If you are new to Competitive dancing you will know that there is two Nation wide organizations nationwide. (Ignoring the Professional vs. Amateur vs. ....) for now.

So you will either be competing in FEDANSA sanctioned events or a SADF sanction event. FEDANSA rule book. This basically states that even if you are willing to comply with all the rules of FEDANSA and dance just as good as the other competitors and join and pay the FEDANSA fees or even belong to a school, club that is associated with FEDANSA you are not to affiliate in any way with other organizations like SADF.

So if you even receives classes from a school not afiliated with FEDANSA you will automatically be sanctioned and not allowed to compete.

Now I know what the SADF dancers think of this rule. I'm just wondering from a FEDANSA dancers perspective do you think it is a fair rule or is it something to be scrapped ?

The second question is if this is a rule that needs to be scrapped how do you go about it ?

The fact is I just want to dance and if I can double the number of competitions I can participate in, in a year I'll be over the moon.

This is indeed a problem. Its a matter of the board seating and make a resolution to scrap/ ammend that law. The other thing that i have a problem with the two different South African Championship Competition. How can we have two reigning champs. Its sad that we as dancers are suffering through these divisions.   

I know that the SADF SA champs was open to Fedanse where as Fedansa told there dancers if they competed in SADF they would be disqualified. Where is this any good for dancing? If you win a SA Champs you want to know you have beaten the best in your age not your federation.
For the good of dancing please put aside te differences and lets grow dancing.

A friend of mine was disqualified from the Fedansa SA Champs because he was seen dancing the Rumba and SADF SA Champs the week before. What humiliation!!!!

I get very angry when I hear stories like that. Remember it not only applies to competitions like Rumba but ANY competition. So you dare to participate in ANY competition that is not sanctioned by FEDANSA (this includes school competitions etc.).

Maybe it time for us as dancers just to simply stand up and say enough is enough. But how do you do it. It did not bother FEDANSA at all when half their competitors left..

Just something stupid to really wet your appetite. I love dancing and go to clubs allot. I've also won some stuff just by virtue of being on the dance floor in the club. Now according to FEDANSA rules I participated in an illegal competition ? Every year intervarsity dance competition roles around. The biggest universities compete in a dance competition. I violated the FEDANSA rules.

At school I dare to enter a talent competition held every year. I do an international Samba. Guess what FEDANSA considers this a violation of there rules. (Not really just an illustration).

IT IS A STUPID RULE.

Like you said it is the dancers and the sport that suffers. Eg. Vodacom was willing to sponsor a dance event to benefit dance shools. What does FEDANSA do ? No wonder we lose so many major sponsorships who wants to sponsor an event if you can only reach half the dancers.

The other part of the FEDANSA that really make me angry. From their constitution

b. To work in harmony with other DanceSport providing structures, to promote DanceSport.

Aaah and then the revelation Article 23

Sorry you will have to go read it yourself. (Unrecognised structures)

http://www.fedansa.org/docs/general...TUTION.pdf

OK to but this into perspective according to FEDANSA rules if you study at any of the following Universities (Tukkies, Capetown. Stellenbosch, University of Johannesburg, NMMU) you are not allowed to participate in FEDANSA comps. (Read the constitution)

If you get class from any of the SADTA teachers you are not allowed to dance in FEDANSA competitions.

IT IS A STUPID RULE THAT NEED TO BE SCRAPPED and FEDANSA need to open their eyes.

Hi there Jacob,

This is a topic that makes me very very sad. But if you have followed this SAGA on the international front you will know that this is the IDSF that is enforcing these rules. Just a recent example is that Italian Junior couples have recently been banned from doing Blackpool, due to a silly dispute regarding the teammatch (read more at http://www.dancesportinfo.net/Artic...271.aspx).

Cape Town has for long been one of the strongest centres for Latin and ballroom in SA. We used to have massive competitions in the Good Hope centre where thousands of people would attend and every section would have at least a semi-final or a quarter-final.

I happened to attend one of the first competitions of the year run by Fedansa the other day in a rundown old civic centre in Retreat. There were only straight finals for the whole comeptition and some sections had to be combined due to lack of participating couples. This is very sad indeed, esp considering that dancing should be in its heyday due to Strictly come dancing and other shows. The unfortunate thing is that, as a stargrade competitor in Cape Town (or anywhere on the coast for that matter), it would make no sense to join the SADF as their structures are not set up in Cape town and there are few or no competitions to participate in. Now I dont know where the SADF competitions are much better than the fedansa ones, but the point you make makes this irrelevant. If they joined forces we would have many more big comps we can ALL do, and sections at these comps would be worthwhile competing in.

This problem is much like what we are experiencing with our government. If we dont go and vote we cannot complain about how it is being run. With the dance fraternities it should be the same - dancers and all body members should ensure they attend the meetings and vote better candidates in. If we want to facilitate change we need to start with ourselves. There are so many people that are unhappy that getting enough people together would not be difficult. If it takes us setting up petitions on websites such as facebook or mypetition.co.za then lets do it.

But something needs to happen soon. I love South Africa but I must be honest I love dancing more. If things do not change for the better soon, I will have to consider returning to the UK again. Dancing is just so much simpler there. You find a partner, you find a former world champion to teach you, and you do blackpool! It used to be great here, so we know it can be again! Lets all work together and make dancing the dominant force it used to be in SA.

Hi adoon,

I happened to be in the same competition and i found it ridiculous. Thankfully you mentioned that because i though i might be the only one.

I think creating that petition is a good idea. Could you please email me so that we could discuss something. OBRKYL001@uct.ac.za

I can't stand stagnation and as such i think that it is finally time to do something. If for nothing else then for the good and love of dancing in this country.

Thanks

Kyle

So result of all this is I emailed FEDANSA to find out what is cooking. The result was both disappointing and encouraging at the same time (go figure).

Looks like I deleted the reply but the gist of it is this. FEDANSA is not interested in having me participate in their competition. The upshot of this is that I have gotten an idea of the procedure to follow to get this rule changed.

Basically we need to get this on the next AGM agenda so that FEDANSA can vote on the rule and get it removed or not. I think the best way to go about this would be to find out when the next AGM is and start campaining 3 month or so before then. Going to the competition and talking to the dancers and other people and getting them thinking and asking question so that it is one of the agenda points at the next AGM.

I think a petition is a great idea but this needs to come from within FEDANSA. So we need to setup something on paper that can be signed and that we can take to the FEDANSA comp and get the actual competitors to sign.

As a side note this is one of the most important requirements to get a sport to grow. Just as an example in cycling there is a cycling organization called CSA. For years some of the Biggest competitions specifically example Argus have been run outside of the CSA and only in the 2008 has this changed.

People should join FEDANSA because they want to not because they do not have choice.

Also there is a possibility that this rule is illegal and we need to get someone to investigate the possibility (freedom of association) is guaranteed by the constitution of South Africa. But I'm not a legal expert and need someone that is willing to do some pro-bono work on this. If you guys know of someone let me know (jacobus@kewlconcepts.co.za)

I have already mailed Department of Sport and recreation to here what they have to say. So we'll get the ball rolling.

this is all a load of crap. remember that fedansa is still controled by it's members in the sense that if nobody enters fedansa comps and nobody supports fedansa then they will have no choice but to amalgamate again. Comps used to be great were you won because you were the best and you got though 40plus couples in each section, now there are so many sections combined, it's rediculous. There are many great and passionate dancer in sa who i'm sure all agree on this subject. Dancing is difficult enough, we shouldn't have to deal with childish petty polotics. I understand the point that is brought up with cape town comps, but I'm sure if the local teachers are members of the sadta and nobody joins fedansa, the sadta would shurely partisipate in running comps as they do in gauteng. Afterall, our trainers are who we look up to and trust to train us, they are not the one's fighting, fedansa is. What do fedansa do for us as dancers anyways? i think all the dancers need to stick together and get sa dancing back on track!!!

What you guys are saying is realy sad!! Danceres are the ones suffering in all this!! I have suspended my dancing for this year cause my teacher is an SADTA affiliate and in a few months will be movung to Cape town where it is a FEDANSA strong hold!! My face is popular in the dance seen and it is those reasons that i dont wana get caught in this SAGA!! Hope we will come together as one like in the old days wheere there was 1 S.A Champ instead of TWO these days!!

Hi Guys

This is a real problem I strongly believe that if we as dancers can get together and resolve this issue coz it is really affecting us I am a Fedansa affilliate in KZN last year I couldn't participate in the Vodacom Challenge because of the same stupid rulling.

I think what we need to do is not dance fedansa comps at all, if you dance in cape town for example, chat to your teacher re the matter and I'm sure they will be a member of the sadta, who would hopefully then arrange some comps in your area, but if they don't then, whatever you do, don't stop dancing, rather then dance their comps. The bottom line is what can Fedansa offer us? I have been asking this question for a while and have yet to find an answer. This tells me nothing. If this is the case then why dance with them? Don't get me wrong, I want to dance both, but THEY don't allow this, so we have to then choose the federation that will work best for us?The main thing is that all dancers need to stick together and go in the same direction. I still don't know why the 2 federations can't work together?

sounds like a great idea, you can do it

As rightly pointed out, any person is free to associate with whomever and be part of any association or organisaition they want and this is guaranteed by our Constitution.

FEDANSA to my knowledge has been taken to court on numerous occasions, because they violated this. However they still continue to operate which now means they are violating a court order... It is only a matter of time before they are forced to shut down because even though they may be a private association, they are not above the law.

I am from Durban and SADF has quite a strong presence here, however the FEDANSA presence is also felt alot. A little birdy told me that this year there is a possibility that the Vodacom Yebo Miilionaire Dance Comp will be held exclusively in durban, but this is not final yet. There wont be any provincial dance-offs. The reason for this is quite obvious.

It is a shame that dancers are being restricted be Fedansa. Some of our good dancers will not be allowed to take part in the National Intervarsity Competition this year as they have to attend the USSA (Sassu) comp.

I'm new here to the site...can someone tell me if theres been a breakthrough regarding this yet?

Would also like to know if there have been any developments...

Hi is there any dance club in Port Elizabeth

ok so here it is...

FEDANSA and SADTA must really start getting their act together. being dancers we must not be part of this out dated form of oppression. i not even in a FEDANSA affiliated school. but i dance FEDANSA hell i danced SADTA also.

both these organizations could be better off if they just become one big thing but the problem is neither want to budge...and here the dancers sit in the middle and we want nothing to do with senseless politics.

its time the dancers stand up and say that this has to stop. just think how the quality of dancing could go up if we could dance both FEDANSA & SADTA. more comps more exposure more quality dancers...

This power play is not only between the SADF and FADASA but also between others such as the SADTA, etc. This has been going on for years now and still no resolution. None of these institutions have complied to the international requirements, e.g. size and type of dance floor which needs to be provided. Why do we as dancers not stand together and take this up to GOVERNMENT LEVEL and insist on ONE CONTROLLING SOUTH AFRICAN BODY with only one set of rules. After all it is our funds that are keeping them going?????? This is definately also most probably one of the most expensive, so surely we as dancers should have a say/vote.