My dancing barriers and obstacles at conventions

My personal insight

This blog provides insight into my experiences at the events Motion City (Organised bt LatinMotion & Motion City) & NYE Fest (organised bt LatinMotion). The events are major Latin-related dancing event located in Birmingham.

On this article, I will explain the barriers I have faced against my presence.

Social and dancing barriers
Both events are well organised with a collection of amazing performers and DJs, and a great experience with the classes I attended.
Despite the positive examples, I do face many barriers in the social atmosphere when attending these events, which has led to a reduction in my presence. See below for details.

Background

Beyond my control, I had to attend many fewer classes and parties in the past recent years. Not only does it cause a negative side effect when attending parties at conventions but also it has affected my dancing motivation. Sadly, due to the increasingly competitive social environment, I felt discouraged from dancing with anyone on occasion.
Dancing
At these partner dancing environments, there is an expectation for the leader, who is usually the male, to have an adequate number of dance steps to be able to dance with the follower (who is usually a female). Due to my reduced presence, it has affected my ability to dance with confidence in a very competitive social environment.

Social presence Q&A

Why do I avoid watching live shows on occasions at part of a party night?
This depends on my surroundings & social circle. Despite all the performers being great, several times in the past, when I was on my own watching live shows, it has drained my dancing motivation. Especially when I cannot socially engage with anyone.
So when I have no social circle I am not visually as I either relax at the nearby bar or have an outside (depending on location and safety). The only acceptance is when I am watching a live show is when I am supporting performer who knows, understands & socially appreciates me.

Why did I not stay in the evening continuously on New Year's Eve?
 This was to reduce the risk of negative mistreatment I faced previously.
(See my blog article, Dancing and Ableism, for details.)

The envrionment can be extremely stressful. There is, unfortunately, no sympathy if you become very stressed or have any anxiety. Also, there is a danger of being completely marginalised when this occurs. This can happen in a situation where you can be made to feel you shouldn't be around in the first place (this is the worst kind of feeling when attending).
Why I had to reduce attending classes & parties within the past 18 months to 2 years?
 Being seen alone without a social circle can be seen as a negative burden to other attendees and as projecting negative energy. I have personal experiences this no matter how positive I try to appear. Because of this, I would face a higher risk of rejection when socialising or when asking a person to dance with.

What kind of stigma can occour
One example did not help my situation. during the party hours of new years eve I was approaching one of the event's key participant members to greet Happy New Year, a woman next to him rudely disrespected my presence. Due to seeing on my own, I was recognised as one of the volunteers, I received belittling remarks, "You only work here". I felt this comment downgraded my presence, although I made an effort to dress up for New Year's Eve.
Even though I have volunteered at these conventions does not mean it improves my sense of belonging socially.

Why didn't I stay around the midnight celebrations
As the main room is full & packed with attendees from the three main rooms of the event for the midnight celebrations, there is a risk of facing negative anxiety and mental health problems after the event has ended. If I am seen with no circle, it can be a nightmare. This has happened to me, too many times previously. So because of this, I am not visible at midnight celebrations to prevent negative barriers against myself

What other barriers occur
I constantly have situations when strangers rudely divide me from people I am socially engaged with. This doesn't just occur during the parties but also in between the events within the venue. Once, with one example, a woman interrupted me while I was speaking to a teacher. I was disrupted by the person I was engaging with, who was shouting and pulling the teacher away from me. Another example is when the other person distracts the person I am engaging with. They do this by tapping on their shoulder, which usually leads to situations when the person I was engaging with reacts with excited emotions. So many times when this happens, I have been made to either walk away from the distracting person or the person I was communicating with walks away without noticing my existence. This can wrongly undervalue my presence which not only divides me but also drains my dancing motivation.

Have these challenges been a major problem in the past
No, this only seems to have occurred since the Pandemic.

Why do you think there are social & dancing barriers
This is a general societal matter and it is not exclusive to dancing environments. I have observed since the pandemic that many people's mindset has a reduced patience and tolerance level. Through my eyes, this includes meeting new people, socialising and dancing. Sadly, this can lead to unrealistic expectations. In addition, there is no room for adjustments if you are a neurodiverse like me or live with specific difficulties which affect coping in these types of environments.

Find out more about a special analysis document I've written about how life has affected independent adults with specific neurological difficulties since the pandemic.
Download and read the document by visiting my awareness website Plus Value Awareness.
What can I do to change this?

Since 2023, I have developed a series of dancing awareness projects and content to enable inclusive dancing environments regardless of abilities and difficulties. This is linked with the awareness feature 'Embrace Dancing".
I was told in early 2024 "Be part of the change". So, for the year ahead, I am planning to increase my role as an inclusive dancing influencer for dancing communities (including Latin-related Environments).
Details on my plans to appear online at a later date.

What is my objective
If I can encourage others to modify how we judge and treat dancers of varying abilities and difficulties, then I feel it is a step in the right direction.
Keep updated by visiting the "Embrace Dancing" feature for further developments and on social media.