they are quite small), and the jive bounce action was not quite right. Cha was better, but a bit hard. By the time it got to latin, they needed to do something spectacular not to be marked very lowly. They didn't.
Wolfram and Emmy (Oxford) Oxford's bald German latin man dancing with probably Oxford's biggest discovery his year. Emmy is an extremely talented latin dancer, and has a great future ahead of her. One to look out for, she has picked up both the technique and the style very quickly, though the partnership with Wolfram does not work perfectly. Anyway, the ballroom was surprisingly good. Why surprising? Because when Wolfram has entered ballroom competitions this year he has been, ahem, diabolical. But at Varsity, he had a strong, straight posture, a nice topline, and he kept both. Emmy likewise had a great topline and they had a good look as a couple. On the other hand, the lacked movement, shape, and swing. More work is required if they are to be genuine ballroom contenders, but on this evidence they could be. Latin was good, but I expected more. Wolfram sometimes tries too hard, and does too much of his work in the hips rather than the body or the legs. Need to do more dancing, and get more speed. Also, and I'm sorry to say it, Wolfram would benefit from losing some weight! ;) Did well to make the A team on just one week's practise, and performed well in the match.
Mark and Rebecca (Cambridge) Like the rest of the Cambridge team, ballroom wasn't up to scratch. Much the same problems as everyone else, though I thought they were better than most of their peers, with a stronger posture and topline. Latin was actually really quite good. I enjoyed watching it, but again, it needed just a bit more. More charisma, something flashy to grab the attention. But I think Mark has great technique and a very natural style, and his partnership with Rebecca works well. Needs more arrogance in competitions.
Tomas and Laura (Oxford) Ballroom was OK, but could have been a lot better. Neither of them danced through their bodies, and the posture could have been straighter. Feet were not always right. Had good movement, but this sometimes seemed forced rather than natural, probably because they were not letting the bodies go. Generally OK, and better than Cambridge's latin couples, but given Laura's ballroom experience and Tomas obvious talent, it should have been better. However, they were still in the running which helped their latin marks. I thought they danced very well in the latin, Laura especially, who has a great leg action, if at times her head comes forward and her back rounds forward. Tomas needs to keep his legs together more, especially in Cha, where he also needs to straighten his legs and keep his body more upright. This should solve the slightly messy look he often has. Jive was the best dance, though again I thought Tomas looked slightly messy.
Dave and Caroline (Oxford) Very good latin, I thought it was the best I had seen Dave dance all year. The partnership worked well, it was fast, sharp and had good technique. A few dodgy moments in the choreography, though. Caroline needs to be more grounded and let the hip action happen more naturally, and it sometimes looks a bit forced. Dave needs more solidity in the upper body, and to temper a few of his more extravagant gestures. Ballroom was solid, but lacked movement and sparkle. Looked very small and very latin. But topline and posture were good. Needs to dance more through the centre, get lower and use the standing leg more.
Miklos and Marytza (Cambridge) Miklos is probably Cambridge's best all-rounder. That should have made him a great weapon, but as normal he looked under-rehearsed. Cambridge need to find him a regular partner that he can work with. I thought all four dances looked a bit messy, and certainly lacked confidence and assurance. Nonetheless, the ballroom was good. Good technique, though the posture and topline were not strong enough, and they didn't look confident enough with their routine. Latin, likewise. I think Miklos has a great natural look, but needs to work on technique, especially in Cha, and also needs to develop an arrogant competition look.
Robin and Susan (Oxford) Good ballroom. Robin is one of those men who has natural presence and charisma on the floor. That means he will always perform at least to potential in ballroom. So it proved. I think they actually had a few dodgy moments in the ballroom, but it didn't show. Robin's feet are a bit messy, and he needs to have his left side more prominent. Furthermore, he could do more with his hips and body too create more shape and movement, and I still feel he is back weighted. Susan was also back weighted, tending to stick her stomach out in an attempt to create a topline. Should stand up instead, and use the movement and CBM to create shape, rather than manufacturing it artificially. Latin, was, er, pathetic. But neither of them are latin dancers. The style wasn't there, Robin looked completely lost as to what to do with his arms. His technique was not good enough either. Susan needs to be sharper in the latin, and both of them need more musicality. But they bluffed through the latin well. That is a strength noone at Cambridge seemed to have.
>>>How about write some views on the "mid-range"
>couples,
>>>and perhaps people who haven't done so well? We've
>>>read quite a lot about those top names.
>>
>>Great idea, let's get the Serpent to write on here
>>about each couple that competed this year on the
>>university circuit. Thrilling reading I'm sure...who
>>wants to read about the off time couple that got
>>knocked out in first round of novice latin?
>
>I think you missed the point of the word
>"mid-range"....
>I don't think offtime novices are really mid-range.
>
>Also not every university has the luxury of having
>their coaches able to come to the comps. It's nice to
>have an outside opinion. Personally, I'd like to hire
>the serpent to come to one of our practice sessions
>and give his opinions!!!
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 