DanceMentor
Administrator
I'm making the assumption here of the scenario where we have a significant recession that last for several months or even years. I'm wondering how resilient ballroom dancing will be during this time.
I don't want to present myself as an expert on depressions, but I was reading a little bit about the Great Depression. It seems that during that time much of suburbia did pretty well comparatively speaking, and there were many people who went on with their lives without the significant impacts that were felt elsewhere.
I know port cities, and industries with heavy industries like steel or especially impacted. Port cities were impacted because global trade dropped. And the steel industry was hit because new construction was down.
I know that many landlords and property owners during that time lost out, but much of the middle class in suburbia we're able to weather the storm and even paid lower rents, or purchase houses at a lower price. Now there's also became quite frugal.
But dancing also has a history of growing or starting a new trend during such times. As the Great Depression war on, the era of swing dance came out of it. The early seventies weren't such a good time either, and people went to the Disco and the hustle was a thing. These aren't exactly Ballroom dances, but they show that dancing was an important part during these times.
Of course, this time is different because we also have an endemic. That being said, I'm aware of a few dance studios already that are making considerable money, and they are in suburbia.
Looking back at the 1918 epidemic, there were cities who banned dancing in the 20s, but I couldn't find much information about suburbia, and probably the dynamic was a little different then.
Epidemics aside, dancing can be a fairly economical way to get exercise and provides a social outlet for people. Perhaps expensive private lessons might not be for everyone, but group classes and small gatherings might be something that is both viable and popular.
People may put off their big vacation trip, or purchasing the luxury item, and just choose some things that are nearby like dancing to keep them happy while they're waiting for better times to come.
Finally, commercial real estate prices may very well tank. Perhaps some dance studios will not be able to uphold the terms of their lease due to having fewer customers, but this might be something that is quite solvable because they will be able to turn around and rent space well under today's market value. In other words they might be able to get bigger spaces and make dancing even more accessible.
I don't want to present myself as an expert on depressions, but I was reading a little bit about the Great Depression. It seems that during that time much of suburbia did pretty well comparatively speaking, and there were many people who went on with their lives without the significant impacts that were felt elsewhere.
I know port cities, and industries with heavy industries like steel or especially impacted. Port cities were impacted because global trade dropped. And the steel industry was hit because new construction was down.
I know that many landlords and property owners during that time lost out, but much of the middle class in suburbia we're able to weather the storm and even paid lower rents, or purchase houses at a lower price. Now there's also became quite frugal.
But dancing also has a history of growing or starting a new trend during such times. As the Great Depression war on, the era of swing dance came out of it. The early seventies weren't such a good time either, and people went to the Disco and the hustle was a thing. These aren't exactly Ballroom dances, but they show that dancing was an important part during these times.
Of course, this time is different because we also have an endemic. That being said, I'm aware of a few dance studios already that are making considerable money, and they are in suburbia.
Looking back at the 1918 epidemic, there were cities who banned dancing in the 20s, but I couldn't find much information about suburbia, and probably the dynamic was a little different then.
Epidemics aside, dancing can be a fairly economical way to get exercise and provides a social outlet for people. Perhaps expensive private lessons might not be for everyone, but group classes and small gatherings might be something that is both viable and popular.
People may put off their big vacation trip, or purchasing the luxury item, and just choose some things that are nearby like dancing to keep them happy while they're waiting for better times to come.
Finally, commercial real estate prices may very well tank. Perhaps some dance studios will not be able to uphold the terms of their lease due to having fewer customers, but this might be something that is quite solvable because they will be able to turn around and rent space well under today's market value. In other words they might be able to get bigger spaces and make dancing even more accessible.
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