Social Recreational Dance "Industry"

"Rising tide" principle

A rising tide lifts all boats.

Captains of boats can either wait for an act of God to create a rising tide; or they can, in combination and cooperation, seek to create one, becoming, in so doing, effectively lesser gods.

Industry associations and professional associations seek, among other things, to help create a rising tide for their industry.  In social-recreational dancing we would greatly benefit from more of that.

"Social Recreational Dance Institute"

Social Recreational Dance Institute ("SRDI") is an embryonic think tank and research organization for the social-recreational dance industry.

Well ..., at this nascent stage,
Social Recreational Dance Institute is one guy,
with long-standing vision and dream,
complete with boxes full of thinking,
at this moment sitting at computer,
excitedly beginning to navigate, articulate, communicate the
mass of notions, ideas, possibilities
long on percolate in mind for years
engaged in a different profession.

But now it is time.    
For this new life of full engagement in the wonderful exciting world of social-recreational dance business to begin and grow.

Social Recreational Dance "Industry"???

Social Recreational Dance "Industry"???  Is there an "industry"?  Or is it only "a type of business"; and not above that level?

An "industry" has more, is more, than merely a type of business.

The overlapping circles represent a type of business and the industry level of it.  The industry includes the type of business, but is much more than merely that.

In the image, the green part (tech term, annulus) surrounds and embeds the type of business (the core), and represents the industry superstructure and infrastructure that provides critical foundational support for the type of business; and for all the participants in it.

If I were to suggest that the the social-recreational dance industry is missing important elements of the industry superstructure and infrastructure on which it can more powerfully thrive and grow, would I hear argument or agreement?

Critical importance of industry superstructure & infrastructure

It is possible to determine the value of the "industry" component of an industry.  I would say that, for many industries, between 20% and 33% (as much as one-third) of the total value of it would be due to the "industry component", the superstructure and infrastructure, and the remainder attributed to "the enterprises" in it.

In some industries, elements such as government are responsible for a significant part of the total industry value.  But in social-recreational dancing that is not the case.

It is my assertion that in social-recreational dancing we are missing a huge foundation of value creation.  And without it we are crippled; in the same sort of way that a dancer missing an important foundational element must go on and learn how to dance without it.  We do the best we can without some critically important parts.

Industry superstructure & infrastructure

Industry superstructure and infrastructure includes

• industry/trade associations
• professional associations
• trade magazines
• trade shows
• conventions
• educational events, and
• other industry-level foundations oriented to the business side, not just the craft or professional side, of the business

Professional associations & industry/trade associations

We already have professional associations doing an excellent job in relation to their missions.

The mission of a professional association is not the business side of things (except when the profession is 'businessperson'). The business side of things is the mission of "trade"/industry associations.

DanceSport & other Competition Dance vs Social Recreational Dance

In DanceSport and other competition dancing, we already have both professional associations and industry/trade associations (including trade/industry associations for dance-event organizers).

In Social Recreational Dance we have professional associations, which focus on the professional side of social recreational dancing.

In social recreational dance we also have many member-run organizations.

What we do have is wonderful. I am not suggesting that we have any problems with what we already have. Simply that we need something more. And that that something is particularly important to have.

My assertion is that in social recreational dancing we need (not merely that we could benefit from) further development of the superstructure and infrastructure that comes with strong trade/industry associations.

As far as I can detemine, this will not gore anyone's ox. This is all upside, and no downside for anyone that I can determine.

Industry associations

 Many industries, even many much smaller than social-recreational dancing, have powerful and important industry associations.

There are many interesting examples; some of them have their primary purpose and overall mission focused on promotion, growth, and success of their industry.

We in the social-recreational dance 'industry' are deeply handicapped by the lack of a meaningful trade association that seriously and powerfully addresses the business side of the social-recreational dance business.

Profession or business

The terms "profession" and "business" are different faces of many enterprises; and to some people there is little difference.  But those who see their enterprise as related to one, or the other, tend to naturally focus on the one, or the other, face.

The two concepts have developed over the centuries.  Long ago there was no money; there was only subsistence living.  One did not "make" or "earn" "a living"; one foraged and gathered it, or hunted it, or with the development of agriculture, cultivated it.

Then "exchange" naturally occurred; you give me some of the excess which you grew in exchange for some of the excess that I caught.  Then "looking for a better exchange" naturally occurred; and a medium of exchange, money, developed.

Then "occupation", making a living, became relevant.  Then specialization and the concept of having a "trade" was invented; historically a trade indicates an occupation involving manual training and skill.  And then the concept of "craft" developed; in the occupational context first, and in "arts and crafts" later.  One with a craft (a craftsman) is assumed to have more specialized skill than one with merely a trade.

And other concepts evolved including "artisan" and "artist".

Then "profession" was distinguished from the other concepts; the term profession indicates more intellectual than physical; knowledge and mental-intellectual skill more than manual-physical skill; working with ideas more than working with things.

In previous times an occupation itself was distinguished as a trade, a craft, an art, a profession.

But today the distinction is also influenced by how one approaches the occupation; the craft focuses on the doing of the job, the profession focuses on the ideas and the intellectual faces of it.  Any occupation today can be embraced as a trade, a craft, an art, a profession; they each have different perspectives.

Business occupations

We certainly have had dealmakers right from the beginning. But the institutionalization of the "intermediary" occupations came later.  In the very beginning of commerce, much of the focus was on the "producer"; of food and of other things and services.

But some people saw that their own relative advantage was in transporting things, eventually called 'goods', from one place to another, and making deals; or in setting up a 'place' in which to bring goods to sell.  And trading caravans and marketplaces evolved.

The people who did this were not seen as producers but as intermediaries (a modern term that is not negatively value-loaded).  Their occupation is dealmaking; their skills are quite different from the skills of the producer; the risks they take are also different.

"Merchants" and retailers and "businessmen/businesswomen" came into being and flourished.

"Business", as with any occupation, can also be embraced as a trade, craft, art, profession.  The professional level of business, the intellectual approach to it, is the focus of the MBA, especially at the top business schools.  Undergraduate business-focus degrees (BS in Business Administration) orient to the doing of, and managing of, business operations.  And two-year college business-focus programs orient to the doing of special functions of business; while seminars, workshops, and other special programs orient to the doing of special functions of business and/or a focus on particular types of business.

The educational focus of industry associations is on seminars, workshops, special programs, and publications all oriented to the particular type of business.

Industry association or professional association

People working in the realm of social-recreational dancing see themselves in different ways.  It's not clear what percentage see themselves primarily in terms of one facet or another. 

To use dance teaching as example,

• many see themselves as primarily dance teachers, who choose to do that teaching by means of a business. In contrast,
• some see themselves as primarily businesspeople, who choose to do that business by means of dance teaching.

In relation to Social-Recreational Dance 'Industry', the key issue is that an industry association, aka trade association, is business oriented.  An industry association is not a professional association.

The premise of an industry association is that the businesses which they serve already know how to perform the profession, craft and trade aspects of the enterprise; and that the task of the industry association is to focus on the business aspects.

The premise of a professional association is that the persons and businesses which they serve already know how to perform the business aspects of the enterprise; and that the task of the professional association is to focus on the profession, craft or trade aspects of the enterprise.

Professional associations

In social-recreational dancing we do already have some excellent professional associations.  They focus on the teaching and dancing. 

It is important to recognize that, not only are they the foundation of the social-recreational dancing profession, they are also critically important to the social-recreational dancing industry.

In addition to already existing professional associations in social-recreational dancing, we also have event-sanctioning bodies and member-run organizations, both of which contribute greatly to the industry. I will be writing more on these types of organizations at a later time.

The focus here now is the need for a strong industry/trade association and the great benefits of it.

Professionalization

In the growth and development of industries and professions, there is often a professionalization phase.  This is a period of laying, or renovating, the professional-level foundations for the industry going forward.  It's a stage in industry development between the Wild-West, anything goes, phase and the mature phase.

The professionalization phase of an industry is a bit analogous to post-teenage or post-puberty - at the end of the late childhood years and a part of beginning maturity.

Professionalization is critical to successful development of an industry; an industry which has aged but not become successfully professionalized is an industry which is a lot more amateurish and of less stature and lower respect than an industry which has become successfully professionalized.

Some important parts of social recreational dance industry are in professionalization phase; and it is steadily moving ahead and gaining ground. Some parts of social recreational dance industry are already successfully professionalized; and some parts were, but had lost ground due to various circumstances, and are now re-gaining some good yardage.

If the social recreational dance industry were not already in the process of ongoing professionalizing, I would, at the same time I'm calling for development of the business side through a strong industry/trade association, also be calling for more industry focus on professionalizing.

Credentialing

Credentialing is an excellent way to raise the level of professionalism in an industry; and that is the primary focus of some of the professional organizations in social-recreational dance.

Credentialing lost ground

On the industry side, credentialing can have great success in terms of raising the level of actual professionalism in an industry.

At the same time, on the consumer-buyer-client side, successful credentialing in the US in many industries has been more difficult to achieve.

On the buyer side, credentialing in general has been diminishing in importance in the US for a long time. It has come to matter less and less to the buying public, and perhaps more so to the business-buyer, whether a business-person has a particular credential or not.

There are many reasons for this situation, it is complex, and it can be conquered; all of which I will address in later posts.

Credentialing in general is a lot more successful in many, perhaps almost all, countries than it is in the US.

Occupational Honorifics:  Over a long span of social-cultural development we have arrived at this era in the US where we barely use even the basic honorifics such as "Mr", "Mrs", "Miss" or "Ms" ; even in formal situations. I have no complaint about that; it is who we are as a nation. [I do have a complaint about the increasing demise of plain ol' common courtesy.]

But a byproduct of our social norms in these matters is to make credentialing more difficult here: Formal arrogance, superiority, "better than", and elitism are just not part of our way. We don't cotton to inferior-superior, subordinate-boss, or "(lowly) student" relating to "(elevated) teacher". We question our superiors (recall the motto, "Question Authority"); and we don't relate well to those who claim superiority.

Credentialing here in the US is a quite different game than it is in most other countries. Being successful at it here requires different kinds of strategies. And much of the value of credentialing here is left on the table (I'll be writing more on this at a later time).

In contrast to the US, credentialing in many places is very successful; in some places the predominant form of address is to use even the occupational honorific (doesn't even require a profession, just an occupation); for example in some countries, the standard form of address for a teacher with perhaps no college and maybe not even a credential, would be the honorific, "Teacher Jones".

Credentials on Business Cards:  In the US, if we see initials after the personal name on a business card it's a tell, even without seeing the location information, that this is most likely a person doing business outside of the US.

The appropriate credentials for business card protocol varies by country; in some, only advanced academic or professional degrees (PhD, MD) are seen on cards.  At the other end of the spectrum, the protocol in some places is to list not only all/any academic credentials, but also any other type of credential that may possibly be relevant.

Conventions

Industries usually have an annual convention. Most often the industry/trade association convenes this; and when it is missing, the industry most often does not have any meaningful industry meetings.

But in a few industries, most visibly in the high-tech world, private event promoters sponsor the top industry meetings; and, in some cases, individual vendor-companies, for example, Apple, produce major annual shindigs.

The industry-association convention is a series of committe meetings and membership confabs to conduct the business of the association; and there are usually educational programs including presentations, seminars, and workshops on various business-related topics.  Additionally the convention often includes a trade show.

In social-recreational dancing we are missing a lot of potential industry value in our lack of industry business conventions.

Trade shows

In industries in which a strong national industry association does not put on trade shows, an independent organizer will sometimes sponsor one.

This makes sense at this time in our industry; in social-recreational dancing we have many organizations which already stage complex competition events with relative ease.  For many of these organizations, putting on a social-recreational-dance-industry trade show would be a simple matter to accomplish.

Educational events

Business-side education!  This is one of the most powerful forces for success in small-business industries.  And at the same time it is one of the most absent elements of them.

In the social-recreational dance industry we need a lot more of this.  It will make a huge difference.

One small business-side-education initiative for social-recreational dance business-people has possible potential; but it may be a poor stepchild to its siblings, and also perhaps is more oriented to credentialing than to business education or information.

Trade magazines

Can an industry realistically be considered an "industry" without at least one strong industry/trade magazine.  We need such a magazine in social-recreational dancing.  Social-recreational dancing would benefit greatly.

Trade publications other than magazines

In most industries there are, in addition to the trade magazines, other trade periodicals such as newsletters, and other non-periodical publications related to the business side of the industry.  In social-recreational dancing we are deprived.

Social-recreational dance business is much too large for this to be the case.

It is my belief that our industry, even though it is very diverse and poses additional major challenges for publishers, can support profitable dance-business-serving pubications.

Dance Teacher Magazine

Dance Teacher Magazine provides a small article once in awhile that is oriented to social-recreational dance.  Otherwise of course their much bigger market is related to performance-dance training.

Cheerleading, drill team, color guard, gymnastics, baton, even marching bands, ... wow!

Dance Teacher Magazine and its sister magazines, including American Cheerleader and Dance Spirit, provide a superb illustration of contrasting developments in very related industries over the last many years:

Cheerleading, drill team, color guard, gymnastics, baton, .... and other activities have become much more dance-oriented and even dance-based. Even marching bands are more accurately seen as dance-marching bands, or even marching-dance bands.  Let's assume Sousa would hail it.

And, not only have these activities enthusiastically adopted dance-orientation, some to the extent of being dance-based now, they have grown significantly.

It is my contention that these activities have grown so significantly in part because they incorporated dance.

But the organizational factors, the industry factors, were also critical.

Dance-oriented activities have grown; while social-recreational dance has declined?!?!?!!!

The growth in dance-oriented activities has been occurring at the very same time that social-recreational dance has declined.  How can that be?

Who would have predicted that years ago?  It looked like some of those activities would remain in their backwater, marginal roles.

Performance-dance of almost all varieties has grown greatly (with fits and starts); at the very same time that social-recreational dance overall has declined. And, yes, there are social-recreational dance-booms that occur and then flame out; while performance-dance continues to grow.  (I will be addressing the current Ballroom situation in future posts.)

Social-recreational dance has awesome potential for the future

What is the future of social-recreational dance? 

In considering the history of social-recreational dance over the past many years, it is easy to be concerned for that future.

But, in considering the history of performance-dance, and other dance-oriented activities, over that same time, it is instantly obvious that dance has not declined.  Dance has thrived and dynamically grown . 

And, for that reason alone, and for other reasons, it is clear that the world of social-recreational dance has awesome potential for the future. 

But it isn't going to happen by itself. We must choose to do what is needed to realize that great potential.

Consumer oriented dance magazines

The last many years have been a time when consumer magazines grew tremendously (and most recently there has been a contraction period in some categories).  Previous to that there was a period of several years when the magazine industry was in decline, and the general consensus was that it would, like newspapers are doing now, gradually become a smaller industry.  But the magazine industry, due to several factors, rebounded with amazing vigor.

But at the same time, while consumer oriented magazines grew strongly, consumer oriented dance magazines declined.  There never have been very many, but now there are even fewer.

"The Commons" principle

The principle of "the commons" has been interpreted and applied in many ways; concretely, abstractly, and metaphorically.  Anything shared "in common" can be considered as "a commons".

In the social-recreational dance industry, I see the issues of "quality" and "bad behavior" as very important elements of the commons of social-recreational dance.

The principle of the commons begins with "the tragedy of the commons"; which in general can be interpreted as the observation that a commons is used by many, will be abused by some, and eventually can be diminished or even ruined for all.  The "environment" (of pretty much anything) is an example of a commons.

The principle of the commons is that, to avoid the tragedy, some attempt must be made to reduce abuse, or overuse, of the commons.

In any industry or profession, matters of "the commons" are a key reason for the initiation, development, support and sustenance of industry/trade associations, professional associations, credentialing, and professionalization.

"Public goods" principle

"Public goods" is a term from the field of Economics and includes such things as freeways and national defense.  Basically a public good in the narrow context is something that doesn't make economic sense for a private enterprise to provide; a private firm will build toll-roads, but does not see feasibility in building freeways.  In general, public goods are provided by public enterprises.  The concept of public goods, like the commons, and many related terms and concepts, has also been vastly extended and applied in many ways.

In the context of an industry, the industry superstructure and infrastructure are the public goods of the industry. It's what is needed by all, but is not feasibly provided by one.

In the social-recreational dance industry, I see the "public goods" as the industry elements discussed in earlier posts as normally being provided by industry/trade associations:  industry meetings, forums, conventions, business education, trade shows, trade publications.

In any industry or profession, matters of "public goods" are a key reason for the initiation, development, support and sustenance of industry/trade associations and professional associations.

Public goods and the commons

A key distinction I'm making between "public goods" and "the commons" is to use public goods as referring to the development and sustained provision of something, and the principle of the commons as referring to the use of it; like the development of public highways versus the commons use of them.

Principle of the commons is about downside risk

In the commons we have something to lose.  In paying attention to the principle of the commons, we want to reduce downside risk.

For example, in regard to the commons elements of "quality" and "bad behavior", the "all-it-takes-is-one" principle applies here:  all the high quality, and all the good behavior in the world, can't really offset the negative impact of the single seriously bad offender. 

And it's always a risk-waiting-to-happen.  When/after it happens, it's too late.  Ooops.

We can see in the news the disastrous results of one industry or another which did not do an adequate job of maintaining their commons, and subsequently lost millions/billions as a result of as little as one bad apple; or one avoidable mistake.

Principle of public goods is about upside gain

In public goods we have something to gain.  In paying attention to the principle of public goods, we want to increase upside opportunity and payoff.

Industry superstructure and infrastructure pays off.  Period.  For everyone.

Commons issues do appear in the news, public goods don't

Goofs, slips, "Oh no's", are newsworthy.  They impact public image negatively.  The commons contains the dreaded domain of drama.

OTOH in the matter of public goods, doing business as we are expected to do is not newsworthy.

OTOOH (on the other-other hand), if an industry does not provide public goods for itself, it usually becomes such an inconsequential industry that, even if a disaster occurs in it, no one even cares; no one notices.

Better to be sufficiently consequential to be able to be brought down, than to be so unimportant that there is no more 'down' to go.  How's that as an argument for providing public goods?   

"Public image"

The matter of "public image" involves several topics from this thought piece:

Rising, or ebbing, tide:  The public image of social-recreational dance impacts all enterprises in it to some extent; all of our boats ascend or descend, like riding an elevator, depending on the tide of public image.

The commons:  Issues of "quality" and "bad behavior" impact the public image; sometimes very greatly.  The "all-it-takes-is-one" principle applies here; all the high quality, and all the good behavior in the world, can't really offset the negative impact of the single seriously bad offender.  Ooops.

Public goods:  Many industries seek to be proactive, not just reactive, in regard to their public image; some industry/trade associations devote substantial resources to seeking to positively impact the public image of their industry.

More successful equals more exposed

The more successful you are, the more impacted you may be by matters of the commons and public goods.

If you are one of the leaders in an industry, you "represent" the industry; much more than your proportional size/success would warrant.

If you are the industry leader, you are basically the "face" of the industry: the "public face" of it. And for the public that is not aware of others in the industry, you are the industry, not just a component of it.

You gain more. At the same time, you have more to lose in terms of downside risk.

What would be possible with strong industry association that isn't possible without one?

A strong industry association makes many things possible that are not feasible/possible without it.

A strong industry association makes it possible to reduce downside risk.

A strong industry association makes it possible to increase upside potential and opportunity. 

A strong industry association makes it possible to accomplish many important initiatives that no individual enterprise could/would/should take on.

Cooperation & competition

Competition is natural in business; it occurs automatically; it's unavoidable (more on the topic of competition is in preparation).

Cooperation however is optionally chosen.  We as an industry can choose it.

I would argue that, while successful businesses are very competitive, they are at the same time more cooperative with their competitors than their less successful brethren are.  What would be your take on that?

Thus the simple act of being cooperatively involved in beginning and sustaining an industry association has two domains of benefit:  the rising tide benefit which lifts all boats; and the probability that smartly-cooperative competitors are likely to be more successful than their less cooperative industry mates.

Brilliance is neither necessary nor sufficient

"When a collection of brilliant minds, hearts, and talents come together ... expect a masterpiece."  - anon

While I do like that observation, I disagree with the hyperbole of it: brilliance is not necessary; and it is not sufficient.

What is necessary and sufficient is the existence of a collection of minds, hearts, and talents, brilliant or not, who come together commitedly to seed, nurture and grow a vibrant social-recreational dance industry association. To the great benefit of all.

Synergy

Synergy  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

I'm of three minds about this term: 

On the one hand, it might be a tired, worn out, overused word that now provokes negativity and scorn.

On the other hand ("OTOH" in netspeak) the term can't really be left out of a conversation on teamwork and cooperation.  Leaving it out just increases the needed verbiage to explain the concepts involved; and many others will add the term anyway.

On the other-other hand (OTOOH; one of my favorite little expressions), regardless of how the term is heard, the concept is certainly valid, useful and powerful, and not tired or worn out.

Dilbert:  While negative "humor" is, to me, a negative and destructive element in society, it does show a face of the culture: thus one of the best barometers of cynicism and scorn in business is Dilbert.  So we find, in The Ministry of Truth Wiki that, "Cobuyitaphobia is a fear of synergy as described in the Dilbert TV Episode number 20 titled: The Merger. People afflicted with Cobuyitaphobia will usually leave the room screaming upon hearing the word synergy."

Well, I'm suggesting we get some intra-industry synergy going here.  Please don't leave the room screaming.  Yet.  ;-) 

Teams outperform individuals

The statement that "teams outperform individuals" is a nice thought, but is incomplete and misleading. It's an example of Checkers-thinking (one step ahead, no real thinking), vs Chess-thinking (thinking multiple steps ahead).

A problem with the simplistic, "teams outperform individuals", is that the mere existence of a team does not produce synergy.

In fact, in far more cases than anyone wants to admit, the result of "teamwork" is substantially less than the sum of the parts.  The tech term for this is dysergy.  For example, any team burdened with a Dilbert, a destructive cynic, would tend to produce dysergy rather than synergy.

Clearly teams can outperform individuals. But in many cases they don't.  This is what Dilbert knows; and why he is cynical.  Dilbert does see the dysergic face of "team"; especially those teams that are thrown together by management who expect them to work without doing any "work" to make them work.

We all have experience in which the sum of some of the individuals on the team could easily outperform the whole team.  In such cases it makes sense to seek to sideline the dysergic elements and proceed - with synergy.

In social-recreational dance industry-building let's go for the synergy.  We can make it work.

Teamwork fosters connection and belonging

Good teamwork also produces community and the valuable but intangible attributes of that; including connection, belonging, communication, higher levels of trust and well being.  And this spreads, subtly and imperceptibly, to the larger community of families and friends of the well functioning team.

NDCA (National Dance Council of America)

National Dance Council of America (NDCA) is effectively an association of dance associations/organizations; some of its members are non-profit associations, some are businesses, one is a University.

NDCA has 21 members, some, being full members, have more votes than some others.

Both Arthur Murray International and Fred Astaire Dance Studios are members, as is Brigham Young University.

USA Dance is a member; as is DVIDA (Dance Vision International Dancers Association)

Pierre Dulaine's American Ballroom Theater Company (famous for Mad Hot Ballroom, the movie and the movement, and Take the Lead) is a member; as is Wilson Barrera's Ballroom DanceSport Theater in Sarasota.

Several dance-teaching professional associations are members.

A few DanceSport-competition-event organizers are members; as well as other organizations representing, respectively, event organizers, competitors, and DanceSport broadly.

Not like a trade/industry association

NDCA, while broadly based, has a membership focus that isn't like that of an industry/trade association.

For example, individual dance studios and dance teachers are not direct members of NDCA.

Prior to talking with NDCA directly about this topic, it looks to me that, while they could create additional trade/industry association infrastructure and superstructure, I'm not sure that they would have much inclination to do so.

Hopefully they will be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry.

USA Dance

USA Dance is a dancer-membership organization. It is steadily growing with more chapters and members all the time. This is of course the organization that is the USA part of the overall DanceSport-in-the-Olympics movement.

USA Dance provides a directory-listing option for Dance Industry Organizations where dance studios, dance teachers and others can list themselves.

Not like a trade/industry association

USA Dance, being an organization of dancers, has a membership focus that isn't like that of an industry/trade association.

For example, individual dance studios and dance teachers are not direct members of USA Dance as business entities.

Prior to talking with USA Dance directly about this topic, it looks to me that, while they possibly could create some trade/industry association infrastructure and superstructure, I'm not sure that they would have much inclination to do so.

Hopefully they will be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry.

                [USA Dance was formerly known as USABDA (US Amateur Ballroom Dance Association)]

DVIDA / DanceVision

DVIDA (Dance Vision International Dancers Association) "ProDVIDA is a professional teacher organization that is open to all professional dance teachers and competitors." Membership Requirements: "A candidate for Professional Membership in ProDVIDA must be an individual ... who is either a professional dance teacher or professional dance competitor who has completed and passed a DVIDA professional full or one dance examination."

DVIDA is a business-run association, which is often superior to a member-run association. [Digression: strong recommendation: If you have not read the book Bowling Alone, I recommend it very, very highly.] [Digression-digression: this book is on Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device, which I also very much like and recommend considering if you like reading.]

ProDVIDA has 300+ professional members; plus 200+ studios using DVIDA Syllabus.

Business-side on the side > a la carte

Associated with DVIDA is DanzSupport, which addresses the business side in addition to the professional elements.

Although DanzSupport is a business-services arm of DanceVision rather than a trade/industry association, it provides some of the same elements that are greatly needed in social recreational dance industry.

Management Seminar

DanzSupport/DanceVision provides a Management Seminar in connection with its Professional Teacher Camp in Las Vegas in June.

Business-side guide

DanzSupport also has available The Professional Guide to Profitable Dance Instruction

Turnkey Service

Diane Jarmolow's association with DVIDA also connects her BDTC In A Box (Ballroom Dance Teachers College)  (based on DVIDA Syllabus) product to DanceVision. This product offers studios/teachers a turnkey service, including Business Guide for it, to offer to students.  Diane also offers Business Consulting a la carte independently of DanceVision.

Could create industry/trade association

Since DanceVision already has some of what is provided by a trade/industry association, would it be useful to create one?

In my view the answer to that would be a very definite Yes. Not just useful but valuable, very.

Development of a strong industry/trade association would benefit social recreational dance industry greatly. And, it seems to me that it would be nothing but beneficial for DanceVision and all associated with it.

Industries with strong trade/industry associations, especially those that also have strong professional associations, are far more robust industries than those without. Social recreational dance industry would be more robust, and that would create far more demand for, and adoption of, DanceVision products and services, including all of the products and services of ProDVIDA, DanzSupport, BDTC In A Box, and DanceVision overall. And this increased demand and robustness would extend throughout the rest of the industry.

Prior to talking with DanceVision directly about this topic, it looks to me that not only could they create whatever they want in this area, they might also see the same sorts of benefits in it that I see. DanceVision is clearly a community-oriented company and in addition to the profit potential would consider that also. Additionally DanceVision is a business in contrast to a committee-run association; thus it is far more nimble, decisive and resourceful than a member-run organization considering the possibility of developing a trade/industry association.

In industries which arrive at their industry-infrastructure-development phase (a different thing than professionalization phase) it is a small group of the market leading companies which organize and develop the trade/industry associations.

And rather than being a burden, it is an opportunity for them to create a new, far more stable and solid, foundational base for their industry, and their own companies, to go forward into the immediate future.

If DanceVision does not see to be a key part of the possibility of development of a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry hopefully they will be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of it.

NDCA other members

Not like a trade/industry association

None of the other NDCA members (see NDCA discussion above) has a membership focus that is like that of an industry/trade association.

Hopefully they also will be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry.

It seems to me that a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry can be very complementary and helpful for these associations and organizations; and I'm not seeing how a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry could be harmful in any way to any of them.

Arthur Murray International

Arthur Murray International is of course a business rather than an association; yet in the context of my evangelizing for development of a strong social recreational dance trade/industry association, it makes sense to consider how they might see this possibility.

As a franchise organization, Arthur Murray International already has some of what is provided by a trade/industry association. 

Thus a natural question is, for Arthur Murray International, as a company and as a franchisor, and for the franchisees, would it make sense for Arthur Murray International to be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of such an association?

One approach to consideration of that question is to look at other industries in which there are both large franchise organizations and small independent operators. One such example is NAR (National Association of Realtors). NAR has excellent participation by both large organizations and small.

Membership structures of trade/industry associations which include both franchisors and independents can vary; in some just the franchisor is the member, in some just the franchisee, and in some both franchisor and franchisee are members, along with the other members which/who are not related to franchises.  There are also several variations among trade associations as to membership classes; some have only one class of membership, some have several classes/types of membership. Additionally, structures of trade associations can include sub-associations (separate legal entities, not merely subdepartments).

I'm thinking that overall it is quite feasible, and valuable, for development of a strong social recreational dance trade/industry association to occur that can be structured to meet the needs of all the members of the industry.

Prior to talking with Arthur Murray directly about this topic, it seems to me that they might also see the same sorts of benefits in it that I see. If Arthur Murray International does not see to be a key part of the possibility of development of a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry hopefully they will be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of it.

Fred Astaire Dance Studios

Fred Astaire Dance Studios is of course a business rather than an association; yet in the context of my evangelizing for development of a strong social recreational dance trade/industry association, it makes sense to consider how they might see this possibility.

As a franchise organization, Fred Astaire Dance Studios already has some of what is provided by a trade/industry association. 

Thus a natural question is, for Fred Astaire Dance Studios, as a company and as a franchisor, and for the franchisees, would it make sense for Fred Astaire Dance Studios to be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of such an association?

One approach to consideration of that question is to look at other industries in which there are both large franchise organizations and small independent operators. One such example is NAR (National Association of Realtors). NAR has excellent participation by both large organizations and small.

Membership structures of trade/industry associations which include both franchisors and independents can vary; in some just the franchisor is the member, in some just the franchisee, and in some both franchisor and franchisee are members, along with the other members which/who are not related to franchises.  There are also several variations among trade associations as to membership classes; some have only one class of membership, some have several classes/types of membership. Additionally, structures of trade associations can include sub-associations (separate legal entities, not merely subdepartments).

I'm thinking that overall it is quite feasible, and valuable, for development of a strong social recreational dance trade/industry association to occur that can be structured to meet the needs of all the members of the industry.

Prior to talking with Fred Astaire Dance Studios directly about this topic, it seems to me that they might also see the same sorts of benefits in it that I see. If Fred Astaire Dance Studios does not see to be a key part of the possibility of development of a strong trade/industry association in social recreational dance industry hopefully they will be supportive of and possibly helpful with development of it.

Dance Educators of America

Dance Educators of America is a member of NDCA.

The member page at NDCA notes that "The artistic structure of DEA has three branches: <...> The Ballroom Branch which include only those members qualified to teach ballroom and social dancing ...."

But on the DEA website, in the History of DEA popup near the bottom of the About DEA page, the origins don't "name" "Ballroom", and the "Artistic Structure" at the bottom of that popup lists only the Performing Arts Branch and the Education Branch, with no mention of Ballroom here or anywhere else on the site that I'm able to find. I need to check with them on this. It makes sense that other associations took on that role as DEA focused on the performing arts area.

Dance Teachers' Club of Boston

Dance Teachers' Club of Boston is a member of NDCA.

"The objectives of the Club are to elevate and advance the art of dance in all its educational aspects and to encourage uniform methods of instruction." (website)

"The purpose of the Club was to raise the artistic style of ballroom dancing and to foster social activity among the teachers." (NDCA page)

"... the Club has continued to grow, to attract new membership, and to spread its love of dance throughout the world."  (NDCA page)

"We work diligently to contribute to the progress and growth of the dance industry."  (NDCA page)

National Dance Teachers Association (NDTA)

National Dance Teachers Association (NDTA) is a member of NDCA.

"The purpose of this non-profit organization is to help professional dance teachers in the fields of ballroom, latin, country western, swing, theater arts and other similar types of partner or social dances prosper both artistically and financially." (website)

"... a group of dance instructors formed an association to strive to advance the Art of Ballroom Dancing, standardize the teaching material, expose the members to progressive methods of instruction, keep members informed of new trends in the social and competitive dance fields and add integrity to the profession." (website)  [with additional in depth discussion of the purposes of the Association]

"Our Current goal is to help our members increase their business by providing them with the opportunity to help their students improve their dancing ...." (NDCA page)

New York Society of Teachers of Dancing

New York Society of Teachers of Dancing is a member of NDCA.

"The founding mothers and fathers decided early on to make it an all-ballroom organization, and it remains so to this day." (NDCA page)

North American DanceSport Teachers Association (NADTA)

North American DanceSport Teachers Association (NADTA) is a member of NDCA. I'm not finding a website; but did find a half dozen hits on google, and several dozen for the former name, North American Dance Teachers Association. I'll be checking with them on the details.

"The object in forming the ADTA was to more fully provide an organization in the U.S.A, which would include International Styles and Theatrical as well as American Styles in equity." (NDCA page)