Kansas City Dance Classic 2016

Getting There

When I was updating my website calendar a couple of months ago I intended to get to this competition. I've done mostly concert dance the last 10-15 years. I started in social dance. While a ballroom competition is not a social dance in the sense of being just a "dance" like a prom or mixer, it is still in a social dance form taken to the competitive performance level. The variation in types of dance gives me a chance to re-connect with my starting points and a chance to recharge my dance-photo chops.

Even so I wound up busy that week in rehearsals for concert dance and production for the same and for reference videos for a piece by San Francisco choreographer Greg Dawson. It was with a start that at 4:30 pm on Saturday I hit my head with my hand (metaphorically), let out a yell, grabbed two camera bags and got my self on the road to Camelot. I should have checked the lenses a bit more carefully because I needed a pair of primes I left behind, for lower light later. Still, my favorite ultra-wide was with me (11-16mm., f/2.8) as was my main zoom telephoto (80-200mm, f/2.8). So I was ready for most things.

As it happened I could not have picked a more productive time to get out there. They were finishing the afternoon's heats and were about to go on break before starting the evening heats. So I paid my $15 to get in and my $5 for the program (very helpful) and headed into the ballroom.

I've know Camelot and Wade and Bridget for more than 20 years, from way back when their ballroom was the Flamingo, which looked kind of like a big chicken coop but was a great gathering place for every ballroom dancer. When the road (151) was widened the Flamingo was torn down and Wade constructed the Camelot, one of the best dance venues in the KC area.

Anyway, the break time was also practice time for couples getting ready for the evening heats. That gave me a chance to get out on the floor directly alonside of and in front of them in ways that I knew would not work for the competition heats later. Much like getting studio rehearsal pictures or on-stage class pictures, these practice times are a favorite of mine for shooting dancers.

I had to leave before the end of the event that night but here is a sampling of the pictures I got during that time.

Matt and Ellen Pansing are the organizers of this event. Their program notes that the Kansas City Dance Classic (KCDC) is a USA Dance registered event. So far this is the fifth annual KCDC.
Their website is http://www.kansascitydanceclassic.com

The next one, the fifth annual, is scheduled for Saturday September 9, 2017

Also, a larger number of pictures on FaceBook