"Also, dancing thru war time Britain... the dance studios and halls were never busier.. thats factual."

Yes, but was that because of economic hardship or reorganization of society around military service, civil service, working together, etc lines?

And did ballroom benefit because it was ballroom, or because it was still a default popular dance form in a way that it is not today?

Everything goes in cycles right? Economics and fads....terence has my hopes up that what he says is true!

We got off on an interesting tangent, so hopefully kym4ever is taking these thoughts and clinging to the ones she wants to pursue. I, too, hope that Terence is right. But my instincts, in being around dance studios a long time -- OK, well maybe only half the time of Terence -- tell me that the combination of the current economic woes and no real dance craze, like disco, to hang a hat on, it would be logical to be concerned about some down times in terms of new students and those buying big lesson packages. Having said that, as you do your research and due diligence, I would simply ask those questions of the studios and get a feel for their experience -- ask them what happened during past slow downs. The late 1980s and early 1990s might be a good reference point -- disco fading some, economy so-so. A lot of the folks teaching in studios now have likely never experienced anything close to a bad economy. Which also concerns me -- do they know how to market their studios and what they offer during lean times?
From that standpoint, I certainly respect Terence's views on this. I hope he is right, and I appreciate that he has shared his knowledge and experiences on this site. It has meant very much to me.
But if someone asked me to place a bet on this, I would lean toward the odds being against studios doing well in the next few years at the very least.

No dance craze ??.. does the word Salsa mean anything to you ?

It far excels what i and other teachers went thru in the 70s. it is a world wide phenomenon that keeps on growing.

testament to that.. ALL the major Soc. have added it to the syllabi and appointed examiners .

There is not a week goes by, that somewhere in the world , there is a major congress being held .The UK holds about SIX a yr thats more than the B/room world ( we have 3 ).

Add to this the number of movies that have been and are being made about the genre .
I am personally doing a w/shop in London this w/end and introducing some of the ancillary dances in the genre as well as Mambo and Salsa ( there will be a clip on the net, hopefully ).
The classes in salsa are outdrawing the ballroom by huge numbers( my area is a small town so I dont rely only on that , but even so, still does better )

Terence. I'll refresh your memory just a little. During the war in Britain there were dances in every forces canteen at least once a week. The venue could also be in a village hall near to an air base. There was a special branch of the armed sevices called ENSA which looked after the entertainment of our forces who in most cases organized this.
Competition dances there was none.
Films like "I Live in Grosvenor Square"
Starring Rex Harrison and Dean Jagger if anyone has seen it. it captures the true feeling of that age in London during that time.. And how the US forces brought to Britain the Jitterbug which was featured during the film.
To add to all of that. The cost was next to nothing.

AS I recall, you and I are exactly the same age ?.

I more than well remember.. it was as they say " a misspent youth ".. . I danced at least 2/3 times a week all thru that period , plus lessons weekly ( they were 30 mins in those days )and of course, was strongly influenced by the " Bop " that was done in the various venues.

Anon... all of those.. and isnt that EXACTLY what we have developing right now ?.

I worked in the Houston A/M studio in 1962 and when the Cuban crisis happened, as is the usual trend it got very busy ( happened the same again with all the "speed bumps " that life brings ).

The Cuban missile crisis was a political and not an economic crisis.

You keep ignoring the fact that the dance industry is made up of different parts, including both an entertainment sector (clubs and dance halls) and a developmental sector (studios and individuals teaching classes and lessons). You keep insisting that the history of one is also the history of the other.

What currently confronts the US will be worse than what happened in 1929 and that event took its toll on the developmental dancing industry. If you read Arthur Murray's biography on that chain's website, you'll see that his studio in New York shrank to less than half of its former size (this was before he started the chain).

There will virtually always be a small percentage of the population which is, for all practical purposes, immune to the vagaries of economies and they will, to some extent, support some level of dance instruction. Similarly, even in good times, there is a sizable portion of the population that will never seek dance training.

I stand by my advice to kym; she should pursue her dance career but acquire some other skills as well.

I have known a number of older dance professionals, including a couple who are older than you, Terence. They all had other skills to fall back on.

jj

Where did I say that she should NOT have other skills ?? .

You did so by implication when you sought to dispute my advice in your second response on this thread.

It would be very easy for someone to read that post as a claim that there would be no downturn in the demand for dance instruction.

jj