We are used to paying cover to go social dancing, but for many people the concept of ‘paying for dances’ is both foreign and alarming. It is usually men who are ‘paid’ as a partner, and women who are paying. And, the practice is more frequent at large events than small socials.
Paying for dances comes in several forms:
- taxi dancers, who are paid or given complimentary entrance/discounts to an event in exchange for social dancing;
- fundraiser dances, where pro’s are ‘tipped’ for a minute of social dance time and profits are donated to charity;
- dancer ‘rentals,’ where a high-level dancer is rented by a person or group as a ‘dance escort’ for a full night, or certain number of hours;
- pay-per-dance hosts, who are ‘tipped’ for each dance;
- paid social dance time, where an organizer pays a pro to spend time on the social floor.
You might agree (or disagree) with all these practices. But, regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, it can be helpful to understand where the other side is coming from.
Taxi Dancers
I used to be a ‘taxi dancer’ at a local social for a while. The idea behind a taxi dancer is relatively simple:
- Dance with all the people who normally spend a lot of time sitting down.
- Make sure everyone has fun.
- Make new people feel welcome, with the goal of having them return to the dance.
When taxi dancing functions as desired, it is rarely problematic. But, it can create problems in a few situations
The Good
When taxi dancers are working as desired, it can create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome. It can also help to even out an imbalance in leading/following, especially if the taxi dancers can switch roles.
This happens when taxi dancers legitimately enjoy the service they are providing, and actively seek out the people who need an uplift that evening. It is especially powerful when taxi dancers seek out beginner dancers, and give them a positive experience.
The Bad
Taxi dancers can still be elitist and snobby, even if their role is the opposite. For example, they may ‘target’ partners who are desirable, rather than finding people who are sitting down. And, due to the nature of most socials and events, it can be difficult to police that behavior.
Some social dancers also don’t enjoy dances with taxi dancers because it feels like a ‘pity dance’. This can largely depend on the nature of the taxi dancer. A taxi dancer who treats it as an obligation or a job can leave people feeling demotivated, while a person who is a taxi dancer because they love everyone can motivate and uplift.
My Take:
I don’t have an issue with taxi dancing – when the right people are used as taxi dancers. I don’t think you need to be an ‘advanced’ dancer to be a taxi, but you do need to be capable of having fun with all partners. If a person treats taxi dancing like a job, it’s not meeting its goal.
Fundraiser Dances
A fundraiser dance is when you pay a pro for a dance (typically a minute or so). Often, the format is similar to a birthday-circle type dance, and a volunteer collects the ‘tips’ in a hat.
Another format is a specific, designated time during the evening where you can ‘reserve’ a dance. Then, the funds raised are donated at the end.
The goal is twofold:
- People get a chance to ‘dance with their favourite pro’, and
- Funds are raised for a cause supported by the event or community
The Good
You’re helping to support a (hopefully) worthy cause, and you get time with someone you may not have the chance to dance with otherwise.
The Bad
It can feel contrived, since dances are paid for ‘obligations’ rather than free ‘choice’.
My Take:
I actually like this idea. I think it’s a fun way to raise money for great things, and balance people’s desire for time dancing with a pro. Yes, the pro is ‘working for free’, but it’s usually voluntary and can be a lot of fun.
Dancer ‘Rentals’
This idea is more popular in the ballroom world. I’ve also heard of this in Argentine Tango, but I’m not entirely sure how common the practice is.
The idea of a dancer rental is that you ‘reserve’ a specific amount of time with a person in advance. It can be the whole evening, or maybe an hour or two.
Sometimes a rental can be exclusive, which means that they will only dance with you during that time. Or, it can be a way to fill times where you aren’t able to find a partner – but don’t want to sit out.
The Good
People who otherwise find it difficult to locate partners can have a safety net for the evening. This is particularly true if you’re in an unbalanced event, where many more people are dancing one role (usually following) than the other (usually leading).
It can also be a way for insecure dancers to avoid anxiety in large, unknown groups of people.
Of course, dancers who are in demand can get an extra source of income. This applies whether they’re a pro, or an in-demand amateur.
The Bad
It goes against the ‘fabric’ of social dancing. If all the strong dancers were ‘reserved’ for an evening, it would ruin the ability of people to enjoy different partners.
It would also likely cost far more for followers than leaders, since leads are generally less common than follows.
My Take:
I’m not a huge fan of the ‘rental dancer’ idea. I understand it, but I’m still not a fan.
But, I would encourage those who are against the idea to understand why some people feel it is necessary. The fact that there are people who are willing to pay tells me that we have members of the community who feel so ‘on the outside’ that they view this as a good option for getting dances.
Maybe we can spend time thinking about how to better include these people.
That being said, I don’t think it’s ever going to become a widespread practice. I think there will continue to be a few who practice this – but the general dislike of the concept will keep it from becoming a fixture.
Pay-Per-Dance
This is essentially the for-profit form of the fundraiser dance – and without the designated time. Dancers who are in demand can charge a ‘fee’ for a dance with them.
The Good
It can be a good source of money for people who are sought after partners. And, people who are aiming to dance with a particular person may be better able to secure a dance.
The Bad
On a purely logistical note, the cash and transaction handling would be a nightmare.
On a cultural note, this practice could ‘price out’ many people from socials. And, it can be very predatory if manipulated by in-demand dancers.
My Take:
I don’t think that this concept bodes well for the idea of a strong social dance scene. While it can be a charming idea in the context of a fundraiser, it becomes borderline predatory as a for-profit enterprise. I’d rather see this never catch on.
If it did, I’d probably ban the practice from my socials or events.
Paid Social Dance Hours
This is when organizers pay a fee to artists in order to get them to stay on the social floor. It guarantees that artists will be accessible for dances, while also preventing costs from rising for participants.
The Good
Artists are accessible. Dancers get to dance with them. This can make the social atmosphere and experience much more pleasant at events. Artists are also compensated for sharing their art on the social floor.
The Bad
It raises organizer costs, which raises event ticket costs. It also can cause pro’s who social dance voluntarily feel devalued, since those who choose not to dance are being compensated for the time.
There’s also no guarantee that a pro will dance with everyone. Some may spend time on the floor, but stick to specific partners – or even the bar.
My Take:
As an organizer, I’d love to have the funds to pay pro’s for social dancing. But, generally speaking, it makes more economic sense to pay for more workshops instead (at least in Brazilian Zouk).
Instead, I prefer to make schedules that encourage social dancing by the pro’s, and to hire people who have a history of providing an inclusive and warm social dancing environment. This means hiring people who enjoy (or at least, seem to enjoy) social dancing regularly, and with everyone.
Your Thoughts
Do you have an opinion on any of these types of paid dances? Is there a type we missed? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
Once again, a great topic for discussion. In Buenos Aires, the practice for women dance tourists to hire a partner for the evening is quite common. She gets to make the most of her time in the city to experience the great milongas. Otherwise, particularly if she is an older women, she might waste her time sitting at dances where everyone knows each other and dances only with their friends. On the downside, all the regulars know who the hired man is and that he is ‘on duty’ for the evening. I personally could not do it; it just felt too constricting, no matter how great the partner was. But i totally understand women who want to do it.
I’m not sure I agree with your assessment of dance escorts or “rentals”. I know male pros who offer dance escort services to their students, and I know women who hire dance escorts. The men that I know are full time dance professionals, and were they not hired as an escort, they would be teaching or performing, not out social dancing. The women that hire do so because they can afford to, and because without doing so they could not have the same quantity and / or enjoyment of dances. It also allows them to gift their friends with more quality floor time. I doubt the reason it’s not more popular has anything to do with distaste, I would think it has to do with economics, ratio of men to women in the dance community, and relative age and skill of your “competitors” dancing the same role.
My other comment is that I’m not sure this list is complete without the inclusion of Dance Hosts on cruise ships. You may have grouped them with taxi dancers, but I would suggest embarking on a ship for months at a time is a whole different level.
Hi Em,
I wouldn’t really consider dance cruise hosts as part of the social dance circuit. 🙂 They tend to be more animation staff, like at resorts (at least in my experience).
The pro’s that you listed for dancer rentals are certainly something to consider, and definitely falls on the ‘pro’ side of the argument. In ballroom, things like that tend to be more accepted than in the more social styles (Salsa, Zouk, WCS). In these communities, there is a pretty active dislike for purchasing a dancer’s time for the evening – and most pros do spend at least part of their time social dancing.
Community and dance culture do have a lot to do with the attitude towards these different aspects.
In Bogotá I found one more type of dancer. They call it “bailarines de apoyo” or “support dancers”. They are the friends of the people running the milonga, and are apparently not paid and enter the milonga for free. Their mission is to dance with the women no one else wishes to dance with. However it turns being the opposite. They chase the best female dancers, and as a result most genuine male dancers and many women too, do not attend events having this sort of support dancers. As a female dancer I refuse to dance with this sort of fake.
What you are describing is the perversion of the taxi dancer. In my dance community, taxi dancers get free entry to an event in exchange for working as a taxi dancer for a part of the evening. The payment for the taxi dancer need not be in the form of cash.
Just as Ms Riva states, the success of taxi dancers depend on the selection of the taxi dancers. If you select the wrong ones, for example purely based on their friendship association to the people running the event, then you might get what you describe.
In my experience, taxi dancers are great to get things started. At any event there are bound to be new dancers, either new to the scene or beginners. In either case they might be too shy to ask for a dance (and I live in a community where it is very socially accepted for a follow to ask a lead to dance) and thus stand to the side waiting to be asked. The role of the taxi dancer, imho, is to get the traffic running by picking up anyone standing still and get them onto the dance floor. The taxi dancer are usually experienced, but not necessarily the most advanced dancers. They should be good social dancers though. But just as someone waiting for a taxi, there is nothing saying that they cannot be offered a ride by someone else. That is, the taxi dancers are not a substitute for regular dancers, just someone getting the social dance going and mixing it up. Because of this their role is most important during the beginning of the evening.
I understand the thought that dances offered by taxi dancers are ‘pity dances’, but I don’t agree. I think it is better that people get to dance than go home and never return because the dancing scene didn’t let them in. And getting that one dance with someone often opens the door, showing the rest of the community that this is someone that can dance.
An example; a while ago there was a young girl, a bit on the heavy side and new to the scene, that didn’t get asked for a dance. I asked her for a dance (not as a taxi dancer, but just as another social dancer) and saw that she was a really good and light follow. After having danced with her, other leads started asking her for a dance. This is not the first time I have had this experience.
So getting the right taxi dancers is essential, and if they are respected in the community the effect of them will be doubled.
In modern jive taxi dancers are only used for class nights and the role is to support beginners and ensure they feel welcome. I’ve not come across it elsewhere. But the bad points of them not doing what they’re meant to is still the same. Generally it’s a good thing.
I only heard about the dance escort thing the other day. I can understand it for less social dancing – like ballroom (in particular classes), where people tend to have only the one partner and don’t mix up. Otherwise in social dancing it would just be like someone going to an event and just dancing with their partner all the time. Their choice, but not really in the spirit of social dancing.
I’m loving the charity pay per dance thing. That’s a great idea for a fundraising event, and I know I’d certainly pop some money in a bucket to get a short dance with a dancer I don’t usually get to dance with.
Hmm, I suppose I do the same thing as a taxi dancer often, but never wanted or got paid for it. I think it’s part of our obligation as experienced dancers to give back to the community. Having said that employing a taxi is better than having people turn up and not get a single dance, which I’ve experienced myself- that sucks. As for the rest of it, I was joking to a friend over the weekend that pros who get long lines at Zouk festivals, should just give people a ticket with a number so they don’t have to queue up for half the event and get their turn. But really, I think paying people to dance with you or be a dance escort just sounds like a pg version of prostitution and it devalues the free dance as you say
Totally agreed. Paying for Dance is like paying for Sex. I would never accept.