Personally I think it's appropriate to ask someone not to dance if their inability puts other dancers at risk. For example, someone with poor balance (or inability to move fast enough) who hangs on their partners or grasps them tightly (and painfully) for support. If repeated intervention from the organizers cannot help, I would suggest that person be invited to be formal door sitter/greeter and perhaps dance with only a select few folks who understand and are willing to modify the dance for the individual and give them the support they need.

-----Original Message-----
From: Yoyo Zhou via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
To: Mark Hillegonds <mark.hillegonds@gmail.com>
Cc: Caller's discussion list <callers@sharedweight.net>
Sent: Wed, Mar 8, 2017 4:28 pm
Subject: Re: [Callers] Difficult dancers - Decision to ask not to return

On Wed, Mar 8, 2017 at 10:26 AM, Mark Hillegonds via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

So...what happens if all of the attempts to shepherd and coach and "angel" the difficult dancer do not work and their skills and abilities continue to be a significant negative impact when they're dancing.

Would you ever (or have you ever) asked someone not to return based on their inability to dance?

I realize "inability" is a broad term and I intended it to be so for this question. There are lots of reasons why someone may not be able to know what to do and/or to be able to keep up when dancing and may not even be able to improve.

Is there some point at which you as organizers would consider and ultimately such a decision?

Here in the SF Bay Area, I know of one dancer who's no longer welcome back at their local dance because of mobility issues related to aging, and another who's no longer welcome back because of general behavioral issues related to Alzheimer's.

As far as I know, these dancers have simply been informed that their impairments preclude them from dancing with us. (This is different from being banned for bad behavior - they can still come but would be discouraged from dancing. By whom, I do not know.) I wasn't involved with the discussions that led to these decisions, so unfortunately I can't provide more background, but perhaps other people lurking on this list may be able to shed more light.

However, we have increased our attention on dancer safety in general, and it's worth thinking about whether someone's inability to dance actually affects how safe it is on the floor for them and others around them.

Yoyo Zhou

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