What Makes a Good Dancer?

This is one of those posts that I started writing, because I felt like that would clarify my thoughts, but while writing ended  up being more confused. So I let it rest and came back to it. I started the post with a question of "what makes a good dancer?". This topic raised into my mind mostly because I felt like many dancers try to determine who is the best and make tight comparisons between others. I was wondering if there really was a set of criteria that determines whether someone is better dancer than another and if dancers can be put in line as who is the best, the second best etc. Tough questions with no simple answer.  Thus, I'll give it a second try and see how I do this time.

So, can dancers be lined up as their "superiority"?

Yes, might be your answer; isn't that, for example, what the dance competitions are for? However, I don't find it as simple or black-and-white as that, especially when it comes to partner dancing. A good partner dancer for me is - this is how I firstly tried to describe it - someone with who I enjoy dancing with. This doesn't necessarily have to be tied together with the "level" (e.g. beginner, intermediate, advanced) of the dancer - something that would in the first glance be an indication of how good of a dancer that person is. I can highly enjoy dancing with a beginner dancer and regard that person to be in a way "better" than an intermediate or advanced dancer. Sure, it is possible to draw some lines between beginner and intermediate level, but the lines are anyway very broad and fine. Besides, these classifications are not there to point out whether one is a good dancer or not - or can you sincerely say that any beginner dancer can't be a good dancer, or that any advanced dancer is a good one?

Then, is the superiority of dancers a highly subjective thing? In that case, is a good dancer simply someone who many people regard as a good dancer? Or is it just me, disregarding the others, who can make the distinction? What I said before about a good partner dancer being someone with who I enjoy dancing with, that would be exactly the case. But then again, there are definitely dancers who I might not enjoy dancing with, but who I undoubtedly regard as good dancers. So it is not that simple after all, is it! Maybe the most relevant question to ask, then, is that why I regard someone as a good dancer (or why I enjoy dancing with someone for that matter)? Nevertheless, even though there might be some more or less "objective", or rather generally accepted, measures for a good dancer - say, for example, great body control, impressing spinning technique, superior balance, good musicality etc. - I still think that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that is, the superiority is just one's opinion. If there are others who agree, then there are several similar opinions.

Generally speaking, I don't like ranking dancers into general categories nor do I like superficially objective discussions of who is the best dancer or comparisons stating that one is better than another. All that is just about opinions and different preferences. I don't see the point of lining up dancers, because I think it creates mostly bad energy. In that sense it is pointless. What I like, though, are discussions about different strengths those dancers possess (or if you wish to be more criticizing or constructive perhaps, weaknesses). This makes it possible for the others to learn from those strengths and it also creates more positive energy. For me it is also fascinating to hear opinions about with who others find it enjoyable to dance with. It is interesting that some followers seem to prefer the same leaders as I do, while others have totally different taste. There are some followers whose opinions I have learned to listen carefully since those usually lead me to great dance experiences with leaders also she enjoyed dancing with. However, this doesn't in any way mean that some of my friends like dancing with bad dancers while others are better off with good dancers. We simply prefer different things. Just as I get along better with some people doesn't mean that they would be better people than those with who I don't get along with as well. Or that just because I prefer apples to oranges would make apples better fruit in general.

Then, if it is me who can decide who is a good dancer and who is not, can I also decide if I am a good dancer or not? Yes, that would be the case, though many times other's opinions seem to play quite a big role in that decision. So, do I see myself as a good dancer? There has been many times others have told me that I am a good dancer, but that is, ultimately, their opinion. So what is truly mine? Well, to start with, the main reason I dance is that I dance for myself. Sure, partner dancing is about giving and receiving, leading and following, so in that sense I dance for the others too. But if I danced just for the others, that is, just to impress them, I would be in a wrong path. Since I have had plenty of amazing dancing experiences, in other words, been very successfully dancing for myself and for the others at the same time, and I also have lots of strengths and good motivation to work on my weaknesses, I do think I am a good dancer. This is not to brag about myself, but simply my opinion. Well then, do I regard myself better than some other dancers? No, I don't want to line up myself nor the others. It is pointless. I'd rather think there are many good dancers than couple superior ones. Everyone have their strengths and weaknesses. That someone else is good is by no means something that is away from me, quite the opposite.

Phew, I don't know if that made my thoughts any more clear. Probably it just made also you confused. Well, I think I have to keep on clarifying my thoughts and to come back to this topic yet again. Or would you have an opinion to share?