What makes a good dance floor?

[pygmalion]

The title says it all. Do you have a preference for the type of floor you dance on? Wood? Other? Slippery? Sticky? Small? Large? And if so, why?

[Sagitta]

Depends on teh dance. In place dances smaller floor is fine. Dances that imply movement e.g. waltz a larger floor. A clean and smooth floor always. The best floor is kind to the feet/legs i.e. wood better then tiles, suspended wood floor better then one that isn't. :)

[Spitfire]

I never take notice of the type of floor the way a lot of other people do. I seem to do well on many types of surface with the exception of one that is slippery.

[will35]

A crowd of good dancers make a good dance floor.

[Swing Kitten]

Not over crowded (ouch-- and not very fun) and not sticky.

[will35]

The bigger the crowd, the better you have to dance.

[SDsalsaguy]

have to
:?: :?: :?:

[will35]

Have to. Sure, anybody can dance alone on a football field. No control, total freedom. You can do whatever you want, and never worry about another person. Very indulgent, fun, but a little selfish. The closer the other couples, the more you feel like you are really dancing with somebody.

[pygmalion]

One of the places I dance has a cement floor with tile on top. Murder on the feet! :shock: :evil: Another place I dance has a damaged wooden floor -- a basketball court. Yikes! It's old and warped.

[Swing Kitten]

The closer the other couples, the more you feel like you are really dancing with somebody.

I don't really agree-- which is fine.

I see it that as a leader the closer you are to other couples the more you have to think about them and less energy goes into your partner.

The more room you have the more you can focus on the dance, the music, and the person you are dancing with-- not around.

You don't have to be a human missile for very long to crave an open dance floor.

[SDsalsaguy]

I see it that as a leader the closer you are to other couples the more you have to think about them and less energy goes into your partner.
This really resonates for me SK...

Sometimes when I'm not looking in my partner's eyes as much as she might like it's simply because I'm looking out *for* her rather then looking at her. The less I need to be concerned with those around me the more attention I can pay to my partner, the music, how I'm dancing, etc. None of this, of course, is to say I ever ignore any of these things – only that my first priority is always to look out for any partner who has trusted me to lead her.

I think that it is also worth mentioning that who is on the floor is as important as how many. There are any number of dancers I can be within inches of and never have to worry about while there are others I can be several feet away from and not be able to take my attention away from for even an instant without risking a major collision. I’ve also seen this same dynamic at play in numerous ballroom competition settings. Some couples can breeze by each other with no worry while others seem to clog up any number of lines around them…

[will35]

Yes, SK, and we're also coming from two different dances. The thing I like about crowds is the way the whole thing moves like a big amoeba, no matter how crowded. In less crowded places, I find I get knocked all over the place. When I go to a milonga and there are just a few people there, I wonder why I paid my money to get in. Instead, I could be in my garage with my wife. We have better music than most of the DJ's I know, anyway. I guess what I like about dancing in general is the family atmosphere and the feeling that I'm with other people who live for the same reasons I do. The more people, the better I feel. Naturally, it is best to have good dancers on the floor, but even in a crowded situation, the bad dancers calm down and dance with the whole room, not just to show off. It's odd. The less room on the floor, the less I have to worry about the other couples, and the more I can dance with my partner.

[Swing Kitten]

no worries... our experiences are clearly different and it is important that we are coming form different dances as well.

:D

[pygmalion]

Yup. When I posted the question, I was actually thinking about the floor itself. I've danced on carpet, on wood, on parquet, etc.

But now that you mention it, my answer in terms of crowd is different for different dances. For smooth dancing, a crowded floor can be an absolute nightmare, especially with a lot of inexperienced dancers on the floor -- they often don't know about lane-of-dance etiquette, and they can't move, so you end up bumping into them. But for nightclub freestyle, I dance directly over my own feet so all I need is about 3 square feet, and I get lots of energy from a big crowd. So I guess my answer is, it depends.

[borikensalsero]

I preffer wooden floors, sleek but not too slippery. I don't like a large dance floor, for I like to feed off the energy of those around me. The closer the dancers, to a limit, the more I like it. The roof can't be too high either, the sound gets lost and the energy travels right off to the top and is a bit harder to feel...

[ballroomboilergirl]

I wouldn't be caught dead dancing on cement...it's too hard on your joints and just plain hurts :cry: Wooden floors are best, ones that are smooth but not slippery, and are nice and clean so you don't stick to it. As for size, I definitely agree that a larger floor is necessary for the smooth and standard dances where your main purpose is movement...I was at a comp this past weekend where the floor was rather tiny and as many as 30 couples were packed onto it at once. Now THAT was dicey...even for couples with excellent floorcraft it was nearly impossible to keep an eye on those around them (because there were just soooo many!) in order to keep from bumping into others. I also agree that extremely large floors are not necessary for rhythm/latin dances, but I daresay you cannot cram 30 couples onto a small floor to do those dances, either. You need a good balance...enough space to fit everyone fairly comfortably.

[Sagitta]

I wouldn't be caught dead dancing on cement...it's too hard on your joints and just plain hurts :cry:

I have actually danced on cement on the rare occassion, but nothing like I dance on a good floor. My feet tend to become glued to the floor minimizing impact of floor on the joints. I would never dance a lively dance like jump wing on cement!!! [Ouch!! Mama Mia!!!]

[ballroomboilergirl]

I feel you, Sagitta...just as runners won't run on cement because its so hard on their knees, I avoid cement as well. Imagine doing trying to do jive on a cement dance floor...*shudder* :shock:

[dancergal]

I hate a floor that is too sticky or dirty. Tile is horrible to dance on. Wood floors are best if they are smooth and clean, not warped. One nightclub we go to has a new type of hard plastic I guess, but it's a wonderful floor to dance on. Another one has an old wood floor but set right on cement so it has no give. It's also pitted. Makes it hard to dance on. One dance studio we go to has a nice dance floor, lot of room, but it extra slick. Skating anyone? :lol: As for crowded floors...hate it. We need room to dance in WCS and more people around us the harder it is to dance. Even at dance conventions, some people seem to have no common sense and fling their partners around.....ouch..........grrr!

[will35]

Dancergal wrote, "We need room to dance in WCS and more people around us the harder it is to dance. Even at dance conventions, some people seem to have no common sense and fling their partners around.....ouch..........grrr!"

If people fling their partners around, that is not the floor's fault or the venue's fault.