Quick question for those of you in the know. When you are putting together a compulsory dance for competition, how many beats/bars of music do you get before you have to start the pattern? Also, how many patterns do you do? I'm doing the Fiesta Tango, and I don't have a dance-experienced coach to ask right now.

Thanks!

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I believe you have 8 measures (32 counts) before you must start the pattern. It may only be 16 counts, but generally people don't take nearly that long. Usually you wait 4-8 beats before you start, then do a 4-8 beat intro. But each person is different.

As to the number of patterns, if I recall correctly it is 3 for competition. With the new rule changes for testing, this may be down to 2. (I had already tested above that level, so I don't know all of the new rules). The USFSA rulebook has the number of patterns listed, so find a copy of that and it should tell you. Do know that some competitions lower the number of patterns, so I would look at what it says in the competition announcement OR you can ask the Referee before you get on the ice (have the ice monitor or someone contact them).

Good luck!

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Usually wait 2-3 measures and then an intro of 2-4, of course you don't have to have an intro you can just start with the 2-4 introductory pushes and go from there. The rule book will tell you how many comp patterns you do. 2 is standard for the fiesta on a test my current rule book says 3 patterns but it will say in the announcement for AN's which-- would be the ultimate guide.

Leslie

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There are 8 bars of intro in all of the ISU dance tunes (USFS Pre-Silver and higher). I believe that there are also 8 bars of intro on the USFS Bronze and below tunes that can be purchased from USFS.

If the music isn't from either of those 2 sets of dance tunes, then the number of measures of intro may vary.

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8-bar intro, and whatever you choreograph, you should aim to start the first step of the dance on the first beat of the 9th bar. This can mean starting on an off-beat - ours does! Our actual introduction is LFO, RFO (2 beats each), LFO, RFI chassé (1 beat each), LFO (2 beats), RFO X-roll swing (4 beats), LFO/RFI progressive run, and the final LFO is the first beat of the dance. Which means we have to start on beat 3 of bar 5 to get it right.

You always start such that the first pattern comes down past the judges, and the number of pattern repeats (usually 2 or 3) is stated in the competition schedules.

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Thanks everyone!

__________________
"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown