Superhumans in WCS: Eric Byers

Who is Eric Byers as a dancer?

Eric is a dancer who tries to just have fun and dances with everyone. I try to find out what my partners best attributes are and highlight those. I was want to promote this dance and grow it.

⁠What are your values in dance?

Be respectful, have fun, be open, be a decent human.

⁠How dance helped you in life?

Dance has taught me a lot about giving words of affirmation. It's not been something I've ever seeked out, so I had to learn how to give that feedback to dancers. It's also showed me how much we can share spaces with thousands of people who believe and think differently than we do.

⁠What is success in dance for you? I mean not particular dance but dance community/scene/in general

Success to me is a lifelong goal. I'm never complacent, so I look for successes every day. My life goal is to be better today than I was yesterday. That includes this dance. I just want to be a little bit better every single day. I want to continue to foster a dance community that fosters acceptance, fun, and growth. It's a safe space for people to just come, be themselves, and learn in a fun environment.

⁠How did you become a Champ? Did you start from wcs? Any dance background? How did you practice?

I was "peer pressured" into moving out of All-Star after winning the NASDE tour 2 years in a row. Dancers would make comments about how I didn't belong when lining up for comps. I am a competitor and wanted a challenge. Some champs asked me to stop sand bagging and move up with the big boys. So I made that leap.

I was not trained in any dance style until I went to college. I knew some Latin and took a semester of ballroom after I learned WCS. Now I do study a lot of Argentine Tango. I used to have partners that I practiced with back in Indy, but all of them moved away in the last 6 years. So I practice at events or do solo drills and study YouTube videos of pros and he concepts.

How did you start to teach? What is the most challenging part of teaching WCS?

I was tricked into becoming the president of a WCS student organization in college and I had to teach almost as soon as I really learned this dance.

⁠What is your other job aside of WCS (I know you told me but can I mention that publically?)

I am a behavior therapist for autistic children.

⁠What you would never do on social floor or in spotlight?

I would never do anything that could potentially make my partner feel uncomfortable. I respect the fact that my partner is trusting me with their time and I want to honor it.

⁠what is the most hilarious situation happened to you on social/competition floor?

I ripped my pants doing a split during a dance.

Why are you still dancing? What keeps your passion alive after years of dancing?

I continue to dance because I have never lost my passion for the dance. I have a wonderful dance community and they are like family to me. This dance changes and evolves so much, also, so it forces you to forever work on your craft. I want to always be a student of dance. I don't think I've reached my full potential yet. I still have so much to offer and so much to unlock.