A good competition for us. It felt like the best we've ever danced. Our placements were good - we made 3 of 4 finals, and had a 3rd place in Sr1 Silver Standard, 6th place in Sr2 Silver Standard, and 5th place in Sr2 Gold Standard. We were 9th in Sr1 Gold Standard. Altogether, these were our best results yet. Changing our dance frame and the technique differences that has created are starting to pay off.
On the "still to work on" side, looking at the video shows that there are still some fundamental things that need fixing - I kept dropping my right elbow. I think I was letting myself get too centered in turning figures. And, darn it, I was looking down still in the promenade sections of the tango oversway---I was even thinking - "look up". Of course, when I watch the video, I see the things I did wrong, rather than the things I did well.
Judges' marks were all over the place - which also suggests that we were being inconsistent in how we danced. One dance may have been rated anywhere from 2nd to 7th depending on the judge - which may mean either something particular the judge looks for, or what we happened to be doing when the judge was looking at us. More fodder for Karen at our lessons for the next few weeks.
We have six weeks until Nationals, so there's time to focus on a couple of key points (like more of "stay left") between now and then. I think this also calls for some routine gym time between now and then. Dancing silver and gold means more dances, and I was about done in by the time we were finished.
The weekend was fun. The new venue was beautiful (North Bethesda Marriott). We had the largest floor we've ever had for a competition, and this only used half of the Marriott's Grand Ballroom. It was great having David's sister, Kathy, come with us again this year. There was beautiful dancing to watch while we weren't dancing ourselves.
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