Normal usabda chapter

[dragon3085]

Ok, I have a question about Usabda events and chapters? What is the normal make up of a Chapter and what events do they do? Here in San Antonio they don't seem to do much but get together at a ballroom and dance a bunch of Foxtrot and there is nobody under 40 there. I get the impression that in other citys a little more goes on. In our case the two chapter reps are fellow students with me and are always trying to get me to go to there events, but to be honest, I've been bored almost to sleep there so I don't go. Is this atypical of most usabda chapters?

Patrick

[cl5814]

I am a member of the mid atlantic chapter and our chapter just recently started doing dances every 2nd month. With all the universities around our dances attracts a lot of college kids. But yes, as the other dances at the studios, it attracts a lot of elderly folks. Typically they also organize a show for the dance, be it an amateur couple or pro couple, typically people from the area.
Our chapter just organized a sponsorship for 3 couples. The sponsorship is rather small, would apparently pay for 2 private lessons. Every drop helps.

[DanceAm]

Being over 40, I will try not to take exception. However, chapter supporters are all volunteer, all work is voluntary. Putting the music together, creating the CD, finding an instructor for the class, setup, cleanup, paying the teacher, paying the venue owner for use, keeping the books, managing the list of members and reducing deliquencies in membership dues, annual chapter reports, going to meetings, managing the website, all of which takes time. None of this is restricted to the over 40 crowd by law, but it seems that way.

I hate to say it, but young people don't volunteer their time and talents and then don't like the music or complain that the crowd is old. I was young once and I thought the same way. I actually wondered why my church was full of old people and they talked about the same old tired subjects like paving the parking lot or making it bigger. Then they wanted more meetings. I wasn't an accountant or business major and being a college student, I didn't feel I had the time, money or experience to really contribute. Then I got on the education committee and behold, I felt I could contribute my ideas and help make new things happen.

Some USABDA chapters might like their closed clique, but I would say most would welcome younger members to participate in all the activities the chapter has. I know our board has open seats that would love to have representation of the younger group and want their input. If you know the secret to get more to attend and get involved, please let your local USABDA board know.

The main reason your USABDA chapter seems like the same old thing is because it is always the same people doing all the work. Everyone complains about the music, the floor is too slippery or too sticky, there are not enough men at the dances, someone talks too long, why can't we have more exhibitions, why do we have so many exhibitions, it's too cold, someone talks too much in between songs. The complaints are endless but in our group, it is they same 8 people involved every month and it is hard for them to make the entire chapter happy.

Some committee members spend so much time working the dance, they hardly get to dance. I am sure they question why they bother, because they like to dance as much as anyone else, but they keep it to themselves and try not to complain, but then people come to them, "We are out of ice?", "Are there any more plastic cups?". If we went by the 80/20 rule, 20 percent of the members do 80 percent of the work. But I think it is closer to 5 percent do 95 percent of the work.

[UltraMagnus]

The long and short of it is (and don't bash me here)...the older you are, the more free time you have to volunteer. As you get older (and wiser) you make time for things you want to participate in. Volunteers don't always do good work, though....hard work, yes....but run an organization as large as this with volunteers? It will die....

[dragon3085]

Having done the genealogy for my family I agree that it seem the older you get the more free time you seem to have, I couldn't have done it without the web for help. And I don't know why you would take exception to the statement about being over 40 as its a statement of fact on the age distribution of this chapter nothing more, nothing less. :twisted: But I'm not talking so much about the floor or the ice or stuff like that people will always complain about stuff like that. I'm more referring to when they say 'hey why don't you and some of the other dancer come to this such and such event', and then we come and there is nothing going on, and little variety of dances and music being played and are bored to tear and feel very little incentive to go back or renew our memberships. I go to dance and meet other people that share my intrests and from what I've read on here there age distributions in other chapters seems to be more evenly distributed. However I am also aware that the grass is always greener as well. In some ways there seems to be a catch-22 flavor to it, but I'm just curious whats on the other side of some other fences.

[DanceAm]

The long and short of it is (and don't bash me here)...the older you are, the more free time you have to volunteer. As you get older (and wiser) you make time for things you want to participate in. Volunteers don't always do good work, though....hard work, yes....but run an organization as large as this with volunteers? It will die....

I am not going to bash you, I know why you think that the older you are the more time you have to volunteer. Many older people feel the same about the younger crowd.

My boss thinks I have more time for him. My wife thinks I have more time for her. My son thinks I should drop everything when he needs me. My dance instructor thinks that I have nothing but time to practice between lessons. My car needs maintenance, my bills need to get paid, my lawn needs to be mowed once in a while. My clothes need to be washed, my dishes need to be put in the dish washer, our meals have to be cooked. I have mountians of forms to fill out for comps and my son's college. My mother wants me to visit more and help her out. My Church wants me to get more involved. To top it off, the police officer wants to know why I am speeding. Someone has to get the groceries. My wife and I are very busy and each of us has a full time job and volunteering for USABDA cuts into other activities, but we make time.

To me it is just a worthwhile activity that is enjoyed by many, no matter how thankless it gets. Ballroom dancing continues because many believe it is the best social activity anyone can do and others will volunteer in order to expand the opportunity. USABDA has been a volunteer organization since 1965. If you were more involved you would find that it is made up of some very experienced professionals from all walks of life. These individuals bring experience that will enable USABDA to continue as it always has.

[Warren J. Dew]

Having done the genealogy for my family I agree that it seem the older you get the more free time you seem to have
I think I sense some youthful overgeneralization here.

Here's what actually happens:

Start school (age 6) - a lot less time, you have to go to school.

Start work (around 20) - about the same as school on average, maybe a little more or a little less depending on how much you studied in school. Maybe a little less time on the assumption that most students goof off (at least I did).

Have kids (around 30, plus or minus a decade) - less time, now you have to work and take care of the kids both.

Kids grow up, leave house (around 50, plus or minus a decade) - more time, you no longer have to take care of the kids.

Retire (stereotypically 65) - lots more time, you're no longer working.

I suspect you are before the "have kids" stage, and are looking at people around the "retire" point. You may have missed the whole parent demographic, not surprising since they have so little time one rarely sees them in public.

[Laura]

My USABDA chapter is very atypical, but we (the members and the Board) chose to make it this way, and we are financially stable and as far as we can tell people are satisfied with what we've done. Unlike the vast majority of the USABDA chapters, ours is about 80%-90% competitors. We used to try having social dances, but since just about everyone is a competitor and because there are tons of opportunities for social dancers in our area, no one ever came. When we cancelled the dances no one even complained.

So, rather than trying to do social dances, a long time ago we focussed on competitions. However, we live in an area with three or four college comps and six NDCA-sanctioned comps per year, plus a studio with a very strong youth dancesport program that holds comps for their own kids in association with other youth-focussed programs. All these programs are quite successful, so we had to look for our own niche. After years of trial and error we settled down into hosting a number of low-cost low-key competitions. Although we offer events for all age groups and proficiency levels, the people who really tend to come are adult Syllabus, Novice, and Pre-Champ dancers. We provide a good way for new adult competitors who learned to dance as adults to get into competition. So far, this formula has been working for us.

When people want something new, they ask us and we strive to provide it. For example, we were asked to start running an 18-under single's latin event for dancers without partners. The dancers would get up there and dance routines they'd learned in group class, solo. We've even had quarter-finals in these events, there's a lot of girls out there with no boys to dance with. This was originally a ChaCha/Rumba event, and recently the girls have started asking for a Samba/Jive event -- so we added it. Similarly, we had only been offering Novice Rhythm for years because no one was dancing Rhythm. Then someone asked if we'd start offering Championship too, so we did, and we get a few couples dancing in it from time to time. We are developing closer ties to the local college teams, and offer a college team match at most of our events, and encourage our adult dancers to take part in the collegiate competitions, too. One large local college team asked us if we could make some changes to a couple of our events to better accomodate their dancers, and we have, because we want them to come and be a part of USABDA.

However, and this is the interesting part that might be much more typical of the average USABDA chapter, with a chapter of over 400 members we still have the same 5%-10% volunteering all the time. Our chapter's Vice President has held the office for nearly 20 years -- not because she won't give it up, but because she keeps getting re-elected because no one else wants to do it. The biggest voter turnout we ever had for any election was 68 votes, which means that less than 20% of the people in the chapter even care enough to vote on who their board is. We don't know if that means they think we're doing a good job and don't want to change, or if they're apathetic and just don't care anyway. All I can say is that if they don't tell us what they want, then we won't know, and that when they do tell us what we want, then we're happy to oblige. We once mailed out a survey to ask people what they would like us to do for them, and we got only about a dozen responses back.

We just had Board elections and the entire slate of Board members was re-elected...none of the elections were contested. We keep our eyes open and when someone shows some interest we try to get them to start coming to Board meetings and volunteer for something. Sometimes they come, sometimes they don't. They usually don't. The ones that do and keep coming back eventually end up on the Board, too, so we've been able to handle natural attrition from people moving away or needing to quit for personal reasons.

I see so little desire to volunteer for anything that whenever someone complains about USABDA chapters my first thought is "well, go do something about it." I once complained about how our chapter's web site hadn't been updated in six months. Lo and behold, I became the chapter's web master because our previous one just didn't have the time for it and was more than happy to turn it over to someone who did. DanceAm's post confirms my suspicion that it's a tiny fraction of the people doing the vast majority of the work. The honest truth is that if you want to make something happen, you have to go out and do it. So, the music at the parties you go to is lame? Then offer to DJ the next one. Not enough young people? Then ask the Board if you can start handing out discount coupons or free tickets to the next event to college students and younger adults at the local studios. Don't like the venue? Then ask the Board what their budget is for venue rental and give them a list of other places to check out that might work.

There are committees in each Region that lie fallow because no one wants to chair them. Granted, these opportunities aren't always communicated to the general membership, but I've found if you ask you can get results. And if you're not getting results, try running against the people who won't do anything. Chances are they've been sitting in their position unopposed for years. Come up with a plan and a platform and see if you can convince people who probably haven't even voted in years to support you, and you might end up as an Officer. Heck, you might end up being one by showing up at a Board meeting and saying "hey, I'm here to represent a different demographic, what can I do to help?"

And if you don't have time to help, or the desire to help, then unfortunately I really think you have little call to pick on the people who do all the work for being tired and boring and out-of-touch with your age group. They might very well be the way they are because no one has come forward to breathe fresh air into the chapter and to help them to understand what is wanted and needed.

And as far as older people (I'm 39) having more time, I have to laugh. You younger people think you're so busy...I did too...let me tell you, unless you are very fortunate and get to the point where you don't have to work for a living, you will not actually get MORE time as you age until you hit retirement -- and then you'll be old and the younger people will complain that you're boring and out-of-touch.

[dragon3085]

Well being 33 and having to maintain the IT infrastructure for 4 call centers, I can say that yes I am busy. I can also say I had a lot more free time back during the college days when I didn't have a freaking pager. In fact the worse thing I ever did was get a job and a career :-) luckily I don't have kids 'yet' . Laura seems to have answered my question best, although she did say her Chapter was not typical, it seems they are the most responsive. My basic point is this, What do you get out of your USABDA membership? They get on me to join but my question is what is in it for me? Its seems that what the national website advertises and what the local chapter provide don't match up. So that really the main question. What do those of you who go to USABDA events get out of it? And I'm talking more about the general crowd and not the volunteers and organizers, they have more than enough to keep them busy. :-)

Patrick

[Sagitta]

I can see where you are coming from Laura. The closest USBDA events in my area are at Syracuse (45+ minutes away), and I don't know much about them. I did consider going to them, however, we do have a local group that hosts dances in our area, called IthacaSocialDance, (that splintered off from the local swing organization). It started out last year as a monthly event and now recently there are dances twice a month. There were 4 people who organized these events, and just this past month I joined as a 5th, when asked. I'm creating a calendar of dance events for the group, and am starting to help set-up and clear up at events. The other members of this group are in the 40s plus.

There is a lot of apathy, in terms of participation, whether it be a local group like mine, USBDA chapter, or even collegiate clubs, such as the one at Cornell. Many people have their opinions and say things, but many aren't willing to take action, participate, get involved.

[DanceAm]

"Ask not what your chapter can do for you, ask what you can do for your chapter."

[KevinL]

I'll start by saying there is no "normal" USABDA chapter, just like there is no "normal" state in the USA. Every chapter (state) is different because of it's geographic location, and population. Every chapter is different because of the members who have chosen to donate their time to run the chapter. Each individual has their own skills, abilities and biases. Why would people who are predominantly social dancers bother hosting competitions? Why would people who are predominantly competitive dancers bother hosting social dances? The short answer would be that the other activities are attractive to other people, and therefore better for dancing as a whole.

My basic point is this, What do you get out of your USABDA membership?

I get a listing of all dance related events going on in my area, via email every week or so. (Of course I could get that for free because that email list is available for everyone, not just members.)

I get a dance social once a month where I don't have to be in charge, and that is neutral territory that students learning from all the local teachers come together and dance. They try to play a variety of music, and that appeals to most ballroom dancers but is not enough salsa or swing to keep the interest of the salsa dancers and swing dancers, so those demographics are significantly under-represented at the USABDA dances.

I get a listing on their website as a dance teacher.

Could they do more? Absolutely. I can see dozens of things that I think they should be doing. But they are volunteers, and are doing what they can (and want to) do. I sometimes offer my suggestions, but if they are too busy to do what I suggest, I do it myself.

They get on me to join but my question is what is in it for me?

"What is in it for you" is everything your heart desires, if you are willing to put some personal effort into making the situation what you want. Others have given many suggestions for things that you could do to improve how your USABDA chapter responds to your needs/desires, but they all depend on your putting your own time and effort into making them happen.

Its seems that what the national website advertises and what the local chapter provide don't match up. So that really the main question. What do those of you who go to USABDA events get out of it? And I'm talking more about the general crowd and not the volunteers and organizers, they have more than enough to keep them busy. :-)

Sure, but the national website advertises everything that is possible, while the local chapters have to decide which events to spend thier limited time and effort on supporting. Therefore, the local chapters offer significantly different events from one area to another. If you don't like what is offered, offer to do something to change it.

Kevin

[mr bixx]

our usabda chapter here has 2 dances a month. the first and third friday. one is a general ballroom dance and the third friday is a rhythm nite. its pretty much older people up here, but the we do get some younger folks.
i try not to go unless i am with my partner and then we jsut go practice.

[SDsalsaguy]

i try not to go unless i am with my partner...
Just out of curiosity, why not?

[Spitfire]

Here the USABDA has a dance 8 out of 12 months of the year and a workshop in January, April, and July. In October there is a show known as Dancing in the Park. For those months there are these activities rather then a dance.

Most are in the 35-50 year age range, but there have been a fair number of younger people.

[spatten]

Our new USABDA chapter seems the antithesis of Laura's Chapter. Somehow our board members decided competition was a silly thing for people who had too much money to blow, and they will have nothing to do with it. On the other hand they have succeeded pretty well in maintaing a nice attendance at the monthly social dances. There will always be complaints about the music, but I only choose to sit out a very few numbers based on poor music choice.

Our chapter seems to have the same sort of age distribution as others are describing on the board. There are usually a handful of younger dancers to keep eachother interested, but just barely.

The oddest thing about the chapter appears that 95% percent of the dancers never learned that slow moving, or stationery dancers should be near the center of the floor to allow those who want to travel the opportunity to do so.


Scott

[Laura]

I don't know Scott, I seem to see that problem in a lot of places! My favorite was when Lindy Hoppers would dance in the line of dance when quicksteps were playing, and the quicksteppers would be on the outer circle trying to go around the line of dance and...eh, it wasn't pretty.

At one point some social dancers in our area wanted to form a chapter that focussed on social dancing. USABDA National said sure, go for it, but the chapter never got off the ground because the people who wanted to start it couldn't find enough people to join and form a board. As I've said before, our area takes very good care of social dancers anyway.

If there's enough competitors around, maybe you all could try to form a competition-focussed chapter? It's not easy, but I can't imagine that it's impossible.

In my opinion, even if your current Board doesn't think much of competitive dancing, they shouldn't ignore it if there are members who want to do something about it. There's always room for creative experimentation, cooperation, and compromise. But then I believe that the Board should exist to serve the members, which might not be a universally-held belief.

[dragon3085]

We have similiar problems here in Texas at the country clubs, the idea of center for swing dancers (most common example in coutnry clubs but also some cha-chaers) and the outside line of dance for progessive dances eludes people on both sides- and then we also get the occasional couple that decided they are going to dance the entire 2 step or shuffle against line of dance on a crowded floor. Oh yeah that fun- Keep the leaders on their toes though..,

[DanceAm]

"Somehow our board members decided competition was a silly thing for people who had too much money to blow, and they will have nothing to do with it. "

Who are they to critisize the choices of others?

That attitude seems to tick me off a bit.

I might say something about those social dancers, but the term "Social Dancer" is derogatory enough.

But no ill meant to anyone who is a social dancer but sees competition as something good.

[spatten]

Yes, I agree. It is a terrible attitude, and frankly these same folks who have shunned competition don't really have any clue what good dancing is - be it social or competitive.

The first chapter in this area, the one I have mentioned above, draws about 100 people to its monthly dances. These are nice dances, and it suits the venue well. In response to their harsh view of competition an ex board member set up a new chapter - but it has and will probably continue to struggle. There doesn't seem to be enough people to support 2 chapters, no matter how strong the organizers of the new chapter are.

I would really like to merge the two chapters again, and heal the wounds. Hopefully that will happen.

[Chris Stratton]

"Somehow our board members decided competition was a silly thing for people who had too much money to blow, and they will have nothing to do with it. "

Unless they've had some exposure to the lower cost possibilites of amateur competition, that may not really be a very extreme or unrealistic view to hold. Obviously something like NorCal's club competitions could do a lot to change impressions - if it were possible to get up enough interest to hold one.

[Laura]

Yeah, when I say low-cost low-key competitions I really mean it. We hold them at a venue that is really more suited to social dancing, but since it's not intended to be a high-level comp it works for our purposes. Our entry fees are $15 for adults and $5 for under-18. That $15 or $5 is the same no matter if you are a spectator or a competitor -- we don't charge anything extra to enter the competitive events, and you can dance in as many things as you are eligible for that your heart desires. We give out ribbons and trophies as awards, and occasionally even small scholarships. We get local pros to judge the events. Non-point granting "club-level" comps don't have to be huge or expensive, especially if you're trying to get social dancers into them. Our comps are small, and we have time for social dancing and fun events like Jack-and-Jill contests and a college team match. Trying something like this might be a way to bring the two sides together. We usually make a little bit of money on the deal, too -- enough so that when we do lose money every now and then it all works out.

[pygmalion]

Dang! This is a great thread. I've been swamped since Monday, so I haven't been keeping up like I want. Then I come back today, and there's this beautiful thread with so many posts I'm dying to respond to personally. Bear with me while I catch up.

Laura, PM me, please. I'd like to know more about how you set up yourr comps. 8) No pressure. Just a few questions. :D

[pygmalion]

Being over 40, I will try not to take exception. However, chapter supporters are all volunteer, all work is voluntary. Putting the music together, creating the CD, finding an instructor for the class, setup, cleanup, paying the teacher, paying the venue owner for use, keeping the books, managing the list of members and reducing deliquencies in membership dues, annual chapter reports, going to meetings, managing the website, all of which takes time. None of this is restricted to the over 40 crowd by law, but it seems that way.

You crack me up! :lol: :lol: But you have a point. Finding dissatisfied people is easy. Finding dissatisfied people who are willing to give up their time and resources to change things, not so easy.

The main reason your USABDA chapter seems like the same old thing is because it is always the same people doing all the work. Everyone complains about the music, the floor is too slippery or too sticky, there are not enough men at the dances, someone talks too long, why can't we have more exhibitions, why do we have so many exhibitions, it's too cold, someone talks too much in between songs. The complaints are endless but in our group, it is they same 8 people involved every month and it is hard for them to make the entire chapter happy.

Yup. This is true in a lot of volunteer organizations. There are only so many new ideas that a small group can come up with. To get really new perspectives, some additional people have to step up to the plate.

[pygmalion]

The long and short of it is (and don't bash me here)...the older you are, the more free time you have to volunteer. As you get older (and wiser) you make time for things you want to participate in. Volunteers don't always do good work, though....hard work, yes....but run an organization as large as this with volunteers? It will die....

I can see why one might think this, UltraMagnus, and in some cases, it IS true. Still, everybody, young or old, has the right to decide how they spend their "free time" right? So, if "old" people have twenty free hours, and give two to USABDA, why can "young" people with ten free hours not give one to USABDA? (Just for example.)

My experience, having done "way young" thing and the "not so young thing," is that nobody has FREE time. People prioritize what to do with their over-committed time based on what's important to them. Maybe more older people prioritize supporting their local chapter as important. I doubt it's because they have nothing to do, though. They DO have lives, most of them. Maybe they're just sensitized to the importance of giving back to the community, which IS an old-fashioned value. Just another view.

[pygmalion]

I suspect you are before the "have kids" stage, and are looking at people around the "retire" point. You may have missed the whole parent demographic, not surprising since they have so little time one rarely sees them in public.

Amen! People with kids, especially young kids, have NEGATIVE time available. everything they do is deficit time spending. :lol: :lol:

[pygmalion]

Well being 33 and having to maintain the IT infrastructure for 4 call centers, I can say that yes I am busy. I can also say I had a lot more free time back during the college days when I didn't have a freaking pager. In fact the worse thing I ever did was get a job and a career :-) luckily I don't have kids 'yet' . Laura seems to have answered my question best, although she did say her Chapter was not typical, it seems they are the most responsive. My basic point is this, What do you get out of your USABDA membership? They get on me to join but my question is what is in it for me? Its seems that what the national website advertises and what the local chapter provide don't match up. So that really the main question. What do those of you who go to USABDA events get out of it? And I'm talking more about the general crowd and not the volunteers and organizers, they have more than enough to keep them busy. :-)

Patrick


Beautifully said, Patrick. I think a lot of people get involved in volunteer activities because they feel a calling, but forget that not everyone has that sam e feeling. The average member wants to know what he or she is going to get for their $40 (or $30 or $50) check. That's why USABDA boards have to be constantly looking to provide value-added to their members. Not everyone is going to get their jollies from being a member. People want something more. m

[mr bixx]

i try not to go unless i am with my partner...
Just out of curiosity, why not?

ok dont get me wrong here. and i really dont wanna sound like an ass. when i go to the usabda up here about 40 percent of the people there are my students. basically while i am there i end up servicing all of my students and not dancing with my partner. also this creates tension sometimes, because if i am showing one student more attention then the other people get jelous. everyday day i get paid to dance with these people then they expect alot when i am out enjoying myself. (this soudns really bad and very greedy but didnt know how else to state it)
i do however dance with alot of other people while i am there. its not like we hang out in a corner. i'm a very social person. also up here i teach a lesson before every dance.

[SDsalsaguy]

Sounds reasonable enough to me mr bixx... you're basically saying that when you go out to a social dance you want it to be different from what you do at work -- and that the only way that really happens is when your partner is with you. If I'm understanding you right that sounds reasonable to me... and you don't sound like an @$$. If you told me that you only danced with your partner, absolutely no one else, and basically mowed down all of the more social dancers on the floor I'd have to reconsider but, as is, it sounds reasonable to me.

[mr bixx]

yeah i guess your on the same page as me then. i love to dance period. but you know some people expect something for free. besides dancing with my partner one of my favorite people to dance with is a 98 year old lady. granted she cant do much but shes awesome and extremely fun to dance with.

[SDsalsaguy]

The fact that she's 98 and dancing is certainly proof enough that she's awesome! You can tell her I said so too! :wink:

[pygmalion]

i try not to go unless i am with my partner...
Just out of curiosity, why not?

ok dont get me wrong here. and i really dont wanna sound like an @$$. when i go to the usabda up here about 40 percent of the people there are my students. basically while i am there i end up servicing all of my students and not dancing with my partner. also this creates tension sometimes, because if i am showing one student more attention then the other people get jelous. everyday day i get paid to dance with these people then they expect alot when i am out enjoying myself. (this soudns really bad and very greedy but didnt know how else to state it)
i do however dance with alot of other people while i am there. its not like we hang out in a corner. i'm a very social person. also up here i teach a lesson before every dance.

This doesn't sound bad or greedy to me, Mr. Bixx. When you're at work or a work-related social, it's reasonable for your students to expect attention from you. If you're out dancing for your own enjoyment, your students need to leave you alone. Dancing with them is your JOB, and it's not fair for them to expect you to be on call 24/7. Sheesh.

[KevinL]

when i go to the usabda up here about 40 percent of the people there are my students. basically while i am there i end up servicing all of my students and not dancing with my partner.

This doesn't sound bad or greedy to me, Mr. Bixx. When you're at work or a work-related social, it's reasonable for your students to expect attention from you. If you're out dancing for your own enjoyment, your students need to leave you alone. Dancing with them is your JOB, and it's not fair for them to expect you to be on call 24/7. Sheesh.

I'm totally with SD and Pyg, if you are out social dancing you are there to have fun, so have fun! If a student asks for input, feel free to answer them briefly, if you wish, but you are under no obligation to give them free private lessons. You could always mention that it is generally considered poor etiquette to teach on a social dance floor.

The flip side of that argument, though, is that you want your students to enjoy themselves and to continue taking lessons, so you might want to give them a little extra to keep them happy. Just don't spend your whole evening teaching, have fun with yourself!

Kevin

[mr bixx]

wow i'm glad you guys understand :D
like i said i do dance them while i'm there i just dont spend all my time with them.