No, It's Not About Which Couple Can Run Up The Hill Fastest

Today we'll tackle Jack and Jill competition.

At country events, as well as swing events, you will find "Jack and Jill" competitions. A Jack and Jill competition is a social dance competition.

What is social dancing? Social dancing is just what it sounds like; dancing in a social setting, as opposed to a competitive setting. Social dancing is lead and follow, non-choreographed dancing. When you are at a club or a dance, a song comes on and someone asks you to waltz and you agree, that is social dancing. You don't know what patterns the leader is going to do, so you are just following. You may never have danced to that particular song before, or with that particular partner. You are now social dancing.

When social dancing, you have opportunities that you don't have when competing with choreographed routines. You can make things up in the moment, to interpret the music you happen to be dancing to.

Think of it as the difference between acting in a play where you have memorized a script and have to stick to it, and doing Improv. Competition dancing with choreographed routines is acting with a script, social dancing is improv.

In a Jack and Jill competition, dancers enter as either leaders or followers. They also enter into a skill level, usually Novice, Intermediate or Advanced/Professional. At swing events, they usually also have an "Invitational Jack and Jill", in which, obviously, you have to be invited to participate. These are usually the professionals, who know how to make an entertaining show out of the competition. In Invitational Jack and Jills each couple dances by themselves, while in the lower divisions all couples are on the floor at the same time.

Jack and Jill competitions are set up in a few different ways. Sometimes the followers' names/numbers are put into a hat, and the leaders reach in and choose a partner. Sometimes the leaders line up on the floor, the followers line up in front of them, and an audience member chooses a number and the followers rotate that many partners. Whoever the follower ends up in front of is who they will be dancing with.

Once the leaders and followers are partnered up, the competition begins. Each couple finds a spot on the floor, and the DJ plays a song. Usually you are given 2 or 3 songs to dance to, with a break in between to find a new location on the dance floor. The DJ will typically play a few different styles of music; for instance, if it's a West Coast Swing Jack and Jill he might play one bluesy song, one contemporary song, and one jazz song.

The way the scoring works depends on how many couples there are. If there are a large number, usually the first round is judged individually. After the first round, the judges will call back a certain number of leaders and a certain number of followers for the final round. In the final round, you are judged as a couple.

If you are judged individually, the judges are looking for a variety of things. Most importantly, they're looking at how good of a leader/follower you are, and if you can adapt quickly to the lead or follow of your partner. They are also looking for musicality, watching to see if you can adapt to the different styles of music, and looking for stylistic interpretation of the music.

When you are judged as a couple, those same judging criteria apply. But they're also looking for chemistry between the couple. Being able to connect with your partner on some level and express that connection externally is essential in Jack and Jill competition.

Judges will award the top 3 or 5 placements, and those couples are usually awarded a cash prize. If it is a west coast swing Jack and Jill, and the event is WSDC certified, you also earn points towards ascension in skill level.

Main thing to remember when watching a Jack and Jill, the dancers don't know who they will be dancing with, or what song they will be dancing to. Obviously knowing music helps a bunch in a Jack and Jill. Knowing actual songs is great, but even if you've never heard the particular song, having a sense of what music normally "does" will help.

I have been competing in west coast swing Jack and Jills this year, originally because I wanted to brush up on my west coast skills. It used to be one of my best dances, but for the past few years I've focused so much on my fast dances that I was starting to feel like my west coast style wasn't current enough. I love Jack and Jill competitions, as I can really immerse myself in the music when social dancing.

I had never done WSDC sanctioned Jack and Jills before, so I was able to start in Novice, even though I compete in a professional level in the UCWDC. When competing in the WSDC, you must accumulate a certain number of points before moving up a skill level.

A lot of dancers who don't have partners to compete with use Jack and Jill competition to keep their skills honed, or to find a partner.

That's my Jack and Jill explanation.