Misbehaving at milongas

I have been hosting weekly milongas almost continuously for the last 3-4 years (and on-and-off since about 10 years ago).

Recently there have been some blog posts about how to handle inappropriate behaviours on the dance floor.

Much of the time, my approach has leaned towards one of minimal interference. Only in extreme (and rare) cases have I needed to talk to the offenders. I take the attitude that no one is intentionally out to injure or bump into other people and my experience has shown that people are generally receptive. The way I see it is that some misbehaviours can happen simply through ignorance, e.g. not tail-gating people, not over-zealous in changing lanes, etc., perhaps lack of physical control, i.e. taking inappropriately large steps every time someone launches into a sequence, unnecessarily large embellishments, etc., or even through disorientation when there is too much space.

From my experience, more often than not, a quiet word is enough to ensure cooperation. Other slightly more subtle means can include having some leaders being in the peripheral vision of the offender or simply manipulate the size of the dance floor – not too small to create unnecessary stress and not too big for someone to take a devil-may-care attitude and encourage reckless behaviours. Ultimately I do believe that when people turn up to milongas they are there to have a good time. As long as they are not put on the defensive, most reasonable people can see the sense once pointed out.