Before I give you my opinion, I just think it's great that you compete at all. How wonderful!

If I were you, I would never give up a dream, however, sometimes the only way to realize that dream is to know when the right time to strike is. Perhaps that's not now for Latin, but you could make Standard your stepping stone for the moment. Maybe by allowing your BF to realize his dream of competing in standard, he'll repay you by doing latin when the time comes. You say money is tight, so maybe focusing your resources on one thing will be more beneficial that you thought it might be.

If you give standard a try and you know you must do Latin to be happy, then you'll know that it's time to really push forward and fight for your goals as a Latin dancer too. You may have to save a little to fly in good coaches, but it will be much more worth it than wasting money on bad coaches. I don't think you should worry about your ankles or knees. That type of thing has a way of changing as you train.

GOOD LUCK! And happy dancing!:)

Jeravae

It might help us if we knew where you are located.

maybe a point of view from one who only dances socially can help, If you love Latin just keep dancing for fun and do not focus on the technique at least at first and tell your boyfriend it just for fun and he can use whatever technique he is comfortable with , you don't have to spend time and money on coaches, you don't even have to practice moves and techniques. just put some music and dance. as you try to do so you can figure out on your own what to do.