• Community Building - Social Dancing

    The girl who thought she danced better than she actually could

    October 14, 2016 - By 

    I was once the girl who though I danced better than I actually could. And you know what? Most of you probably were, too. Several of you probably still are. Yes, there are a few people who are (sometimes too) humble. I’ve had students where I just wish they could get a shred of self-confidence to go with their dancing. But, I’d say it’s not the majority. Most students go through a period of know-it-all-ness. It’s just the way things work. (I like to refer to this as the ‘teenager’ dance period.) So, let’s go through a personal case-study of me, who thought she could…

  • Etiquette - Social Dancing

    Is that dancer really a snob?

    April 15, 2016 - By 

    I want to tell you a true story. It’s the story of a woman who said no to a man when he asked her for a dance. She had never met him before, and didn’t want to dance with him at that time. The man was a bit hurt. He felt he had been judged prematurely. He felt that he had been looked up and down, and declined because he didn’t ‘look’ like a good dancer. He decided to never ask the follow to dance again.

  • Dance Discussions - Social Dancing

    Are “Basic” Social Dancers a Liability or an Asset?

    April 6, 2016 - By 

    “Social Dancer” can mean many things in dance-lingo. It can mean someone who is serious about learning improvised lead-follow dancing. It can means someone who is welcoming to beginners. It also sometimes gets used to describe non-serious dancers who view the dancefloor as a ‘social’ activity to have fun. These are the people who know a couple basic moves, and don’t really have any desire to learn more or take more classes (sometimes, even any at all!)

  • Etiquette - Social Dancing

    The Risk of Trashing your Partner’s Dancing

    March 11, 2016 - By 

    “Well, if she could ACTUALLY follow, then…” “He didn’t give me what I wanted. So, I let him know that.” “God, she’s always off time. It’s impossible to dance with her.” “He’s so boring. Can’t he just do something interesting once in a while?” “I didn’t have any good dances because my partners sucked.” “I lost that competition because my partner messed up.” I’ve heard just about every iteration of these thoughts from social dancers. Some more often than others.  But, should we be saying these things?

  • Etiquette - Social Dancing

    Dancer Ego Syndrome, and How To Keep Yourself Protected

    October 21, 2014 - By 

    Generally speaking: the stronger a dancer gets, the larger their ego becomes. Very often, the speed of ego expansion surpasses their actual dance growth. As the ego grows, it’s also a potential side-effect that the speed of dance growth will slow, and that they will become a toxic dance presence. Who is at Risk? All dancers are at risk of developing Dance Ego Syndrome, but you may be at an elevated risk if you fall into one of the following categories: Have been dancing more than 1 year Are no longer taking dance classes Are popular with dancers of the…

  • Dance Discussions

    No, Yours Isn’t Better Than Mine

    August 12, 2013 - By 

    One of the few times I got myself out to Lindy Hop, a very astounding thing happened. First off, I’m definitely a beginner when it comes to Lindy Hop. Of course, I can dance… which gives me a bit of a head start. In any case, I found myself at a Lindy dance one night, and had plenty of baskets of fun. It’s not my favorite dance in the world, but it’s fun. I see why people go mad bananas over it. As I was leaving, an older man (I won’t call him gentleman for the reasons following) came up to me…