Do you dance? It seems that the answer “yes” comes mainly from women, men seem much more likely to uter a resounding “NO.” The other version of “no” from either sex is “I can’t dance,” which is really unfortunate. Dance has many forms I truly believe that there are far fewer individuals who simply cannot dance than who make the claim. So come on, let’s dance, what’s the problem?

“I don’t know how.”

Ok, I understand and that can be remedied. Competent instruction is available in most communities and it is often quite affordable. I’ll come back to this later.

“I’ll look foolish.”

Well, as a beginner you won’t look like the professionals you may have seen on TV nor will you look like the more experienced social dancers for a while. However, most dance communities are very tolerant of beginners. Every dancer was once a beginner. Regardless of which form of dance you decide to pursue most individuals can develop some basic skills quite quickly. By the end of a six to eight week group class you can develop a level of comfort on the dance floor.

“It’s not masculine.”

Unfortunately, this view prevents too many men from even attempting to learn. No, it’s not football or hockey or basketball or many other activities characterized by macho images. However, masculine and feminine roles in dance are very strong and to dance even reasonably well requires considerable strength, agility and endurance. I think it is the elegance of dance that frightens men and causes them to think of it as too feminine. Girls and women are acculturated to elegance while boys and men are not. I can tell you from experience that three minutes of jive can be as exhausting as a three minute shift on the hockey rink.