The Thanksgiving party boasted attendance of 104 people. If you looked at the Thanksgiving party from a dancer's standpoint, the party was a social dance party, and there were many different levels of dancers.
Most dancers were recreational, and happy with having fun dancing. It was good. I love the lively energy.
A few were more skilled, dancing beyond "just having fun". Meaning that they were aiming at dancing good West Coast Swing dance.
Even fewer were dancing at a level of minding how they look from others, in addition to feeling good and having fun themselves. Most of the few had experience in competitions. Objective beauty of partner dance emerges when both dancers know how good dancing should feel and look like, and adhere to it.
These few can serve as "seeds" of the art of the dance.
Anything that you do and take seriously can have elements of an art. Dancing included. You can work to improve it by learning and practicing it. In fact, that is the only way to make progress in any art.
If you look dancing as an art form, you may realize that not everyone is qualified as the successor of the art. It depends on how much quality you could attain at the art. Also, taking it seriously can mean that you put higher priority on the quality of the art than your comfort.
Thus, "Art is mightier than thou".
Nobody is good at an art from the beginning. Untrained body often finds comfort in dancing with lesser quality. Good looking postures and coordination of motions can be alien to your body at first, and you may find them uncomfortable.
Some instructors try to convey the message above. Depending on the student's mindset, reception of the message varies. For the most, having fun is top priority, and nothing is wrong with it. But if you want to go beyond a certain level and have different kind of fun out of partner dancing, change in your mindset to prioritize the quality is necessary.
Is this view elitist? Perhaps. But I would rather enjoy small amount of good quality dances than many rough dances. For me, dancing is becoming somewhat like drinking wine.
And, believe me, dancing with higher quality really is fun.
[It's a party season. Get your shiny holiday jacket and party shirts on.]
