Everything that you learn about dancing can improve a persons dancing, provided you apply that knowledge properly.
Almost all of those people that I now see at WCS competitions and weekenders used to be seen dancing blues at weekenders. I didn't get the impression that they were dancing in the blues room because they were "smug" that they were too good for the main room, just that they had done the main room MJ thing for quite a few years and were looking for a way to develop new skills. That search for new skills and interesting new dance expereinces has now taken many of them into WCS (and/or Argentine tango). Who knows what they may try next? At a recent weekender I saw a lot of them having great fun in Night club two step and country two step classes and line dancing, and they were having great fun. So what? Does that mean that they are bored with WCS or just that they are exploring everything to see if they like it?
Every dance that I have tried has taught me something new. A lot of that knowledge I have been able to apply in my MJ. Knowlege is knowledge no matter where you get it from and in my experience there is very little of it that doesn't come in useful at some point in your life.
So are WCS dancers "smug"? Not in my experience. Many of them are extremely passionate about what they are doing - just as many of the better MJ dancers are passionate about what they are doing.
When I look around a dance floor and see dancers that look very good to me I never think that they are just naturally talented. I think that they were not born that way they must have learned how to do that. So if they have learned then it must be possible for me to learn how to do that as well. So how and where did they learn how to do that? If I find out that they have learned something at AT classes then I will look there. If they have learned through WCS or line dancing then that is what I will try.
So if a good MJ or WCS dancer tells me that one of the ways they improved their dancing was by learning another dance form I have two choices.
Ignore their advice or take it.
If I ignore their advice I can't really spend my time whining at them that my dancing isn't improving.
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