The Official Publication of the  Tucson Swing Dance Club	November 2002, Volume 19.0 www.tsdc.net

Each month the club has a Jack and Jill contest. But what is a Jack and Jill contest?

It is a competition that tests your skill as a social dancer. Leaders and followers sign up separately -- the contest organizers choose a partner for you at random and choose a song for you and your partner to dance to. Judges watch the couples dance and rank the performances.

Since you don't know who you will be dancing with or what song you will be dancing to, you can't plan a routine ahead of time. Judges aren't looking for choreography: they're looking for the couples with the best timing, teamwork, and technique.

Why enter a Jack and Jill contest? One reason is prizes -- the club gives prizes to the first, second, and third place couples in each contest.

Another is feedback from the judges. Judges are encouraged to make comments on the score sheets and the dancers can see what they've written after the contest is over. We often have professional dance instructors on the judging panel.

Still another reason is to be better known in the club and perhaps dance with some people you haven't danced with before.

And because a Jack and Jill contest tests your social dance skills, it's a great way to become a better social dancer.

Don't think you're good enough? The club has different competition divisions -- novice, intermediate, and advanced -- for any level of dancer, and you only need to know the 10 basic patterns in West Coast Swing to enter the novice competition. You can learn those patterns in the club's beginning lessons!

Each August the club has a special Jack and Jill contest for the most successful dancers in each division over the past 11 months. This year the club gave away $1500 in cash and prizes in that contest. But everyone who competed gained something, and you can too.