Okay, so I’m not one to gripe about someone’s choice of hygiene, grooming techniques, or outfit accessories; HOWEVER, a huge pet peeve of mine as well as a painful experience I keep having is:

LONG NAILS ON MEN!

Please, please, please (and this goes for both sexes) cut your nails BEFORE going out to dance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve danced with someone and I’ve gotten stabbed or cut during a simple cross body lead or a turn. OUCH! It’s not a great feeling. Instead of being able to concentrate on having a good dance, I’m constantly distracted by being pinched, and having my blood drawn.

Long nails go hand in hand with GIGANTIC rings (Ladies!). Being that I’ve also lead some females, (and I hear this a lot from the men), big rings hurt just as badly. Yes, it could be part of your outfit, but while dancing, please tuck it somewhere. I’m not completely blameless in this. I’ve also caught myself wearing a big or pointy ring from time to time, and hurting my partner in the process of dancing what I thought was a great dance; turns out-it was pretty painful for him.

So, if we could keep our long nails and pointy rings OFF the dance floor, I think dancing would be just a little less painful. Next…..crushed toes and broken toe nails due to certain types of footwear….OUCH!!! =(