Dancing for pleasure, sociability and health

Commenced 10-25-05 by Ken Wear

Dancing, probably the world's oldest art form, is enjoyable exercise of both social and physical graces. If I didn't enjoy dancing, I wouldn't do it. During my last quarter century of active involvement with dancing I have pondered why it is so appealing. Apart from the feminine companionship -- I cannot visualize dancing with a male partner -- it somehow nourishes my whole being.

To proceed directly to the web page of instruction, click here.

I do enjoy touching, even the limited contact of her hand in mine, since my fingers delight in textures. And the rhythm of the music somehow encourages my whole body, especially my feet, to move with the rhythm. More than those are the physical sensations of movement as muscles flex and bones glide in their sockets, which I call the "aesthetics of motion." And it is perhaps the ultimate social grace.

The principle aspect of the music is the rhythm, preferably with a pronounced downbeat to help me synchronize my bodily movement with the rhythm. I also appreciate melody, that succession or cascading of notes in a pleasing pattern, and familiarity adds to the pleasure of the whole experience. To me, whether music is Western or country or show tunes or orchestral is unimportant since it is the rhythm^{1 To view footnote, click here.} that invites me to move and then encourages me to continue in some organized fashion.

However well or poorly this fits your notion of worldly pleasures, let me pursue a more personal thread. Of the many forms of dancing, I participate in ballroom, square and round dance. Of course, ballroom is just you and your partner, traditionally with the man leading and his partner following in whatever figures are within his repertoire. Click here for a flyer you can print and circulate to friends to encourage them to become involved in ballroom dancing.

Round dancing is couples moving in a large circle to the cues announced by the cuer in keeping with the music. And square dancing is four couples in a square moving synchronously in response to the calls announced by the caller in keeping with the music. In my experience few pleasures exceed that of dancing in a square with accomplished dancers in response to a good caller. It is exhilarating; it is fun.

Unhappily, square dancing has been on the decline in recent years. A decade ago the dance flourished and clubs proliferated; it is still popular but there are fewer choices of clubs to visit in your travels. I had initially undertaken a web page dedicated to helping square and round dancers find clubs with which to dance away from home. But it would have required cooperation by local associations and organizations of clubs, who apparently fear further erosion in their revenues. However, square dancing is well represented on the World Wide Web.

[Many churches make available space for square dance clubs (gratis or for a fee). Some others consider dancing in any form to be immoral. I have found square dancers to be outstanding examples of citizenship who join together to pursue this form of exercise and sociability. You cannot consume alcohol and dance, not that the rules prohibit imbibing, but that the slightest trace of alcohol in your system makes it impossible to respond to the caller in a timely fashion; anyone with even a single drink under his belt is simply not welcome. It is of course possible, where people of both sexes congregate, for individuals to pursue their personal interest in a partner (even in church); however, anyone who has witnessed square dancing recognizes that lewd conduct is not part of the activity and, in fact, there is less physical contact with sexual overtones during a "tip" than there is in a stroll at the mall. (Time-wise square dancing is organized into "tips," traditionally with a rest period or an alternate form of dancing between tips.) Any church should be proud to not only endorse square dancing but promote it, even as part of their community outreach.]

Also unhappily, ballroom dance of the more graceful forms (such as Fox Trot, Waltz, Rumba, Tango, . . .) is losing dancers through aging and disability more rapidly than younger people join our ranks. (I am unfamiliar with the more vigorous forms of dance enjoyed by the younger set since King Elvis popularized rock.) Recent television programs featuring dancing have stirred public interest, which is attested by increased visits to my web page introducing the basics. If I could I would encourage everyone to experience dancing in some form since, as far back in history as records extend, it has been an important element of life.

I have not considered pursuing ballroom dancing on the Web with the intent to help people locate clubs to visit. Studios have their parties and this helps fill a vacuum. There are legion private clubs, many of which require advance notice of visitors. And, at least in this area, there are many ballroom dance clubs formed by senior citizens groups although organized efforts to exploit the Web -- or even seek local publicity -- seem lacking.

For the present I have abandoned the effort to promote dancing of any form (except for this page and my Web page introducing ballroom dancing). Click here to view that. Thus far my experience on the Web suggests searchers are reluctant to e-mail (I suppose for fear of being further inundated with unwelcome mail) despite an intense interest; however, I would not hesitate to organize and post pages should I receive encouragement to do so. To send an e-mail, use as subject "I read your post about dancing" exactly as shown -- to bypass the spam filter -- and click here. I will be happy to forward to you what information I have on local (greater Atlanta, GA) dance venues; be in touch.