Growing the Pie: 5/11/24

At my first Swingtacular, I sat in on a community discussion. At the time I was still primarily an Argentine Tango pro, learning about how the WCS scene handled events, teaching, social dancing, everything.

One topic that was addressed was the distinction between “growing the pie” and “slicing the pie”— how do we ensure the growth of the community instead of defensively carving it up?

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When setting up pairings for the Mentorship Program in 2022, I came across a mentee’s application that was focused on teaching: how do you begin? What is essential to a swing instructor? How do you fill that role in your local scene?

I knew immediately who I wanted to mentor them that weekend.

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Way back in 2020, one of Rebecca’s students asked who else they should work with and she put my name forward.

She asked if she would be able to sit in on the lesson, too. This didn’t come from a place of defensiveness, but of curiosity. What new perspective would I bring to her student? How could she best follow up on this one-off lesson during regular weekly coaching?

How do we make the pie bigger?

It’s that mindset of generosity and curiosity that I wanted to be a part of the Program.

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The purpose of the Program isn’t just to help mentees develop skills; it’s to elevate All-Star dancers to a place of mentorship and challenge them to contribute their skills beyond those of teachers and competitors of dance.