To many of the people in our dance classes doing the step correctly is very important even if we know we will never compete. I want to be that good even if I never step onto the floor at a competition, and this is what I work toward.
I know that many people who work their way into the upper levels of dance classes here are just as serious about their own improvement.
My chiropractor competes and we have the same attitude toward getting things right. She drives a couple of hours to work with her pro and her partner in a nearby city. My plan is to add occasional lessons in a nearby city as well to give me a different perspective on my dancing. Unlike my chiro, I will probably never compete.
It is perhaps true that in social settings the majority of people come out to play and have no desire to be any good at dancing.
But it is not true that all social dancers are careless in learning the steps. There is a pleasure in getting things right and you can feel the difference when you dance--it is worth it for the personal satisfaction.
Whether or not a step is done wrong matters to the individual or it does not matter to the individual, but it is unfair to classify social dancers as not caring if the step is wrong, AND equally wrong as some have done, to classify competitive dancers as snobs who have no consideration for the other people on the dance floor.
