What's more important: skill or attitude?

[Pebbles]

If you have to pick one, would you dance with the more proficient dancer, or the one with a more cheerful attitude? To gross generalize the recent posts, the guys gripe about followers who look displeased while dancing with them; while the women gripe about the advanced dancers who don’t ask them to dance.

Is the preference really different between men and women? What is it like in your scene? Do the guys leave unhappy looking advanced ladies alone while they dance with smiling beginners? Do the ladies line up for the best leader with an ego to match, passing over the more pleasant beginner guys? Or is it the other way around?

 

[Lockstep]

as long as were enjoying themselves, i dont care how skilled they are. I dance to have fun, more than anything else. as I recently explained, dancing with someone less skilled can be just as enjoying as anything else!

 

[tacad]

'tude! :rocker:

 

[tj]

For me:

Avg skill & great attitude beats out great skill & average attitude.

 

[Laura]

Attitude is a big factor, that's for sure. Skill is great, but if you're a jerk too then why should anyone waste three minutes of their lives dancing with you?

 

[ShyDancer]

Id have to go with attitude.

Id much rather dance with someone less proficient and have a blast with a few mistakes in the mix than someone who is technically great but has the attitude "Im so good I dont need to be nice"

 

[djpatricio]

Attitude.

 

[Sagitta]

Attitude.

Ditto!

 

[mamboqueen]

altitude!

 

[cocodrilo]

Attitude! If you have a positive attitude, you will want to learn more and improve, and the skill will follow naturally!

 

[youngsta]

I guess it depends on what you mean by cheerful attitude. As long as the woman I'm dancing with isn't rude or looks bored I'm having fun. She doesn't have to be cheerful. So if she isn't rude or looking bored I'll take skill.

 

[MacMoto]

Cop-out answer: what I value most is connection, which I think is part attitude, part skill.

A dance with a skilled dancer can easily be spoiled by bad attitude, but I confess I don't particularly enjoy a cheerful leader happily pulling my arm out of shoulder socket, catapulting me into another couple and knocking my head against a hard object in a reckless dip either... :roll:

 

[newbie]

Proficiency. What I like in dances is mainly the musics, so when I hear a piece that I like I prefer to pick up a partner who won't sabotage everything with her mistakes.
Yet if I know that I will be the one who will sabotage the whole thing because I lack technique in the particular dance (say slow-fox) then I will invite a cheerful partner, who hopefully will pardon more easily my mistakes than a technician would.

 

[tacad]

Cop-out answer: what I value most is connection, which I think is part attitude, part skill.

A dance with a skilled dancer can easily be spoiled by bad attitude, but I confess I don't particularly enjoy a cheerful leader happily pulling my arm out of shoulder socket, catapulting me into another couple and knocking my head against a hard object in a reckless dip either... :roll:

:lol:

 

[dTas]

Cop-out answer: what I value most is connection, which I think is part attitude, part skill.

A dance with a skilled dancer can easily be spoiled by bad attitude, but I confess I don't particularly enjoy a cheerful leader happily pulling my arm out of shoulder socket, catapulting me into another couple and knocking my head against a hard object in a reckless dip either... :roll:

i wouldn't call that a good attitude. they're obviously not caring about their partner or other dancers on the floor.

ATTITUDE! - there's this one scene that i will never forget.

one night i was walking past the ballet theater for the arts, a very fancy building with glass everywhere! a show had just gotten out and there were many people milling about in tuxes and gowns siping their wine and socializing. very cosmopolitan (if that is a description).

off in the distance, in the corner of the hall where no one would venture because its too far away from the bar, was a violinist and a small old 70+ year old couple. he was in an old oversized brown suit and she was in a black dress and lacy shawl. probably the only "formal" clothes they owned. they were dancing, holding onto each other and swaying to the music. it was obvious that they hadn't had any formal dance training but it didn't matter they had the right attitude!

in the end its not about dancing... its about love, life and living.