If The Dancefloor Was a Highway...

...we'd all be DEAD.

That's the conclusion I've come to recently in regards to my adventures in salsa land. While the overall issue here is something that I've noticed for quite some time, only recently have I made this connection. What issue am I speaking of? Lack of floorcraft on the dancefloor.

What is floorcraft, you ask? I must apologize to those of you who are reading this blog; if you have to ask what that is, I fear that it is indeed you who I am complaining about. I promise you, it's nothing personal. Ok, I digress... What is floorcraft? It is the art of keeping a consistent area of space as you dance. Consider a highway for a moment: at any given moment, there are countless cars out there on the highways and interstates. Of course there are many accidents, but the number of people who travel and make it to and from their daily destinations safely far outweighs the number of accidents. Still, accidents --both fatal and non-fatal-- happen every day. I don't have the statistics on it, but I'm sure you could imagine. Why do these accidents happen? There are a plethora of reasons: speeding, weaving in and out of traffic unnecessarily, not staying in one's lane, texting while driving, applying makeup while driving, or just plain not paying attention.

What does this have to do with dancing? While on the road, it is of the utmost importance to pay attention not just to what you're doing and how you're doing it, but to those doing the same thing in your vicinity as well. Any considerable lack of this can and often will result in an accident. The same is the case for the dancefloor. (Ok, I realize that accidents on the dancefloor are no where near as life-threatening as on the road, but work with me here.) Yes, there's alot going on. You're focused on leading or following your partner, depending on your gender. You're making a connection with said partner; after all, you're dancing with her/him, not everyone else in the room. You're dancing to the beat of the music and trying to be in sync with it. You're trying to queue up your moves in your head ahead of time so as not to bore your partner if you're a lead, or trying to fit your styling in while not being lost in your partner's crazy turn patterns if you're a follower.

HOWEVER... All of this must be done while being aware of those doing the exact same thing around you. Or must it? Apparently, not everyone considers this to be necessary. I've been stepped on, bumped into, and elbowed enough times to know this to be true. Now, if you have a huge problem with any of these things happening to you, maybe salsa dancing (or any other partner dance that takes place on a crowded dancefloor) isn't for you. With that said, it's not really the symptoms of this issue that I'm complaining about. These things are bound to happen and I feel that they are small prices to pay for the overall thrill and enjoyment I get from dancing salsa.

What does bother me is the root of this issue, which I feel is a lack of awareness and concern for one's surroundings. Ok, I take that back... just a lack of concern is what irks me. I'm removing lack of awareness because unless you're blind (in which case, I suspect you wouldn't be anywhere near a dancefloor OR in a driver's seat) you are aware of the fact that there are other people in constant movement around you. Since people know that there are others around them dancing, then they must not care. Now, I won't go so far as to say that this is a malicious lack of concern in all cases. I don't think the majority of the dancers out there are thinking to themselves, "Ok, this dancefloor is MINE. I don't give a flyin' flock of birds who is around me; I'm going to take up as much space as necessary for me to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Sucks to be you if you're in my way." I pray that I'm right in assuming that this is not the case with most people.

The fact still remains, however, that although most people aren't purposely being selfish and inconsiderate, they still tend to do things as if no one else is affected. Guys lead moves without considering whether or not they actually have room to do them: spinning their partners into people and dipping them so that their heads come within inches of unexpected head-trauma. Ladies style without restraint, oblivious to the dancers who just happen to be within reach of their outstretched manicured nails or heels. Again, none of this is usually done w/ harmful intent, but the people who do these things behave as if they are in their own little world. Bad thing is, they don't realize that there are many other "own little worlds" around them just waiting to collide with theirs. Ah, when worlds collide...

A salsa friend of mine once joked with me that I should teach a class on protecting one's partner while dancing. I've built a reputation as being someone who puts a premium on keeping his dance partner out of harms way. I laughed at it at first, but after thinking about it more, I wondered if I should seriously consider it. I thought back to the numerous dance classes and workshops that I've taken in my 7+ years of dancing salsa, and I can't remember floorcraft being addressed as anything more than a side-thought. I wish I could say that I could recall someone actually taking time out of a class and expressing how important it is to maintain a consistent area of space while dancing. Granted, On1/LA and On2/NY style salsa are danced in slots, and staying on the slot is emphasized, but it is not necessary to dance on a slot to have good floorcraft (plus, people can tend to make their "slots" extra wide and long). I've seen many a slot-style dancer display horrible floorcraft. Anyway, I do feel like this concept could stand to be stressed a lot more in classes. To take a whole 5-10 minutes out of a class would be a bit much I think (most peoples' attention spans won't allow for it); it would be much more practical to touch on it as other moves and techniques are taught. For example, during a cross-body lead, telling the leads to look in the direction that he intends to guide his partner on the 3 so as to make sure that no one/thing is already occupying that space, or teaching followers to pay attention to and stay within their leads' frame while turning.

Even though certain techniques can indeed be taught in order to encourage floorcraft, I think it's more of a mindset or a mentality than anything. Personally, I'd like to think I'm a very considerate person. Almost to a fault, at times. While I may have my moments every other blue moon, there is something in me that just won't allow me to purposely impose on someone else or do anything with reckless abandon, knowing that my actions could directly affect someone else. So when it comes to dancing, as much as I'd like to be selfish and just go for mine, I just can't bring myself to dance in such a way that I endanger those around me. Sometimes I feel that I spend so much time protecting myself and my partner that I don't really get much out of a dance. Now, while I'm glad to do it if it means my partner remains safe while on my watch, I can't help but wonder sometimes if I'm the only person on the floor making any kind of effort to do this, sacrificing my own enjoyment for the sake of others. I will admit, while I don't show it (or at least I try not to... I apologize for anyone who may have fallen victim to any optic blasts shot from my evil eyes), I can be pretty disdainful of people around me who aren't making at least some effort to be considerate of others. At that point, I have to remind myself that not everyone thinks like I do. Maybe this is a not-so-humble opinion, but I think the dancefloor would be a much less chaotic place if they did. Oh well... I guess I'll continue to dance and dodge until then; trying my best to make my dodging look like dancing ;-)