A few words about who is a dance enthusiast, who is a dancer and how we can proceed on our dance journey. 

This is an increasingly widespread topic in the SBK world (not only in Slovakia), which requires attention. Both types of people are extremely important for the community, and the progression in growth is also important... 

EACH ONE of us started out as a dance enthusiast. He was passionate about dance, so he decided to devote his time and money to it. For me, they are people who expand the quantity of the community, but in order to increase the quality of the community, they need to take responsibility for their dance and understand what they are creating and build quality roots.

From my observation, I have collected a few definitions of the differences between a dance enthusiast and a dancer.

Of course, not everything applies to everyone, but there are always a few points that are characteristic of them in the setting of the approach and their dance result:

DANCE ENTHUSIAST

• if they has learned basic once, they doesn't often return to it, because they feels that they knows it and doesn't enjoy it that much
• they are hungry for steps and combinations, which are best learned from youtube
• he/she hastens on his/hers journey
• they can invest a lot of time and money in dance, but not to improve, but to have fun and sees dance as a leisure activity that makes them happy, even if they doesn't understand it
• does not need feedback
• sometimes they have abig ego and give advice to others, ideal on a party
• the principles of couple dancing are unknown to them or they feels that they are not necessary
• they can't answer questions about dancing, they doesn't understand what their body is doing
• they cannot dance alone, they have an addiction that everything must be danced in couple
• often creates a dependency on the teacher and does not know what to do without teachers counting
• has no dance background
• they came to the community with the intention of catching someone, they are looking for social contact

THE DANCER

• they love basic, they always know how to find something new in it and understand how it is necessary to always go back to basic
• they are hungry for principles, steps and combinations are less important, they are just an extended basic that they can create over time
• they invest a lot of time and money into dancing and the result can be seen in their dancing
• they need feedback, they want to experience joy in dancing
• they form a couple dance with respect for themselves and their partner
• they want to know their body, the flow of movement and they know how to think about the dance and often also answer and explain, they can ask questions more easily
• they come out of their comfort zone and see the benefit of dancing alone
• sometimes they have abig ego and give advice to others, ideal on a party
• if they find a life partner in the dance, that's a bonus, but that wasn't the intention
• they understand that standing on the dance floor once a week or attending 3 different styles of dance 3 times a week doesn't make them a dancer
• looking for a bridge between the course and the party, for example in the form of individual training
• sees the point in individual lessons with the teacher
• they often have a dance background and if they don't, their attitude made them a dancer because they have taken responsibility for their dance and are thinking about their path

It is still not clear to you how to start to become a dancer in social dance and your energy, time and money bear the fruits of your efforts?

Be interested in your body posture, whether you can transfer weight correctly, how your core works, whether you understand the principles of leading and following. Dancing is supposed to be a healthy movement that is physiologically very natural, but it is often not like that on the dance floor. This is building quality roots that you can build on.

Dance is art, not aerobics, and that's how we should approach it. You don't need to know a lot of steps, you need to understand, then dancing is an experience. And the couple dance even bigger. There's no rush. Dance is about discovery.

Both roles in dance (dance enthusiast and dancer) are fine and, as I wrote, they are also important. But it's also important to be able to find where we are on our journey and to have things straightened out. Then we avoid unpleasant situations that may happen to us at parties or courses.

I keep my fingers crossed for all of us on our dance journey, so that we can create a better community and more beautiful dance experiences with the respect for dance.