Smoking's affecting his dancing.

[MadamSamba]

I know a couple who dance comps and the male is livid that his partner smokes.

She smokes only a few times each day and he wants her to stop because he says that it affects her on-floor performance markedly. She gets out of breath very easily, particularly during a comp routine quickstep, and though this is less of an issue, he loathes the smell of smoke on her and, inevitably, on him.

What do you think about his and her rights? Does a non-smoking comp dance partner have the right to insist that their partner quits while doing comps (I'd say the answer would be yes) but the guy is absolutely hounding the poor woman and you can't help but feel sorry for her. It's complex because he's right, but he's also making her life absolutely miserable and she's starting to resent dancing with him.

Have any of you had a similar experience with a performance-affecting substance, be it smoking, drinking, drugs or even, say, a martial art, where the risk of injury (ugly bruises or even something broken) before a comp is great, especially when you hit black-belt range.

[pygmalion]

Why doesn't he find a non-smoking partner? I think they both have rights, here. He, to be away from smoke. She, to smoke, if she wants or needs to. His forcing his will on her is a sign of a bad/unbalanced partnership, in my view. Whether or not smoking is bad for you (a given), she's a grown-up with the right to make that decision on her own.

That said, I have seen quite a few smoker/dancers who have problems getting winded while doing quickstep or Viennese waltz.

[Sagitta]

My sentiments exactly. If he can't stand her smoke don't dance with her. I wouldn't. :)

[Vince A]

My sentiments exactly. If he can't stand her smoke don't dance with her. I wouldn't. :)
ditto, Ditto, DITTO!

[Estella]

I don`t think that smoking affects the way of dancing... I know in the USA it´s prohibited almost everywhere but in Europe not and I know a lot of excellent dancers who smoke.... some of them really much!
But on the dancefloor they are not worse than others! :roll:

[DanceMentor]

I agree there are some top dancers who smoke. I've met many.
I also have met many people whose careers did not last as long as it could have as a result of smoking. When yo have been smoking for 20 years, I promise you, there will be an affect.

[Sarah]

....... the guy is absolutely hounding the poor woman and you can't help but feel sorry for her. It's complex because he's right, but he's also making her life absolutely miserable and she's starting to resent dancing with him.


When it comes to controlling the actions of another adult, the only `rights' he has are those that are legally enforcable. Unless they have a contract of some sort which states the obligations of each to the other and explicitly addresses smoking, then no, he is not within his rights to insist on anything. He is however, entirely within his rights to look for a different dance partner with more compatible views on health and hygene.

On a practical note, hassling someone about their smoking and stressing them out has got to be the worst way of persuading them to stop that I have ever seen. IME, it just doesn't work.

Cheers
Sarah

[pygmalion]

Exactly. He has the right to be smoke-free, but he doesn't have the right to force his partner to quit smoking so he can be smoke-free. He has the right to find another partner, if he so desires.

[MadamSamba]

Personally, I reckon she should dump him and find someone less troublesome to dance with, but it's a real "sitting on the fence one".

I think he has every right to ask her to stop smoking when they're competing because her health affects him and his marks too. That said, if it's such a sore point, he should have taken that into consideration before agreeing to compete with a smoker.

[pygmalion]

I think he should have thought about that up front. I bet he has some laibilities as a dance partner that she's dealing with ... wthout harassing him to become someone he's not.