Be sure to vote for ballroom dancing when you run accross polls like this:

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CNBCTV/Promos/P92123.asp

IF you care about ballroom dancing (as opposed to this dancesport nonsense), you'd vote against contaminating it with all that olympic stuff.

I'm not particularly in favor of it, either. I just don't see the point. And I've been thinking and talking about this for years, so it's not because I don't have enough information about it or haven't heard all the arguments. I have, and none of them have convinced me that it's a great idea.

As someone who's only been dancing for a year, maybe I'm not seeing all the angles. However, wouldn't having ballroom dance in the Olympics give it more exposure, and perhaps help it grow in popularity? Especially in the U.S., where dance is not as popular as it is in Europe.

Look at the popularity of figure skating at the Winter Games. Who's to say ballroom wouldn't capture some of that audience?

There was a period of time in 1999-2000 when there was a good deal of dancesport on TV in the US. There were shows on NBC, A&E, Bravo, Lifetime, and ESPN. Unfortunately, the ratings for these were not good enough to keep advertisers interested in continuing to support such shows.

A few weeks ago the IOC made a ruling on what sports are being considered to be added in 2012, and dancesport did not make the short list. So, the earliest it will be able to get into the Olympics is 2016 at this point.

It has too many obvious problems.For one, would it be Professional or Amatuer. Then there is an American dancing with a Russian. or the other way around. That wont work or be aceptable'for obvious reasons. So does the partnership split for a few moments of glory. I say leave it where it is. To popularize Dancesport. In my country we sadly lack people who have any idea on how to promote ballroom dancing . A look in our local newspapers proves that. Nothing at all. As said before, at a competition the competitors are the audience, and the audience are the competitors, throw in a few friends or relations the faces are the same where ever you go. Little if no effort is made to reach the general public. And yet a show like Burn the Floor performed before packed audiences. Maybe the wrong people are in control.

Perhaps it is nonsense. However, the attendance at the ballrooms I frequent is decreasing gradually, and the age of the dancers is positively geriatric. If making ballroom dance an Olympic sport would get young people to do it more, I'd be in favor of it without question.

My first reaction to the idea was that it is great for Ballroom dancing to gain the hightened visibility of the olympics. The more I think about it, I worry about what will preserve the emotionally expressive, romantic flavor of the art if the athletic, competitive components of the olympics begin to exert widesweeping pressures upon young dancers as they establish their careers. I worry that the discipline of the Olympics may constrain the heart and soul. I see a lot of heart and soul in show dancing with ballroom styles. I hope I always will.

Heart and Soul in Ballroom. What mouthful! That is what it is all about. Yes, the moves are wonderful, however the blend of expression and feelings deep within our souls expressed through dance is a true art.