[WalterBright]

Depends on which ones you go to. If you go to one where the crowd are people who have taken lessons, yes, you do see the stuff in the picture. If you take lessons, yes you can dance like that. There's always a shortage of men at these functions, so if you make the effort to learn it, you can dance with excellent partners, and your rear will never touch a chair.

The costumes in the pictures you'll only see at a competition event, but people still dress up for the club dances.

The community of these people is not large, and they know each other, and will network to find a venue to meet up at.

It's really too bad more people don't do it. The barrier of learning it is rather high, as there's a long awkward stage, and few are willing to put in the effort. But the payoff is lifelong, and as I wrote, it really dials up the pleasure from music.

[analog31]

Not too different from my experiences with playing in bands, including the high learning curve and the lifetime payoff.