By Elizabeth Knoll
1991 US National Professional International Standard Champion
Finalist in all major American Style Smooth Championships

So what?s the difference? I am constantly asked this question regarding International and American styles of dancing, with the question coming from beginning dancers, advanced dancers, judges and non-dancers. There are several answers, some easy and some more open to subjective opinion. We?ll start with the easy ones!
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by An Ton That

The scene at any dance event always looks the same. There are more women than men. There are more women on the dance floor and more women sitting down than men. Last time I checked, the 2000 Census showed that there are 96.3 men for every 100 women in this country, but looking at any ballroom scene one would think that men are on the government’s endangered species list.
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By Elizabeth Knoll
1991 US National Professional International Standard Champion
Finalist in all major American Style Smooth Championships

Floorcraft is…sanding and re-finishing your hardwoods? Yes, obviously, but for us dancers it is much more. As all of us know, sometimes things can get a little crowded out on the dance floor, whether it’s at a competition or a social occasion. Floor craft is the ability to negotiate the dance floor with a minimum number of incidents; it is also the ability to stay out of trouble, not just to extricate yourself from a squash.

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By Beth Knoll

Welcome back to Beth’s Soapbox Derby!

Each competition we attend, whether as spectators or participants, gives us something to ponder, occasionally question, and sometimes even complain about. Indeed while judging, which is supposed to be the most mindless of activities-simply look at what is being presented and either make a couple of helpful comments or rank in order of merit-we constantly question and take issue with certain things.
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