*DISCLAIMER*…. I’m trying to understand the rationale behind the whole debate. I’m not trying to target anyone in particular, so let’s keep this clean, ok? I'm looking for input, not a poo-flinging contest.

Lately I have found myself in the midst of or around titillating conversation focused on one thing: What makes a dancer a “pro”? People seem to like to stand on either end of an extreme: Either they can’t believe that someone is competing at the professional level because they believe the person in question does not have the credentials/winnings/whatever, or they are pissed off that a dancer is competing in a lower division when they also are teaching (or are professional in another style of dance).

It seems to be a long-standing debate, and I don’t believe there is a solid line that one can draw, really. I teach, both private lessons and group lessons, but does that make me a professional? I hope not! Yikes, scary thought! I'm an Intermediate/Advanced dancer, and although I aspire to be something great, I plan on sticking to the plan for some time!

Some convention rules define a pro versus non-pro as those who make a certain amount of annual income from dance-related instruction, etc… Even here, the amount of money earned varies between events.

I think this is a Catch-22 situation. People seem to get upset when a dancer (who just happens to teach at a pro or semi-pro level, be it WCS or another style) plays by the rules and works their way up the World Swing Dance Council (WSDC) points system. They say that the dancer shouldn’t be competing at their level, because it isn’t fair. They can be called sandbaggers, or worse. Other people are upset when a dancer skips levels and ends up in a pro division somewhere. They say that the dancer doesn’t deserve to be up there, or that they haven’t earned their way up, and that it isn’t fair. Sometimes these statements come from the same people! Why is that?

Is it fair to the dancers who are in question? People are sometimes so adamant about the matter that they are rude to these dancers and treat them like outcasts (in some cases). Sometimes these dancers don’t have too much of a choice, and sometimes they do. I think that if they truly belong in a higher division, they will prove themselves in time. Either they’re going to literally fly up the competitive ladder and end up there ANYWAY, or they’re going to go straight to the top without stopping, and either sink or swim.

Is it fair to bring in a dancer’s background/successes in a different form of dance into the argument? Seriously, since when does being a double-dutch or pole-dancing champion make someone HAVE to start out in a higher level of a different dance?

A perfect example. I was recently at a dance event (ok, so it was about 6 months ago), and while I was watching a lower-level competition, a complete stranger came up and commented to me, “I can’t believe that dancer has the gall to dance in this division. They are a professional in another dance style! They should dance with the pros. That is SO unfair.”

I turned to her and politely informed her that the dancer is simply playing by the rules and working their way up in the WSDC points system. Besides, different styles of dance should have no impact on where a dancer starts in another world altogether. Key word here: DIFFERENT dance styles.

The stranger said she agreed and understood, but she still had that sideways glance that told me she wasn’t quite convinced. Oh well, you can’t convince them all.. but you do see where the problem lies?

So I ask, where should it end? Where should the people in charge draw the line?

All I have to say, is that if a dance event somewhere tried to put ME in a professional division, saying that since I teach that I have to compete there, I’d probably ask to please be excused so I can change my pants, burn the pair with skid marks, and then go hide somewhere until it’s over, because there would be NO WAY I could compete against them on the same level.
OH HELL NO.