Anyone Can Dance – Breaking Your Dancing Stereotype
You have probably heard it said, “dancing is for everyone”. And then maybe you have flicked the channel to ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and thought hmmm … Maybe not. Often we have an image in our minds that only men and women with a certain body type, personality, sexual preference, and age can dance. We load stereotypes about dancing and dancers into our minds until we convince ourselves, it’s really not for us.
There could be nothing further than the truth, and allowing the stereotypes to grow in your mind, is only serving one purpose. To fuel the excuse of not giving this dancing thing a go. So let’s break down those stereotypes, and kill the excuses.
Importance of Dancing
Dancing is as natural to the body as walking or breathing. It is something we have been doing since the beginning of time. Every culture in the world has or has had some semblance of dance within their lives and traditions. Whether it was to tell stories, celebrate, connect with the community or as a courtship ritual, dance has and will always have a place in our lives and our bodies.
Speaking from the sunny streets of Sydney Australia, there are more than a few stereotypes which undoubtedly stand in people’s way when they are deciding whether to bite the bullet and enroll in a class or not.
Firstly, men, let’s start with you. Regardless of having ‘ 2 left feet’ or not, regardless if you were taught your whole life that ‘boys don’t dance’, regardless of your age, shape, sexual preference, favourite food group, or hair colour, there is NO reason in the world why you couldn’t and shouldn’t start dancing.
If you head out social dancing during the week, you will see first hand that dancing has no stereotype. The dancefloor is packed with people young and old, tall and short, from all walks of life, jamming together. Trust me, after your first visit to the studio, at least half of your ‘dancing stereotypes’ will be blown out of the water.
Men Stereotypes
However, breaking down stereotypes about men who dance is not where the game ends. Once you actually start dancing you can start breaking down stereotypes which live within yourself. Movement is a great tool for self growth and expression and allows each of us to explore and express emotions and parts of our personality which may have otherwise remained hidden.
Women Stereotypes
Ladies, now let’s check out our dancing stereotypes. A lot of the time we are encouraged to dance as little girls. Lots of us probably danced at home at family gatherings, or grew up with a certain kind of music, attended ballet classes, or were avid followers of Shakira. However, there are still many women out there who feel like they also have 2 left feet, and the very idea of dancing is enough to make them feel uncomfortable.
Because dancing is seen as more ‘normal’ for women, and an innate gift that we have, women with no dance background can often feel more intimidated by the thought of starting dance, as they feel like they should just naturally know how to do it.
Dance more often
The secret is you do know. As do men. However, dancing is a mind game just as much as it is a body game. The key is to make some space in your life for your dance practice, and slowly but surely start to trust your body’s wisdom as much as you trust your mind or intellect.
Be Unique!
Each person’s dance is a unique expression of themselves. As soon as you give yourself permission to explore that side of yourself, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
I spoke earlier about uncovering hidden parts of your personality within dance.
You can most definitely fast track this process if you are looking for even more of a personal challenge. For example, if you find that in general you are not a very assertive person, are very shy and don’t have a lot of ‘fire’.
Why not go for a really fiery style of dance? Try some hip hop or reggaeton or Dancehall? Let your body breakthrough the barriers of your mind, and pretty soon I am sure you will notice a change and greater confidence seeping into all aspects of your life.
Equally, if you are a generally high strung person with a high pressure corporate job and you find it hard to relax, why not try something high energy and fun like salsa? Or something soothing and oozy like kizomba? Think about what you want more of in your life, and find the class that best delivers this to you.
If you have been thinking about trying a dance class or two, but have found that you think you don’t fit the ‘dancer’ category. Think again. Dance is a universal language, here to be enjoyed, explored and danced by every body.