Fusion Dance Levels
Despite Fusion doesn't have any grading system or any technical competitions, we may try to systemize the skills by their difficulty.
This article is a draft of such attempt, made with intention to make Fusion education more systematic.
It could be misunderstood, so please read these notes:
In no case it is intended it could be used to judge the dancers as many skills have their own grades, many skills are impossible to describe in text. And the dancer is much more than just a sum of own skills.
The dance styles are mentioned here only as a reference, in a way "to be familiar with". Mastering a single style on high level is already great.
This list is not an obligation of any kinds and should be used only for education and self-development.
Keeping this in mind, we could approximate levels as:
Novice
Techniques:
- Back/forward, side, diagonal steps
- Circular steps
- Turns on 3 steps
- Basic figures: side passes, underarms, unroll, tuck turn/spin, lateral, side drop, side-by-side circle, ropes, couple turns
- Maintain vertical axis
Connection:
- Frame basics
- Push/pull
- Basic lead/follow
- Equal pressure
Styles:
- Blues
- Bachata
- Polka
- Forro
Musicality:
- Constant rhythm/ pulsation
- Basic rhytm / 0.5x / 2x
- Squares / 8s / 16s / 32s
- Accents on 1
Speed:
- songs speed range: 70-90 BPM
- reaction/detail: around 90 BPM
Intermediate
Techniques:
- Ronds, steps with slides
- Balance, balance-to-balance weight transfer
- Acceleration / Speeding up and slowing down
- Single pirouette
- Basic figures: whip, duck/underarm, drops/dips, chest top circle, wave, ride, swivel
- Inclining axis
Connection:
- Frame advanced: different types
- Sticky/sliding connection points
Styles:
- Tango
- WCS
Musicality:
- Understanding contrasts
- Freeze / Pause hold
- Sincope
- Patterns
- Stretches
Speed:
- songs speed range: 80-105 BPM
- reaction/detail: up to 130 BPM
Advanced
Techniques:
- Isolation: limbs level
- Steps from ballroom
- Step decorations from tango
- Double pirouettes
- Off-balance / counter-balance
- Bending axis
- Figures: tele-spin, zouk headeorks, one-foot turns
Connection:
- Flexible frame
- Multi-touch
- Zouk
Styles:
- Zouk
- Kizomba
- Tango
- Ballroom
Musicality:
- Phrasing
- Creating own rhythm
- Dancing to vocal / lead instrument
Speed:
- songs speed range: 45-120 BPM
- reaction/detail: up to 240 BPM
Expert
Techniques:
- Pirouettes: x3
- Spiral turns
- Bend axis rotations
- Figures: Rides combined with headwork
- Initiative overtake/change roles
- Detailed isolation / mirco movements
Connection:
- Soul Zouk
- Inertia: maintaining and controlling
- Whisper
Styles:
- Contact improvisation
- Ballet
- Locking/popping
- Micro Fusion
Musicality:
- Combined usage of different body parts in a single phrase
- Accents via accelerations / slowdown pulls