Clive. Only a complete idiot would try to dance either a Waltz Tango Foxtrot or a Quickstep as it should be danced on a crowded floor. The V. Waltz maybe and thats only because the figures used are limited. I can just imagine half a dozen comp dancers going flat out at a Social Dance. They would be asked not to come again.

"As it should be danced"? And how's that , then?

A good dancer has good floorcraft, and will adapt to the conditions on the floor. The sight of half a dozen dancers, dancing "flat out" (assuming that to be the only speed at which they have learned to "dance") would no doubt be amusing, and I agree, they wouldn't be asked back.

Just as a point of interest-- back in the 40s and 50s, many schools in the UK , would not allow comp. dancers to their socials-- it started to affect attendance when the comp. dancers were present .
Jive had the same effect in many Public B/Rooms-- i think it was the Palais, that roped off a section for those that wanted to dance Jive ( to q/step music no less ! )

Geoffrey Hearn (A Technique of Advanced Standard Ballroom Figures) is interesting on floorcraft " ... the ability to maintain the beauty of musicality, movement and shape throughout their performance. ... a combination of being able to change the routine of figures to suit the size of room and also to avoid the other couples on the floor. Unfortunately as our dancing has become more powerful, and indeed with some couples, ill mannered and aggresive, Floorcraft has deteriorated."

He concludes that "it is part of the dance teacher's responsibility to train couples to understand Floorcraft and the requirements expected of them when dancing in a crowded room."

Now, social dancers can be every bit as neglectful of good floorcraft as anyone else, (and as often through ignorance rather than rudeness) but it just isn't appropriate for a competitive couple to dance as though they were at a practise session on a busy floor. It doesn't stop some of them doing it though, and I suspect that it is frequently the product of their (lack of) training.

Chalk and cheese - and probably better kept apart. But the highest potential in dancing is to be found in the social sphere, IMHO, because it is only there that the full range of dance skills can be brought to bear on the dance.

CliveHarrison. A different country or even a different state = a different mentality. As I said before where I live a competition dancer would not attend a Social Dance they would not use a Social evening as a practise session. And that's how it should be.
Anybody who attends a competition will know that even with only 12 couples on the floor how easy it it is to get in each others way. Remembering that these are competition dancers who will dance into the corners and not decide to cut across the floor from side one to side three without using side two. This usually happens in the Quickstep with the untrained dancers.
A training session here would consist of Two of each Standard Dances. Then a further one of each to end the Modern Section. The same then in Latin. Then Australiian New Vogue. The cost in this place is $7.50 per person. Anybody from any other school is wellcome. Which takes me back to my first point and that is who would want to go to a Social dance. It would serve no purpose.

I agree that attending a social dance would not advance a competitive dancer's competitive dancing, but that wouldn't make attending a social dance serve no purpose, unless competiton was their only interest in dancing. Their loss, if so.

And really, you can't expect to get away, unchallenged, with the implication that only competitors would know better that to fail to dance up to and into each corner before continuing on the new LOD, and that it is only the "untrained" (social?) dancers who would commit such a basic fault. What twaddle. There are bad dancers on most dance floors, social and competitive, and social dancers are not your inferiors.

From what I've observed many competitive dancers actually couldn't get round a crowded social floor: the men don't have the floorcraft and their leading skills are not up to the job.