karena

Don't you sometimes find that there are people who are not native speakers who are so interested in English, have studied it so thoroughly that they know it better than you? I have had grammar questions from non-native speakers that there's no way I can answer, or questions about the nuances of words which I can't answer. So whilst the native speaker can do things 'naturally', but perhaps without understanding, the non-native speaker has the dimension of looking outside and trying to understand. Some native speakers can of course do this too and vice versa. Your category is not the only deciding factor. I think both are powerful, but in different ways. For me, you need both. But to rely on one rather than the other means you will become more of one than the other. So you can speak in nothing but slang or nothing but perfect English. I would rather do what is appropriate for the situation and know the difference.

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jenc

I think if non-native speakers speak more correctly than you do - they will not have the fluency and the authenticity that you do. In language (and dance) rules are made to be broken. In dance, it is the native's ability to break the rules that makes the dance powrful and lyrical. If westerners analyze and prescribe their dance is more predictable and careful and just doesn't have that flow

Brea

I am with what jenc is saying as well as Pirika. Fluidity is something I find a bit lacking when it becomes so strict. I also know dancers who have immense difficulty with improv because they were taught 'you can only do this...' and I've also seen 'native speakers', dance-wise, who aren't that proficient but think they don't need teachers because they're 'from there'. Kind of a toss-up, really.

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