Now that dancing publicly is over, what do we do?

[Tom Schueler]

Attending classes and socials three to four times a week was an important part of my life and identity, I feel this part of me being lost and not coming back soon. Improving at dancing and meeting new people was one of the pillars of my life. And let's face it, at least the clubs will not be opening in the next couple of month. How are you coping with it? Just forget you were a dancer and look for other hobbies? Train even more than before? Hope for the best and just wait it out?

I am still thankful that Corona Virus happened in a time in my life when I've reached a certain level and am not eager to go dancing every single night.

 

[Offbeat]

I have taken break from the salsa dancing before for a few months a few times. Right now so far I am not missing it.

But I believe social dancing will soon be back. In 3-4 months if the things don't take another downward turn. I am keen to see if anything in dancing will change over the next 2-3 years. Will people take it less for granted and savour it more. Will people become more friendly and kinder. Or will the people revert back to the way things were.

 

[Al Israel]

In Israel it's already back.

 

[mambocowboy]

Attending classes and socials three to four times a week was an important part of my life and identity, I feel this part of me being lost and not coming back soon. Improving at dancing and meeting new people was one of the pillars of my life. And let's face it, at least the clubs will not be opening in the next couple of month. How are you coping with it? Just forget you were a dancer and look for other hobbies? Train even more than before? Hope for the best and just wait it out?

I am still thankful that Corona Virus happened in a time in my life when I've reached a certain level and am not eager to go dancing every single night.

You can work on shines and body movement. There are so many online classes for that. And/or find other hobbies...

 

[Chris_Yannick]

How are you coping with it?

Not bad. I miss social dancing, but I can live without it for the time being. Since social dancing was one of my only social outlets, I'm missing the people the most. There's something about going out and knowing that you're bound to run into people you know (friends, acquaintances, strangers..) was the biggest benefit of regular social dancing.

Just forget you were a dancer and look for other hobbies?

I do what I can to keep my dancing shape, although my cardio is suffering. The only way I can match the same amount of social dance cardio is through intense solo training, but my solo training tends to err on the fun/relaxing side. I also rarely dance for more than an hour a day. It may sound like a lot, but I'm not really working hard unless I am doing choreography, which I don't do very often.

One hour of dancing a day to music is quite enough to keep me from losing my dancing habit and also I improve just a teeny bit every day.

As for other hobbies, yes, I've also done a lot of VR gaming lol. I'm lucky though since I have a rig for it.

Hope for the best and just wait it out?

Always hope for the best!

I am still thankful that Corona Virus happened in a time in my life when I've reached a certain level and am not eager to go dancing every single night.

I have experienced a lot of breaks in my dancing career due to many unforeseen circumstances. This is just another one of those unforeseen circumstances, but since it's not health related, I can tolerate it.

My breaks from dancing ranked starting from the worst so far are:

Physical injury - sporadic dancing, but very deflating. Chronic injury is the worst because you want to dance but it is very painful to do so.
Breakups - longest break about 9 months
Lost motivation - longest break about 1 month. Had many of these.
Living in a city with no dancing - longest break about 6 months
Covid-19 - 3 months or so and counting...


Basically Covid-19 is a cakewalk for me.

 

[Tom Schueler]

In Israel it's already back.

Canada seems to allow dancing back to peoples' lifes as well, just with proper distance.

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[1derpalm]

Why... Fight about salsa of course.
I don't know what ill do. I almost don't care anymore. Lost the momentum and am not looking forward to Bachata and kizomba music and the salsa played at local events if it ever starts up again.
I picked up bongos and made a song. So o will just try to make cuban inspired mishmash music for myself. And garden.

 

[granrey]

I dont think public dancing is over forever what will be over for longer time is what people called social dancing (maybe we should call this "swinging dancing")

If you become a monogamous dancer plus reduce the amount of people on the floor, it should be ok. This of course includes occasional dancing with other people.


BTW, this is how it was and how still is in some places before this social dancing came up. Most people would be "segregated" in their tables eating, drinking, chatting, playing instruments, etc and every now and then dancing when there was room on dance floor and a song they like.

The problem is not the virus or public dancing. The main issue is the swinging behaviour.

 

[1derpalm]

So, Dj booth.

 

[Tom Schueler]

Not bad. I miss social dancing, but I can live without it for the time being. Since social dancing was one of my only social outlets, I'm missing the people the most. There's something about going out and knowing that you're bound to run into people you know (friends, acquaintances, strangers..) was the biggest benefit of regular social dancing.



I do what I can to keep my dancing shape, although my cardio is suffering. The only way I can match the same amount of social dance cardio is through intense solo training, but my solo training tends to err on the fun/relaxing side. I also rarely dance for more than an hour a day. It may sound like a lot, but I'm not really working hard unless I am doing choreography, which I don't do very often.

One hour of dancing a day to music is quite enough to keep me from losing my dancing habit and also I improve just a teeny bit every day.

As for other hobbies, yes, I've also done a lot of VR gaming lol. I'm lucky though since I have a rig for it.



Always hope for the best!



I have experienced a lot of breaks in my dancing career due to many unforeseen circumstances. This is just another one of those unforeseen circumstances, but since it's not health related, I can tolerate it.

My breaks from dancing ranked starting from the worst so far are:

Physical injury - sporadic dancing, but very deflating. Chronic injury is the worst because you want to dance but it is very painful to do so.
Breakups - longest break about 9 months
Lost motivation - longest break about 1 month. Had many of these.
Living in a city with no dancing - longest break about 6 months
Covid-19 - 3 months or so and counting...


Basically Covid-19 is a cakewalk for me.

You experiencing a couple of breaks and the Corona induced not even the longest puts it in perspective for me. In five years my longest breaks felt like a month or two. I know life goes on but not being able to dance also questions my priorities in life.

 

[Tom Schueler]

I dont think public dancing is over forever what will be over for longer time is what people called social dancing (maybe we should call this "swinging dancing")

If you become a monogamous dancer plus reduce the amount of people on the floor, it should be ok. This of course includes occasional dancing with other people.


BTW, this is how it was and how still is in some places before this social dancing came up. Most people would be "segregated" in their tables eating, drinking, chatting, playing instruments, etc and every now and then dancing when there was room on dance floor and a song they like.

The problem is not the virus or public dancing. The main issue is the swinging behaviour.

I see where you going but can't completely follow. Imagine we still had tables with individual groups, these groups would be too large and too many friends/households even by today's Corona standards. Being in one room with many people, does not matter if friends or strangers, is one of the biggest factors for the virus to spread.

And what good is social dancing if you're not making new dance experiences with other people?

 

[Tom Schueler]

I have taken break from the salsa dancing before for a few months a few times. Right now so far I am not missing it.

But I believe social dancing will soon be back. In 3-4 months if the things don't take another downward turn. I am keen to see if anything in dancing will change over the next 2-3 years. Will people take it less for granted and savour it more. Will people become more friendly and kinder. Or will the people revert back to the way things were.

What is your guess? I do not see much changing right now. Don't mind me, but I think dancing attracts lots of people who like the attention and standing in the limelight, that simply won't change. Having a group of dedicated dancers who support the scene as well as show themselves welcoming to new people is a dream of mine that I do not see come true soon.

 

[Chris_Yannick]

I see where you going but can't completely follow. Imagine we still had tables with individual groups, these groups would be too large and too many friends/households even by today's Corona standards. Being in one room with many people, does not matter if friends or strangers, is one of the biggest factors for the virus to spread.

And what good is social dancing if you're not making new dance experiences with other people?

Agreed. Social dancing is not the problem. I have no idea where that idea came from. People need social interaction and social dancing is one of the best ways to achieve that.

You can have private dance parties with close friends as well as public parties.

 

[Chris_Yannick]

You experiencing a couple of breaks and the Corona induced not even the longest puts it in perspective for me. In five years my longest breaks felt like a month or two. I know life goes on but not being able to dance also questions my priorities in life.

Speaking for myself, my dancing priorities remain largely the same as before. I don't need to re-evaluate anything.

With that said, I do think that ambitious social dancers and people who relied on going out often are the hardest hit in the dance community. I feel for them.

Even people with lots of different hobbies were afffected, so it's normal.

I don't expect social dancing to change much. I can't see a world without social dancing being the way it was.

Partner dance classes with no physical contact is stupid. I realize it's a stopgap measure, but the point of partner dancing is to be with a partner.

I suspect mime class business is booming.

 

[1derpalm]

I wouldnt be surprised if a certain subset gets more sanctimonious because they hace been doing online styling courses during quarantine.

 

[bailar y tocar]

I dont think public dancing is over forever what will be over for longer time is what people called social dancing (maybe we should call this "swinging dancing")

If you become a monogamous dancer plus reduce the amount of people on the floor, it should be ok. This of course includes occasional dancing with other people.


BTW, this is how it was and how still is in some places before this social dancing came up. Most people would be "segregated" in their tables eating, drinking, chatting, playing instruments, etc and every now and then dancing when there was room on dance floor and a song they like.

The problem is not the virus or public dancing. The main issue is the swinging behaviour.

Very true in Latin America... but people there had been socializing with friends at a table (before corona). If tables were limited to 2 people max would people there still go out ? Idk

 

[DJ Yuca]

BTW, this is how it was and how still is in some places before this social dancing came up. Most people would be "segregated" in their tables eating, drinking, chatting, playing instruments, etc and every now and then dancing when there was room on dance floor and a song they like.

The problem is not the virus or public dancing. The main issue is the swinging behaviour.

I can't speak for the DR however if that is supposed to refer to S America as well it's greatly exaggerated. In my experience at the more traditional venues i.e. pure Latins: if someone is on a date you don't ask them for a dance but if they're not obviously with someone of the opposite sex then it's entirely acceptable and normal to ask for a dance. And if the dance goes well it's possible to ask for further dances. If the conversation is flowing it's even acceptable to ask for a phone number.

Yes as you state people do spend far more time talking and drinking with whoever they came with than they do at salsa scene type places but it's definitely not exactly as described above, which sounds like something from a society where sex outside marriage is taboo.

 

[Smejmoon]

It's starting here slowly. Invite only so far.

 

[Offbeat]

What is your guess? I do not see much changing right now. Don't mind me, but I think dancing attracts lots of people who like the attention and standing in the limelight, that simply won't change. Having a group of dedicated dancers who support the scene as well as show themselves welcoming to new people is a dream of mine that I do not see come true soon.

I would expect it to remain the same.

However I had an interesting experience in WCS scene. I don't dance it a lot and don't have any acquaintances in that scene. I am more like a ghost that drops in once in a while. The westies are already a very friendly lot when it comes to dancing. Almost zero rate of rejections and getting asked a lot. I was away from that scene for about six months at one time. When I got back I was asked by a few that I had never asked (they were intimidatingly good dancers) and I am sure they knew I avoided them. Yet they all asked me for a dance. It wasn't like I had improved or am a regular. A year and half or two later (after the fact) I discovered one of the follower who use to seek me out and we often danced had committed suicide. She was popular and a regular. Her suicide came as a shock to everyone. Until I found out much later what really happened, a few times I noticed I had not seen her in a while and thought may be she stopped dancing or moved to another place. I think her suicide perhaps had an impact on the scene which made people more conscious about seeing other dancers as people. In rush to dance we often fail to see others as more than a dancer.

 

[NPEADS]

I would expect it to remain the same.

The westies are already a very friendly lot when it comes to dancing. Almost zero rate of rejections and getting asked a lot. I was away from that scene for about six months at one time. When I got back I was asked by a few that I had never asked (they were intimidatingly good dancers) and I am sure they knew I avoided them. Yet they all asked me for a dance.

I started with WCS/tango(for only a couple of months). In WCS(even ECS) when I was a beginner, ladies would love to practice with me so that I can get better. In salsa, if I am leading well girls would be waiting for me or if I make a mistake they would not be happy. I cannot figure out why in dance scenes like WCS or even in two-steps dance rejections are so rare. Or why salsa girls reject men more often?

her suicide perhaps had an impact on the scene which made people more conscious about seeing other dancers as people. In rush to dance we often fail to see others as more than a dancer.

That is sad.