Letter to NDCA

The dance community does not need these subversive and negative tactics from an individual that obviously has control issues. When people are out to control a situation that can be deadly, anyone who tries to undermine it and put the health and lives of others at risk should be dealt with swiftly.

Mr. Baker’s conduct has been unprofessional to say the least.

I see anonymous posts. Please write in your name if you want to express your feelings. The issue for me and the pro am members has zero to do with anyone’s politics including mine or Mr. Baker’s. Much of the pro am community is comprised of older folks - I am 59 so I can say older—some older than myself as we see a large group in the senior category. Some of these folks have other health issues etc so they are very sensitive and scared of the Covid situation- we are all concerned about the Covid. Mr . Baker’s joke as he clarified in sequence posts was a joke that was upsetting to many folks because Covid is nothing to joke about. As a Ballroom industry we want to keep our students/customers-pro am dancers safe but still engaged in dancing not add fuel to the fire. But I wish Mr. Baker had just said it was a bad joke I am sorry as I know everyone is very sensitive to the subject and I as a professional caring teacher only want to protect my students- rather than bring politics into it or attack the customers/students that wrote comments on the private pro am collective page. He could see the comments were coming from a place of concern from the students criticizing him only for posting anything offering a fake test - joke or not- at a big event of which many are on the fence about attending . I was most disappointed when I read Mr. Bakers name calling and aggressive verbiage towards pro am dancers / who are someone’s students and they are the customers of ballroom dance that keep all the teachers including Mr Baker employed. I would ask for our ballroom community to unite and work together in this very stressful time for everyone and be supportive of each other. Please keep the politics out of these conversations because it’s honestly not a issue to any pro am person I know. I feel very strongly this is the time to protect our pro am students and try to keep them engaged in dancing not all this nonsense. These are my personal feelings and I hope Mr. Baker can accept

Sharon Gentling Oct 30, 2020 I was a member of the ProAm Collective FB private group until I was cancelled. These toxic ladies are full of anger and hate and spend all day reinforcing each other. The accusations and vitriol they have leveled against organizers, pros, and judges, appalled me. They ridiculed those of us who enjoy dancing a lot of heats, and competing for top student, top teacher, top studio, which was hurtful, especially since they knew we all could see their posts. Honestly, before I joined this private group, I had no idea this existed in the ballroom world. The very definition of bullying. Their latest obsession is Brian Baker. Brian is passionate about his beliefs, and a razor sharp, sarcastic, jokester. Not a mean or dishonest bone in his body. My husband is the same. And yes, many of the petition signers have had political opinion disagreements with Brian. What I hope is these ProAm Collective women will be cancelled from the ballroom world, not Brian. Since they only dance scholarships, and are pissed off they are required to dance any singles to qualify, they won’t be missed.

He should be banned from all competitions until the end of the pandemic

We are a dance community. We are all broken-hearted how this horrible disease has financially devastated our teachers, coaches, comp organizers--many of them our friends. Any comp organizer who tries to put together a comp with reasonable (maybe not perfect) guidelines should be fully supported, never mocked. All dancers who want to be safe should be supported. Mr. Baker claims his fake Covid test was a joke. However, instead of simply saying he was sorry with a humble clarification, he began a nasty and hateful attack on any who questioned or disliked the posting. This clear violation of professional behavior needs to be confronted by the NDCA.

The Baker’s also came for me at my page when I voice support for the BLM movement and now the COVID. I hope this petition goes for both of them, out of the NDCA. Maybe they can go and work for the MAGA group, sounds more fitting..

Mask wearing should not be politicized. This industry has been hit very hard, so the least we can all do is come together to promote safety and precaution.

Brian has always been fully dedicated to his professionalism as a pro dancer and taken great pride in the students he teaches. Brian is an amazing guy with pure devotion.

These comments and actions speak volume of the people circulating in this petition. If speaking ill on someone's name is what makes you sleep better at night then I will pray for you.

During this time we need respect and love. All organizers, professionals and students are feeling the pain of this pandemic. I can only imagine how hard it is to run a competition right now, to get your students to attend a competition right now, and as a student be willing to spend the money and time to go to a competition right now, with the dangers of a pandemic. Why make things harder by publicly complaining and throwing jokes around. These jokes severely impact the business of others in the industry, when they are already struggling. There was no consideration about that when the “jokes” were being posted publicly. I hope everyone takes the time to think before they speak or post, in times of social media, your words represent your character.

Brian is a great guy! Great Husband, Father and Dance Instructor.

I think this has gone beyond reason. I happen to think the pre-comp testing is a good thing (it seems to be the standard for sports competitions) and I understand that others disagree because of the argument of the timing of the test. I wish Brian had been more diplomatic in his rant about the testing, but he is entitled to his opinion. I have every confidence that Brian will get a test, and wear a mask when he is required to (he did wear a mask when I gave him a ride to the airport without me asking - he knows I believe in them). I also believe we should all wear masks while competing, but many of you have complained that it is not possible or safe - which I do not believe (I have done 3 comps dancing hard wearing a mask). So I can make the argument that you non-maskers are endangering my health just as you believe Brian is endangering yours. We all can state our beliefs, assess the risks, and make our own decisions.

The comments made by Mr. Baker were at best in very poor taste. At worst, his "joke" encourages people to disregard the serious nature of the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is a time when we should be coming together as a dance community, not creating greater division.

This man is a menace to our dance community. He puts people’s lives in danger.

This is just crazy

As much as I would like to not be involved in any of this, I must leave a comment. Mr. Baker was the ONLY person who looked me in the eyes and said "nice job today" after I finished dancing at my first competition. We had never crossed paths before that day. I made so many mistakes on the floor. Brian, a total stranger at the time, made me feel welcome and comfortable with myself. Politics aside, virus aside (which has all of our emotions flaring), he had a very positive impact on me becoming a part of our dance community.

First of all I am terribly sorry to hear about your medical conditions. I cannot imagine having a disability or being chronically ill. In regards to my original post it was made clear that I didn’t agree with a 7 day window to require a test. Getting a test a week before traveling doesn’t make it safe. I preferred the 72 hour window. If you are truly trying to create a safer event a shorter window for a negative test would be much better. Dancing is all of Our happy place. This drama is ruining it and my words were taken out of context and now being used to smear me. Wish you nothing but the best

I’m fairly new to dance, but I’m disabled and chronically ill. Mr. Baker’s comments will forever stick in my head as an attack on those of us that are like me. While he says it was a “joke,” I don’t take it as a joke. I already face the danger of healthcare rationing, the last thing I need is to worry about my safe, happy space. COVID is no joke to many of the dance community that either would be adversely affected or are adjacent to those who would be. NDCA needs to take a hardline stance to protect its dancers and ensure a safe community. Thanks.

Well I have been to every comp since June when comps started again. Nobody has had a issue and GN will be no different.