| I don't think competition dancers look down on non-competition dancers, but I can see how the latter might think they do.
Competition dancing brings out a different side of your dancing, a 'performance' style side, which is great fun for its own sake, even if no-one's watching! Like any hobby (and competition style dancing isn't for everyone), as you get into it you may relate to others of the same tendency in a slightly different way to others - it's something you share, after all. For some people it means caring about whether you get a movement 'right' (whatever that is) as opposed to just dancing with people for the social interaction alone.
The problems with jive competitions have been enumerated by other people in other threads. I can see a lot more point in learning to dance 'competition style' than I can in actually entering jive competitions. And having your mates appreciate you or cheer you on is maybe more fun than winning if you like that sort of thing. But it's good to have been there done that in one sense at least - it stops those (who look down on people, if there are such people) from looking down on you and slagging off your dancing once you've won something, and it gives you the confidence (justified or not) that you're dancing can't be all that sh*te if you've got an award on the mantlepiece.
As to the jolly luvvies that constantly say "we only do it for the fun - not like those people who beat me at the last competition or will probably beat me at the next one" (my italics added) - I think they're kidding themselves - everyone does it for fun. Dance professionals generally aren't bothered much with modern jive.
People go through phases with competitions for different reasons - it's not that big a deal and not a pronouncement from on high if people win or don't win - people go through phases with different dance styles as well, or going to weekends or workshops - do whatever seems right for you. Some jivers might look 'down' on you if you don't do salsa; some jivers definitely look down on jivers that don't do lindy - it's just from their point of view at that time - there's nothing particularly objective in it as far as I can tell. |