Ballroom and the economy

P

pygmalion

Well-Known Member
I was tentatively planning to go back and visit my old home town for a ballroom comp this spring. But alas. Still, a month before that comp should be happening, there's no sign of it. The conclusion my friends and I have drawn is that the poor US economy killed that comp, at least for this year. I guess I'll go visit later this year for another comp. I sincerely hope the economy's rebounded by then.


Just curious. What economy-related effects, if any, have you seen on the ballroom "business" and culture, where you live? Have you seen the shakedown I'm seeing? Have you seen anything good come out of the economic crunch? Comments?
 
In my opinion, the "ballroom business" IS related to economy. After all, it takes quite a bit of investment, not only your time and devotion, but also financially. Take the ballroom dance scene in Asia for example, the top dancers are mostly from countries (regions) with relatively better economic environment, like Japan. And now China is catching up, which is in parallel with its economic development. Economy contributes to the "ballroom business" in many perspectives. First, it has the money to invite best dancers to give performance and trainings in the country. Second, it can organize more compititions, which is a great way to promote the dancesport and attract more people to participate. Third, dancers would have the money to pay for the advanced trainings and trips to countries with higher level of ballroom dancing. And I'm sure there are many other factors that are not on top of my head.

Maybe this is a bit off topic, but they are just my 2 cents. :)
 
pygmalion said:
I was tentatively planning to go back and visit my old home town for a ballroom comp this spring. But alas. Still, a month before that comp should be happening, there's no sign of it. The conclusion my friends and I have drawn is that the poor US economy killed that comp, at least for this year. I guess I'll go visit later this year for another comp. I sincerely hope the economy's rebounded by then.
Click to expand...

If this is the comp that happened in 2003 but didn't happen in 04 or 05, I'm not sure economy had much to do with it. If it is the event I'm thinking of (and working on resurrecting), it had more to do with lack of volunteer help than anything. :-)
 
geoffbjcn said:
In my opinion, the "ballroom business" IS related to economy. After all, it takes quite a bit of investment, not only your time and devotion, but also financially. )
Click to expand...

And, if budgets need to be cut, some might think that dancing is - well, frivolous! Not you or me, of course, we know that it is an essential.
That said, people have been known to put food, shelter - and even clothing, above dancing! I know it's shocking, I hope you are all sitting down. Wait - of course you are! Or you could be in other postions if you have a laptop computer.

:lol: :wink:
 
If budgets had to be cut, I would probably cut back on my dancing, but never cut it out. Wash your mouth out chachachacat!

I have actually cut down on the groceries, etc to be able to do more dancing. How obsessed is that!!?? :lol:
 
Cutting down on groceries doesn't sound all that strange to me... :roll: :roll:
Ehm. Explaining... If you go to the grocery store and, besides all the necessary stuff, you also buy... say, jelly beans, an automatic avocado juice maker and a very expensive brand of delicatessen, well I'd cut down on those both for dancing and for my wallet's sake! I'm cutting down my buying chocolates on my way home, because I put on weight and I can save money in the long run that will buy me a new pair of training trousers, or a pair of dance shoes, or more dance lessons!
All things above considered, I would like to say that I'm not a "save money" person and never was, but dancing has given me many motives. :D So dancing and economy? I've given the subject a little twist. :P

Twilight Elena

P.s. Or a little hijack. :wink:
 
I don't think the economy holds a particularly big influence on dance, certainly not at the competitive end. Most competitive dancers I know would rather sell a kidney or two than give up dance!

I could imagine that a general "fell-good-factor" due to a booming economy might get more people to go out and have fun, and that in turn might include starting ballroom, but even then it depends more on the popularity of ballroom over other forms of entertainment...

Given the music they play at *some* ballroom events, I could imagine that a gloomy economy might be good for dancing, "music to slit your wrists to" ;).
 
DancingMommy said:
pygmalion said:
I was tentatively planning to go back and visit my old home town for a ballroom comp this spring. But alas. Still, a month before that comp should be happening, there's no sign of it. The conclusion my friends and I have drawn is that the poor US economy killed that comp, at least for this year. I guess I'll go visit later this year for another comp. I sincerely hope the economy's rebounded by then.
Click to expand...

If this is the comp that happened in 2003 but didn't happen in 04 or 05, I'm not sure economy had much to do with it. If it is the event I'm thinking of (and working on resurrecting), it had more to do with lack of volunteer help than anything. :-)
Click to expand...

Yeah. I know about that one. Actually, I would've expected events like that to be well-populated, during an economic downturn. Good luck getting it back up and running in 2006.

For those who don't know what we're talking about, I'm wondering if perhaps less expensive comps, such as those sponsored by USA Dance chapters and college teams, were more popular during the economic downturn. :?
 
Are we almost at the part where we talk about getting by on ramen noodles and rolling pennies for gas?? *LOL*

Maybe everyone can offer up a suggestion of something they gave up in order to have more money for dancing??!! Mine would probably be that I go out with my friends to movies/partying/dinner less often.
 
I think a lot of us have sacrificed things to keep dancing. I also know that some people have had to cut back or move on. I'll never forget one lady who used to have the same teacher as I did. The day of her last lesson, she was literally weeping as she explained to me that, as a single parent, she felt she had to choose between more dance lessons and funding her kids' college educations. Obviously, she picked college for the kids. But it was killing her ...
 
When we had kids, we cut back to 2 lessons per month from four. It was a matter of paying the bills/feeding the kids.

We *used* to take 2 hours per week, but were getting burnt out so we switched to 1 hour/week.

We are in the process of moving to 1.5 hours every 2 weeks.
 
I often wonder what happened to her, and whether her kids even appreciated her sacrifice. Or did the dadburned kids flunk out of college. :lol: :lol:

If I had known then what I know now, I'd have referred her to an independent, pay-as-you go instructor or the group classes around town. But, at the time, all she and I knew about was the franchise. Bummer. :(

I do think that, for non dance addicts (which leaves many of us out) dance lessons are considered non-essentials. So dance lessons are among the things people cut when money gets tight. Silly people. :wink: :lol: :lol:
 
pygmalion said:
I do think that, for non dance addicts (which leaves many of us out) dance lessons are considered non-essentials. So dance lessons are among the things people cut when money gets tight. Silly people. :wink: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

Quite funny, for me it's dinner out, than lunch out... than dance lessons (assuming there is no other expense I can cut)
 
In the past few years since I have started attending professional competitions (as a spectator) - I have noticed a distinct down turn in attendance at NDCA comps. I do not think this is across the board - but I believe some of the weaker comps are being weeded out.

To my line of thinking there were just too many NDCA competitions scheduled. They had gotten fat of the 99-00 time frame - if you will. Then people started watching their money more closely (almost across the board). This meant that dancers were more selective in choosing which comps to attend. So the poorer run comps, the poorer venues, and probably just some unlucky comps fell off. Meanwhile I have seen some new strength is some very good competitions.

It is probably good overall for the NDCA - I think they are being forced to change and improve from many angles. In the end they will be a better industry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Dance Ads

Advertise on Dance Forums Reach dancers, teachers, studios, event organizers, and dance-friendly brands. View ad options
Back
Top