Where are the dancers?

The topic of this post is not directed to dancers in general, but to the students who are taking classes at local studios in town. You would call me one of the regulars, a dancer who goes out at least once a week to get my salsa fix and who has been doing this for the last 3 years.

I was visiting local salsa sites which provide salsa lessons and it appears that they have a lot going on. IntoSalsa and IndySalsa provides at least 8 hours of class instruction a week. There are also a handful of freelance dancers who teach private and small group lessons. Lately when I attend studio parties, the number of students is less than the number of regular salsa addicts. I have never sat down and counted, but there are times that it feels like only a handful of students show up to their own studio party. Is this because of intimidation, lack of desired dancers of similar level, age or attractiveness? I know that turnover rate is high in the world of dance and trying to infect Indy with the salsa bug is a difficult task.

The numbers are just not adding up. The number of hours of salsa instruction provided is high in comparison to other social dances in this city. This would indicate that the class attendance is doing well and that retention is at least at a safe level. Or maybe my calculations are off. I was told from a Chicago dancer that a salsa studio can easily go though 300 students and expect less than 5 to take the dance somewhat seriously. I personally did not know this source, so I took what he said at face value.

As some of you know, I am now providing group salsa lessons and some may take this post as a jab at the studios here in town, but it is not. I would like to mention that this is just an observation that I will like to point out and see if anyone else feels the same. I have danced with dancers from both studios and it has always been a joy to dance with them (I hope they feel the same).

I have talked to a handful of regular dancers and they have expressed frustration when going out and only having a handful of dancers that they enjoy dancing with. Hopefully we can draw some conclusions on these issues and find a solution.