I’m just going to express my opinion here, in an attempt to escape condemnation from that community.
When choreo class just started, there were just a handful of us. I was in fact worried that the class schedule we fought so hard to get wouldn’t stick after all. I always believed, however, that people stay for one thing - a sense of belongingness and community. Each of us tried desperately to encourage casual gym goers to attend the class with us, in hopes to build hype and attendance. We got to know these people, talked to them, continuously motivated them, despite their own fear and insecurity. Learning anything at a beginner level is always hard that’s why most people give up. But if you have friends to suffer with you, it gets a bit bearable. That was my intention. So I stepped out of my comfort zone myself. I talked to people and entertained small talks, which I used to hate by the way. Maybe it was a bit selfish of me, but I wanted that class to stick.
Like every other community, overtime it built its own culture. We’ve reached the point where the class itself is self-sustained now. No one needs to feed it anymore. It will continue to grow. I’m very proud of that by the way. So I took a step back.
But one thing is for sure, the tradition we started then held up to today. Each new face and new member, is always treated with a warm welcome, almost as if saying, “No one will judge you here. You can look stupid here. We accept you here. You belong here.”
As long as that intention remains, I can rest my case. But the community got bigger and bigger that I’m worried one way or another there might grow some inevitable friction. So I always looked out from afar, watching for any sign of potential misunderstanding, and maybe stop it before it happens. Thankfully, there hasn’t been any.
Aaron initiated pooling funds to gift to the teacher, as a thank you for extending extra time and effort to teach the class. The goal is gratitude. The money is just an instrument.
The idea is anyone could pitch in, in whatever amount they can, just to help out. The gift was supposed to be anonymous, given as a unit to cover those who may not have the capacity to give, for whatever reason. The credit shall be given to the entire class, not single people out. The former nurtures appreciation, while the latter nurtures favoritism. Although I am confident it will not lead to that, however, I’m scared it might result to an awkward dynamic. For the others who couldn’t give, humiliation. And for the teacher, discomfort. It negates the very intention reserved to the community we’ve built. I wish for the group to remain as one unit where everyone stands on the same footing. Whether you are a seasoned dancer, a beginner, or a returner, here you are unlabelled. That’s the mentality that kept the community together, at least that’s where it started.
Either way, I respect the majority’s opinion. I am still very confident it will not lead to such misunderstanding. I just hope it will not open backdoors where not everyone will be welcome, or worse, where only the seasoned members are welcome. I realized that I always favored special treatment to the newcomers because my intention then was to build a bigger community. More importantly, a stable one. One where each member is treated with the same enthusiasm, despite what skills or how much they can contribute to the team.