DanceSport Talk

In the dance world, we see splits all the time. Dance partnerships are fragile things and changes are to be expected. But the most recent splits in the Standard world have created some interesting backlash that made me ponder the PR (public relations) aspect that top couples should consider in how they deal with these kind of changes.

Christopher Hawkins and Justyna Hawkins, who are married, have split. Timothy Howson and Joanne Bolton, who are not married but have been together for many years, have split. In both cases, injury of one partner have been key factors. Justyna has been struggling with foot problems that prevented her from competing for several months. Timothy has also found himself canceling major events due to injury. Now Chris Hawkins and Joanne Bolton have formed a new partnership.

Many people who compete are aware of the nature of dance partnerships and how or why changes like this happen. They know that it's perfectly legitimate to be married to someone and dancing with someone else. There are many others who instantly see this scenario and begin to draw conclusions of backstabbing and blind ambition. Already people are crying foul, suggesting that both are irresponsible for leaving a 'helpless' partner behind and implying that they are selfish and uncaring.

Top competitive dancers need to keep that reality in mind when announcing changes.

Were Timothy and Justyna the unwitting victims of selfish ambition? We don't know, but a properly organized public announcement would have gone a long way to avoiding this perception, whether true or not.

The way this new partnership was announced (that is to say, no official announcement at all), leaves lots of room for speculation. This will affect public perception and support for this new couple. What if the whole thing was arrived at in a friendly and mutually respectable way? If so, controversial opinion would be a sad way to start the new dance relationship. If not, it still would have helped to plan the communications properly.

While watching an Olympic event on TV, where the athletes were clearly not performing up to their normal standard, I was reminded of something Nigel said during the finale of this year's So You Think You Can Dance.

He said that the dancers looked a little tired. They had been working especially hard for this week's performances. There's no doubt that their dancing was not quite as strong as during the previous few weeks. Nigel's point was that you can't allow it to matter.

Nigel went on to say that the audience doesn't care if you're tired. They don't care if you're having a bad day, or you aren't feeling as strong as you should. For the audience, the moment you are on for your performance is all that matters.

Whether you're performing a show dance or a competition, somebody has paid money for you to provide entertainment to a group of people. Maybe it was the mall promoter, maybe the wedding couple, or the individual audience members who paid for tickets to be there. In any case, they deserve to be treated to the best show you can give. They don't care if you're tired. They don't care, nor should they, if you're having an off day. You need to perform and to do so brilliantly. Every time.

Naturally, professionals who make their living through dance understand this better than amateurs do. But the amateurs who "get it" and perform up to their highest level at all times will always have a significant edge over the others.