Seattle Mentorship Post Mortem: 4/23/25

During our Saturday evening meeting at Easter Swing, I sat back for the first twenty minutes and listened to the room hum— mentors and mentees chatting with each other, connecting across pairings and roles.

I almost felt bad interrupting to lead a discussion to reflect on the day’s events and kept it uncharacteristically short so the cohort could get back to what they were already doing so successfully.

I’ve come to understand that while every iteration of the Mentorship Program is different, when it’s going well, the majority of the work has been done in the application process, before the pairings meet on Friday evening.

In the past, I would read through the mentee applications and then call in favors, reaching out to All-Stars I knew to fill in the gaps of the existing roster; a seasoned judge, a routine competitor, a switch dancer, whatever was needed for the weekend.

But we’re all familiar with the idea that those who can dance cannot always teach, and even those with the most insight to offer may not be in a season where they can show up in the ways that a mentee may need.

This weekend, I trusted that those who put themselves forward to mentor would bring the best of themselves, unprompted.

I wasn’t disappointed.

To the dancers who continue to show up for program after program: thank you.

I may make the pairings, but you make them work.