150 Dancer Pet Peeves

You were amazing, and everyone was looking the other way, including the judges!

Every dancer has something that drives them nuts.  Whether you are a social or competitive dancer, Professional or Amateur, or just someone who likes to watch, there is something that just takes you over the edge. 

We asked the question, and here, in random order, are 150 responses:

1. Couples arguing in public spaces.
2. Playing personal music too loudly in the studio.
3. When dancers have to wait for late arrivals to the floor.
4. Chatty people on deck.
5. Body odor on the floor.
6. Poor losers who don’t smile in photos.
7. Greasy food in changing rooms and on the dance floor.
8. Wet bathroom floors.
9. Dumb rules like men may not roll up their sleeves.
10. Strong perfume.
11. Inconsiderate Latin dancers who soak the floor with oil or water.
12. Dancers who take FOREVER to bow and get off the floor.
13. Senior IV/V/VI dancers grouped into a round with Adult/Senior I/II dancers.
14. Someone who forgets the tanner on their feet.
15. Judges who stand in front of seated spectators, when you paid a lot for the seat.
16. Improperly phrased Paso Doble music!!!!
17. Waltzy Foxtrots.
18. “Tea For Two” Cha Cha.
19. Announcements between the individual dances in a final.
20. My partner’s tanner coming off on my clothing.
21. Arrogant dancers who don’t respect their fellow dancers.
22. When the competition hotel’s restaurant/bar closes too early.
23. Competition dancers who dance big during social dances.
24. Galas before you have to dance at the competition. Even worse…Galas that they expect you to attend before you have to dance at a competition.
25. Front-row spectators on their phones and taking up seats from those who really want to watch.
26. Professionals who don’t think Amateurs are worth their time.
27. Tango music that is too fast.
28. Dancing to impress instead of social enjoyment.
29. When judges tell you how great you are and mark you last.
30. Dresses without proper padding.
31. Men who squeeze my hands and break my fingers.
32. Music that is not the right speed.
33. Weak frames.
34. There’s nothing to eat at the hotel when you finish dancing.
35. So-called “Fun dances” unexpectedly placed before an event final, when you are all warmed up and ready to go.
36. Animal prints on standard dresses.
37. Talking during group lessons.
38. Playing techno music between rounds.
39. Standard shoes that don’t have straps!
40. When a follower says, “I can follow if I’m led right.”
41. The floor is up, but no one is allowed to practice on it.
42. Awards all the way at the end of the session.
43. Bad dancing in general.
44. Dark ballrooms during competitions.
45. Gear adrift on the dance floor.
46. Leaders who try to break your arms.
47. Helicopter parents in the on-deck area.
48. Being too loud when awards are being announced.
49. Coaches standing in the middle of the practice floor.
50. Tattoos with ballgowns…respect the culture!
51. Ballrooms or studios that are too warm.
52. When your dress gets caught on your heel/shoe!
53. The one piece of hair that refuses to go down when you hairspray it.
54. Coaches that just demonstrate a step and don’t offer an explanation.
55. USA Dance – Member Forum.
56. Audience members clapping off-beat.
57. Playing Salsa music for Mambo.
58. Partners at social dances who don’t change or share partners.
59. Jive dancers who try to dance during quickstep.
60. Expensive gown on a lady with no effort to do hair and makeup.
61. Cold ballrooms.
62. Lack of competition monitors in the practice room.
63. False eyelashes.
64. Hairdressers who make your head hurt or pull out your hair.
65. Amateur DJs at Sanctioned Competitions.
66. Dirty or wet bathroom floors in the ladies’ room at a competition.
67. Competitions with small or divided floors.
68. Gaps in the floor.
69. Partners (males) running off for last-minute restroom breaks.
70. Dancers who won’t move up to the next level because they like to win.
71. Senior 5 should never be put on the floor with Senior 2 or younger.
72. “And how did I get stuck with this old man?”
73. Line dancers in the middle of the social floor.
74. Competition organizers who do not show the entry list.
75. Stinky dance shoes.
76. Rules that are written for the sake of having rules.
77. Too many foxtrot patterns in V Waltz.
78. Ballroom Politics.
79. Low-hanging chandeliers, lights, or decorations.
80. An expensive dress with no tanner.
81. Senior 5 dancing in the second-to-the-last heat of the evening. Don’t they know that is our bedtime?
82. Visiting coaches who try to change your choreography.
83. Studios with too much stuff on the floor.
84. Dancers who dance off beat.
85. People chewing gum when dancing or dancing with pocket stuff
86. Bad music!
87. Slippery floors.
88. Studios that have the AC going too strongly.
89. Photo backdrops with poor or no lighting – put it up right or don’t put it up at all!
90. There are never enough men!
91. One-day competitions are crazy.
92. Original songs that are set to rhythms that don’t work for them.
93. Dancers who smell like cigarette smoke or alcohol.
94. Teachers who show up for lessons or competitions under the influence.
95. People who talk, sit, or practice through the National Anthem.
96. Amateur dancers trying to dance patterns and levels that are way above their capability.
97. Not being able to get out of a dress quickly if you have to go to the bathroom.
98. Super fast songs for dancers over a certain age.
99. The song, “The Last Waltz” is not a Waltz. It is a slow V Waltz.  Slow it down or call it what it is.
100. Changing rooms that are far from the competition ballroom.
101. Too much hair bling. What are we judging, your hair or your feet?  It makes me wonder.
102. Competition ballrooms that are too dark for spectators, judges, and photographers.
103. Mandatory dance camps.
104. Ohhhh airplane arms on newcomers. God bless them. They don’t know how to walk on the floor, so it’s just a stiff T pose.
105. Tanning!
106. When teachers don’t show up for their camps or classes.
107. No mirrors in the changing room.
108. Getting hairspray out of your hair after a competition.
109. Poor floor craft.
110. Spotlights on the dance floor.
111. Poorly made costumes that cost a lot but fall apart.
112. USA Dance Politics – Can’t we all just get along?
113. When students don’t show up for their classes.
114. The high price of dresses in the United States.
115. The fact that girls have to start getting ready hours/days before a competition when the guys can roll out of bed 10 minutes before.
116. Judges who mark the “first” couple “sixth” so their couple looks better.
117. Smooth dancers with no concept of Standard, which is the basis of their style.
118. Students who cancel lessons or competitions at the last minute.
119. Amateur DJs at Sanctioned Competitions.
120. Advanced dancers who belittle lesser dancers.
121. When they don’t let you video your own performance.
122. Dance parents.
123. Man buns or unshaven faces.
124. Weak or squishy men.
125. Students who are perpetually dissatisfied with their progress and results.
126. TANNER ON WHITE COSTUMES!
127. Teachers, who dance Pro-Am, going too over the top!
128. During a lesson, if other people are practicing or just talking on the floor, they should give space for the students paying for a lesson.
129. When the mind is strong, but the body reminds you of the horror of realizing the clock is ticking too fast.
130. Students who think their teachers are their therapists or part-time spouses.
131. When a 90-second song turns into a 120-second song and you are dancing Swing.
132. Too much makeup on little girls.
133. Invigilators!
134. Young teachers who don’t understand that you are old enough to be their grandparents.
135. Ladies who try to “back lead.”
136. White legs – try tanning, hose, body makeup…something!!
137. When you watch professional dancing, and the same ones, not the best ones, always win.
138. Music where you cannot hear the beat.
139. Leaders who ignore the beat.
140. When I show up to practice, lessons, or a social and have forgotten my shoes.
141. High-maintenance students.
142. Just turned 71, so this is my peeve.
143. Heavy or stiff ladies.
144. Competitive students who set very lofty goals but don’t want to listen.
145. Students who are perpetually cranky when they show up to lessons.
146. There is no Mambo practice music.
147. Dirty shoes on the competition floor.
148. Nobody is there to have fun anymore. They just want to get qualified or win.
149. Sticky floors.
150. Students who don’t practice.