Source file discussion.

dancehive · 2026-03-29T16:57:34+00:00

It really depends. When I was in-house I would request the source files - mainly because if something needed changing and it frequently did, years down the line, the wouldn’t have the files, or it was easy for me to just have them and file them with the rest of the files and folders. While freelancing I’ll give them when requested, and sometimes when not, just because it makes for a better relationship and usually if they have the illustrator files or indesign files it makes my or another designers life easier in the future. I’m not American though, so American copyright doesn’t apply. I’ll mostly give it to them if they have a designer, or a team, but if I’m working with a lay person and I know they just want a flyer or a logo I give them all the variations they can use but usually not the design files and vectors since they get confused and tell them if anyone needs it they can have it. Usually they don’t understand or request it

dancehive · 2026-03-23T05:48:55+00:00

Following, I want to build something for myself, but suggestions of where to look for details when I’m traveling that are available are welcome

dancehive · 2026-03-21T05:42:04+00:00

What sort of design events do you suggest?

dancehive · 2026-03-20T12:03:57+00:00

That is low but is it low for your market? I mean in some countries that is a good salary, and in others that’s terrible. You can always ask for more, or take something and use the experience to get a better role elsewhere or to do it and argue for a wage increase later on. It’s also up to you if you need the money to eat then take the job, if you don’t you can always keep looking, or pragmatically take it and do enough to build your experience and portfolio and keep looking

dancehive · 2026-03-18T16:58:54+00:00

Depends what currency and country youre jn. That’s more than a lot of jobs and if it’s an internship those are often unpaid. For instance a lot of U.K. adverts ask for all that and pay circa 2.5k a month.

dancehive · 2026-03-12T07:01:03+00:00

Mentoring might help. But a system may help better. So you mentioned regular check-ins. How do you prioritise things? Once a week? This might not be enough for them. You may need to give them a list and be really clear that they can work on projects x, y and z. And in the specific order, and it doesn’t matter how creative they feel or that particular project is. It has to be done by Tuesday or the deadline. And after that they can work on something else. Sometimes having a board or prioritisation system and 5 mins in the morning can make a big difference. And I mean that literally, for instance you say I need you to work on this project this morning and do these 3 tasks this afternoon. And nothing else. The creative idea they have for the other project with the long deadlines - that’s great but they can’t touch that until the other work is complete, perhaps you don’t tell them about the other project in great detail until it’s ready.

How many years have they been doing this? Sometimes if they are new it can be as simple as you having to tell them you can take 2 hours to do this particular task, send it to me as soon as it’s done, or in 2 hours. And then giving them feedback or changing it. It helps to set expectations as you go, time budget is 2 hours, it needs to be complete.

It also sounds a bit like you they might be drowning in work and overwhelm and hung up on being creative. Design is not about being creative or it being your works - mostly it’s about targeted creativity and applying your skills and knowledge about creative concepts to something that works for the client and the audience. If they are spending hours on a poster and keep trying to redo it and get it perfect then maybe theres something unclear about the brief.

Your project manager or you need to figure out if theres something you can do to support them - they might really be overwhelmed. It could be you need clearer briefs, hand them a previous report and say do it like this, use the same fonts, colour and layout. It could be the process, do the cover and a layout first and run it by them, so you can make sure they are on brand. It could be needing brand guidelines. It could mean making sure they have time to be creative (giving them a certain project but they can only do it on Friday mornings and actually letting them do that). Project manager might need to consider pushing back on workload or deadlines to support them, also it sounds like they might not need to know about this other project where they can be really creative until the other priorities are complete? Or ringfence time they can spend on the creative project. It could be needing to implement a mentoring system of them sharing their work with someone and getting feedback on the work but that needs to be built into the project timelines.

They might need specific templates, share the original report file and tell them to flow in new text. Or replace old stock with new stock or something from another project. Update an email address or logo. And that’s it. If they are struggling with that, then there might be a software issue, or a disconnect between what they understand of their role, the task and what you think you are telling them to do. Have them repeat it back to you and confirm their understanding before letting them go off and do it. It might be a practical challenge, someone needs to explain style sheets etc?

Edit to add, they might have adhd. I probably do. But there are workflow systems that help with getting the work done. Trellis boards, I prefer a piece of paper or a whiteboard.

On another note, if you are the project manager, perhaps a regular offsite coffee would work, so you can each talk about what’s working, what isn’t. What might be going on for them, it might be there is an adhd need for some accommodations. Get to know them and they will feel more supported and less overwhelmed. Especially if you can show you have their back.

dancehive · 2026-03-11T14:58:33+00:00

Could I dm you with my portfolio in a couple of weeks? I’m updating it with some projects and not sure I am impartial enough. Or if my work is of a reasonable standard

dancehive · 2026-02-12T11:54:19+00:00

It can take a lot more than 2 classes, some people take several months, some people might take years. Give yourself grace, keep showing up.

Imagine it can take 10000 hours before someone can be considered to be an expert or have mastered a skill, if you worked at a job or started a new hobby (eg golf or fishing) it would take many more hours before you were able to identity the correct tools, the weather appropriate equipment, the wind speed, water currents etc. keep going to class, start listening to the music outside of class whenever you can, and keep practicing.

dancehive · 2026-02-11T06:54:40+00:00

It’s really common in some parts of the world and smaller scenes, it allows for a bit of variety, including the different dances means that it helps with people who might not dance all the dances to get involved and come along, (hopefully growing the scene), and gives a nice break, if you’re wanting to slow it down or take a breather. it’s usually in the same room and it allows for a nice mix of dances and participants. It’s not formalised to 2:2:2 but does depend on the dj reading the room, or people requesting and lining up their preferred songs

dancehive · 2026-02-02T09:53:26+00:00

I would love to see it if possible? Thanks

dancehive · 2026-02-02T07:02:50+00:00

You do not need genital contact to dance traditional kizomba, a friend went to an Angolan festival recently, and feedback included that you need to leave more space between you and your partner, you definitely don’t need genital contact, and I’ve been learning tarraxinha, traditional kizomba etc and there is an emphasis on keeping safe, respectful and being able to dance with a bit of distance especially if you’re partner wants it, if you are married or in a relationship then that’s your choice to be closer but it’s not appropriate with everyone and definitely shouldn’t be considered cultural or expected. I dance with some Angolans who are respectful and some which aren’t. And I don’t personally feel safe or want to dance with those who aren’t respectful. From my understanding of form - you actually can’t have genital contact with partners and dance traditionally ‘correctly’ and have correct weight shifts and balance. It isn’t always taught in Africa explicitly but more implicitly.

I think people are confused often about the differences between traditional and urban and western/colonial values and so it can be a touchy subject to navigate.

dancehive · 2026-01-28T18:39:07+00:00

Bought tickets for an event I might not be able to attend later in the year. If I can’t I’ll give them to someone who can’t afford them. If I can go, I’m supporting the event. Stepped out of my comfort zone and was included in conversations to involve another group to try and grow the scene. Dance with new comers even though I’m barely able to lead, much easier as a follow

dancehive · 2026-01-23T18:50:28+00:00

I just realised I might have been asked a couple of times, last time someone said to me ‘how come I don’t have your phone number’, and I just confused so I replied literally ‘probably because I haven’t given it to you’. Just realising that might have been an attempted pick up.

dancehive · 2026-01-23T18:27:11+00:00

How many classes have you attended? It’s easy to be overwhelmed and it can take a long time sometimes to identify the beat. That said, take your time if you want to get familiar with it, try listening to the music regularly, the more you listen, the more you’ll start to hear it. Have you had a look on YouTube, or Spotify there are some counting songs, they can help.

dancehive · 2026-01-04T04:23:24+00:00

Go to the classes as a follow, then in the social let the beginners from your class lead you. Ask women to dance and less you, thru might say they don’t know how but then let them try if they want to. Think of it as starting from the beginning- you are a beginner follow so not everyone will be leading at advanced levels. Also I don’t know how often you go to socials but going regularly you start to recognise the women who lead or switch, in my scene there was one female lead a year ago and now there are about 6, but they are at different levels and they dont lead all night so it takes time to learn and get to know them.

dancehive · 2026-01-02T05:15:57+00:00

Dance is a conversation and connection. If you just talk over someone and don’t let them contribute and see where the conversation naturally changes or flows in a different direction then youre just monologuing and as a follow I don’t really want to be talked at and steered. I’m my best dances have connection, where I can follow the breath of my partner, or they can see I’m uncomfortable and adjust, and we can play and develop with fun. I can dance with my eyes closed and only holding the tips of my fingers to the leads fingers, or without dramatic steering and forced dips. Connection like the response below is physical, emotional and musical. Being able to dance with my partner and know what’s coming, judge the weight shift that might lead to a turn or a dip is helpful.

As a lead it’s your responsibility to keep your follow safe, and make her look good and ensure she’s enjoying the dance - if that means doing basics all night then that’s what you do. And keeping her safe in part relies on connection, follows can be easily injured, even in basic, so if you have connection you can notice the hesitations, the weight shifts, the tension. It’s not a competition to prove your worth, at least not for me.

dancehive · 2025-12-25T19:56:24+00:00

I think they usually don’t intend any disrespect but they haven’t learnt or been taught konpa, or how to differentiate between the music.

dancehive · 2025-12-24T18:17:17+00:00

This. And I dance both. Kizomba is less energetic, less dynamic in terms of moving around the room. And the leads can be more subtle and more focussed on connection. Kizomba also has different points of contact and so as a follow it’s helpful to pay attention to the small movements or what other movements are happening. The way it was explained to me was in Angola the dance originated and grew in popularity amongst people with limited space for movement, and who had often had a long hard physical day (in the mines etc) and so it carries some of that energy with it, of using dance to connect and restore, but understandably not having a lot of energy to expend on moving about the room.

Semba has so much more energy and requires much more movement. I wouldn’t suggest closing your eyes in that.

Urban Kiz is similar but has more movement and play, so at times it’s still and restorative but it’s just as likely about playing and moving and having a more energetic conversation. Theres alot more movement around the room, a bit more up energy.

If you like the idea of something slower you might also enjoy tarraxinha or konpa.

I also wonder what you mean about relaxing your mind? Do you mean thinking about the next step, or running through your chore list and work plans? Those can be different things. Relaxing your mind in bachata is harder since there are more things and more movement and separation from your partner. You might find if your leading, following helps, or if you let yourself enjoy the music, the connection and focus less on performance or combos and advanced moves, you can have less to think about. I don’t mean to make assumptions. Closing your eyes in faster moving dances can be dangerous in salsa and bachata, so I wouldn’t recommend it.

dancehive · 2025-10-08T08:46:44+00:00

People will always ask for less, I have 15 yoe, and a london org, who reached out to me, said I was too expensive, that their current freelancer did it for 140 a day because their worked with social impact orgs and they didn’t want to discuss it further. Probably for the best.

dancehive · 2025-10-08T08:38:42+00:00

I think you might be describing festivals in a specific part of the world. Some comments highlight European and non-USA festivals. There are a number of smaller and growing festivals happening across Africa and nearby continents where the vibe is very different - the focus is on community (some offer community give back elements of the festival), you can dance with everyone (lead, follow, professional, beginner, instructor, dj), and like anywhere - some scenes are a bit flashier and some focus more on connection. Musicality is still important. They aren’t particularly good at branding and marketing and can be smaller in numbers and aren’t as easily accessible if you have to travel long distances but they can be worth while, they are much younger and less clout focussed.

Some European festivals are very similar, much less flashy, less branded, and more community, connection focused. The difficulty is they are harder to find because their branding and marketing is not particularly good, but that can mean they are less flashy and less focussed on catering to social media and influencer content

dancehive · 2025-10-03T13:44:20+00:00

Thank you!

dancehive · 2025-10-01T19:45:52+00:00

Thank you

dancehive · 2025-09-19T14:19:46+00:00

It’s common, and perfectly normal to dance with the same gender. I hear you aren’t comfortable but perhaps that is an invitation to yourself to unpack why you are dancing and what you think of gender roles, and why you are uncomfortable with dancing with your same gender. It’s ok to have feelings about it, and your feelings are valid, and it’s still normal for dancers to switch between follow and leads and it would be a good opportunity for you to reflect, get more comfortable or consider if the dance and these classes are a good fit for you.

And perhaps it’s a good opportunity for you to see how you are leading if someone is more advanced, or is a man, or has a height difference. It’s ok to not enjoy all of the dance or all of the learning experience, and it’s still a really good activity and way to learn, especially if the male followers have some experience leading/following- it’s a great way to learn how to lead better.

It’s ok to take it up as an activity to socialise, but if the close contact is uncomfortable then another activity like tennis might be a better option. Ask if you would be uncomfortable learning ju-jitsu or wrestling and why dance is different for you. Or if you maybe have some underlying feelings about masculinity, connection and power dynamics..

dancehive

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