• Community Building - For Teachers

    When the Student’s Money Isn’t Worth It

    April 29, 2024 - By 

    If you’re a community leader or teacher in any capacity, you will eventually run across a student or attendee that exhausts you. In my experience, this is not about their skill level, ability, or financial situation – it is their attitude or behaviour. While a few people’s behaviour may reach the threshold of needing a ban, typically the individuals we are talking about today haven’t done anything ban-worthy; they’re simply… difficult. And sometimes, the difficulty in dealing with them means that it may not be worth it trying to retain them as a student or attendee. Here’s the three general…

  • Dance Discussions - Health & Safety - Social Dancing

    Envious Dancing

    April 20, 2024 - By 

    Dance can cause a lot of emotional responses. A lot of the time, we focus on the joy; sometimes we call these “dance highs”. But, every high has a low. One of those lows can be envy. What triggers envy? The triggers for envy can be subtle or obvious, and can look very different depending on the person. You might feel envy: This isn’t an exhaustive list; jealousy can take many, many forms. Sometimes, that envy can coexist with very real prejudices. For example, young women who are considered stereotypically attractive – especially if they are also a strong dancer…

  • Community Building - Congresses & Travel - Dance Discussions - Inspirational - Social Dancing

    7 Signs of an Ethical Event

    February 28, 2023 - By 

    There are so many events to choose from, which means there are some tough choices. For some attendees, part of that choice involves identifying organizers who appear to have the best interests at the community as part of their decision-making and planning. This list includes some of the things I consider to be good indications of ethical organization. While this list isn’t comprehensive, it includes some signs you can look for to get a sense for whether the organizer is building up and positively influencing the community. It also does not mean an event is unethical for not doing one of these…

  • Leading - Social Dancing

    From Classroom to Social: Applying a New Lead

    December 26, 2022 - By 

    Most leaders have been in a class where they learn a new combination that works on all the follows in rotation. They get excited that they’ve learned something new, head to the next social… and then watch their lead fizzle with many of the follows in the room. Some leads blame themselves; some blame the follower. Some assume that the movement is too niche for the social dance floor.  But, is it really one of those three options?  Today, we’re going to talk about why this might happen, and what to do about it. Lost in Translation When you learn…

  • Beginner-Friendly - Etiquette - Following - Social Dancing

    Followers: Are you maximizing your great dances?

    September 14, 2022 - By 

    Followers, have you ever had a mediocre dance night? What about nights that needed to have a really great dance with a really great lead to get back on track, or nights with “not enough (good) leads”? What if there were a way to maximize how many good dances you had from the available pool of leaders? A Leader’s Perspective As an ambidanceterous person (I both lead and follow), I can tell you that the way a follow interacts with me has a massive impact on whether the dance goes well. For example, I have had top-level follows who came to the…

  • Beginner-Friendly - Dance Discussions - Etiquette - Social Dancing

    Steals and Three-Ways – and How to Do It Right

    January 7, 2022 - By 

    In many partner genres, steal dances and three-way dances (or more) are becoming more popular. In others, stealing has been part of the groundwork of the dance since its very inception. But, with this growing trend and with the adoption of dances outside their home culture, there are considerations of consent, agency, and culture that need to be discussed to be sure that everyone is happy to be stealing. What are Steal Dances and Three-Way Dances? A steal dance is when partners trade each other with others. For example, a birthday dance where different partners enter and take over leading/following…

  • Fun Stuff - Social Dancing

    In Dance, are you Self or Others Oriented?

    July 20, 2021 - By 

    In my experience, there’s a spectrum between being Others-Oriented or Self-Oriented with regards to both dance and life. In dance, these orientations affect almost all our interactions. Generally speaking, Others-Oriented dancers focus on the energy they release into the world around them, while the Self-Oriented dancer is more concerned with what they experience. Let’s talk more about how this informs our dance relationships. Take the Quiz Others vs. Self Oriented Dancers As you start to read this, many of you are probably automatically thinking “of COURSE I’m Others-Oriented! I’m not selfish, and I care about the experiences my partners have!”…

  • Social Dancing

    The Limits of Compassion: Organizing in the COVID-19 Era

    July 10, 2021 - By 

    It’s no secret that I am very much for vaccination. I’ve worked with Dr. Hsu to write articles to give insight into the dominant view of the medical and public health professional sectors. I have gotten both doses of my vaccination, and am eagerly anticipating when I may dance safely with other vaccinated individuals. I also delete comments that I view as non-constructive or derailing from the premise of posts I make. Despite this, I do not “hate” anti-vaccination individuals, as passionate as I may be about my own position. Let me explain. The Problem of “Hate” People believe many,…

  • Dance Discussions - Social Dancing

    Followers, Women, and Sexism

    June 12, 2021 - By 

    This isn’t the first time I’m writing about the underappreciation of follows – or the sexism that is so entwined with the concept. We’ve come a long way from when I first started writing about it around 2015/16. I wasn’t the only one writing about it, either. There were even research studies about the names of the roles. For example, I hear the term “just follow” much less – though it still happens. I’ve also seen teachers try much harder to include followers in the content of their classes – at least in the styles that I dance. But, we still…

  • Dance Discussions - Social Dancing

    Dance in the time of COVID: Vaccines and Variants

    June 7, 2021 - By 

    You likely love to dance. I do too. Like you, I am eager to get back to social dancing – but first we need to talk about deciding when to start dancing again that factors in vaccination and variants. Let’s talk about suggestions for organizers that can help minimize infection risks for attendees. Some of the strategies we will examine include requiring vaccination, holding events outdoors, improving ventilation, and symptom screening or rapid-testing. Acknowledgement First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the privilege of having access to vaccines. Many communities around the world, particularly in the global south, may not…

  • Congresses & Travel - Dance Discussions - Health & Safety

    Dance in the time of Corona: A primer and suggestions on the novel Coronavirus and social dancing

    March 6, 2020 - By 

    A FOLLOW-UP TO THIS ARTICLE IS NOW PUBLISHED WITH REVISED INFORMATION BASED ON THE SITUATION AS OF MARCH 12, 2020 Note from The Dancing Grapevine: The Author, Dr. Hsu, is a physician actively practicing in both community and acute care hospital settings. She has spoken extensively with a Public Health specialist physician about this matter, particularly how the Novel Coronavirus will interact with our dance communities.  Novel Coronavirus: An Unexpected Reality Is this real life? Yes, it is. But, social media posts from your friends are not the best source of information. Instead, you should look for information from the…

  • Beginner-Friendly - Community Building - Dance Discussions - Etiquette - Health & Safety - Inspirational - Inspirational Stories - Social Dancing - Workshops & Classes

    10 Things I Learned in 10 Years of Dance

    September 26, 2019 - By 

    I turn 30 today. I started dancing when I was almost 20 (except for the ballet class I got kicked out of at age 5). That means that I’ve been dancing just over 10 years. From my infancy in Salsa to my current status as a Brazilian Zouk organizer and teacher, it’s been a long journey. In those 10 years, my dancing, my role, and my outlook has changed and evolved. Things I used to think were clear are shades of grey. This blog (started in 2013? 14?) is a living testament to that; my first few posts are very,…

  • Congresses & Travel - Dance Discussions - Health & Safety

    Dancers Behind the Wheel

    July 29, 2019 - By 

    I was in a car accident last night. We were hit on the drivers’ side by a person who ran a red light. By the time I noticed the all-black car at night, it was too late to swerve or stop. Both my passenger and I are physically fine, save for a possibly sprained wrist. My beloved Ginger (my first car) gave her life (she’s totalled) to keep us safe. But, this story could have ended very, very differently. If I had been going slightly faster, the impact would have been directly on my door – and it is unlikely…

  • Community Building - Congresses & Travel - Social Dancing

    Asking people who don’t look like they want to dance: the secret payoff

    July 11, 2019 - By 

    A while ago, I was in a workshop where the instructor told a story. She talked about a girl who spent the whole weekend waiting to be asked to dance. And, the entire weekend, no one asked her. She didn’t know why, but it became clear when the instructor asked a few more questions. She was sitting several rows of chairs back, on her phone, wearing a sweater, and avoiding eye contact. She had all the signals that normally mean “I don’t want to dance” – even though she really did. When Signals Don’t Match Sadly, many of the people who end…

  • Community Building - Dance Discussions - Health & Safety

    “Should they be banned?” Making Decisions About Bad Behaviour

    June 21, 2019 - By 

    Almost every scene has had a bad actor, ranging from lower-level he-said-she-said harassment to full, witnessed assault. Often, organizers and scene leaders are at a loss for an effective way to handle these issues. The default often goes one of three ways: The organizer does not want to deal with it and does not engage, resulting in no further action; The organizer takes the side of the alleged perpetrator because there isn’t enough “proof”; or, The organizer sides with the alleged victim(s), without careful consideration of the full story. I don’t think any of these directions is the appropriate way…