Dear Coach:

I recently attended a popular ballroom dance that was quite crowded.  I am a fairly new dancer so I always assume I am doing something wrong.  After I and my partner were quite shaken by one collision I sat down and tried to regroup.  That gave me a vantage point I didn’t have while on the dance floor.  After watching all the dancers on the floor for some time I noticed that some dancers wove in and out of the crowd with no problem.  However many of the very good dancers were just like “Bulls in a China Shop,” with no regard for slower or less skilled dancers, and a few couples that I would call advanced dancers where traveling at a high speed, colliding with slower moving dancers and just generally menacing the floor.  Who’s responsibility is it when dancing to avoid collisions and crashes?

H. Talabi, Gladstone, Oregon

Dear H. Talabi,

The responsibility is shared by teachers, coaches and all dancers.  The social ballroom dance floor is not a place for exhibition style dancing whether it be International Ballroom, America Style, or self-taught dancers.  When dancing an exhibition, dancers have all the room they need to strut their stuff since they are alone on the floor.  If there are other dancers on the floor, they are dancing and moving at the same rate of speed as everyone else.

The attitude of dancers has changed dramatically over my dance life (which has been a longer period of time than I like to admit).  When I was young, if a collision occurred on the dance floor both couples apologized, smiled and were more careful to avoid other collisions.  As a result there were few or no collisions, even on more crowded dance floors than we have today.

It is the dance instructor’s responsibility from the beginning to educate students on maneuvering skills and dance etiquette.  There are many ways to quickly teach these skills, which I consider to be extremely important to later ensure everyone’s dance experience will be pleasant and injury-free.  Most students, when taking lessons, want to learn steps and turns because they gauge the value of lessons by how many steps, turns, spins and hot moves they have learned.  Unfortunately, students only retain a limited number of steps and turns that they are shown.  Statistics show you retain only 10% of anything you are taught and will forget the other 90% within 24 hours.  When taking lessons the whole dance experience should be learned.  Rhythms, dance etiquette, perfecting basic footwork and good styling are very important, or more important, than steps and turns that you will forget with 24 hours. 

The dancer’s responsibility is to pay attention to other dancers on the floor, doing everything in their power to avoid collisions…but the more crowded the floor, the more careful you will need to be.  When collisions occur you should be courteous and apologetic…a smile goes a long way to diffuse anger and avoid problems.  Don’t always assume that because you are a new dancer it’s all your fault. 

We attended the Snowball Classic in British Columbia a few weekends ago and I was shocked at the actions of many of the spectators when the general dancing breaks were taken between competition events.  Now, the event was fantastic, with amateur Dancesport Champions from all over the world competing, but the attitude of a few of the dancers on the dance floor was ugly.  After being stepped on, crashed into, battered and beaten every time there was general dancing allowed, I came up with some dancer types I would like to mention :

1.      The Bull in a China Shop — This guy is large, strong, muscular and mean.  Have you ever heard the expression, “Mess with the Bull and you’ll get the Horn.”?  Well, this guy con—siders everyone on his dance floor messing with him.

2.      The Roadrunner — This guy is going at least 100 miles an hour around the dance floor.  Sometimes he is dancing International Waltz and considers his skills as an earned license to speed around the dance floor running over anyone who gets in his way.

3.      The Bumper Car Enthusiast — His mission is to secure dance floor space to display his stuff.  He paid his admission and he is going to get his share.  His technique is very similar to bumpers cars.  His object is to bump as many people off the floor…before they bump him off the floor.

4.      The Frustrated Exhibitionists — This couple does an exhibition every dance…kicking, flinging arms, doing drops and lifts.  They think they are great and some of them are.  If they are truly great they can generally secure a date to perform somewhere.  Dancers love to watch exhibitions and there are plenty of dances around that would love to have exhibitions at intermission.  Dancing entertainment is a favorite at rest homes, care centers and schools. 

Another problem that a lot of exhibitionists have is executing their learned routine in a social dance.  They know exactly how many steps they have to take and if someone intrudes in their path they run over them like a bulldozer.  You see, they had to finish their pattern.

5.      The Kung Fu Dancer — This guy is physically protecting his space and partner.  Although exuberant in his mission, these tactics are overkill.  (Just a pun, ha ha.)  He uses the palm of his hand in the middle of your back, on your rib cage, or on your shoulders to make sure you stay out of his space…usually with a sharp blow.  His elbow should be listed as a lethal weapon.  Many taller dancers get elbowed in the kidney, while shorter dancers suffer concussions from an elbow to the head.

Dancing for the most part is a social event that should be enjoyed by all attending.  The more popular dancing gets, the more dancers must be tolerant of other dancers.  Just because a person is a more advanced dancer, it does not give them more rights on the dance floor.  If anything, they should be skilled enough to avoid collisions and mishaps.  New dancers keep dancing alive.  The more new dancers, all the better for avid dance enthusiasts.  The more dancers — better bands, better and bigger ballrooms, better teachers, and visits from bigger named professionals in workshops. 

Don’t forget-----Everyone was a beginner at one time!!!!!!

( If you would like to download a printable chart, showing commonly practiced ballroom etiquette, please click here. )