By William Fong, Ewa Beach
Ten thousand years ago only men danced, then humans discovered agriculture. We got civilized and dancing became more intricate. In the Mexican Civilizations of three or four millenniums ago they had "professional musicians and dancers." Somewhere along the line, in the last century in the industrialized world, many men have learned to feel as if they have two left feet. The concept of moving gracefully is not a part of their self-image. Learning to dance is way out of the comfort zone of many men. Some men simply accepted line dancing as an acquired gift, going back to the Greeks in Greece, centuries ago.
I felt this in my youth, despite my strong desire to flow across the dance floor like Gene Kelly. The feelings of awkwardness persisted and I had little control over my body. But in my forties when I began to slow down physically, I discovered something about Line dancing. In spite of my sloppy learning, I could learn, along with everyone else, the appreciation of the music, the timing, the rhythms and the steps of the different dances. With time I could relax and move my body as I pleased and whichever way I wanted and simply enjoyed my movements to the music. Later on I went into partner dancing,
I found the way to experience touch, to interact with another person safely. I learned to be comfortable dancing in sync with my partner and leading. I will never participate in a competition. I feel no need for it. But the need to enjoy my music in movement will be there until the day I die. It can be the start of a wonderful adventure. You revel in the music and your body as your coordination grows along with the feeling of freedom moving around the floor. It was not always easy, and there are too many men out there that a missing a very good thing.
Ten thousand years ago only men danced, then humans discovered agriculture. We got civilized and dancing became more intricate. In the Mexican Civilizations of three or four millenniums ago they had "professional musicians and dancers." Somewhere along the line, in the last century in the industrialized world, many men have learned to feel as if they have two left feet. The concept of moving gracefully is not a part of their self-image. Learning to dance is way out of the comfort zone of many men. Some men simply accepted line dancing as an acquired gift, going back to the Greeks in Greece, centuries ago.
"All children are dancers. The problem is how
to remain dancers once they grow up."
I felt this in my youth, despite my strong desire to flow across the dance floor like Gene Kelly. The feelings of awkwardness persisted and I had little control over my body. But in my forties when I began to slow down physically, I discovered something about Line dancing. In spite of my sloppy learning, I could learn, along with everyone else, the appreciation of the music, the timing, the rhythms and the steps of the different dances. With time I could relax and move my body as I pleased and whichever way I wanted and simply enjoyed my movements to the music. Later on I went into partner dancing,
"Fly Me To The Moon"
One of these days.
I found the way to experience touch, to interact with another person safely. I learned to be comfortable dancing in sync with my partner and leading. I will never participate in a competition. I feel no need for it. But the need to enjoy my music in movement will be there until the day I die. It can be the start of a wonderful adventure. You revel in the music and your body as your coordination grows along with the feeling of freedom moving around the floor. It was not always easy, and there are too many men out there that a missing a very good thing.
"Social dancers believe that they have only one life to live, and
they are not promised a perfect tomorrow. So they might
as well have a good time with what they have."
they are not promised a perfect tomorrow. So they might
as well have a good time with what they have."
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