Boring studios...

saludas said:
Finding music that fits the needs of a dancer (International, for instance, has different tempos than America) is hard, and takes a lot of time. As in dancing, preparation is key.

Finally, age and worldliness determines what the dj thinks is 'good' music. Try telling the geeky dj that you want to hear Black Eyed Peas to do a cha cha to, and they will stare blankly at you.
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Amen and amen. :cool:
 
dTas said:
really i'm annoyed at the environment. it seems suited to one kind of dancer only... the aspiring beginner.

you go into a salsa venue and you don't see "stagnent-steps" but innovation and true emotion.
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I disagree. I see street level dancers doing one or two 'moves' usually offtime, moving their arms and not their bodies, and are totally unprepared for anything other than what they know, or what they see around them. SALSA dancers are the ones that will look blankly at you and say "I don't move like that". Ballroom dancers might be simply 'thinking' about what you dance, and may not be as happy to simply 'move to the left' for no reason dance-wise.

Not to diss Salsa (or any social dance) but the reason a social dance is successful is that virtually ANYONE can 'do' it. The harder ones DO take effort, practice, and thought. Salsa does, too, and can look amazing, but most social Salsa dancers will argue that anything outside of THEIR comfort zone is not a character of salsa, same as anyone who only knows the basics in a dance. Ask a salsa dancer to dance with a 'break' on anything but what they know and they freak out...
 
dTas said:
really i'm annoyed at the environment. it seems suited to one kind of dancer only... the aspiring beginner.

i sit in these studios and sigh with boredome... just another practice party.

why can't ballroom have an environment where people "cut-loose" with their ballroom dancing. inspire inovation and colaboration on the dance floor. create a community that takes ballroom in a different direction and get out of this "studio-rutt".

it seems that ballroom has isolated itself and made itself "too specialized". where salsa and swing have made themselves more "open" and "inviting". you go into a salsa venue and you don't see "stagnent-steps" but innovation and true emotion. yes, sometimes studios are enlightened by the occasional couple that really enjoys their dancing and captures your heart in watching them dance, but those moments are few and far between.

where are they? i'm not talking about advanced dancers, i'm talking about dynamic folks that spur energy and life in dance and are fun to watch even when they're doing the basic. you can see that they're out there for themselves... and loving it. not trying to execute some routine and look "perfect" but doing what they feel and connecting with each other.
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I think there are several factors here.

First, "dynamic" folks you're talking about are rare in general, not just in dancing. And maybe the "dynamic" ones gravitate naturally towards clubs because of the athmosphere. I know a person like this. She is the life of the party type and she just likes to hang out in clubs, although she does not dance.

Second, I think the "connecting with each other" part you're talking about is something that comes with experience. I always enjoyed dancing, but it took me a long time to get to the point when my dancing became enjoyable to watch (I figured it happened when I actually started getting compliments like "I like watching you dance", so if I count from the time I first came to a group class, it took me 5 years to get to that point)
 
dtas how long have you been in Washington? It has been that way in the puget sound area for as long as i can remember with the exception of when USABDA NW used to have their dances at the Mountainers Club 20+ yrs ago. That was a rockin ballroom dance!
 
tanya_the_dancer said:
I think there are several factors here.

First, "dynamic" folks you're talking about are rare in general, not just in dancing. And maybe the "dynamic" ones gravitate naturally towards clubs because of the athmosphere. I know a person like this. She is the life of the party type and she just likes to hang out in clubs, although she does not dance.

Second, I think the "connecting with each other" part you're talking about is something that comes with experience. I always enjoyed dancing, but it took me a long time to get to the point when my dancing became enjoyable to watch (I figured it happened when I actually started getting compliments like "I like watching you dance", so if I count from the time I first came to a group class, it took me 5 years to get to that point)
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Amen. Plus, really, how many ''good' dancers are there? it's like that comment about there being x billion people on the planet and only 8 supermodels....
 
i hope all y'all disagreeing with dtas have thriving, energetic, well-attended regular ballroom parties in your area - and i honestly do hope that, i'm not being facetious. because if your scene sort of sucks, yet you're arguing with him, i have to wonder if your reaction has more to do with defending your hobby than engaging in a discussion about why, for many people, the 'opportunities' for noncompetitive ballroom dancing are so depressing.
 
alemana said:
i hope all y'all disagreeing with dtas have thriving, energetic, well-attended regular ballroom parties in your area - and i honestly do hope that, i'm not being facetious. because if your scene sort of sucks, yet you're arguing with him, i have to wonder if your reaction has more to do with defending your hobby than engaging in a discussion about why, for many people, the 'opportunities' for noncompetitive ballroom dancing are so depressing.
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Well said
 
except for the part where i say "all y'all." i am not sure where the hell that came from. who am I, daisy duke all of the sudden?!
 
alemana said:
i hope all y'all disagreeing with dtas have thriving, energetic, well-attended regular ballroom parties in your area - and i honestly do hope that, i'm not being facetious. because if your scene sort of sucks, yet you're arguing with him, i have to wonder if your reaction has more to do with defending your hobby than engaging in a discussion about why, for many people, the 'opportunities' for noncompetitive ballroom dancing are so depressing.
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I don't know about you guys, but I don't look for club-type athmosphere (am I making sense?) when I go to dance socially. I've been to a club once, I didn't like it (smoke, too crowded, so loud that you can't hear yourself talk, and the dance floor is way too small). So I go to studio parties (open to everyone,$8 pp), which are relaxed, yet do not have club athmosphere. They're reasonably well attended, considering that ours is a relatively small town.

Have to run, will come back later...
 
alemana said:
except for the part where i say "all y'all." i am not sure where the hell that came from. who am I, daisy duke all of the sudden?!
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nahh...she already knows how to grind ;)
 
i don't get the sense that the club-like atmosphere (many parts of which dtas explicitly rejected in his posts) is the issue. the issue is the attitude of the people in the room. whatever the room. (oh, and some of the accoutrments of the room, like music choice.)

even at studios where multiple styles are taught, you will frequently feel an overwhelmingly tangible difference at *studio* ballroom parties versus *studio* (other style) parties. so that cancels out the stuff about the liquor/smoke/darkness making club atmospheres more conducive to a certain excitement/innovation level.
 
hmm, maybe i've never been to one of the said boring studio parties that's why i'm having a hard time relating...
 
thanks Alemana! you are hitting my point ON THE NOSE!

its not club dancing that i want. i don't like clubs either exactly for the same reasons as everyone else... smoke, small floor, drunks, grinding, etc etc

its the atmosphere generated within the ballroom studio that i'm complaining about. and its not just the studio's fault (though that's probably a factor). i'm trying to describe the creative energy, the "i want to live" enthusiasm.

the atmosphere gets "stiffled" with "that's the wrong step", "you're not doing that right", "i have to be perfect", "i want to be noticed", "i want to impress that girl". "what's that new step i just learned", all this "peform, perform, perform" kind of thinking.

If they'd just relax and not worry so much about doing it right they would look sooo much better! and i really think they would enjoy it more too.

again i ask... where is a ballroom "club" where its not all about "outside partner", "open footwork", "cbm", "instep", "figure x", "toe-heel", "frame", "basic", "bronze", "silver", "international", "american", etc etc but where those qualities are utilized to just dance.
 
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