Disagree. You can get better also in classes while having a safer space. This you do in any education before you get out into real business.
I haven’t witness
anyone get better by not social dancing and only doing classes.
Instructors should tell the students in the class to go social dancing.
Last week I was having a short discussion with one of the local instructors who classes seem to be popular. I didn’t know he taught, since I known him as social dancer. The discussion ensued on this very point. He said that he wanted the people in the class to go social dancing while his partner disagreed.
When I started WCS two years ago I didn't go to any social the first half a year, instead learned my basics until I felt I was tolerable for followers out there. It worked well.
Salsa and WCS are different. The WCS has a steeper learning curve.
After first class in WCS, I was talking to a friend who I knew from salsa, while social dancing had started. I had already been dancing salsa for years. A girl approached me and asked for a dance. I said I didn’t know how to dance WCS. She said “but you are here….” So I reluctantly agreed. This was a new WCS social that had started the same month.
That social over the years has bought a lot of young new dancers into WCS. Almost all who take first class, will try to dance atleast a few dances as the social starts afterwards the class. After a month you find more of beginners stay at social for first hour to ninety minutes.
I have seen the dance pattern in salsa. When the class is before the dancing starts. At least here in salsa, it is only afterwards that people figure there is more dedicated classes for salsa and progressive workshops. Social dancing has always been how people new to salsa find out salsa instructors and classes. The classes before social are a way to get people in. While instructors have changed and socials have changed, nothing has changed about these classes. They remain the same in what they teach - basics, CBL, outside turn, and may be CBL with inside turn. The intermediate level will add a few more. Then those are more keen discover that they can sign up for salsa classes which take place in studios. Unless some one dragged a friend to studio class, almost every single social dancer got into salsa by
class before social dancing —> social dancing —> salsa classes pipeline. That’s how it was when I started, before I started, and now.
I don’t know how it works in your parts. How did you get into salsa?
Recommending crash & burn for newbies leads to many quitting after getting traumatized in beginner's hell. I recommend the safe space approach.
There is no safe approach. Whether you start social dancing right away or after six months. Going out and asking girls the first time, seeing beginner girls dancing with better leads, dealing with nos (rejections), self doubts, doubting one’s ability, etc are all the same. They don’t change.
From what I witnessed, those who start social dancing earlier are likely to become regulars. Those who wait (and there were guys when I started who wanted to wait), often quit. Sometimes before they get to social dancing. Or a few months after social dancing. Some would come and be too afraid to dance.
If there is a poster child for someone who had approach anxiety, hated asking someone, which means fear of rejection, and perfectionist mindset - it was me. A perfect candidate for safe place approach. I still have approach anxiety. Yet I don’t think I would have progressed as fast as I did had I not gone dancing at least three times a week.
In some sense getting into social dancing is like going through military bootcamp for new recruits into military. Some drop out. Surprising numbers survive, develop mental toughness, and survive or thrive.
P.S. - over the years newbie dancers have asked this question on the SF. Everytime SFers have encouraged to start social dancing rather than avoid it and continue class only approach.
