Dance Lists: Doing The Math
Just about everyone has a "dance list" - a list of people you want to or need to dance with that night. I love all the little things we say to each other too:

"Save me a dance later!"
"Put me on your dance list!"

Swing dancing definitely is a great way to have fun and meet people.

Which got me thinking about these "Dance Lists" and I started to do some math. I don't really want to discuss implications of the math as I'd rather let you as a reader draw your own interesting conclusions (believe me there are quite a few to be had).

So here's my math.

Disclaimer:
Of course I had to make some assumptions - they are based on what I've seen and experienced. I encourage you to throw in your own numbers to see how they change and see what it means to you.

So on an average swing night:

Assumptions:

• You are there for 2.25 hours (9:45 to 12midnight for example), or in minutes that would be 135 minutes.
• The average song length is 3 minutes.
• Out of every five songs played, you dance three of them.
• You dance an average of two songs per person. (Some people you dance with once, some you dance with three times, etc.)
• If you have a regular partner, include one person you will dance six to seven songs with.
  

"Doing The Math" Summary

• "At The Dance" Duration: 2.25 hours
• Total Number of Songs Played: 45
• Total Number of Songs Danced: 27
• Average Songs per Partner: 2
• Average Songs per Regular Partner: 6 to 7
• Dance List Number (no regular partner): 14 different people
• Dance List Number (with regular partner): 10 different people (excluding your partner)
  

So on a given "average" night you will dance with between ten and fourteen different people. These numbers really get interesting with different factors and assumptions. What if you are at the dance for a much shorter time (or much longer time)? What if you have a few different "favorite" dancers you dance four to six songs with?

Pretty interesting, no?