Who Is Up For A Pro-Am DanceSport All Over The World? For several years, many people thought of Pro-Am dancesport as part of North American dance culture. It grew out of the studios in the USA that mainly supported ballroom dancers whose passion was ignited in adulthood. These studios started with a focus on social dancing, but eventually Pro-Am was born.
Dancers who start as adults are a much more varied group than those who start as children. There is no common base of experience, support and training among new adult dancers, so they tend to have a wide range of needs and wants. The number of adult followers who aspire to advance often far our number the leaders (lucky leaders!!!). Even married partners who both love dance, sometimes progress very differently and do not make very good dancesport partners.
Pro-Am Offers An AMAZING Experience!
- Starting dancesport as an adult means that your learning curve may feel steep. Competing with a pro helps the student stay on track in a way that dancing with someone on the same level may not. This experience quickly accelerates the level of student.
- The other amazing thing is that the Pro-Am student is dancing with their own instructor. This is the person who knows the student’s dance strengths and weaknesses probably better than they do. This knowledge has tremendous value on the competition floor. Also, partner experience with the student in a competition helps the pro understand the student’s needs even more clearly.
- The pro in Pro-Am is also offered a second or third career as a competitor, adding to their amateur and professional experience. This new type of competitive career can provide new satisfaction and a new and different range of opportunities.
- The commitment of both partners in Pro-Am is often as strong and in some cases stronger than the commitment in other dance partnership. Pros often feel immense pride in the accomplishments of their students as well as the partnership itself. After all their partner is also THEIR STUDENT and the product of their instruction. The student also often feels pride in their teacher and dedication to the partnership. After all their partner is also THEIR TEACHER and the one who helped to make their aspirations possible.
With all of this, it is hard to imagine that Pro-Am would only be seen as valuable in North America, and for sure it is not!!
Pro-Am All Over The World!
- Blackpool now has Pro-Am exhibitions and is considering competition rounds
- More and more North American competitions have international pro-am couples
- International team matches with teams from Russia, Hong Kong, and the rest of the world are becoming more common
- Pro-Am studios have been established in Egypt, Italy, Australia, Lebanon, Jordan, South Africa, Japan and elsewhere.
The momentum for Pro-Am is stronger than ever in North America, and gaining quickly elsewhere. It is only a matter of time before it becomes a true world phenomenon. And that would be phenomenal!
Author: Miss P
Photography: Egorich.ca DanceSport
Exclusively for Dance Comp Review