On Not Being A Champion Dancer

From time to time, I go on Youtube to search for interesting videos about ballroom dancing. Invariably, I'm drawn to those who are "Champions" or "Winners" of their event. They provide me with entertainment, a chance to see new techniques and patterns, and in some cases a source of inspiration.But at times, they provide a sense of realization that I will never reach that level, followed by the obvious question, "what's the point in continuing?". That's what I want to write about.

What's The Point In Continuing?

In order to explain "the point in continuing", you should know my background - perhaps it's similar to yours. I began dancing about ten years ago, when my daughter was getting married. I looked at the father-daughter dance tradition and realized I was not much of a dancer, and the occasion was too important to me to let that go unfixed. So my wife and I went to the local community college and enrolled in (what I call) "Ballroom dancing 101" ,. I learned the basics that got me through the wedding dance, but more importantly we enjoyed it so much that we have stayed with it, and have become completely dedicated to the sport. Over the past several years I've become an active "part time" teacher, and competed in several Competitions around the country, always dancing as the amateur part of a pro-am entry.

Unfortunately, I have never "really won" any major competitions. Part of the reason is because I've never had the budget to enter more than a few heats, and partly because - well, I'll be honest - I'm just not that good. The reasons of course are a lack of finances for training, time, and  talent (I can give you lots of reasons, but you probably already know them). Yep, I'm an expert at getting the "also danced" awards, and placing first in uncontested heats. And this is what brings me to my main point - my views "On Not Being A Champion Dancer"

We Need Participants, Too

Every sport has it's champions, but the sport as a whole would die if it didn't have a large number of active participants. Ballroom dancing needs solid, hard working participants to maintain it's viability. Who will be a teacher? Who will help provide support, funding, guidance, and encouragement to to the winners? We, the un-champions, the winners of the "also danced awards". We're the ones that do that!

There are many examples of this across our lives. I spent several years in the Army, and one thing I learned is that only 20% of the troops are considered to be front-line, combat troops. The rest are "support" troops - that's 80% of the Army! Clearly we know the combat troops can't win without support, and the support troops can't win without the combat arms. It takes both!

My favorite example is from the Bible where Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12 about how "the body is not one member, but many". He likens the "body of Christ" to the human body and proposes  questions about which part is most important: "If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be.? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?" He even cautions against arrogance by saying "... the eye cannot say to the hand "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you" And he emphasizes the importance of working together by writing "...God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another." Wow! Let's hear it for the Support Team!

Playing Devil's Advocate

Playing the "devils advocate" for a moment, I'm well aware that many competitions are constructed with an agenda that includes feeding the "private lesson" industry. Judges and competition staff are sometimes trained to end their advice to contestants with "take more lessons..." or some other encouragement that boils down to "spend more money and you could be the next winner".  I get that. But also, I'm an adult, and not foolish enough to believe that kind of advice without some hesitation. I'm well aware that even if I did spend more money, it might not be enough to win because other things can get in the way. I may not have the time to devote to training and practice, or the right partner, or a support system to help me get there. There are many reasons that money is not enough. If you're an adult, you understand this, and if you're a "seasoned adult" like myself, you understand it very well.

Be Of Good Cheer

So if you're a "casual competitor" like me, with a tendency to beat yourself up for not coming in first, take heart - it's not the end of the world. Remember that you're part of a body, part of a team, and you have a job to do. For most of us, it's representing well Ballroom Dancing to the public, and supporting other members of our team. Let's face it - even the Olympic athletes have some fun and interaction during off-hours, even though they want to WIN during their event. Be of good cheer...you're on a winning team!