Seen At The LWC Comp…
Posted 12/26/24 5:27 pm
THE DANCES WERE NONSTOP, LIKE SANTA AND DELIVERY DRIVERS
+ Both days of Comp Weekend 5 merit thank yous to all the officials, dancers, coaches, parents, volunteers, school building staff, and bus drivers for making our sport work around the state.
+ A quick add-on to the Morris notes — and what I mean by “aggressive” choreo elements. I don’t mean, “Grrrr!” It’s borrrowed from (surprise, surprise) NASCAR where they talk about an “aggressive” setup to their cars, meaning tuning their engines and suspensions (springs, shocks, that kinda thing) a little bit outside the comfort zone in an effort to achieve more speed. So if you’ve taken an aggressive approach to choreo, you’ve gone with a quad in a difficult spot of the routine rather than a nice, safe triple to start the first chorus. Or maybe last year’s standard lift is thrown out, and this time you’ve gone for something really eye-catching, chancy, and poking at the boundaries of the penalty rules.
+ I also like using “aggressive”as a music descriptor when planning music with my clients. Again I don’t mean like death metal or sinister rapping. An aggressive edit at one point in the song is a little chancy — it might work, and if it does, it’ll be amazing. Or, it might stand out too much….like, it achieves one goal but creates a different problem. Maybe we’re trying to get the song down to a certain length, and this one edit does it really well, but it’s kind of jarring to hear if you’re very familiar with the song. It could be that the newly-joined song sections don’t necessarily love being neighbors.
We Jammin’…on marley (anyone get the music reference?)
+ More marley thoughts over winter break. I think most folks in the Illinois Dance Community have picked up on what I think about the concept. But I do want to commend the marley comp hosts for all the work and planning (and costs!) required to set up and tear down.
+ As I wrote in the Morris post (re: bringing more than 2 dances), so many mental walls in this sport are just not real. You can hand out category awards. You can take your routine past the IHSA-traditional 2:15. You can do a kick routine. You can do a non-jazzy, non-uniformed, themed pom routine. You can live in both the IHSA and IDTA systems. You can hand out awards for a combined JV division. You can go to comps that don’t involve all your sectional opponents. And you can do marley any way you want.
+ Not that any of the above is necessarily a good or practical way to go, but it’s all available!
+ I love me a punny name: The Rhythm of The Knight dance invitational! Extra stars to whoever came up with that one.
+ The Rhythm Knights program has had a long catalog of state-level successes, stretching back to when they were just Lincoln-Way High School (hence the LWRK team abbreviation). And this comp has strung together a few seasons of good on-floor action (I believe this is the 2nd time with a marley surface?). So on my end, it was nice to finally get there for a full day of competition.
+ Here’s how the setup looked. I’m drifting back into a NASCAR analogy, so buckle up. This reminds me of how, for the past few Aprils, they’ve put dirt on the Bristol surface as an added novelty / twist (it’s back to the normal concrete for the August / September race). LWC opted for marley directly on the basketball court — convenient, practical, and keeps the gym vibe for fans and dancers.
+ First off, let me thank everyone for putting up with any of my hurried sloppiness on Sunday (typos, brief comments, wrong pictures). My spot at Lincoln-Way Central was a perfect storm for 8CA whoopsies, with an unrelenting back-to-back schedule (did everyone get thorough officials’ feedback?) and a very busy spot in the bleachers with a lot going on!
+ A few shoutouts. Hello to the nice LWRK moms who stopped by to say hey. I had some enthusiastic fans nearby from Evergreen Park, Plainfield South, Sandburg, Lincoln-Way East, Providence, and probably a few other teams, too. And I’m pretty sure this comp was the announcer’s favorite day of the season. If you ever need a pep talk, he’s the one to hear it from. I mean, the dude wore a suit to a dance comp.
+ One parent was a little embarrassed to sound so excited on my video, so I had to tell her that if you’re not yelling, you’re not doing it right. Every time I ask dancers if they thrive on fan support as they walk on, they always say they do. Be loud, even if it’s on my video!
+ A couple other fun bonuses. To make up for my laziness at Naperville North, I did dance-by-dance comments for all the JV routines. Honestly, it’s a treat to watch so many amazing JV dance teams. I’m continually in awe of what they’re achieving at that level. Also I liked how the top 3 scores were announced during awards — a nice nugget of detail for the dancers and crowd!
NOTES, NUGGETS, IMPRESSIONS
+ In 1A: My second look at Evergreen Park confirmed that they bring a ton of fire to the floor — it’s what I’ve come to expect from EP and their “only-them” kind of style. The power and precision are already there but they’ll turn it up in the coming weeks.
+ It was the performance and points / placement payoff that Nazareth has been looking for! Well into the 80s and back in the conversation for a post-sectionals run. Little and big tweaks are paying off.
+ 2A: now that we’re into winter break, I’ll just focus on teams I was seeing for the first or second time.
+ I’ll pick Payton’s second dance to highlight (but you should definitely try to catch their pom routine and its sly pom exchange moment).
+ Anytime a team goes retro and does an axel turn, they’ve got my attention. So much of this dance is spent in motion and in meaningful song portrayal, including during transitions. A cool twist: the song clearly has two halves, and as the first one ends, the team portrays a very clear long dash / semicolon. I think the second half is even more passionate than the first, which is exactly how the music wants it to be. Can you tell I enjoyed watching this piece?
+ The two Crystal Lakes, travellin’. For CLC, it kind of reminds me of the old days when they’d be regulars at the Rich South (November) and Oak Forest (January) competitions, driving far to go up against likely state-level opponents. Their Comp Weekend 4 performance might have been a product of being fired up on their home floor — but this run at LWC firmly dispels that theory. They’re quietly stirring that 2A pot.
+ I’m a fan of the artsy road that Crystal Lake South’s first dance drives down. When that big roster (I counted 21) walks on the floor, I’m hoping for big visuals, bold staging, and lots of ensemble dancing, and that’s exactly what they give the audience. Dance 2’s song has so much soulful, earthy hope; they’re well on their way to fully expressing that concept. The costumes looked nice against the dancing surface, too.
+ Future blog topic: can we ever get back to the days of bigger rosters?
+ Argo puts on an incredible show no matter what surface they dance on. Getting all the pieces of a huge roster on the same page for every count is phenomenally difficult. Full credit goes to the coaches, team leaders, and each Sailorette for dancing with one mind. Sure, that’s a ton of commitment, but the visual payoff is HUGE.
+ This was my first look at comp-season Argo after working with them over the summer at an 8CA technique session (taught by THAT national championship dancer; s/o Maddy V).. Even watching from behind, the Sailorettes’ stage personas are so strong. Their careful level-matching is a potent visual ingredient. Masterful color work (via a ripple) on either side of the rotating lift? There’s so much pom routine wisdom and team buy-in right there.
+ A bit like Argo, you kind of know what you’re getting into once Lincoln-Way West hit the floor. And much like Argo, it always manages to be fresh, punchy, and memorable.
+ White shoes against the dark surface worked great on Sunday, and also highlights a little ingredient in LWW’s hip hop hot sauce: smaller steps as they travel during transitions to create the illusion of speed and urgency. And also a bit like Argo, you get perfectly matched height levels whenever they hit that open, half-sit stance.
+ This Kenwood thing…it’s a real-deal 2A contender. Bold concept, superior confidence in a new style, jazz-hip hop mashup…it’s becoming a must-see.
+ Willowbrook has a comfy spot in 2A at the midpoint of the season. First, they’ve got a clearly-defined A and B routine, but they’re both way fun and high-quality. Second, they’re in the mid-80s sweet spot for making a move toward a state spot. The points say otherwise, but I’m personally having trouble figuring which dance I’m more into. These dancers have stylistic range and a lot of on-floor zeal.
+ Fun costumes + a classic theme = a crowd-pleaser by Bremen! Crafty, perfectly vertical pom tosses while in a moving circle is a visual win, but you’ll also catch some sneaky jazz skills woven into all the pom goodness. Also look for the notable attack that the final pom picture group uses to nail the timing right at the end.
+ Lemont has the kind of lyrical that is mostly untouched by modern / contemporary influences, and so there’s just a ton of purity of expression going on here. It’s hard to think of another lyrical with so much earnest innocence being portrayed so elegantly. I always saw this song as an unsteady intersection between a complex world and the narrator’s direct, pure heart; through that lens, I’ve just gotta love this routine.
+ I’ve covered Oak Forest a couple times so I’ll just say that one of their dancers is an instant highlight reel at every pre-awards party! These mid-pack warriors will more than likely be heard from a month from now.
+ Belvidere North had the longest bus ride to test out the vicissitudes of a performing on a marley surface. This choreo is a big step forward for them in their jazz explorations; it’s pretty demanding and the team does a nice job with it. Catch this one to see how strategic choices can lead to a really nice on-floor product. Bonus: I was watching from the wrong side but their body language hinted at how much fun they’re having with this one. And somehow they save up stamina for a full kick element essentially at the end of the routine!
+ A mix of holding steady and modest growth (with all 3 of these teams in pretty different situations in terms of their agendas over the next month):
—St Charles North: look to be in great shape for next month, and continue to nibble at the edges of that top tier.
—Benet: strong roster, bold and ambitious choreo, and a really positive 9th place position.
—Bradley-B: some variability in run-to-run scores and placements but fundamentally a top contender and having a defining season.
+ Hosts and contest champs Lincoln-Way Central gave a full-voiced “whoopah” on Sunday (does anyone get my Chandler reference there?). I still think their pom is the hidden treat in 2A, like when you’re at a family gathering and you think everyone’s taken the good desserts off the table but you somehow manage to snag the cookie you really wanted because everyone else was going for the brownies. Wow, I took that a little too far.
+ And that 2nd routine pretty much has everything I look for in an impassioned, thoughtful, bold-looking lyrical.
+ It was a rematch of the Oak Forest comp for LWC and Bradley-B, this time with very different outcomes. Taken together, they’re still the 2 hottest stories in 2A this winter.
+ 3A: I’m switching it up this time and looking at “packs” of teams according to how the scoresheet laid out on Sunday.
+ I say this a lot: the best stories and battles are those mid-pack teams. That’s where Plainfield East’s 1st dance wound up on Sunday, just a whisper short of 80 at 79.73. Joining them in that zone (and scoring above them but also short of 80) were Downers Grove North (79.87) and Glenbard East (79.97). A few cleanups and Plainfield South’s roughly-81 reads a few points higher (should be some easy fixes for this skilled group). And factoring out the penalty, I’ll stick Reavis in with this group (I can’t help but root for such an entertaining concept of a dance, and their execution and showmanship adds even more sparkle).
+ These are all intriguing teams that, so far, are having solid winters. I hope they’re not going unnoticed in that big middle zone, where you’ve got good choreo, good dancers, and no huge weaknesses. There’s room to grow, and it’s not unheard of to grow into a contending spot in about a month.
+ Like hunting dogs, the next pack up are nipping at the heels of the front runners. Minooka’s in that zone with 2 excellent (and kind of similarly-scoring) dances and has had some great highlights coming into Comp Weekend 5. Plainfield North’s dance is a soulful, almost mystical piece that’s a couple cleanups away from nosing into the next tier up. Hersey’s enjoying that magical blend of consistency and growth — always hanging around the upper half and adding to their points haul every time. Sandburg keeps sharpening their charming lyrical piece; they’re easy to believe in especially with their tendency to have a hot January. Lincoln-Way East’s appeal (an outside-the-box look and sound that happens to be very stylish in this era) has me totally absorbed in each of their 8 counts.
+ So those front runners…I’ll go ahead at take Sunday’s top four as a block. I’m including Oswego East based on their consistency since before Thanksgiving. And speaking of consistency: Joliet West’s hot start is the real thing. Always way better than folks realize, every year it seems, is a dazzling York team. In this top tier they seem to have the most available points to gain.
+ But the day was decisively Lockport’s. Going up against their local and traditional opponents, Lockport hit everything when it counted. Notably upgraded over previous seasons: sync, quality of movement, and much more breathing space between all the skills elements. I feel like I’m watching an awesome dance team dance rather than recite a list of premium skills.
+ The lower tier of this field is made up of an interesting mix of teams…all with ok-to-pretty good scores in the lower-mid 70s. Plenty of potential in this group, with a lot that can change between now and the end of the season.
+ Let’s look at Comp Weekend 6 hosts Stagg. The multi-year transition from their pom and hip hop roots is bearing some pretty good fruit in this upbeat contemporary lyrical. Morton re-introduced themselves at Oak Forest and they’re not backing off at all with their vibrant, layered, and skilled pom work. Leyden also caught my attention earlier this winter with a super capable pom routine; Sunday’s run was full of good sync and big skills. I really wonder if a last place finisher ever looked THIS good, and maybe a smidge underscored, too.
An aggressive schedule idea
+ Since Stevenson’s comp started at 3 (they do cheer in the morning, traditionally), I thought I could drop in on Stevenson for the 2nd half of their dance comp. I know, I know, that’s putting a lot of faith into I-355 and Sunday holiday traffic. And as it turns out, the drive was the smooth part.
+ So, the Stevenson speed bumps: by now you’ve heard the critiques, so I’ll try to change it up by sharing my experience. All the aspects that didn’t go well will almost surely be fixed up for the next time if they want to try it. For what it’s worth the old setup in the gym was pretty amazing. But having witnessed last year’s rush to change from the cheer mat and stage setup to a normal basketball court, I can see why it would’ve been hard to lay down marley right after the cheer comp in the normal gym.
+ So, here’s how I discovered the venue change. Maybe the dance gods were trying to give me a hint when I walked into the traditional entrance for this comp (for me, dating back to February 2003) where I found out that the comp was in the fieldhouse…a pretty serious walk from the gym when you’re in a hurry and wearing the wrong shoes.
+ Now, there were some good vibes, personally. I stopped to gawk at the Patriettes’ trophy case. I absolutely love how this hardware traces the history of Illinois dance across eras—IDTA, TDI, and IHSA:
+ And the fieldhouse is where I got to visit with one of my favorite teams at their after-school practices a few years ago. On the way there, just like everyone else, I was pretty awed at all the comforts of Stevenson High School. It’d be easy to roll your eyes at the premium vibes if the students and parents weren’t so wonderfully, unfailingly nice! Like, all the time, year after year.
+ As you’ll read about probably in a post-season post, I’m not inclined to be a big fan of the marley comp concept (but again, I applaud the vision, effort, and enthusiasm by LWC, Stevenson, and Lakes / Antioch). So yeah, there was probably a mindset barrier on my end.
+ The setup was much like what we’ve seen at the Lakes / Antioch comp, except for a couple crucial details. The marley area had floor seating (folding chairs) like you’d expect in an auditorium, except that the performance surface and the floor seating were all at the same height (it’s a fieldhouse). On the edges of the central seating area and in back were bleachers / risers (the kind of mini-bleachers you’ll see at a park district baseball field), which were about 3 rows high.
+ I wanted to sit on the risers, but it was pretty crowded. So I went for the comfy-looking floor seating. At that point, I discovered you could only see the performance from about the waist-up. That’s when I understood why so few spectators were in those floor-level seats! Only fans sitting in the front row, a few feet from the marley area, could see the dancers from head to toe. All other seats, including folks sitting in the bleachers, missed out on some or all of the dancers’ lower halves.
+ I pecked around the sides and the back for a good view, but it wasn’t possible. I jumped a couple times to test out what the view might be if I were sitting on the top row — and it still was pretty obstructed.
+ The judges were on a platform directly in the back, at about the same height as the top row of the spectator risers. They may have had a relatively clear view of the dancers’ legs and feet, since they were lined up with the center aisle of the seating area. Had it not been for that open center aisle, their view would’ve been identical to that of the spectators on the top row.
+ I decided to try the lounge area outside the fieldhouse, with terrace-style seating and a live feed. After a long day and some bewilderment so far at Stevenson, I could at least enjoy the zen settings in the hangout area. More than one dancer pointed out the scenery behind us:
+ I mean, that hang-out spot is niiiiccceeee. And the Oak Park-River Forest dancers were pretty entertaining to sit behind. Dancers from Naperville Central (who were so fun to interview at a home game back in September) stopped by for some convo and to show off their new sweatpants. I also got to briefly catch up with one of my fave Stevenson alums…and currently a second-year coach at Mundelein.
+ Full disclosure, it was almost 8pm with a few dances to go, the day was a challenging one, I couldn’t really see the live feed screen well enough (when it was working) or hear the music enough to offer legit comments, so I called it a night. I felt like those starting pitchers who are taken out in the 3rd inning, just accepting that this was not their night.
+ But I can still eek out some 3A thoughts based on the few dances I did see and the outcome. Stevenson’s double-windmill-dunk at Naperville North was confirmed as for real. A major step-up: Naperville North’s 2nd dance…like night and day versus a week before. Fremd’s 2nd dance bounced around a bit last weekend, but any question marks are long gone after their 2nd-place run on Sunday night (93.00) against a wall of Day 2 teams.
+ Then came finals week and Comp Weekend 6…