Choosing a style; specialization; FOMO

classydancer

classydancer

Member
*If there is another thread where a similar topic is discussed, please let me know!* :)

I'm at a bit of cross-roads and it's eating at me. My partner and I have been dancing together for two years and competing for one year. We compete at novice and pre-champ adult levels in latin and standard. Last year, we were wondering if we should specialize in one style and agreed that we would give it a year of competing in both and then decide. For much of the year, we've had better results in standard and have generally enjoyed it more. Also, our standard coach is our favorite. Almost every time I walk out of the studio, I have an "enlightened" feeling...like I've learned more than just to open my hip or shoulder in place X...I feel like I'm learning about the essence/principles of dancing and movement.

So the answer seems easy right? However, I have FOMO (fear of missing out) if I drop latin. Sometimes, I see couples dancing latin and I'm amazed at them. I think, "I"m so inspired! I want to move just like that!!" I'm just afraid that if I give it up, I'll be limiting myself....I'll never know my potential as a latin dancer. Yet at the same time, I want to expand the number of competitions we attend (right now we do three larger ones, and three small local ones) and I want to put in the dedicated time get these dance fundamentals right....not feel like I have 20 minutes per dance per day. I also want to final and move out of novice, gosh darn it! My partner and I are both adult dancers and we started as adults. I feel like we just don't have the 8-10 extra years of learning two-three styles and becoming good at them all like these kids we see. So I think, "we will specialize!" And then I get FOMO. Anyone have some wise words of wisdom regarding specialization? Particularly for adult amateur competitors?
 
I specialized (in standard). I decided that with my current age and relatively late start that the only chance I had to ever dance the way I wanted to/suspected that I might be able to before my body gave out would be to dedicate myself to one style. The math (available funds and hours per week, plus hours needed to get 'good', plus current age) didn't work out otherwise. I liked latin, but I loved standard, so the choice was easy for me.

After 3 or so years of specializing, I brought latin back in last year... so it's not like it was gone forever. I just needed to put it aside while I focussed on attaining a goal that I wanted more. Even now, though, I'd describe myself as a standard dancer that is dabbling in latin. My week is still heavily standard-focussed, but that one day a week - latin day! - has come to feel like a bit of a break :)

Edited to add:

Here's another thread on this that might help: https://www.danceforums.com/threads/to-specialize-or-not-to-specialize.34296/
 
[QUOTE="FancyFeet, post: 1109955, member: 70685" The math (available funds and hours per week, plus hours needed to get 'good', plus current age) didn't work out otherwise. [/QUOTE]
The Formula! Perfect! Every time one of my dance buddies tells me I "should do Latin," I've needed The Formula -- and now I have it. Thank you!
 
FancyFeet said:
I specialized (in standard). I decided that with my current age and relatively late start that the only chance I had to ever dance the way I wanted to/suspected that I might be able to before my body gave out would be to dedicate myself to one style. The math (available funds and hours per week, plus hours needed to get 'good', plus current age) didn't work out otherwise. I liked latin, but I loved standard, so the choice was easy for me.

After 3 or so years of specializing, I brought latin back in last year... so it's not like it was gone forever. I just needed to put it aside while I focussed on attaining a goal that I wanted more. Even now, though, I'd describe myself as a standard dancer that is dabbling in latin. My week is still heavily standard-focussed, but that one day a week - latin day! - has come to feel like a bit of a break :)

Edited to add:

Here's another thread on this that might help: https://www.danceforums.com/threads/to-specialize-or-not-to-specialize.34296/
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Thank you very much!!
 
I have similar conflicting feelings about specialization. I've been with my current comp pro for several months (so caveat - this is a pro-am perspective), and we are doing Latin and Standard. Latin comes (relatively) easy to me since it fits my personality and I've had *way* more Rhythm training and experience than Smooth during my decade+ of social dancing. I'm struggling with Standard, though the general consensus seems to be that it is inherently a challenging style anyway (so it's me, but not just me).

In terms of competition performance, any rational person would probably advise me to specialize in Latin since that is my "strength". But I feel like not pursuing Standard would be "giving up" just because I'm not good at it, and avoiding going outside my comfort zone. The results bear this out - I consistently place well (including scholarships) in Latin, whereas in my most recent Standard scholarship I was 5th out of 6 (hey, at least not last). Also, I want to be well-rounded, not just a one-trick pony.

Right now, I've internally decided that I am going to try Standard for at least 2 years (so for at least another 1+ years). Right now I'm still in the hopeful, "I can get better" mindset. If at any point I become overly miserable and discouraged and dreading it, I will re-consider. And if I'm not genuinely making improvements after another year or so, then I think it will be time to reign it in and stop banging my head against the wall pursuing something that just isn't going to happen.

Btw, regarding age... I'm actually one age category below where the field really starts getting bigger, and I've seen plenty of women 10+ years older than I am who are amazing dancers. So forget comparing yourself to the 20-somethings.
 
I started in rhythm and did that exclusively for 2 years. Then added Latin. Then last year added smooth. Yes, I now progress in each of them individually slower than if I only worked on one, but I’ve actually found just how much they are connected and the things I work on in smooth makes my frame and shaping stronger in Latin and rhythm, etc. and I might not have gotten it as well without the concentration in another style.

Plus, I’m at different levels in all 3 so I find that when open rhythm is challenging, working on silver Latin gives me a break, or basic smooth technique is a different kind of challenge. It’s keeping me from burning out.
 
rels77 said:
I started in rhythm and did that exclusively for 2 years. Then added Latin. Then last year added smooth. Yes, I now progress in each of them individually slower than if I only worked on one, but I’ve actually found just how much they are connected....
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This is one of the best reasons to work in multiple styles (other than simply enjoying it). What you learn in one can really strengthen another. I primarily do smooth, and gave up really working on rhythm because of all of the reasons other people have cited: only so much time, money, and wanting to limit the stress I put on various body parts. On the other hand, I know full well that doing more rhythm would help my smooth. My compromise is that while I don't compete in rhythm, I pick a couple of rhythm dances to work on for the team matches. The timing of team matches, coachings, and competitions don't always work out well, but can't have everything. ;)
 
RiseNFall said:
This is one of the best reasons to work in multiple styles (other than simply enjoying it). What you learn in one can really strengthen another. I primarily do smooth, and gave up really working on rhythm because of all of the reasons other people have cited: only so much time, money, and wanting to limit the stress I put on various body parts. On the other hand, I know full well that doing more rhythm would help my smooth. My compromise is that while I don't compete in rhythm, I pick a couple of rhythm dances to work on for the team matches. The timing of team matches, coachings, and competitions don't always work out well, but can't have everything. ;)
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So true - today during a lesson I realized that a correction we made in tango was almost identical to a recent fix we made in Rhythm cha cha. One of the most fascinating and satisfying elements of dance for me is finding those connections, which is why I could never choose one style, and why I want to eventually dance all four!
 
One of the greatest parts about American Smooth, especially at the gold and open levels, is that it is the perfect combination of Standard and Latin concepts/figures, which satisfies so many dance style needs, and reduces the FOMO
 
Many of the above posts hint at this... Compare yourself to a college student at a university who will choose a curriculum. Major in standard. Minor in Latin.
 
I've been dancing for over a decade by now. When I started dancing (over ten years ago) I also felt the same pressure to specialize to get really good really fast. And now that it's been ten years, and I've switched between specializing in styles a couple of times, I can look back and honestly say - wow, that pressure was totally unwarranted. Your dance journey is your dance journey and you'll get to where you're supposed to go. Even now, I see champ standard dancers picking up Latin because they think it looks cool, or because they want to compete 10-dance. What I'm saying is, the time that you have to improve is much longer than you think, and don't feel that if you don't make it to champ in the next two years or so, that you'll never make it.

I also encourage you to think about what is really important to you. Do you want to compete and win? Do you want to perform and have fun? Do you want to be able to keep dance as a long time activity that will bring you joy for many years? And think about how much time, energy and money you can commit to your goal. If you have a ton of money and time to cross-train to bring you up to speed more quickly, you don't have to give up one style necessarily. If not, and if your goal is to compete and do well in open, then you might have to think about what sacrifices you're willing to make to get you there. Side-bar: I find that cross-training in other athletic disciplines can often be a better way to improve than pure hours spent in the studio.
 
azntwice said:
I also encourage you to think about what is really important to you. Do you want to compete and win? Do you want to perform and have fun? Do you want to be able to keep dance as a long time activity that will bring you joy for many years? And think about how much time, energy and money you can commit to your goal. If you have a ton of money and time to cross-train to bring you up to speed more quickly, you don't have to give up one style necessarily. If not, and if your goal is to compete and do well in open, then you might have to think about what sacrifices you're willing to make to get you there. Side-bar: I find that cross-training in other athletic disciplines can often be a better way to improve than pure hours spent in the studio.
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I really appreciate your thoughts - thank you. I'm sure your questions are rhetorical, but I thought I would answer them anyway :). My goals right now are to compete at championship level and to compete in Europe a few times in the next five years. It will require some sacrifices and careful budgeting, but it's possible. I do want to dance for many years, because it brings so much meaning to my life...but I'm also not content to simply dance for fun. I want to win too! :-P :) Considering all of our circumstances and what we want to accomplish, my partner and I have an idea of what we want to do. However, we are meeting with our coach this coming weekend for a day of lessons, planning, and talking about our goals. We will take his input and guidance and make some decisions then.
 
azntwice said:
Your dance journey is your dance journey and you'll get to where you're supposed to go.
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Great insight.

Not just confined to this thread, there seems to be a lot of interest in quick advancement/improvement. While I understand the desire for noticeable progress and the frustration of stagnation or hitting a wall, and I'm not trying to hold anyone back, this strikes me as one step above the instantaneous fix/gratification expectation that is so prevalent in our society. Learning to dance, and dance well, takes a while. It's not a race, and the reality is that some concepts and techniques just take time to really sink into your body and mind, no matter how much you try to speed up the process. So just do what you want to do (within your time and financial budget), set measurable goals - but not related to "how to get from A to B faster", put in the practice time, and enjoy the ride.
 
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