Dallas DANCE is an annual West Coast Swing event held over US Labor day holiday weekend in Dallas, TX. It is a big event, boasting 30+ Invited National and regional champions, many up-and-coming competitors and totaling 1500+ dancers. The daytime workshops and competitions, and late-night social dancing that last up until 6AM or so, together make a lot of fun.
I started going there around 2003, as Oklahoma City is reasonably close to Dallas, and in recent years have been using the event as my annual WCS vacation. No competitions, just for pleasure. I even proposed to my then-girlfriend last year at the Dallas Fairmont hotel on the Friday. She is my wife now, so it worked out (hehe). It makes it so much easier to remember the anniversary ;)
This year I was dancing with my wife a lot of times (of course), and did not do social dance as much as I did in some previous years. But when I did dance socially, I wanted to dance nicely and smoothly with all the partners. I don't like rough dances, and I assume it is the same for most followers. I love comfortable, fun and smooth WCS. For competition purposes, emphasizing speed contrast and making the dance dramatic, even gimmicky, is a valid approach. But why should I do that for social dances?
Also, I love to dance with the music. I don't like mechanical practice of the moves. It can be a turn-off if she is just cruising or going through motions instead of dancing, no matter how good she is. However, it is up to her. WCS has a lot of unleadable elements, and as a leader I need to work with what she's got anyways.
My wife is in the process of improving her WCS, and the event was a great learning opportunity. She did learn and progressed a lot just in the three days. We may be able to come up with a nice Swango (Swing-Tango hybrid dance) routine or something.
A big event like that is like a school where all people go, from first graders (beginners) to graduate school to professor-levels (champions). You can identify all levels of dancers, and can learn something from all. You can also identify where you are, dance level-wise. Knowing where you are in the crowd can be a wake-up call. Even shocking to some. I told my wife not to be frustrated even if she is not dancing like champions. Learning is a stepwise process and results don't come overnight. Developing neuromuscular connections and acquiring a certain "dance hunch" can take a long time. Rushing doesn't work.
As many dancers were there, the attending dancers have their own reasons to be there. Some have vested interests for the event. The event organizers are concerned with the business aspect and work their a**s off for it. Some professionals are there mostly for teaching, where the money is. Competing dancers work their a**s off to present their best dances and to please judges and audiences. Their efforts may eventually return as fame or some other form of results. Others come to meet friends and to be entertained, with no worries about how many competitor points they make.
After 26 years of running, the Dallas DANCE community has a system and rules, some of which are unwritten. Some people are well known celebrities and can be comfortable. They enjoy the community they are in and enjoy the system they invested in. Others are newcomers and are trying hard to establish themselves. A proud sense of achievement was all over the dance floor, and it was nice to watch. I would like to believe that what binds people together is their shared interest and love for the WCS dance. Only the ways of involvement and expression vary.
It was a good opportunity for me to think about many aspects of dance as well. As a business, as an art, as a social medium and friendship, as a measure for communication, as a source of pleasure, as a medium for a sense of achievement.....etc etc.
Yes, I enjoyed the party. There are many dancer friends I dance with only once a year in Dallas. Thank you for the dances. I am looking forward to coming back next year. See you later.
