There is an ongoing discussion on how the Olympics has encouraged more exercise. Has SCD encourage more people to dance?

So how often do you dance with dance partners ?- i.e. not just your spouse and not disco dad dancing or mums around handbags.

I dance AT about twice a week - and salsa about once a month

I go once a week to a 2 hour session - not sure how that works in the poll so I havent added it (sorry dont understand what the quarter thing means)

Sorry for being unclear.

"Quarter" means every three months. So once a week is 13 times a quarter year.

Wasn't sure if you meant how many different partners or how many times do you dance with a partner as opposed to dancing alone/ not dancing at all.

I dance 3 nights a week. Twice socially which means 20 - 30 partners during the course of the gig. Once teaching which probably is nearer 10 -15 on a good week but fewer if we have more ladies than men turn up (and in our case, oddly, most weeks, men outnumber women)

ok, thank you, I had no clue (clearly) lol

I just meant dancing with a partner as seen on SCD or AT or Salsa / Merengue for dancing sake - rather than dancing because there is a dance at a wedding and I'll dance with my wife / husband once or twice and then I'm off to the bar / chat with my friends.

And dancing with one partner at a time mainly in hold rather than bopping around handbags to Abba stuff.

So An your are definitely in the "Average of 13 or more times a quarter" bracket. I could have had a "Average of 13 or more times a month" for you I suppose ...

AT several times a week and, on a serious AT weekend 2-3 days in a row for several hours a day - average 13 - 17 hours.

Cuban or Cali salsa at least 1 or 2 times a week, ECS and WCS (Swing) any time I find someone else who can actually do it, and finally ballroom rarely - don't much like the crowd! Bit twee for me.

Great thread- I do Salsa or Jive about once a month. Have done on and off for a few years. My own experience of these lessons makes me laugh at those people who say that the likes of Natalie or Denise Van Outen etc etc have an unfair advantage because they've already had lessons. So have I, but it doesn't make me a great dancer. In fact most actors and actresses have had dance lessons, but it didn't help the likes of Patsy Kensit or Letitia Dean do as brilliantly as those with natural talent.

Well not just me I bet. But I did click option 1 so your stats are straight.

Wow that is impressive. I can dance salsa (Cuban preferred if I can find it) for hours without tiring (well I do tire but then a wicked track comes on and my feet forget they are tired and sore). But I find AT tires me mentally long before the body gives up. At the end of a Milonga, my focus has gone to pot. I guess this is because I am still very much a student (and not fundamentally a dancer) despite having had classes for 6 years and assisting the beginners classes for a couple. But any tips to overcome this would be welcome.

That sounds like a "Non-stop" category for you

Interesting voting. At the moment 75% of FMs who voted never dance or hardly dance.

Just a gentle bump to see if we can get a bit of a larger sample for the votes to be meaningful.

Looking like if people dance then they dance at least once a week. But three-quarters of those that voted don't or seldom dance.

I would guess that the majority of those that viewed but not noted are also non-dancers. At the moment 429 have viewed and 26 voted.

As a teacher I dance with my students 6 days a week.

For myself, I have a 3 hour coaching session with my partner each week, and we practice at least 2 hours 4 times a week.

Then there's competitions ...... not much time left for social dancing, but we manage it occasionally.

Impressive workload - and playload thrown in. Have you voted in the poll?

Yes, first line, although 13 times a week would be more accurate!!

I am very much like you. Cuban salsa does not tire me at all and I can dance it all night, but AT is entirely different.

I think the intensity of focus needed when we dance it, the amount of dedication, delicacy and thought that goes into being good follower or leader, is mentally exhausting. I can get to a point where I simply have to go and stroll outside, or sit and chat idly and take a rest to still my mind after a series of tandas.

There are also milongas where you don't have the kind of dances you want, or you feel you are not at your best that day and it can throw you. My way of dealing with it now is to shrug and say, 'so be it - it's one of those days' and spend more time chatting or observing instead. I genuinely like people and AT people are very interesting - far more so than other dance groups. It attracts very intelligent people

I am also very choosy about where I dance AT and only go where I feel most comfortable, love the music and like the company. There are some events which are far too up their own posterior for me!

Yes, I suppose so. However, I sometimes take whole weeks off and, every now and then, my work can take over and I often have to be away from home for several days.

Are you looking to draw any conclusions beyond raw data?

Glad to see you're back to competing. . I wish my teacher did 6 days a week!

I partner dance about 3 times a week with different teachers, who have completely different styles. About to start a dance partner search in earnest (for open comps).

i learnt how to do a basic waltz when i was a kid and i wasn't bad at tap dancing and "disco" but i don't dance at all now

i'd love to go to some classes but OH has mobility issues and i'd feel like a muppet turning up at a class on my own

Nah. Go for it. Lots of males and females go dancing without their OHs. If you don't you might resent OH for it.

At weddings I get to dance with lots of women whose OHs are holding up the bar.

My OH doesn't dance even at weddings so five years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer I thought "sod it" and went to weekly salsa classes after a 20 year break and took up regular AT early this year.

At our wedding my OH and I danced for the first and perhaps last time and I danced and still dance with all and sundry.

you're right i should just go for it, i've always enjoyed dancing - i think i'll ring around an see what's happening in my area

thanks for the encouragement - i've been toying with the idea for a while, i think you have given me the push that i needed

Do it Hippychick. It can transform your life. Salsa is pretty accessible in most towns. I would guess modern jive too but I don't know that.

Salsa tends not to necessitate bringing your own partner. Most teachers rotate the couples through the class. The dance is a lead and follow dance so dancing with one person all the time is not good. To dance only with one person is a bit like learning a foreign language from a tape you only learn what is in the script and then when you encounter someone who doesn't follow the script you are lost - salsa classes help you learn the grammar so you can follow/lead anyone. The snag is that in salsa women tend to outnumber men. However women tend to learn faster so it seems to work out.

AT tends to be the same but I feel it is harder to learn initially. Salsa you are up and running pretty quickly - certainly if you have any transferrable skills. So if you are musical you will quickly get the hang of timing. If you ever did yoga, gymnastics, martial arts or similar you tend to have a better sense of controlling your body and its relationship to space etc.

No doubt someone will pop up and tell you about Ceroc etc which is probably as accessible as salsa