The Black Hole of DanceSport (the bad and the ugly)

[Laura]

From another thread -- the one about improving competition web sites:

See, I'm in more of a "cleaning house" mood. I'd rather try to improve what we've got. There are so many problems now -- people creating rules that benefit pretty much no one but themselves, the perception that this is still an activity for the old and rich (the wealthy old Pro/Am lady stereotype), a complete disconnect between "amateur" as the average person thinks of it and as it is used in the dancesport world, judges who teach and teachers who judge, the NDCAs ability to threaten to kick people out of they don't do what they want, and so on. The kind of stuff that fenixx was referring to. And I don't even know how to get past that, other than to attract, support, and engage "new blood" that will eventually get up the cajones take try to take over from some of the "bad blood." In the light of that, trying to figure out how to get Jane and John Nondancer to come pay $25 to watch the best "amateurs" in the country go for their National Titles and places ont he World Team seems frivolous. Paradoxically, though, sometimes it feels like the only thing that we can even have any effect on.

Oh this is so confusing. I'm so riled up. I'm sorry. See, I love dancesport and I've seen and heard some really obnoxious things go on. I'm half torn between saying screw it all and just going back to showing up at the comps and dancing my things and going home, and feeling like I could or should do something about it. I see a lot of smart people with good ideas come through these boards, and then I wonder where they go and what they do in the DanceSport world -- and I don't mean in terms of what titles they win. Everyone is so worried about politics and covering their backside that nothing gets done. I've always wondered why the titled people in this sport -- the Eugene and Marias, the Egors and Katyas, the Vals and Valerias -- don't get up and unify and say "cut the crap, this is what the competitors need for things to be fair." But they don't. They never seem to say anything because they're too worried about jeapordizing themselves. Meanwhile, a schlumpy middle-aged housewife like me whose never managed to dance higher than Novice level is left to be the one sounding like an idiot on these boards. The only two active amateur competitors I know who are actively involved on a National level in trying to sort this mess out are constantly in jeapordy of pissing off the wrong people...and they're Senior I competitors who do this out of love so although they have a lot to lose, unlike the Adult A Champs they have nothing to lose in a way.

 

[Medira]

I haven't made it back to that thread yet, so I haven't seen yet how this developed, but I'm going to throw this out there anyway...

What action needs to be taken in order to make this happen? What changes need to be made? (I haven't made it into the competition world yet, and unless some sort of miracle happens, my comp debut will be pro/am, not amateur)

Just looking for more information,
- M

 

[scullystwin42]

I haven't made it back to that thread yet, so I haven't seen yet how this developed, but I'm going to throw this out there anyway...

What action needs to be taken in order to make this happen? What changes need to be made? (I haven't made it into the competition world yet, and unless some sort of miracle happens, my comp debut will be pro/am, not amateur)

Just looking for more information,
- M

I don't know how to change it, but i'm wondering if anybody is on here from across the pond (i.e., England, Continental Europe, etc.)? I've heard it's more popular over there, and more organized... why? Anything we can apply here?

 

[Laura]

Way too much needs to be done. And that's part of the problem. And another part is that I feel that the level of communication about what is going on is so inconsistent as to be nearly worthless -- which is why no one seems to know or care about a number of things.

There is no actual dancesport journalism in this country. Sure, there are message boards and "trade papers" like Dance Beat or the borderline abysmal "Amateur Dancers", but there is no place where an apolitical third-party digs in and finds out the facts. Everything is rumor and hearsay or told obliquely so as to not piss off the powers that be or rebound on the teller. You know, maybe the powers that be deserve to be pissed off at times, and maybe the actual competitors should get pissed off enough to actually force changes. If some of the things that go on in dancesport were happening in a major sport like football, there would be headlines on the front page of the sports section. Maybe even in the regular news section. But because there's no journalism, we're reduced to what amounts to gossip -- even about important things like people lying about eligibility, lawsuits against prominent figures, and missteps by the people entrusted with the governing of dancesport in this country.

 

[wyllo]

Thought No. 1: We charge too much for spectators. I know the argument is made that $25-40 per person is comparable to a night at the symphony or a play, but you know what we aren't the ballet. We don't have people who already want to attend our events. We're relying on people seeing or hearing an ad and saying "why not, could be interesting." They aren't going to do that if they have to risk a decent amount of money. Its good to know where we want ballroom to be, but we have to be realistic about where we are now to get there.

Thought No. 2: Why aren't people like Laura running USA Dance? Let's stage a DF coupe.

More thoughts later, I'm on deadline this morning!

 

[Medira]

Way too much needs to be done. And that's part of the problem. And another part is that I feel that the level of communication about what is going on is so inconsistent as to be nearly worthless -- which is why no one seems to know or care about a number of things.

There is no actual dancesport journalism in this country. Sure, there are message boards and "trade papers" like Dance Beat or the borderline abysmal "Amateur Dancers", but there is no place where an apolitical third-party digs in and finds out the facts. Everything is rumor and hearsay or told obliquely so as to not piss off the powers that be or rebound on the teller. You know, maybe the powers that be deserve to be pissed off at times, and maybe the actual competitors should get pissed off enough to actually force changes. If some of the things that go on in dancesport were happening in a major sport like football, there would be headlines on the front page of the sports section. Maybe even in the regular news section. But because there's no journalism, we're reduced to what amounts to gossip -- even about important things like people lying about eligibility, lawsuits against prominent figures, and missteps by the people entrusted with the governing of dancesport in this country.

Hmm... Maybe we could see about starting something like this? Something like the DanceSport version of The Onion or Slashdot with people contributing from all around the world. There's a ton of information out there and, you (the collective "you") could even look into interviews and profiles of the big names on the competitive circuit in amateur, pro and pro/am. Work in a media section and see where it goes... It doesn't need to be all sunshine and roses either. Sometimes just seeing something confirmed in print is enough to get an uprising to push for change.

Bah. I dunno. I need to wake up a bit more. I'll probably be back later.

 

[Joe]

Thought No. 2: Why aren't people like Laura running USA Dance? Let's stage a DF coupe.

Maybe you should ask Laura first. She might prefer a ragtop.

 

[wyllo]

Maybe you should ask Laura first. She might prefer a ragtop.

hehe, darn spell check, doesn't it know what I mean?

 

[tacad]

I thought that was spelled, R-A-G-G-T-O-P-P.

 

[Laura]

Maybe you should ask Laura first. She might prefer a ragtop.

Yes please. My dream car is a Honda S2000 with a hybrid engine. I don't think such a beast exists, which is why it is a dream car.

As for me and the other comment...I'm too scared to do it. Seriously. It's a lot easier to sit here and play court jester, pointing out idiocies, than it is to actually have the position and then have to deal with things on an international level. So I might be a hypocrite, but at least I guess I'm an honest and self-aware hypocrite. Also, I'm a follower. I mean it, I prefer to follow someone, to aid and serve them, than being the person who is leading. I hate being totally in charge. I am very uncomfortable with power, yet I despise its arbitrary and inconsistent use. However, if someone emerged to lead, who I could really get behind, I'd support them with all the energy you see me spending around here. I can instantly think of four people who I'd be willing to follow as VP of DanceSport, but unfortunately the people who I think would be great at doing it don't want the job, either.

There will be some new major USA Dance elections at some point. Recall that previous President Archie Hazlewood died in office, so now the very capable and fair Esther Freeman is President (and I am being serious here...Esther is doing a good job). But I doubt Esther will want to do this forever like Archie did. And besides, I think that the positions more important to us in dancesport are the DanceSport Council members and the VP of DanceSport (and of course the entire NDCA council, but we all have zero effect on that).

Also, I believe that to be on the DanceSport Council that you have to have been a Championship-level athlete at one point. I've never gotten there, and probably never will at the rate I'm going.

 

[Yliander]

Also, I believe that to be on the DanceSport Council that you have to have been a Championship-level athlete at one point. I've never gotten there, and probably never will at the rate I'm going.

now thats just silly!