As Clerk of the City Works, Dance had sometimes to prove to a committee that a well-meant suggesion was impractical. Here, a competition for the proposed rebuilding of London Bridge as part of the Port of London improvements brought with it a request that the roads giving on to it from the north and south banks should be no steeper than the gentle incline of Ludgate Hill. To show a lay committee what were the implications, Dance had a drawing made that demonstrated how long the bridge would need to be; the 10-foot length of the drawing itself would have graphically demonstrated the problem.