Floor changes with the weather?

[elisedance]

sounds sticky - but thats great for footwork...

[ttd]

Yes, I've noticed that, when it's more hot & humid, the floor feels different. It also depends on how the floor was originally made. Some get more sticky, but one place has the floor which gets more slippery when it is hot & humid.

[cornutt]

sounds sticky - but thats great for footwork...

I don't like sticky.  I'm partial to a fast floor.

[Dora-Satya Veda]

A great floor is one that you can stick to when needed and glide on when needed. It is a great surface when both latin dancer and standard dancers feel the surface is perfect. That is what IMHO is considered a great floor surface. I have not experienced that many places in this world but more in Europe then in the US.

I am however glad I was taught how to read the floor. This way it doesn't really matter what the surface of floor is like.

DSV

[ttd]

I think the worst situation when the floor is not evenly sticky or slippery, like it has patches that are stickier or slipperier than the rest of it.

[QPO]

I know exactly what you mean have dance on those floors as well 

[Lioness]

At the comp on sunday they had scattered baby powder lightly on the floor (who knows why...it's slippery enough usually) and we were the first event, so none of it was really danced off. There were a few times when I slipped as I was walking out, because for some reason I can dance in heels but can't walk in them

[Bordertangoman]

maybe they have better wood?
Actually it would be interesting to hear how they build them

we use american white oak, beech,pine ( rubbish) english oak, Welsh Oak,

If its T & G secret nailing to a ply or wood sub floor allows for movement (hygroscopic) if the wood is well oiled and grooved on the back which reduces cupping

Between the fiber saturation point and the oven dry state, wood will only change by about .1 percent of its dimension along the grain (lengthwise in a flat sawn board). It will change by 2 to 8 percent across the grain and across the annular rings (top to bottom), if quartersawn and 5 to 15 percent across the grain and parallel to the annular rings (side to side), if plainsawn.

[elisedance]

I think the floor in Chicago was about as good as they get.  I never noticed it once, no slides no stick.  Of course, that removes the standard excuse

[cdnsalsanut]

As a lark, with three months ballroom experience and about 4 basic steps (no technique) in each of the dances, I went on the QE2 and Queen Mary 2 as a dance host.  For about 7 months. Hey I was one of the better dancers there, believe it or not...

Hmm let me tell you about dancing on a ship at sea in a FORCE 11 hurricane (we did!), or in the bay of Biscayne, known for it's turbulent passages.

First of all, lots of fun.  The ballrooms are the centrepiece of each ship and the ships are lovely, gracious.  The ballrooms have lovely floors, balls 4 nights a week and beautiful wood patterns inset.

Hmmm even when the weather is rough, the ship is pretty stable, but still it moves, depending on whether it's running with the wind or not. On the dancefloor, at times, you find the entire 60 or so dancers sliding down towards one of the walls, not walls in fact, but rows of plush tables and chairs. As you drift over towards them, you see everyone's eyes get really wide...hehehehe.

That being said there was never a time when we stopped dancing, even in the force 11 hurricane.  We were at sea, which is a safer for the ship and the ships are incredibly stable, having huge stabliIng fins which are maneorerable. Pretty incredible actually.  But people still got sick.  The Bay of Biscayne is the worst place, in bad weather.

There were a professional couple of board, who did the teaching on sea days and performed during the balls.  now that was a feat, doing high level performances on a moving dance floor. Very impressive. Of course they were mostly young and had exceptional balance and grace.

[Bordertangoman]

ha reminds when I was doing a deep space tour and we entered a spatial anomaly and the dance floor began to bend and stretch in the space time continuum...........

 the orchestra were a little unnerved as they started hearing notes that they hadnt quite played yet...

[elisedance]

ah, yes, I remember it well - the waltz 3,2,1;3,2,1