The benefits of dancing

[johnnywalker]

Just wanted to share some of the positive things I have gained from taking up dancing. These things have changed my life in many ways and probably my attitude as well.

- I met the lady who would be my wife
- I met the most wonderful group of people who I now call friends
- I'm healthier (although I could still work on that one)
- My social life is really good
- I overcame my procrastinating ways
- I have met other people who, although not close friends, have imparted some positive aspect through compliments, philosophies etc.
- My sense of rhythm has improved.
- I've learnt latin motion which was a bonus when I was single :D
- I found a forum where I don't get flamed on every post and everyone is friendly

Hope this doesn't come across as being too sickeningly sweet or too sensitive new age. It's just an expression of how I feel.

So what has dancing done for you?

[MacMoto]

Hope this doesn't come across as being too sickeningly sweet or too sensitive new age.
Not at all! My experience has been similar -- I've met some wonderful people, my social life has improved greatly, and I'm not only fitter and healthier but also happier. I feel younger, at ease with myself and am more confident and outgoing.
And, of course,
- I found a forum where I don't get flamed on every post and everyone is friendly
Love ya all, guys! :D :D :D

[cocodrilo]

I've met some nice people, have learned a fun, healthy new hobby(and profession) and feel good about helping to spread the word of latin dance in a culture which is traditionally known for it's shyness & reserve.

[D-spot]

Dancing is good for the sole and the soul.
D-spot

[Pacion]

Hope this doesn't come across as being too sickeningly sweet or too sensitive new age. It's just an expression of how I feel.

Thanks for sharing JW. Love does make soppy characters out of men :wink: Borrowing Boriken's term "Lady Love", I am glad that dancing helped you to find her. :D What is your wedding dance going to be?

[Genesius Redux]

Uh--y-y-ya get t' touch girls....uh huh uh huh uh huh! :mrgreen:

[TemptressToo]

For me...

1. I'm reconnecting with something I love. I used to LOVE to dance (ballet and jazz and freestyle) and had not danced in years (except techno).
2. I'm meeting INTERESTING people.
3. I'm learning something new (which is a craving of mine).

4. And most importantly...I'm getting KILLER legs. ;)

April

[johnnywalker]

For me...

4. And most importantly...I'm getting KILLER legs. ;)

April

You know, i'd have killer legs too...if only i'd shave them :D ...okay, so I lie. Perhaps we could all post pictures of our legs and then everyone can give them ratings.

[SDsalsaguy]

...why not send all the leg pics to DanceMentor so that we can post them, anonymously, and then we'll have a guessing game as to whose legs are whose? :lol:

[ShyDancer]

Uh--y-y-ya get t' touch girls....uh huh uh huh uh huh! :mrgreen:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:



I take it that you are talking about touching in a completey respectable manner young man!? :mrgreen:

[Genesius Redux]

Uh--y-y-ya get t' touch girls....uh huh uh huh uh huh! :mrgreen:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:



I take it that you are talking about touching in a completey respectable manner young man!? :mrgreen:

Depends on the lady, madame. Whether respectable or not, I should like such touching to be at least...cosmopolitan. :wink:

[ShyDancer]

Uh--y-y-ya get t' touch girls....uh huh uh huh uh huh! :mrgreen:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:



I take it that you are talking about touching in a completey respectable manner young man!? :mrgreen:

Depends on the lady, madame. Whether respectable or not, I should like such touching to be at least...cosmopolitan. :wink:


I can always count on you for a giggle to start my day off GR :D Thanks 8)

[Spitfire]

For me quite plain and simple; it has provided a great social and recreational outlet. This is all I ever asked for with my dancing. 8)

[johnnywalker]

"Pacion Thanks for sharing JW...What is your wedding dance going to be?

Sorry, i've not worded that well. We were actually married last year. Our wedding dance was a mixture of songs and dance styles because my wife and I wanted a representation of our individual tastes. I mixed snippets of a few songs and sound loops in Sound Forge and Cooledit. We ended up with a sound file from 2001: A Space Oddysey followed by Magic Carpet Ride, Basement Jaxx 'Do Your Thing' and finally Etta James 'At Last.'
The dances went from Hip Hop to a very short Mambo, Cha Cha, Jive and ended with a Waltz (with a dip in the end and a kiss).
We had a great time putting it together but was a little nervous when it came to the performance. I'm glad to say it went well.

[mellody43]

For me the benefits of dancing are ... :wink:

I get out of my HEAD and into my BODY. This is VERY hard for me and by golly, when I'm dancing, I feel liberated.

It's a workout -- but I get to look and feel sexy, PLUS get lots of male attention -- what could be better?

I get to wear stretchy sexy outfits I wouldn't wear otherwise!

I feel truly inspired by so much of the music. I listen to so much Latin music at home, it's a joke among my friends that if they come over it's like "world music" night.

When else can you flirt with your hips?

Melissa

[Sagitta]

Yes...dressing up... Am I a metrosexual :oops: Is it a good thing? :? :)

Yes...to the workout

And I'll agree with GR, I think, and talk of touch on a serious level. In American society a lot of people are starved from the lack of touching. Teachers cannot touch their pupils...I could go on and on. Dancing is one social acceptable means where one can touch. There is touching and touching, of course. One person whom I danced with was very comfortable getting as close as one could get. I'm talking of full body contact here, with grinding in merengue. She went here of her accord!! I swear! :wink: :) And before anyone says anything she is a single mom with children and there are no untoward intentions on anyones' part. She suddenly felt like dancing after a long absence and went all out.

[dancingdragon]

My experience has been similar -- I've met some wonderful people, my social life has improved greatly, and I'm not only fitter and healthier but also happier. I feel younger, at ease with myself and am more confident and outgoing.

Me too! I'd come to a town which is notoriously "cliquey" and insular, and I'd been struggling to make friends - a novel and unpleasant experience for me. But when I started dancing, the people in the studio were so friendly and welcoming, my circle of friends and my social life has really taken off and I'm happier and healthier on so many levels. It gets me out of the house and away from the TV/computer/sofa etc. Whenever anyone asks me about dancing, my enthusiasm is boundless because it's made such a difference in my life here. I can't rave about it enough. :oops: I guess dancing people are nice people - DFites especially! :kissme:

[cocodrilo]

Yeah, I like to wear sexy, stretchy stuff, and I wear it all the time. When dancing is the only time I don't get stared at or whistled at, which is nice.

Sagitta, I may be naive, but what is "metrosexual"? Is it a person who has sex on the metro?

:oops: clueless...................

[cocodrilo]

P.S. Sagitta-
Is America a society where teachers really can't touch their pupils? I teach at 3 colleges here, and I whack my students over the head with my dictionary from time to time...

[Sagitta]

P.S. Sagitta-
Is America a society where teachers really can't touch their pupils? I teach at 3 colleges here, and I whack my students over the head with my dictionary from time to time...

In all seriousness in many school districts you are forbidden to touch your pupils. I definitely know that this is a fact in the NYC public schools as I have teacher friends there. All this stems from this nonsense of sexual molestation etc etc. I think that things get carried a littel too far sometimes.

[SDsalsaguy]

In all seriousness in many school districts you are forbidden to touch your pupils. I definitely know that this is a fact in the NYC public schools as I have teacher friends there. All this stems from this nonsense of sexual molestation etc etc. I think that things get carried a littel too far sometimes.
Lets be careful with our word choices here. Sexual molestation is a heinous act in the extreme, and I'm actually shocked that you would use the word nonsense in conjunction with this topic. Does our society go over the top with rules and regulations? Sure it does. But the fault lies with the overly litigious nature of American society and not with anything directly related to the (appropriately) criminal act of sexual molestation.

[cocodrilo]

I read Sagitta's message to say that some people wrongly accuse others of molestation(i.e. sexual harrassment), thus he used the word "nonsense". Nonetheless, molestation is indeed a heinous crime. Over here, police officers, politicians and middle school teachers get a weak reprimandation for molesting someone, then they go back to being their own lewd selves again!

[Genesius Redux]

Well, I understand what Sagitta is getting at--we've subjected many forms of normal human interaction to such regulation and scrutiny in this country that it's nice to come to a free space where touch can happen as part of a genuine human connection.

My students touch me and even flirt with me all the time--but that's a bit unusual at a university. For some reason, women seem to find me safe. Grrr. :roll:

[KevinL]

For some reason, women seem to find me safe. Grrr.

Me too. Sucks doesn't it?

[Genesius Redux]

For some reason, women seem to find me safe. Grrr.

Me too. Sucks doesn't it?

Uh huh. Brother. Best friend. Father-Confessor. The one they call at 2 am because you're enough of a sucker to show up.

[Vince A]

The one they call at 2 am because you're enough of a sucker to show up.
Been there . . . done that! I learned lessons from such experiences!

The hard part of being a 2 am 'good guy' is knowing when not to take advantage of the situation. Some women are very vulnerable at this time . . . just had a fight with their SO . . . or just broke up with one . . . their So just cheated on them . . . and they are hurting and possibly out for revenge.

This is not a time to pacify your own urges . . . remember to be 'the man' that they called for.

[Sagitta]

My apologies for any misunderstanding. When using the word "nonsense" I was only referring to the litigious nature of American society and removing what I and many others would consider the role of touch as part normal human interaction.

[Genesius Redux]

The one they call at 2 am because you're enough of a sucker to show up.
Been there . . . done that! I learned lessons from such experiences!

The hard part of being a 2 am 'good guy' is knowing when not to take advantage of the situation. Some women are very vulnerable at this time . . . just had a fight with their SO . . . or just broke up with one . . . their So just cheated on them . . . and they are hurting and possibly out for revenge.


Tell me about it, man. So what you wind up doing is--"I'm not going to take advantage of you, you're vulnerable, you really need a friend," and you wait like the decent guy for them to pull it together.

And in the meantime, some other smarmy operating jerk slithers in and takes advantage, and you wind up getting called once more at 2 am....

You're lucky to be married, Vince. It ain't worth it out there:

"The best lack all conviction,
While the worst are full of passionate intensity."

[Sagitta]

I used to get it all the time as an RA and then a graduate student TA. Those 2 a.m. calls have become rare now. :)

[Genesius Redux]

I used to get it all the time as an RA and then a graduate student TA. Those 2 a.m. calls have become rare now. :)

Try hanging out with actresses. Or, for that matter, dancers. Ah, the drama! :roll:

[SDsalsaguy]

My apologies for any misunderstanding. When using the word "nonsense" I was only referring to the litigious nature of American society and removing what I and many others would consider the role of touch as part normal human interaction.
This I certainly agree with Sagitta.

And as for the whole being "safe" thing... add me to the list... :x

[Vince A]

Well, it seems to me, that if any of you ladies are out there looking . . . I must say that we have a few "real good men here on the DF" . . . and at least three of them are in these most recent posts. Of course, the best one is already taken, and besides, he's not one of the three :wink:

[Genesius Redux]

Well, it seems to me, that if any of you ladies are out there looking . . . I must say that we have a few "real good men here on the DF" . . . and at least three of them are in these most recent posts. Of course, the best one is already taken, and besides, he's not one of the three :wink:

Not planning to go Mormon, are ya, Vince? :wink: