I am running an unofficial survey. It is for Argentine Tango dancers.
Q: How do you define "personal connection" in Argentine Tango?
If you could email or message your definition, it will be greatly appreciated.
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Yesterday, facebook stream brought a disturbing news.
It was about a California-based West Coast Swing (WCS) dance instructor sending inappropriate texts and making sexual advancement to his supposedly student, a 17 years old girl. The parent of the girl involved in the incident stepped forward and disclosed rather nasty details. The police was investigating. More reports indicated that the instructor may be a repeat offender and is likely involved in a rape case of 14 years old girl as well. The WCS-related facebook page is getting attention of WCS community.
Yikes.
I categorized this news as grievous professional misconduct.
A University professor can lose his job by sexual misconduct with his student. Bankers can lose their job by embezzlement. Scientists can lose their reputation and/or job by forging results.
Likewise, a dance instructor should lose his job by making inappropriate sexual advancement.
A common notion is that there are things in an industry that lead you to lose your position if you violate one of them. They are "you do it and you are outta here" things. With a major violation of the industry rule, finding another position in the same industry will be difficult. Punishment is great.
Sometimes these rules are set and published rules, like a University policy. Other times, it is a "common sense among the professionals", and in case of violation judgement call will be made by the people involved in the industry.
Although we tend to believe opinions by many should matter as democracy, in many real cases it is not democracy but Oligocracy, in which only a few people in the industry are in the position to decide. In this case, WCS event directors/organizers, regional associations, and his students are the people to decide how this incident is handled. They should decide whether they allow the instructor to keep teaching WCS or appearing events as an instructor or competitor.
Professional misconduct should have consequences. Otherwise, the industry will lack quality control, will lose trust, respect or relevance, and will corrupt.
If they rule his actions acceptable and give him the second chance, they would be sending a terrible message. They would be saying it is okay to rape a minor, make sexual advancement and send inappropriate texts in this dance community.
Personally I will not deal with a dance instructor with long history of misconducts. Teaching dance is a privilege, and once he abuse the privilege, he should be outta here.
PS
I read some comments on the WCS instructor incident, saying "let's not judge, forgive him and give him a second chance". These are misuse of Christian ideas. When the instructor die, where he go is God business and not for our judgement. But people in an industry have responsibility to make judgement call for the integrity of the industry.
