Latin or modern? Do you have to choose?

[MadamSamba]

Hi, folks. I'm relatively new to dancing. I've only been at it about a year, but I've found that I'm kinda expected to specialise in one type of dance in the ballroom world _ either latin or modern.

I'm a bit confused because I adore modern, but love latin's freedom.
Then there's my beloved street latin, which I think is my best style.

My question is, do I have to specialise?

I'm doing my first competition (a tiny, almost psuedo comp) soon and basically it's been suggested that I not do latin, street latin, modern and new vogue, but just latin and street latin.

(*As an aside, it's not becuase I'm better at one over the other. The teacher (of 20 years) told me I could pull off all four and even stood a chance of winning several) However she has said that it wouldn't be wise to continue seriously with all four categories if I want to go on to comps and things and that I should choose one and stick to it or I wouldn't really be taken seriously. I'm not in agreeance. I love modern and new vogue, but would choose latin and street latin if push comes to shove, but I dont' want to make a choice. Why can't I do all well, or at least latin, street latin and new vogue?

[SDsalsaguy]

Hiya MS,

If you enjoy both then, for the time being, do both! I am not sure where you're advice is coming from... the current world Am 10 dance champions, for instance, are in the semi-final in both modern & Latin. Yes, most people tend to specialize down the line but, in the international community, a foundation in both disciplines is more the norm then the exception.

There is, of course, the issue of limited resources -- both time and finances. And, as you progress, it may very well make sense to concentrate your resources rather then stretch them too thin. But, for the time being, there is no reason not to enjoy what you are doing as well as get a sound overall grounding in the different disciplines.

—Jonathan

[pygmalion]

One of the other things that can impact your decision is the speed of progress. Perhaps this is what your coach is getting at. If you focus on one dance, or one style of dance, you can progress a lot faster than if you choose to be a generalist.

[Adwiz]

The two forms are so different that you'll find it enormously challenging at higher levels of competition if you decide to stay with both Latin and Standard. But if you like them both, go for it! World Ten Dance competitors Misa Cigoj & Anastassia Novozhilova of Slovenia are one of my favorite dance couples and they are incredible at both. They are 3rd place finishers in the World Ten Dance and 2nd place World IDSF Latin finalists. That's a remarkable accomplishment!

But as Pygmalion mentioned, trying to learn both at the same time will dramatically increase the amount of time it takes you to develop. Dancers who work both forms generally take much longer to make it to the podium and may find this delay discouraging, depending on personality type.

My wife and I also enjoy both forms, but we decided we did want to compete and win fairly quickly so we focused almost entirely on Latin for now, doing Standard only for social dancing. After some good placings in Latin competitions we'll begin to get serious about learning the Standard dances but I doubt we'll ever compete in them.