This “teacher” is 30 yet stopped learning anything new over 10 years ago when she became a teacher. She never could do turns correctly so how on earth is she going to teach someone how to do that; she also never learned how to do leaps either, another draw back since she can’t teach what she doesn’t know. But to hear her tell it, she should have been a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader or on Broadway. Yea, she’s grandiose and that would be fine if she could back it up, but no she can’t.

I think since she has virtually little to no competition with competing schools because she lives in BFE that she has a hold on this community and also the 30 mile radius around the community where she teaches since she is the only dance teacher around. And she looks like a dancer. Tall, thin, lean and blonde, but because she can’t do leaps and turns I find her to be weak and we all know dancers need to have physical strength to pull off a lot of technically difficult moves.

The sad part is she does enter groups into competitions but her groups are always at the bottom of the winner’s list. Of course, a lot of parents have already picked up on this and even though they may have to drive an hour one way to another studio, they are doing it so that their child isn’t stuck in a mediocre dance studio land forever just because they live in a rural area.

One of the hardest things about this topic is that the people who are at plateaus often don’t realize it. I was at a plateau a while ago that took a year and a half to bust through, and that was despite a *constant* strong desire to improve… I can only imagine how much longer it would take for someone who had gotten comfortable at their current level to break out. Even assuming you realize you’re at a plateau, pushing through it is hard work… and sometimes people just don’t have a reason to bother. For some dancers, (pretty much all the ones reading this thread, I’d imagine) just the knowledge that they are getting better is reward enough to keep pushing, and those people are awesome! But for others, dance is a casual thing they do for fun, and they just want to be good enough to enjoy themselves. Those people DO contribute to the scene, just by being there and loving it. But if that attitude bothers you, you have to either suck it up (because there will ALWAYS be people who aren’t as into it as you are), or show them how much more fun they could be having if they were improving. While I agree that it would be awesome if everyone wanted to be Frieda or Naomi or Skye or Steven or Nina or Frankie (and on and on), sitting here and talking about how nice it would be if other people were more motivated will do diddly-squat for actually improving the scene.

When I was learning to dance, I could see that the top dancers in my scene were having a great time dancing. I wouldn’t have *wanted* to improve without that… it looked like being a better dancer made it more fun to dance, and I wanted to have more fun. Later, when I started asking the “good” people to dance with me, it turned out that it really was more fun to have better dances. But no “mediocre” dancer is going to want to improve if they can’t see that they would have a better time that way. No one is going to want to put in the effort just for the sake of it, without some idea of what the payoff will be.

For dancers who don’t want to compete, who aren’t being coached, or who are already having a pretty good time on the social floor, there’s got to be a strong motivating factor to make the effort of improving worthwhile. Without that constant example of better dancers having a better time, what possible reason could people have to push through their plateaus? If you really want “mediocre” dancers in your scene to become “improving” dancers, then it’s your job to be constantly social dancing, improving your own dancing, and supporting your scene, in order to share that sense of exploration and excitement with others.

I’m not saying that every “good” dancer should be dancing with beginners to the point of not having fun themselves… just the opposite! I’m saying that “good” dancers should be showing by example what a great time you can have on the dance floor, and when dancing with beginners (or intermediates, or mediocre dancers, or pros, or anyone really), they should be genuinely having a good time… otherwise what’s the point?

Dance Scenes, Mediocrity, and Improvement (Reader’s digest version)

So I have been to a few… dance scenes that is, and they are all the same. They all have a clique of more experienced dancers and save a few individuals who dance with everyone, it is bloody hard to crack that nut, and in my experience, impossible. A segregated environment, no matter the level of dancing involved, is not a community.

1. If you don’t like the level of dancing in your area inspire those Mediocres! It’s not their fault you are so good.

2. It is the job of the better dancers to drive a dance scene, that being said, these individuals should not be exclusive lest they destroy a dance community. Dancing with less skilled dancers only during lessons is not cool.

3. Some mediocre dancers cannot improve – I know people who have taken YEARS of the same beginner classes and still can’t keep time or hear the music, but they are having fun, and are not being disrespectful, well that is the point.

4. Elitistism stinks.

5. Yes, dancing with unskilled partners can be troublesome, but seconding Kevin’s comment, perhaps followers should get a little “meaner”. Though 95% of the people will just get mad, you were likely not hoping to dance with them again anyways…

6. Lessons are great for improving technique and insiring new ideas, but the social dance floor is where becoming an improved dancer really takes place. Learning on the social dance floor may be mildly painfully at first for all parties involved, but how else are you supposed to learn?!

7. If you want to get really cynical, all dancers, even those Mediocres pay fees. They are still coming out an supporting your community. However, I know places who only REALLY encourage other dancers to come out is to fund the ventures of the clique. This also is not cool.

8. Did I mention that elitisism in dance stinks?

I have enjoyed reading your comments. Perhaps people may want to take into consideration that the success of a dance scene should not come at the cost of disrespecting other participants. Dancing is fun. Keep it that way for everyone.

I’m all for practice – if I had more time (and money), I’d definitely train, and travel more because I love doing those things. I like the satisfaction that I have improved in myself in some way – and that I have shared something unique with someone else.

Ok, now I digress. If you don’t like dancing with someone for whatever reason (mediocre, stinky), don’t do it. If you’re not having fun, neither will the person dancing with you, ESPECIALLY IF THEY’RE HURTING YOU. Segway: On a more serious level, I don’t know how many followers come up to me and told me their shoulder has been almost dislocated, elbows hyperextended and kidneys bruised. You are not a charity or a punching bag, so don’t take crap. Tell the person you’re dancing with what’s wrong. At least that way they have a chance to improve, and quite possibly, they won’t hurt you and the next 10 people they dance with. If you’re worried about the fallout, I’ve got your back, and I’m sure there’s others who will stand by you as well.

Kevin Sue

ps. Just before a beginner lesson I was going to teach, my partner told me I might be accidentally boob squeezing one move because my arm was too high. I appreciate the feedback. You know who you are :-)

I tend to believe in creating environments to change behaviour. When I feel like I’m plateauing I have to change scenes – kind of cross-training… Partner dancing is tricky to improve because we often get into a rut or just not feeling it, and we can’t do it ourselves, but there isn’t always that type of informal setting where people can really experiment and challenge eachother to support better dancing…
What will improve people is outside of the classroom – and not in the danceclub either…

Some people, understandably, don’t like giving feedback at a dance-club… Honestly it depends on if you have friends that are good and willing to share knowledge, and I find lindyhop needs more people who share moves and ideas… or learn from other dances and experiment… sometimes people get a little rigid (sure they don’t make mistakes but they also don’t experiment at all)..

The setting is important – you want competitive dancers -have performances and competitions- inclusive and frequent- make progressive classes perform to push them to practice outside of the classroom- a few good dancers have to be around to help and correct, but it’s the drive to not let down your group/partner and the closer friendships you create while training that gives people purpose and gets them more comfortable to experiment and practise together…

@Elaine while the site might be heavily focused on lindy, I believe that this issue pertains to any SOCIAL dance scene, including Tango and Salsa.

@Brian. I’m glad to see that Ottawa has you inspired to dance and improved. They are a great bunch of folks there.

To touch upon that, the one thing I have to say about the Ottawa scene is that there’s two schools of thought for dancers there. Those who are there for social dancing, and the others who strive to compete, perform and dance better. I believe the energy from the latter group of folks really do drive the inspiration for those who have are in a plateau to get better. That being said, I don’t believe that the key is their drive, but it’s the people that is there. Let’s not beat around the bush, the folks who are a part of Swing Dynamite have fantastic personalities in which, any dancer who attempts to learn more and get better are encouraged by the people around them. They seem to be friendly and inclusive, as well as encouraging, and being surrounded by folks like that is infectious. I can see why Ottawa is so inspiring and it growing so quickly.

On the flipside, there are people who criticize them because of that drive and I’ve noticed that it is a lot of social dancers. It could be that they way they do things might rub folks the wrong way, but that is bound to happen. There’s always a backlash from folks who don’t like competitive spirits. I can say though, that spirit has really put Ottawa on the map, and the social dancers have a great chance to reap the benefits from it. Look at the potential that Ottawa dancers will have each year to meet and take classes from top-notch dancers because of it. Compare that to Toronto…

I don’t think Kevin is shitting on folks who plateaued, but don’t know how to get out of it; hell I’ve been there. It’s the people who just don’t want to do more with their dancing. It’s the folks who show up and are there because it’s X day, and that’s where they are that day every week. It just sucks the energy out of going dancing.

From what I’ve seen, the best motivation is dancers who make every dance fun, who inspire to try new things, and as @Brian said, “dancers who make them feel that this could be them one day if they work at it too.”

Like @Alisha said, it’s about priorities. Priorities can change, mediocre dancers can start wanting to improve themselves, but they’re more likely to be inspired to do so by people who enjoy every dance as much as possible, rather than by people who resent their “consistent bad dance habits.”

I am not “angered” by mediocre dancers as much as I am plain frustrated. I guess you have to witness the tango scene in Toronto with your own eyes before you truly understand where I am coming from. The tango community here is just overrun with mediocrity… I would say about 90% of the community are mediocre dancers who couldn’t care less about improving or becoming better dancers. In my experience, what has this led to? An inability to progress myself, since there are no good dancers with whom to learn, practice, or explore. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to want to improve so badly, but not have the means to do so? I have “quit” tango several times from the sheer frustration of not being able to realize my full potential… I *know* I have the potential to develop into a really good tanguera, but the environment in Toronto is not conducive to any kind of progression.

It also seems that most tango dancers in Toronto are quite satisfied with their bad habits, and it bothers me when they feel *entitled* to dance with you. Sometimes I feel as if I’m just there for other people’s amusement. I’m sorry, but if a dancer settles for mediocrity, he should not feel entitled to put others through a horrible dance. Many of the mediocre tango leaders don’t have the slightest idea how to make a dance comfortable for their follower… and this can be a big issue when dancing tango because the connection and comfort between partners is of paramount importance.

I know this article and blog mostly pertains to lindy, so I guess I probably shouldn’t be taking part in this discussion, but I felt like I needed to justify my position based on my own personal experiences.

P.S. I haven’t addressed the whole issue of attitude (being cocky and arrogant) because I believe that is a whole other issue… I purposely chose not to explore it in my first posting because I would be typing a novel by now!