To be annoyed when people who dance dance for fun call themselves dancers?

[Bookmonster345]

I've been looking at some of my DDs friends Instagram accounts, and noticed them repeatedly call themselves 'dancers'. AIBU to get annoyed at this? After all, if you were a professional dancer, would you not hate people who just dance for fun labelling themselves in the same way you are labelled, despite the fact as a professional dancer you have put in a lot more work?

Are we human or are we dancer?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancer?

YABU

I'm an artist and everyone who can draw stick figures is "an artist", and anyone who can make a wordpress page is a "web designer". It doesn't bug me because I know my work is worth paying for. If someone wants to pay a small amount for an amateur, they're going to get amateur work. You get what you pay for.

Cheap people exist everywhere, it's human nature to try and save money.

If you're out of work because someone is hiring an amateur over you, perhaps you need to bone up your work so that it doesn't get mistaken for amateur caliber. As a professional, your work should be easily distinguished from someone that's just a hobby. People that are serious will go for the professionals.

If you're out of work because someone is hiring an amateur over you, perhaps you need to bone up your work so that it doesn't get mistaken for amateur caliber. As a professional, your work should be easily distinguished from someone that's just a hobby.

Yes this.

If I was to hire a band for my wedding then I would choose them on merit and not on the principle of whether or not they have a day job. If they are good, they are good and will be paid accordingly.

And if full time professionals are finding themselves in competition with amateurs, then they must surely be on a par?

I think that anyone who trains in the arts, whether to professional level or not is perfectly entitled to call themselves an artist, musician etc. And nobody just walks up to a piano and starts playing and to belittle them because you feel superior (probably due to being born with talent and not necessarily because of hard work) is just arsey.

YABU - I'm a writer. I make my money from that, everything gets published, I know that I could write anything I was asked to write.

Plenty of people say they're writers but are unpublished and have never earned a penny.

Doesn't bother me a jot. I wish the world was full of people who had 'proper' jobs but also considered themselves writers and artists and poets and dancers. It would be lovely. Creativity should be encouraged and if anyone identifies with any aspect of it, that is excellent. So, again, YABVVVVVVVU.

YABU.

My BIL is a professional sportsman. It's fairly easy to distinguish him from someone who has tried it twice at guide camp.

He is a:-

Professional
Or an International (if I want to show off a bit)
Or a Commonwealth medalist at (if I want to show off a lot.

Frankly if an accountant can turn up at a competition and it not be really obvious who the professional is then he doesn't deserve the title.

DD is performing at her first festival this weekend - it's also her first performance on her own rather than as part of a group!

She is first & foremost "a Dancer"

Totally disagree.

Most people will say in conversation "I dance......as a hobby" or "I run.....I'm not fast" or whatever so they mostly qualify it anyway. I think it's really petty to suggest that people shouldn't be proud of something they enjoy doing and celebrate it by telling others.

Mumoftwoyoungkids....that is really exciting and cool though! I would be showing off massively about that! Congrats to your BIL!

Dd dances for around 16 hours a week, has been in many shows, professional and amateur, and has done occasional film/TV work.
She has 'dancer' on her Instagram account, but doubt she would refer to herself in this way in RL.
She is more likely to say 'I dance'.

I was a dancer, and now take classes for fun.
I would not refer to myself as a dancer because I'm 35 and it would be embarrassing.

YABU.

I both agree and disagree with you morethan. My ex dp (now a dear friend) is a musician. She worked solely on that for some 15 years. It was bloody hard work and involved way more downs than ups but she made her living from songwriting and performing for that period. It was a great source of pride to her that she was a professional musician. Now she does her music part time and an office job the rest of the time. She is no less talented now than she was then it's just the nature of the job.

In any case I don't think you can be annoyed if people are booking amateur musicians instead of professionals....as another poster says people book musicians on the basis of how good they sound and so they should!