Big Scene/Little Scene

[pygmalion]

Which do you prefer? As I google, I'm noticing some major differences between the small-to-medium scene I'm moving from and the pretty-big scene I'm moving to.

What I've seen so far is that, in the bigger scene, public dances seem to be cheaper. Anywhere from free to $5, where in the smallish scene, the prices are about $5 - $10, on average. Makes sense. Running a dance costs about the same, so, if you divide the costs by the number of people, big scenes can afford to be cheaper, right? (Except for NYC or LA which are a story all on their own. :wink: )

The other big difference is the diversity of dances available. In Orlando, for example, if you want to do Argentine tango, there's basically one milonga you can attend (for $15, btw) In Dallas, there's quite a selection, and at lower prices. There's also ballroom dance, a bunch of swing dance variants, country partner dance, line dance, salsa, some local dances, contra dance, round dance, square dance, you name it. Any night of the week. Orlando, not so much. Great for me, since I'm a dance generalist.

So here's the question. Let's say you're a one-genre dancer, like swing or salsa, or something. Would you rather dance in a big scene, with lower prices but a bigger (maybe more impersonal) crowd, or in a small scene with slightly higher prices, but where you can make friends and maybe fit it more easily? Why?

[Sagitta]

I'm not a one genre dancer. I am a one dance dancer!! Give me cha cha cha any time of the night or day! :banana:

Actually I like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, forro....do zydeco, dabble in AT....you get the idea... tee hee hee :)

Prefer there being a scene with a choice of different great dance events every night. This way I don't do a dance on a particular night because that is the only thing available, but, because that's what I really feel into doing that night.

[motardmom]

Prefer there being a scene with a choice of different great dance events every night. This way I don't do a dance on a particular night because that is the only thing available, but, because that's what I really feel into doing that night.

That's me. Now we just have to find a way for me and Sagitta to find each other in the same part of the world and feeling the same dance on the same night. Are we on, Sagitta, for some non-committal flirting? 8)

[Vin]

A big scene is best in my opinion. Yes it lacks the intimacy of a small scene but with enough time you always start to make friends in the scene and the scene gets more intimate(for you). With a large scene you will always be finding the unknown surprises. That person you never danced with before yet provides a great connection
With a smaller scene eventually you have danced with everyone.

[youngsta]

I've gotta go with a bigger scene if only because it's the only way you can truly become your best. When the big fish from the small pond visits the ocean he realizes just how far he still has to go. Having said that, I do enjoy knowing everyone in my current scene.

[pygmalion]

Interesting. Nobody has voted for small/intimate. How about for beginners? Isn't it easier to break into a small scene, especially if you're a scared newbie? :?

[Flat Shoes]

I voted for bigger is better, size DOES matter etc.

I don't think a small scene is easier for a beginner. In a small scene, everybody knows everybody, and a person may easily feel on the outside. Even when the scene is acticiley trying to include new people, it may still be difficult to be a part of the group.

In a big scene, there will probably be more beginners. More people, more draft, more beginners etc. Then the beginners can find each other and form a sub-community within the bigger community.Or there will exist several sub-communities already, and the chances are better that you'll find one that makes you feel accepted.

Personally I voted 'Bigger is Better', because a small scene means less dance opportunities, and less people to dance with. While a bigger scene will have more days with dances, making it more flexible and easier to find days that suits the time schedule.

[Sagitta]

Prefer there being a scene with a choice of different great dance events every night. This way I don't do a dance on a particular night because that is the only thing available, but, because that's what I really feel into doing that night.

That's me. Now we just have to find a way for me and Sagitta to find each other in the same part of the world and feeling the same dance on the same night. Are we on, Sagitta, for some non-committal flirting? 8)

Non-committal flirting? :? You got me there on that one. I'm commited to flirting, way committed. :P :) When you come back to the US we'll only be a couple 1000 miles les further apart. We'll see...are you committed to flirting as much as I am, and always will be? :wink: :)

[pygmalion]

Personally I voted 'Bigger is Better', because a small scene means less dance opportunities, and less people to dance with. While a bigger scene will have more days with dances, making it more flexible and easier to find days that suits the time schedule.

Thanks. :D Just figured I'd ask. 8) And that does make sense. A big scene can probably better afford to have free or cheap lessons for beginners, too, right? 8)

[blue]

What do you mean by scene? It looks like you mean everything that is available in one town.

If the crowd doing the dance in question is not really small, this scene will be divided up in smaller groups. Schools, studios, non-profit-societies, venues, circles of friends. These might be intertwined, but the scene as a whole consists of smaller units. It is in these smaller units that the beginner and near-beginner will hopefully find the less intimidating place to start.

So if "scene" means how much is available to you if you want, then I say the bigger the better. No, I don't think the bigger scene is more intimidating. Quite the contrary, if only a small group is doing something you feel you should more or less be an expert to try but when something is popular, lots of people dare trying it.

[peachexploration]

The bigger, the better. I'm a one genre dancer so the bigger scene means more choices even if it's just one genre.

[pygmalion]

Wanna move to Dallas? :wink:

[peachexploration]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[pygmalion]

What do you mean by scene? It looks like you mean everything that is available in one town.


Or reasonable commuting area. 8)

[blue]

OK, I still go for big is better. There will always be a nice and cosy corner somewhere.

[mamboqueen]

I'd move to NYC (or suburbs, more likely) the minute my husband would agree to it (which will never happen)....not just for the dance; that's a huge plus, but for the culture, museums, clothes and FOOD!

I think bigger is better....more choices, etc. I'd really hate to be in an area that had one dance studio for a hundred miles. Eeek!

Sagitta - what exactly is zydeco dancing? I *love* the music, but didn't know there was an actual dance to do to it.

[jon]

What I've seen so far is that, in the bigger scene, public dances seem to be cheaper. Anywhere from free to $5, where in the smallish scene, the prices are about $5 - $10, on average. Makes sense. Running a dance costs about the same, so, if you divide the costs by the number of people, big scenes can afford to be cheaper, right?

I don't think that necessarily follows. You need more floor space and a bigger sound system for more dancers, and renting space in urban areas tends to be more expensive. I'd say the SF Bay Area is a "large" dance scene, but our dances run $8-$10 and up.

Would you rather dance in a big scene, with lower prices but a bigger (maybe more impersonal) crowd, or in a small scene with slightly higher prices, but where you can make friends and maybe fit it more easily? Why?

Individuals in any group may be friendly or not, and there's no guarantee that you'll get along well with the cliques that are more likely to be dominant in smaller groups.

I like having more choices and a higher average level of dancing, and I like seeing the people I particularly enjoy dancing with on a frequent basis, too.

[motardmom]

Prefer there being a scene with a choice of different great dance events every night. This way I don't do a dance on a particular night because that is the only thing available, but, because that's what I really feel into doing that night.

That's me. Now we just have to find a way for me and Sagitta to find each other in the same part of the world and feeling the same dance on the same night. Are we on, Sagitta, for some non-committal flirting? 8)

Non-committal flirting? :? You got me there on that one. I'm commited to flirting, way committed. :P :) When you come back to the US we'll only be a couple 1000 miles les further apart. We'll see...are you committed to flirting as much as I am, and always will be? :wink: :)

Non-committal flirting - flirting with no pressure for the flirting to lead to anything but more dancing! 8) I'd love to see NY.... We'll have to wait and see if I can make it that far. Perhaps on one of our flights back to visit family I could schedule a lay-over in NY..... :lol:

[Sagitta]

I'd move to NYC (or suburbs, more likely) the minute my husband would agree to it (which will never happen)....not just for the dance; that's a huge plus, but for the culture, museums, clothes and FOOD!

I think bigger is better....more choices, etc. I'd really hate to be in an area that had one dance studio for a hundred miles. Eeek!

Sagitta - what exactly is zydeco dancing? I *love* the music, but didn't know there was an actual dance to do to it.

Okay, instead of doing quick quick slow, you do slow quick quick. Posture is as if sitting on a bar stool. Imagine being back in steamy hot South. You ain't jumpin' around.

Links:

http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?p=26071#26071

[MacMoto]

So here's the question. Let's say you're a one-genre dancer, like swing or salsa, or something. Would you rather dance in a big scene, with lower prices but a bigger (maybe more impersonal) crowd, or in a small scene with slightly higher prices, but where you can make friends and maybe fit it more easily? Why?
The only comparison I can make is between Central Scotland (Edinburgh & Glasgow) and London, and I don't think it's cheaper to dance in London. When I went to a club in London, the door charge was something like 7 or 8 pounds. In Scotland many clubs are free and those that charge only charge 3-5 pounds. Drinks are also cheaper in Scotland.

[pygmalion]

Yup. I meant to go back and modify my first post. Where I said something about New York and LA being in a class of their own, I meant to include London. "International" cities (my terminology :wink: ) seem to charge you a premium just for being there. :?

[tj]

The bigger, the better, IMHO.

If you want small within a big scene, go to a small studio in the 'burbs. It'll have all the intimacy you crave, plus you could still go to the bigger locales, too.

An example would be Danceworks in Redmond, WA. (with the larger scene being the Century.)

[mamboqueen]

Thanks, Sagitta. Interesting. Hopefully, I'll have the pleasure of encountering it one of these days. I first heard zydeco on a trip to New Orleans (House of Blues, if I remember correctly), then heard it in a movie (maybe the Big Easy??), then I bought a latin cd and surprise, there's a zydeco song on it (I cha cha or WCS to it). Really is fun music. And I think I can pull off the barstool look....heh heh!!

[pygmalion]

If you want small within a big scene, go to a small studio in the 'burbs. It'll have all the intimacy you crave, plus you could still go to the bigger locales, too.


Good suggestion, tj. 8) Some nights, even nights when I want to dance, a huge crowd is too much for me.

[Sagitta]

Thanks, Sagitta. Interesting. Hopefully, I'll have the pleasure of encountering it one of these days. I first heard zydeco on a trip to New Orleans (House of Blues, if I remember correctly), then heard it in a movie (maybe the Big Easy??), then I bought a latin cd and surprise, there's a zydeco song on it (I cha cha or WCS to it). Really is fun music. And I think I can pull off the barstool look....heh heh!! Actually I love doing salsa to izydeco. Especially with beginners!! House of Blues is big! One of these days I go over theer and check it out. :)

[Swingolder]

Interesting. Nobody has voted for small/intimate. How about for beginners? Isn't it easier to break into a small scene, especially if you're a scared newbie? :?

In a small scene, where most people know each other, you are obviously "new." As a rather shy dancer, I would rather go to a mid size place where I can kind of blend in and not be noticed. (That works for me because I always show up with my own partner so don't have to worry about getting asked to dance!)

[dTas]

i think they both have their place...

its like going to a concert. sometimes its good to go to a huge concert with 1000's of other people, but other times its nice to go to a small personal concert with only 100 people.

a small environment is nice beacuse its so personal but a huge venue is so exciting with lots going on and many people to dance with.

[pygmalion]

Interesting. Nobody has voted for small/intimate. How about for beginners? Isn't it easier to break into a small scene, especially if you're a scared newbie? :?

In a small scene, where most people know each other, you are obviously "new." As a rather shy dancer, I would rather go to a mid size place where I can kind of blend in and not be noticed. (That works for me because I always show up with my own partner so don't have to worry about getting asked to dance!)

Hmm. Makes sense. I'm crazy, though, so being noticed doesn't much bother me. :lol: :lol: (Meaning I'm an extreme extrovert.)

[Sagitta]

Interesting. Nobody has voted for small/intimate. How about for beginners? Isn't it easier to break into a small scene, especially if you're a scared newbie? :?

In a small scene, where most people know each other, you are obviously "new." As a rather shy dancer, I would rather go to a mid size place where I can kind of blend in and not be noticed. (That works for me because I always show up with my own partner so don't have to worry about getting asked to dance!)

Hmm. Makes sense. I'm crazy, though, so being noticed doesn't much bother me. :lol: :lol: (Meaning I'm an extreme extrovert.)

Me too!! However, performing has been driving me crazy lately... :? Takes me a while to get into it and then a 1/3 of the performance is over. However, when dancing with someone socially I never have had a problem being the only one dancing on the dance floor. :? Go figure!

[squirrel]

I say... the bigger the better! Probably a result of my experience in a small Salsa scene...