Dancing with Beginners

Something that often surprises me is the approach of guys dancing with ladies who are beginners. 

As I run the club and am seen taking advanced classes, beginner ladies often look panicked if I ask them for a dance. I do my best to re-assure them that I will keep it simple. As a rule of thumb I will start with the very basics and then slowly but surely move my way through moves working out what the lady can dance. 

At some point, I will hit the level that is too hard for them. After that, I stick to moves I know they can dance. 

Sadly I often have to watch moderately experienced male dancers forcing beginner ladies through moves they clearly have no idea how to dance. Too many dances like this and I know I am not going to see the ladies again as they are put off ever trying salsa again. Thanks guys, I needed that....

I don't know if there is some ego switch in these guys heads that thinks that if they aren't seen dancing 'complicated' stuff, then everyone will think that's all they know.

Here's my advice to the men:

KISS - Keep it simple stupid

Simple moves danced well are so much better than complex ones that become a mess.

Respect the lady you are dancing with, its not your job to make her get through your move, its your job to make her feel she's the best dancer on the floor.

If all the men look after the ladies, then more ladies will progress and we'll have lots more ladies to dance with.

As for beginner men dancing with experienced ladies? Sadly it just seems to be too scary to go and do. Beginner guys just go and ask, the ladies really don't mind

Jon

26/04/2012

Local Beaurocracy vs. The Water Company

OR - How 'Its Not My Problem' pervades everything. 


Yesterday I walked past a stinking overflowing drain. There was untreated sewage coming out of a drain cover in the grounds of a block of flats, running across the pavement and down the Balcombe Road and into a drain.


Having observed this for around a week, I had, like others, assumed that someone would do something about this. I decided it should be me.


I took a quick look online and it transpires I need to call Crawley Borough Council's Environmental Health Department. So I did. They with great speed and efficiency on hearing the word 'drain' put me through to Thames Water. They took the details and my phone number. To their credit, they called back and said they had been to the block of flats twice, but as the issue appeared to be in the grounds of the flats it was nothing to do with them.


I called the Environmental Health and told them what Thames Water had told me. With a bit of a sigh, they took the details and said they'd 'have a look'.


Today as I walked past there was a drain clearance company. Hurrah!!! They told me that they'd only been told about it yesterday.


The question I can't get out of my head is why didn't Thames Water call the Environmental Health people? Have things really got so bad that they phone a member of the public back to say 'not our problem' rather than calling the right agency to sort it?


The second question is, why didn't someone who lives in the flats feel rather more concerned and undertake the calls that I did?


Jon
25th April 2012