Ljubljana's fifth swing festival has just come to an end and although not fully digested yet, I will allow myself to write a few (personal) comments on behalf of this amazing event.
Probably the most important thing I learned is the importance of communication between the partners, dance being a communication in itself! I used to think the "bad dances" were happening to me just because I hadn't taken enough classes yet or don't know enough moves. The true reason as I see it now, was my lack of adaptability to the partner. In order for things to run smoothly, one has to take their own share of responsibility for each particular dance. And if you don't want to communicate with that person, why bother dancing with them at all? And if there is quite a lot of people you don't want to communicate to, why bother social dancing??
Probably the most important thing I learned is the importance of communication between the partners, dance being a communication in itself! I used to think the "bad dances" were happening to me just because I hadn't taken enough classes yet or don't know enough moves. The true reason as I see it now, was my lack of adaptability to the partner. In order for things to run smoothly, one has to take their own share of responsibility for each particular dance. And if you don't want to communicate with that person, why bother dancing with them at all? And if there is quite a lot of people you don't want to communicate to, why bother social dancing??