Standard: A Man's Dance?

[GreenEyes26]

I heard someone say the other day that Standard is “a man’s dance,” meaning that “it’s very much the man that determines how well they perform,” even if the ladies change. I wanted to disagree, but I thought of several couples who have changed partners (Mirko and Edita, Victor and Anastasia), and I have to admit that it seems to be true. I can’t think of a top couple who changed partners and the lady’s new partnership consistently did better than the man’s. Would you agree that Standard is a man’s dance, then? If so, why do you think that is? The only guess I have is that the lady finishes much of the action instead of initiating it; if she doesn’t get a strong initiation, she can’t finish it well. I’m not an expert on this, so I don’t know for sure. This is only my best guess from what I know.

[elisedance]

I tend to read it exactly as you put it - but before you dismiss the woman's role look at the current world champions.  Where would Arunas be if he had not snagged Katusha?  There is a partnership that might well be an example of the opposite (though you wold not hear a man admit it).

Maybe thats the problem - the people making the judgements are all men...   On the other hand, perhaps its also true that the tip men get to choose who to dance with ...

[SwingWaltz]

Standard: A dance of a man AND a woman.

[elisedance]

Standard: A dance of a man AND a woman.