Practice Jack and Jill
Join us Saturday, March 25 for a fun and friendly Jack & Jill competition style event! Competition entry is free with admission to the social dance. If you don’t know what a Jack and Jill is, scroll down for a quick overview.
Schedule
- Competition registration available until 9:30pm
- 9:30-9:45pm – Newcomer division check-in
- 9:45pm – Newcomer division
- 10:00pm – Open division
We’re heading into competition event season with three nearby events in the next four months: BTOO next week, CSC in May, and TOSHC in July. With dancers going off to their first event since before COVID, and many new dancers going to events for the first time, we wanted to provide a low-stress opportunity for dancers to experience (or refresh their memories on) what a Jack & Jill competition is like. Even if you choose not to compete, cheering on your friends while they do can be just as much fun!
Two divisions will be offered: Newcomer, open to dancers with no WSDC Novice points (including first-time competitors); and Open, for those with at least one WSDC Novice point.
This competition will mimic the preliminary round of a Jack & Jill competition, with bibs, lineups, and judges walking around. For the Open division, the judges are just for show to remind you what it’s like having people with clipboards watch you dance. For the Newcomer division, judges will be jotting down notes on your dancing and will be available after the competition to share their feedback with you.
Instead of finals or placements, all competitors in each division are entered into a draw to win prizes including free passes to Saturday dances and free private lessons with Westie Underground instructors!
What is a Jack and Jill competition?
Named after legendary West Coast Swing dancer Jack Carey, the Jack and Jill competition is a style of dance competition meant to mimic the conditions of social dancing.
In the normal Jack and Jill format, the goal is to see how well you dance when you can’t control the variables. DJs choose the music and you’ll be rotated to several different partners. Dancers will usually dance three to five times for about 90 seconds at a time. Each dance is with a different partner to a different song.
After preliminaries, judges narrow down the competition and select an even number of leaders and followers to progress to a final round. In especially large preliminaries, there may be semi- or quarter-finals before finally reaching the final round.
In finals, leader and followers are paired up and they stay together for three songs and are judged as a couple against all other finalists to determine the winners.