"Jack & Jill"
Definition: A contest where dancers are randomly paired up and asked to dance to randomly selected music. All the dancing is improvised. At its core, it's a contest of lead/follow skills and most importantly, music interpretation. Winners are selected by a panel of judges.
Westies sure love their Jack & Jills. In just a few months of West Coast Swing, I've watched more J&J contests than all of my 6+ years of salsa. Seems like most of the larger dance venues have some sort of contest lined up each week. One week one of these places was short guys, and I somehow got roped into a contest with my oh-so-impressive 5 pattern repertoire. The whole thing is kinda like how salsa clubs will soemtimes have a performance or two for whatever group or couple need a "live practice" before their big competition, except it happens a lot more frequently, and are generally loads more interesting to watch.
There's something about WCS and "WCS-able" music that makes it really well suited for this type of contest. I'm not gonna say that all salsa music is the same because it's not. Some songs definitely groove better than others, as some of you can attest to if you've ever heard me say, "Not this song" to a dance request. But for the most part, salsa can't compare to the huge variety of music to which you can dance WCS. Anything from hip hop and R&B to rock & roll to the blues. This is precisely the reason why WCS J&Js are so fun to watch. It's just really cool to see how couples interpret all these different types of music with no preparation at all. From the overall mood of the song to the breaks and the hits and even the lyrics... all come out in the dance. That's where the real talent lies. Most good dancers can lead and follow with no problem. But not every leader is equally good at pairing the dance to the music, and not every follow can react fast enough to play to, and even expand on, the leader's cues. When you watch WCS professionals do this, you're left with a sense of awe and wonderment. Often when I watch these vids on YouTube, there is a huge smile plastered on my face as I marvel at their talent.
How awesome would it be to be able to dance like *that*?
Watch the hat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkcHzqr8a34
Perfect music interpretation. Ben, the lead in this vid, teaches in LA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3toYxGlWxk
Deb used to teach at the Granada.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFNnjqqqjg4
Amazing follow here to match all that footwork. Doug teaches in LA. Tat is from SoCal too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCvP9fjXc8A
