Is Pro Am becoming a sport of only the wealthy?

I have also booked my pro's flights at the same time I book mine. We agree on the dates and approximate times of travel before I book. If flights have to be changed to suit his plans that don't include me, he pays me the difference. This works well for us. He doesn't have to do the clerical work associated with booking the flights, and I get to research the best prices and schedules.
 
Tinydancergirl said:
I can only speak for myself, but the people I compete against are very, very well off. Lawyers, doctors, dancers who have wealthy parents/spouses, dancers whose parents own/operate dance studios, wealthy grandparents, etc. It is very daunting to find yourself the only one who is struggling just to find the extra money for gas to get you there. Nevertheless, I have beaten the best, so it goes to show that even the poorest dancer out there can overcome what seems to be insurmountable odds.

As to your question, "will this sport eventually be just for the wealthy?" I think, for the majority of dancers, it is a sport for the wealthy already. All you have to do is look at the price of dresses, lessons, tickets, fees for coaches and realize that an average comp can set you back 3 to 5 thousand dollars, to know the answer.

"Is there anything we can do to make if affordable for all?" I think the answer is no. How do you convince a pro to lower his/her fees, when there are so many willing to pay what he/she wants? How do you convince the dress designers to lower their prices, when someone will come up and, without batting an eye, buy three dresses at once? How do you convince the photographer/videography to slash their prices? The answer is, that you can't. It's free enterprise and the dancer is basically at the whim of ballroom pricing.

I have had a very difficult time paying for my ballroom dancing. I work and every single penny goes into my dancing, which I hope will someday be my career. I have sacrificed a lot for it. Am I bitter that I have struggled so hard, while watching wealthy dancers get carte blanche? Of course. I'll be honest..it stings. But this is my life, my situation, and I have faith in God and myself to get me where I want to go. I like to think that I am in a refiner's fire right now. I hope that my hardships will shape me into a better person; one who, if blessed with a dancing career, will be able to remember what it was like to struggle and be able to help the less financially blessed dancer.
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Great post, and I have danced "in your shoes" quite a bit. You don't have to be like the people you are competing against. Your courage and determination may very well set you apart in a very positive way, maybe not always in terms of competition results, but in what you get from the dancing itself, and in turn what you can provide to others. Good luck!
 
I actually didn't follow this lengthy thread, but maybe the question is also why people want to compete pro-am. I very well understand how nice is to dance with a pro and I understand that people are willing to pay for it, but if it's the goal, you don't have to spend additional money to competitions, dresses etc
 
Well, amateur women don't either :) Anyway, this pro-am game will never be very fair, because it consists of people who are reasonably good dancers and get paid, and people that are not that good but are willing to pay for that. So in the end, those who pay more generally win (by paying a better pro that can make them better any buying more beautiful dresses) so it turns into the sport of wealthy. Can't be different

Actually, am-am isn't much different, just it is, at least in my area where WDSF is dominant organization, mostly a sport of kids with rich and overambitious parents, which is very obvious from the comments they leave after each competition on local dance site, and of course, stories that some of their trainers told me ...
 
vit said:
[..] because it consists of people who are reasonably good dancers and get paid, and people that are not that good but are willing to pay for that.
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I disagree with this part of the statement... but do agree with the sentiment that having ready access to boatloads of cash makes a competitive dance career much easier.
 
vit said:
Well, amateur women don't either :) Anyway, this pro-am game will never be very fair, because it consists of people who are reasonably good dancers and get paid, and people that are not that good but are willing to pay for that. So in the end, those who pay more generally win (by paying a better pro that can make them better any buying more beautiful dresses) so it turns into the sport of wealthy. Can't be different

Actually, am-am isn't much different, just it is, at least in my area where WDSF is dominant organization, mostly a sport of kids with rich and overambitious parents, which is very obvious from the comments they leave after each competition on local dance site, and of course, stories that some of their trainers told me ...
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um ...actually amateur women do....that is why there is such a disparity.....not because they prefer frilly dresses and dancing with pros
 
fascination said:
um ...actually amateur women do....that is why there is such a disparity.....not because they prefer frilly dresses and dancing with pros
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Agree, there are more women that want to dance
So they are just competitive, it's not that much about dancing with pros ? (I was never very competitive, even in my competitive days, but not all people are equal)
 
vit said:
Well, there aren't much pro-am here, but in all cases "the pro" is much better dancer than "the am". Anyone knows the couple where they are about equal ?
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Yes. We have a few here where the am has gotten so good they've turned pro. Personally, I am dancing pro-am right now, but looking to move over to am at the pre-champ (or maybe champ) level this year. And ask @fascination about her first pro.

Edited to add: Totally NOT saying that I am as good as Pro. But I am better than some pros, so there's that.
 
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