By Anthony Hurley
From watching a recent major championship, I was horrified at the lack of good floorcraft. I witnessed couples dancing against the line of dance and dancing up the wrong side of the ballroom floor. In my early days of competing, the teaching of floorcraft was part of one’s training, which perhaps was helped by the medal test system, which made us aware of the basic figures which could easily be introduced into our choreography. Note: I did not say program or routine, as this was considered bad dancing and, in turn, led to bad floorcraft.
I delved into my archive library and resurrected an article I first wrote in 2014, with some updates, in the hope it will encourage young dancers to consider this vital part of competing successfully.
Two or three factors cause unfortunate collisions on the floor: fixed routines, placing one’s choreography in the same place on the floor round after round, plus the modern complex figures that can be too stationary for too long. These points, coupled with the attitude of many competitors that adjudicators expect everyone to be moving at maximum speed and circum navigating the floor as many times as possible with little regard for one’s fellow competitors.
I was also aware that some of the modern choreography appeared to be designed against the line of dance for a few bars of music, creating problems for other couples. Without doubt, a sound knowledge of basic and standard figures is the pathway to good floorcraft and will not be detrimental to an overall good performance.
What are the requirements and essential ingredients for applying good floorcraft?
- The ability to anticipate other couples’ directions on the floor and to adopt an alternative space to continue with the next desired figure.
- Good eyesight and an awareness of floor space available.
- A reasonable knowledge of the basic and standard figures.
- Good posture and correct weight connection enabling the lady to react to any directional changes, and a beautiful hover to avoid unnecessary collision.
- The art of hesitation to avoid another couple.
