I think people do it for lots of reasons..
Some beause they are very new and feel overwhelmed
Some because they are very shy and feel like they have to 'warn' people
Some because they are very modest and genuinely don't believe they are any good
Some because they like it when people say 'no, you're not, you're good'
And some for a mixture of the above....
I think when it's the first reason (and it sounds as though the lady you were dancing with was in this category) then all you can do is be as encouraging as possible, tell them they *aren't* crap and do all those wonderful things to make them relax and enjoy themselves that people did for us when we were starting out and were so nervous we couldn't remember our own names, let alone dance
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