I have read all of the other comments, but the one I found most useful for describing the root of the problem is "thesedaysanengineer" posted 11 Dec 2011 . We bought a Performa in the fall of 2004 and have had decent performance out of it, but I'm in the process of replacing the pump, which is making a lot of noise. We too have the "dancing" problem, but it hasn't been a real problem until about the last year or so. At first, it worked pretty good, but over time the "unbalancing problem" become more and more noticeable. It only walks and dances during the spin cycle when it becomes unbalanced and it really starts banging around. I'd say it nows becomes unbalanced 90% of the time no matter how evenly you place the clothes. With heavier clothes like blankets and towels, it will always unbalance. We stop it and reposition the clothes (sometimes several times) before you can continue. We don't dare get out of earshot while while doing the laundry and take turns "babysitting" it. When in the wash and rinse cycle, it is fairly quiet. We haven't had a problem with it not draining completely or othe type of problems up until now (March 2012). I'm going to fix it this time and live with it for a little while longer as new washing machines are so expensive. The next time it needs a repair tho, we will buy a new one.
BTW, the matching dryer has been doing just fine.