Finals
Just a few weeks back, I tore my right shoulder. Embarrassingly enough, it was while doing a basic stretch. I then decided to compete in my jack & jill the very next day... and I didn't final. This hurt me a lot more than the actual injury. Maybe it was that I'd simply grown accustomed to making finals regularly, or maybe it was my ego or some sense of entitlement that I should be able to final even while injured. Either way, it sucked.
I've had a pretty broad range of experience with making--or not making--finals. In novice, with the exception of my very first competition I made finals every time until I pointed out; and quickly got used to it, getting a bad attitude and being bratty about not placing when I did final. In intermediate, I placed every time that I made finals... which was less than 1/3 of the times I competed. Not only was the record inconsistent but I had an unhealthily large ego and a lot of insecurity at the time. Then, in advanced I took my time; developed a healthier relationship with competing in general and made finals a lot more often... but that's a whole other story.
The problem with west coast swing competitions is that they're extremely subjective and have a high number of variables that the competitor simply cannot control; but the results also feel intensely personal. I mean, after all: you're being judged. On your ability to dance. In public. In front of your friends (and foes, I guess, if you have them) and this ability is presumably something you've put some time and effort into. So if the results don't go your way, your whole individual body of work is being deemed 'not good enough'... compared to someone else's. It's really a recipe for psychological disaster.
If you have a healthy growth attitude toward finals you might be able to avoid taking the results personally, always judge your own dance with a critical but appreciative eye and make near-continual progress with next to no psychological struggle. If, on the other hand, you're human like the rest of us there will be some kind of difficulty along the way.
For example, you might see not making finals as a personal failure. This feeling can be harnessed; using intense dislike of this feeling that you 'lost' to motivate you to work harder. On the other hand this negative reinforcement should probably be tempered by the use of process goals rather than outcome goals. If making finals is your only goal, it's simply going to suck every time you don't make it. Focusing primarily on other dance goals, process goals like timing or partnering or some technical aspect of your work will help you feel successful even in moments when your ultimate goal isn't realized.
Perspective is also helpful. Remember that judges are often looking for different things. They are also going to see you at different times; some of them less flattering than others. It's hard to best show your skill set in the meager seconds a judge happens to look at you. Some of the partners you draw are going to be easier or harder to dance with than others, and the same goes for your comfort level with the music. As Brandi has said (I paraphrase): "the only thing you can truly control in a jack and jill is what you are wearing." Remembering the actual variables at play in every contest should help you with feeling 'less than' in comparison to others if you aren't as successful as you'd like to be.
Two other quick tips: first, make sure that you don't hang your sense of self-worth on your dance. If you do define yourself by what you do, find another hobby to do along with wcs on your spare time, perhaps one with simpler measures of progression. Second, becoming more psychologically healthy just in terms of your normal life--accepting yourself, having a good sense of self worth, and so on--will most definitely carry over to your dance if you're having a rough time competitively. I'm currently working on this aspect and believe me it helps a great deal!
Finally... be sure to have good personal reasons for competing. If it doesn't bring you joy, don't do it. Simple as that. I have some friends who just don't compete, at least for now, and they are far happier for it.
As for my story? I used pretty much all of the above tools after this last event. I reminded myself of the reality of competition, that I'd been adversely affected by an injury, watched my videos closely with a critical (though not derogatory) eye and saw things I could have done better that might have impacted my results, and made a list of things to improve upon to give myself focus. I sought out affirmation from my peers and consciously worked on feeling thankful for my own dance. And I reached out to my coaches. I was lucky enough to be able to draw motivation from the fact that one of the greatest swing dancers in the world has nearly quit many, many times and fought with feelings of inadequacy and self doubt throughout his career; take inspiration from the work of the champion who made me want to start west coast swing--work created in response to a personal failure, and also get some tough love from the instructor I learn best from that put my ego back into its place.
It all helped. And it put me into position to make my greatest personal success in a prelim of a jack and jill just a few weeks later.
I've had a pretty broad range of experience with making--or not making--finals. In novice, with the exception of my very first competition I made finals every time until I pointed out; and quickly got used to it, getting a bad attitude and being bratty about not placing when I did final. In intermediate, I placed every time that I made finals... which was less than 1/3 of the times I competed. Not only was the record inconsistent but I had an unhealthily large ego and a lot of insecurity at the time. Then, in advanced I took my time; developed a healthier relationship with competing in general and made finals a lot more often... but that's a whole other story.
The problem with west coast swing competitions is that they're extremely subjective and have a high number of variables that the competitor simply cannot control; but the results also feel intensely personal. I mean, after all: you're being judged. On your ability to dance. In public. In front of your friends (and foes, I guess, if you have them) and this ability is presumably something you've put some time and effort into. So if the results don't go your way, your whole individual body of work is being deemed 'not good enough'... compared to someone else's. It's really a recipe for psychological disaster.
If you have a healthy growth attitude toward finals you might be able to avoid taking the results personally, always judge your own dance with a critical but appreciative eye and make near-continual progress with next to no psychological struggle. If, on the other hand, you're human like the rest of us there will be some kind of difficulty along the way.
For example, you might see not making finals as a personal failure. This feeling can be harnessed; using intense dislike of this feeling that you 'lost' to motivate you to work harder. On the other hand this negative reinforcement should probably be tempered by the use of process goals rather than outcome goals. If making finals is your only goal, it's simply going to suck every time you don't make it. Focusing primarily on other dance goals, process goals like timing or partnering or some technical aspect of your work will help you feel successful even in moments when your ultimate goal isn't realized.
Perspective is also helpful. Remember that judges are often looking for different things. They are also going to see you at different times; some of them less flattering than others. It's hard to best show your skill set in the meager seconds a judge happens to look at you. Some of the partners you draw are going to be easier or harder to dance with than others, and the same goes for your comfort level with the music. As Brandi has said (I paraphrase): "the only thing you can truly control in a jack and jill is what you are wearing." Remembering the actual variables at play in every contest should help you with feeling 'less than' in comparison to others if you aren't as successful as you'd like to be.
Two other quick tips: first, make sure that you don't hang your sense of self-worth on your dance. If you do define yourself by what you do, find another hobby to do along with wcs on your spare time, perhaps one with simpler measures of progression. Second, becoming more psychologically healthy just in terms of your normal life--accepting yourself, having a good sense of self worth, and so on--will most definitely carry over to your dance if you're having a rough time competitively. I'm currently working on this aspect and believe me it helps a great deal!
Finally... be sure to have good personal reasons for competing. If it doesn't bring you joy, don't do it. Simple as that. I have some friends who just don't compete, at least for now, and they are far happier for it.
As for my story? I used pretty much all of the above tools after this last event. I reminded myself of the reality of competition, that I'd been adversely affected by an injury, watched my videos closely with a critical (though not derogatory) eye and saw things I could have done better that might have impacted my results, and made a list of things to improve upon to give myself focus. I sought out affirmation from my peers and consciously worked on feeling thankful for my own dance. And I reached out to my coaches. I was lucky enough to be able to draw motivation from the fact that one of the greatest swing dancers in the world has nearly quit many, many times and fought with feelings of inadequacy and self doubt throughout his career; take inspiration from the work of the champion who made me want to start west coast swing--work created in response to a personal failure, and also get some tough love from the instructor I learn best from that put my ego back into its place.
It all helped. And it put me into position to make my greatest personal success in a prelim of a jack and jill just a few weeks later.
https://youtube.com/@ArisDeMarcoWCS
https://www.instagram.com/arisdemarco.floortime/
arisdemarco@gmail.com
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