quote:

---

Originally posted by tanechka:

You have an interesting ability and I don't know haw you communicate with people: you used to take sentense out of it's contest and oppose it.

---

I am not a mind reader. When people write soemthing they must write with clairty to avoid confusion.

What a bunch of controversy I have stirred up.

I will admit that my deed is in fact done without the knowledge of Dimitri (& I do apologize for it), but like most people in this business I think it would be difficult for him to find a partner without people to help him along.

Without really going into details, my brother (who is retired now) probably would not have found his partner without the help others.

If well-meaning people did not butt in once in a while I am sure plenty of partnerships would not exist & there would be alot of lonely dancers in this world!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Non-Dancing-Studio-Owner:
If well-meaning people did not butt in once in a while I am sure plenty of partnerships would not exist & there would be alot of lonely dancers in this world!

---

Right on, my friend. It's difficult even with help. Btw, Don't worry about controversy; try to thrive in it like I do. Kick, scream, and raise hell.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dancingkid:

I have this long standing question for you: Why Russian dancers and those from Soviet dominant East European countries dominate dance world? good looks? hard work? gene?


Very hard question. I hope that I might be able to answer it partially. May be somebody will want to add.
1.In former Soviet Union were very popular group lessons - 3-4 times a week 2 hours lenght. One hour was fully devoted learning the technique, stretching, exersice very similar to ballet and practicing foot work. The second hour - routines the same for the groupes of children of the same age and level. During the lesson the teacher came to everybody and fixed mistakes. Yhe cost was 10 years ago 15$ US per month of group lessons per person. Children from poor families very often were not charged ay all. Dancing studio usually was in community centre or school.
2. Private lessons cost from 6 to 15$US per couple, and only a few couples took them once in a while.
So you can see that ballroom dancing was much more affordable for the young children than in America and talented but poor children were able to dance and compete.
3. There is a lot more teachers and more competition berween them sinse all amateurs are allowed to have groups of children and teach them in high schools and so forth.
4. Look at the number of couples from Russia - it is clear that from this number more real talents can dance. I remember Slavik in Ukraine charged for the private lesson 15$ and tought together with his partner - couple tought a couple.
Sorry I have to go now, but I'll come back to this. I t will be easier if you ask me questions.

FYI - David Oliveri has a partner - Lucy Wyly from Texas!

Very true, Rugby. We also see a lot of talented single dancers who are trying to find a good "match" in terms of level, desire, budget, passion, etc. and especially at the top when how well one does also determines how quickly one moves up internationally in the major competitions.

The most important this is definitely networking, not only within the home base dance studio, but also at events and speaking to other dancers and professionals.

It's like Darwin's law, the strongest of the field will rise to the top, and necessarily, the numbers are always less as one moves up in level.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rugby:
...I understand his frustration at the situation that so many good dancers go by the wayside, or don't get to compete, as there is a lack of partners and/or money. I rode at the top levels in dressage and saw many talented people leave due to the same reason ( of course the partner was a horse ). Its not that I expect anybody to do "something about it" but its a sad reality and one wants to vent their frustration about it. Studio is not bitching at us but with us at the injustice in some sports. It may not be our best riders that go to the top but the wealthiest or more fortunate ones, and I have noticed that the same seems to hold true in dancing. This holds the sport back but without funding we shall probably never see the true potential of what can be produced. Studio knows this and it hurts them to see someone they know and care about go through it. Finding a partner may mean he has to leave the province or country which again takes the talent away from the homefront. Okay enough of the soapbox from me but I understand the situation up here where Studio is coming from.

---

Very interesting comments, tanechka! Yes, we definitely agree that it has to do with the "club" system, especially in Europe and of course Russia.

A few months ago, we spoke to someone who came from Germany and she mentioned that growing up in that country, she was first introduced to Ballroom Dancing through the local sports club where they would pay a membership fee to participate in various activities. It really was the cheapest way for families to have activities for their children.

Do we have any economists on the board?
Maybe some basic economic 101 principles are at play here!

quote:

---

Originally posted by tanechka:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by dancingkid:

I have this long standing question for you: Why Russian dancers and those from Soviet dominant East European countries dominate dance world? good looks? hard work? gene?


Very hard question. I hope that I might be able to answer it partially. May be somebody will want to add.
1.In former Soviet Union were very popular group lessons - 3-4 times a week 2 hours lenght. One hour was fully devoted learning the technique, stretching, exersice very similar to ballet and practicing foot work. The second hour - routines the same for the groupes of children of the same age and level. During the lesson the teacher came to everybody and fixed mistakes. Yhe cost was 10 years ago 15$ US per month of group lessons per person. Children from poor families very often were not charged ay all. Dancing studio usually was in community centre or school.
2. Private lessons cost from 6 to 15$US per couple, and only a few couples took them once in a while.
So you can see that ballroom dancing was much more affordable for the young children than in America and talented but poor children were able to dance and compete.
3. There is a lot more teachers and more competition berween them sinse all amateurs are allowed to have groups of children and teach them in high schools and so forth.
4. Look at the number of couples from Russia - it is clear that from this number more real talents can dance. I remember Slavik in Ukraine charged for the private lesson 15$ and tought together with his partner - couple tought a couple.
Sorry I have to go now, but I'll come back to this. I t will be easier if you ask me questions.

---

I wrote those comments on poor Dancingkid's request. Does anyboby know how he is doing? I supposed to write more but after Dancingkid got upset and left the forum I've lost the person who was interested to know why the Russians are ahead in ballroom dancing.

Hi tanechka,
We had come back from vacation and had skimmed through that message which is now archived in the Ask DanceScape Support section.

Yes, we were very disappointed that during this time of Holiday season & cheer, as well as the recent tsunami disaster, which are times that are supposed to bring people together to think about goodwill to others, that a flame WAR was started here.

We ask everyone to please cool down and apply some basic common sense and social etiquette. This has happened before and probably will happen again so we'll try to summarize again:



If a post or thread topic is "NOT" of interest to you, please do not read or respond. However, other members and dancers have the right to post and respond.

If you want to discuss other topics, by all means start a new thread. It is always harder to think up of new topics and always easier to "flame". Don't take the easy road out by criticizing others but instead create conversation by starting new topics. By definition, Dancers and other Performing artists are exceptionally creative people, so please use this opportunity to create!

Forums are only one of many "tools" to communicate and share information and feedback. Other tools include private messages, emails, letters/snail mail, as well submissions of topics to Dancescape eZine (www.dancescape.com/ezine). If there are topics you would like to see covered, it is more "constructive" to email recommendations and suggestions (thanks, Laura & others! ), not merely to state that there are "no new topics". Every poster here, every writer who contributes to DanceScape eZine, as well as our own internal writers and editor are interested in ideas so feel free to email editor@dancescape.com.

This doesn't just apply to topics here on DanceScape, but also other publications produced by other dance organizations. Email the editors directly and let them know about concerns and then provide some recommendations, or even better yet, volunteer to help.

Finally, if you are a victim of "flaming" or are witnessing someone being flamed unnecessarily, please use the "ALERT" feature at any time, or email info@dancescape.com to let us know so that we can at least monitor. It is always a judgement call when to come in to try to stop, as our assumption is that we are all reasonable adults. Again, sometimes, it is so easy to write negative comments about someone on a public forum such as this, but normal etiquette rules should still be obeyed, which means treating people as you would want to be treated yourselves. We will go on record to state that we do NOT SUPPORT "BULLYING" but instead mutual respect. Please use reasonable judgement about reactions to comments and if possible if you disagree with comments, by all means argue and debate but try not to resort to name-calling. We've been victims of this also, and this is not the environment that we would like promoted here.

There are also members with many different cultural backgrounds, where English is not necessarily the native language. We again ask everyone to focus on the "message" or "comments" instead of just grammatical errors -- yes, by all means, help others to learn correct grammar but in a fun way, not necessarily in a condescending way, especially if English is not the native language. Please assume this instead of the overly negative view that people are doing this on purpose to irritate you "personally". We really do appeal to everyone to be more tolerant of members from different ethnicities or even educational levels.

dancingkid and others, we regret that some of the comments have gotten out of hand, but we assert yours and others right to post what you want and to discuss and communicate and make new friends.



Anyway, we hope that everyone had a good Holiday season, and sincere best wishes and success to everyone for this new 2005 dance season.

I want to keep this forum alive for a while. Give Dimitri a fighting chance (if this helps).

If he trully has found someone as of today (January 4, 2005), please mention it, to save me from the controversy I have generated

Thanks!