Most of us are social dancers without any aspirations to compete.
 We attend chapter dances because we enjoy dancing, perhaps to learn a few new steps, to become a smoother dancer and to socialize.

One of the best ways to do that is to dance with other people. This is one of the reasons we have mixers. It also gives single members an opportunity to meet and dance with those present.
Here are a few more reasons.

1. It allows the man to sharpen his skills as a leader.

2. It allows the women to adapt to the lead of someone different than her partner.

3. It strengthens and re-enforces basic bronze steps for everyone involved.

4. It encourages a polite and social atmosphere.

5. It promotes and emphasizes ballroom etiquette.

6. It encourages singles to attend dances.

When new couples and singles come to our dances, they may feel intimidated by the more experienced couples on the dance floor. This is a normal reaction for most people.

We can help by asking them to dance and encouraging them to participate in the mixers.

We can re-assure them that we will only use bronze steps in the mixer.

This will give the newcomers confidence and a feeling of belonging to a community of dancers.

As members of USA Dance we should actively encourage our fellow dancers to become members of our chapter and to participate in chapter activities. This might include helping with refreshments, decorations and set-up, If there are more women than men at the chapter dance, a man could volunteer to be a "dance host" for an hour.  Encourage newcomers to attend practice parties. Ask them to meet you at the practice party or pick them up. With gas prices sky rocketing, Car pooling to dances can be a lot of fun.

Keep on dancing!