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Team Twister
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About Team Twister
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"Team
Twister" is Texas Twisters' performance team. The
Team is made up of members who dance in competitions
and exhibitions (non-competitive), as well as
members who support various other aspects of the
Team.
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Team Twister
February, 2001 |
Team Twister
July, 2002 |
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Being on a dance team is lots of fun. It is s
a very rewarding and unique experience.
So don't hesitate...become a member of Team Twister today...it's
easy:
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Download our Team packet.
Microsoft Word
Acrobat PDF
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Fill in the
requested information and send your completed
packet to one of the addresses provided at the
top of the first page.
One
of the team coordinators will get in touch with you
soon after receiving your packet. |
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Our Team Strategy
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1 |
Hold regular dance classes
Classes
will be taught by a high quality professional dance
instructor/coach who can teach not only patterns,
but good dance technique and how to move the body.
This will allow new dancers to learn. It will allow
dancers with more experience to improve their
technique. This will allow Team Members to learn
and/or improve the skills they need to be on the
Team and it will allow Club Members interested only
in social dancing to get quality instruction so they
can shine on a Friday or Saturday night at Best
Friends or The Round-Up.
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2 |
The Team will choreograph a number of stock routines
As new
members join the team, the new dancers will be
taught the choreography.
These
routines will be scalable. For example, if we have
10 people on the team but only 6 people can be
available when we receive a short notice request to
perform, then the routine still works, but on a
smaller scale. Locally, as long as we have at least
four people we'll still be able to perform the
routine. In competition, some dance circuits have a
category called "small troupe" which has a minimum
of TWO people for a "team". If the full team *can*
make the event but the floor at the venue is small,
then we can reduce the number of dancers to fit the
floor.
This
scalable approach to choreographing stock team
routines means that the total number of dancers on
the team can grow and shrink as people join and
leave, but the team but the stock routines will
continue.
Of
course there will be other routines designed to use
in competition or for a special exhibition, beyond
the "stock" routines, but having scalable stock
routines will allow the team the flexibility it
needs to accommodate a wide variety of performance
challenges and provide a structure that will allow
individual team members to come and go, but the team
will continue.
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3 |
The Twisters will offer an ongoing series of dance
lessons
Complete details about our ongoing dance lessons are
available on our Lessons page.
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Q |
Where might the Team perform? |
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A |
There
are many performance opportunities for our team.
Take a look at the
list of possibilities
Acrobat PDF!
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Q |
How many hours a week will the Team practice? |
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A |
It
depends. Once rehearsals begin, you can count on a
minimum of 1 rehearsal a week lasting between 1 1/2
and 2 hours. You'll need to budget some time
outside of rehearsal to practice on your own. And
typically just before a big event, extra rehearsals
may be called. You'll always know the schedule a
month in advance.
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Q |
I don't want to be on the Team; can I still take the
classes? |
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A |
YES!
The classes are open to anyone. Team members are
*strongly* encouraged to take as many of the classes
as they can. These lessons will be the foundation
on which we build our routines once we begin
rehearsals.
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Q |
How expensive is all this? |
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A |
Costs
break down into three broad categories:
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1. |
Rehearsal & Lessons:
The weekly lessons are $10 for club members,
about the cost of 3 beers on a Friday or Sat
night, which is an AWESOME deal. Floor
costs for the rehearsal space are evenly
split between all team members. It usually
works out to about $2 - $3 per rehearsal. |
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2. |
Costumes:
Exactly how much is easy to calculate. A
example of a basic costume is black jeans,
black boots, a western shirt (we all buy the
same one, off the rack), plain black belt,
and for leaders, a black felt hat. Using
myself as an example... I already have all
of those things except for the shirt so
we're not talking very much money. If you
have none of these, then don't panic.
You'll know when the first performance will
be months before we do it. You'll have time
to arrange your budget and get things a
little bit at a time. |
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3. |
Entry Fees / Travel:
It is hard to give you firm numbers because
so much depends on your personal tastes.
Are you a Motel 6 or a Penthouse at the
Plaza person? Is fast food OK or do you
require a 5 star restaurant every night?
Here is some information that will help you
do them math and figure out your own travel
costs:
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The club will pay for any "Team" entry
fees. You'll need to buy your 1 day or 3
day pass to the event. Visit the
IAGLCWDC,
ACDA and
UCWDC websites to get an idea of
the going rates for the events.
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Cost of Travel will depend on where the
performance or competition is located.
Obviously local performances in the DFW area
will be DIRT CHEAP, only a few dollars in
gas money and generally we try to arrange
carpools. Travel to other cities obviously
will be a bit more expensive but there are
ways you can cut down on costs if you are on
a budget: share a room; carpool if the event
is within driving distance; stay at a nearby
but cheaper hotel than the host hotel. Some
folks in the past have stayed with friends
in the city we're visiting. If you choose
to fly, book your flight early enough to get
discount rates or use those frequent flyer
miles you've been saving. Southwest offers
great deals, especially in Texas and the
surrounding states which is where most of
the possible events listed in the attached
file are located. Airlines, in particular
Southwest, run frequent specials. You can
sign up for their e-newsletter to get
notified of these deals. |
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