Elements of Dance Etiquette (2005)
utdallas.edu
utdallas.edu
For solo dancing (e.g. in some clubs where a dance-targeted event is happening) there is at times a frustrating lack of awareness as the boozers wander round aimlessly, "dancing" ironically and obliviously spilling drinks and banging into people who are there to actually, you know, dance.
I'm not talking about nights where its a bog-standard drunken meat-market and obviously its up to the event organisers to set the parameters for the night, but part of the reason for the decline of dance culture in some parts of the world (e.g. the UK) is a contempt for dancers, and priority given to packing them in.
Those non-partner-dance events where dance culture and etiquette is still respected are incredibly rare.
There's some tension there between making the scene inclusive and keeping people comfortable. I do think it's important to encourage people to dance with newcomers, but there's also the fact that it is -work- to dance with a newbie. I'm still forming my thoughts on the matter but currently I encourage all the leaders of my (admittedly small) scene to dance with newcomers when they have the energy to do so.
It's a bit like how impressive the dance scene is in Ex Machina (from a Watsonian, not Doylist, perspective): you realize that this gynoid is capable of watching this guy out of the corner of its eye and matching his every doubtlessly unplanned mildly inebriated move, as Nathan is probably a guy who leads when he dances, not follows.
It's WAY more work for the newcomer. Even at an intermediate level, you are already running on a lot of habitual programming while the newcomer is processing the universe.
However, this also splits based upon lead vs follow.
Expert leaders have a fairly easy time with amateur followers. The lead can dial things down until the follower can cope. The follower can't force something on a leader.
Expert followers have a much more difficult time. The leader may very well need the follower to help but the ability to help well is a very rare skill. In addition, too many intermediate followers think they are better than they are. There is also the issue that dancing with an expert follower is like driving a super responsive sports car, you, as a leader, will find out just how sloppy and crappy your control really is.
To top it off, followers can get injured by amateur leaders. The swing community is especially bad for this. Even if we exclude idiotic people doing acobatic-type maneuvers that they shouldn't be doing, the pace of the dancing combines with adrenaline so that you can put far too much force in your lead as an amateur. A simple behind the back exchange can injure someone's shoulder when executed incorrectly.
As for the social dimension, if your group is well-balanced between leaders and followers, amateur leaders tend to get ignored. This isn't a problem if you have an excess of followers, but, if you have an excess of followers, your community is probably going to collapse shortly.
After that they can focus on partners on their own level.
(Obviously you can't make that mandatory – it's a voluntary thing you decide for yourself)
The newbies are less hesitant when they don't know yet that their dance partner is very good. They have a good time. And when they see their dance partner from earlier do really cool and advanced moves they feel that the scene is welcoming ("such a good dancer actually asked me to dance").
Even if you don't have unsavory characters, many people unintentionally tie their self-validation to getting accepted for dances on the dance floor, which can create a lot of angst. Managing expectations is a huge part of introducing people to social dance, since it's so different to the outside world.
As someone who has been dancing tango for a decade, around the globe, including lots in Argentina, I can only say that this pure and utter BS.
EDIT: After reading the rest of this: it seems to be written from the perspective of a ballroom dancer.
Just for example, in tango you never walk up to a person and verbally ask for a dance. It's an absolute no-no. Contract is negotiated by eye contact/face only. Only exceptions are people that you know to like dancing with you already and who stand right next to you.
Same with declining. A no is a no. No weird requirement to offer a different dance later; to 'compensate'.
For those with less context into social dancing, this is because the typical default "stance" is offset to avoid stepping on each other's feet - each partner's right foot is roughly aligned with their partner's midline.
I presume that is in ballroom.
For Latin, Tango and Swing which are all mentioned: Simply not true. Your hips are so far apart that it doesn't matter.
That being said: you ideally have a key/change pocket in your pants. Or even better, a beltline interior pocket. The latter is where I keep my keys when dancing tango. On the right side btw. You can't tell from the outside.
These pockets are sadly not available in off-the-shelf clothing any more since maybe around the 1940's.
The reason is twofold: you won't feel your keys/change as much and from the outside you wont have anything ruining your leg's silhouette. Left or right. :-P
Also depends on what "Swing" you're referring to, but even in Lindy Hop I would say I my right hip is close to my partner frequently enough that this would be an issue, in partnered Charleston and various Shags there is regular side-by-side connection (connected on the right side for the lead), and Balboa is danced in an offset close embrace position where your hips, while not necessarily in direct contact, will often brush against each other simply due to proximity.
Many Swing dances (and including the most popular one, Lindy Hop) have a closed position.
In Balboa you're generally so close that there is contact at least from the side of the hips to the side of the chest, in more advanced levels often extended up to the cheeks.
Offset stance, and closed position, is used in many swing dances, for example Lindy Hop and Balboa, so your statement is simply not true ;)
It absolutely can be true for Argentine Tango, depending on the style of embrace.
This document sets up a pretty good standard baseline that would only be tweaked going from scene to scene.
I love this :)
(And by "this", I also mean the whole article. It is great ...)