Ballroom's Place in Society

[chrislo]

I agree with Ice Bucket that here in the UK dancing is not that universal. Strictly here has made a difference. In the schools that I'm involved with there has been a rise in men learning to dance. We have had classes where we are short of women. The effect is small and most dancers tend to be middle aged and upwards. My daughter learned to dance for a while but neither of my sons could be persuaded.

Over here though the single dance clubs like Salsa, Argentine Tango and Ceroc/Leroc have also brought people back to ballroom. Leroc is relatively easy and so gets people in and dancing. I think like the ballroom schools the population is starting to age.

Unfortunately for ballroom dancing when strictly sends a couple out to dance a bit with "ordinary people" it is either at a Salsa club or a Tea Dance. It's a shame that they cant get out and film some of the places that us ordinary social dancers go which would show that it's not all the Tea Dance style.

 

[opendoor]

In Germany the sixteen-year-olds still nourish the BR dance studios. Only a really small amount will stick to BR, later. It´s simply a ritual like driving licences, confirmation... So numbers count.

Club dances (tango, salsa, swing) work well.

Hip hop (break dance) really brought a turn to the better and could help binding the kids to the BR studios. Very often the hip hop chapter safeguards the future of BR studios.

... Dancing on TV also did not change the numbers appreciably (as far as I know anyway) but had an impact on styling and vocabulary of BR dancing. No longer the licked and competition-adapted or flamboyant man is linked to BR but the unconventional choreographer who cocks a snook at the fastidious judges.

 

[Wannabee]

Actually I think not only has the DWTS allure worn off, but I have started to see a bit of negative impact recently...

I will always appreciate DWTS because it did give me the courage to call up my local BR dance studio and start lessons, so it's hard to argue that it had no positive impact on ballroom dancing (at least 3 years ago). Sticking with it the past 3 years was all up to me of course. But the show got me in the door.

As to it having a negative impact, that is possibly true in that I really had no expectations that my experience would be ANYTHING like the show. For someone who goes in with that type of expectation, they would likely be sorely disappointed and may blame the show or others like it. And it would be hard for them to appreciate the journey of learning to dance when all they see is gong show like eliminations.

But overall, I think DWTS and SYTYCD are good for ballroom dancing. Like they always say, "there's no such thing as bad exposure". For the most part, I agree with that.

 

[Mr 4 styles]

I think DWTS and SYTYCD are good for ballroom dancing

agree enrollment in studios seemed torise in our are by up to 20% then the economy tanked but the symphonies and operas suffered the losses more as people saw the multiple benefits of ballroom dancing

 

[debmc]

I think dancing in general is still very commonplace. People still flock to nightclubs to dance to current music on packed dance floors. They choose to "freestyle" though, and not to partner dance... probably because it is simply easier to move to a song you like, then it is to take lessons and learn the various ballroom dances. DWTS has brought ballroom vocabulary to the main stream, so people know terms like "paso doble" and "foxtrot", but sadly, don't truly know what the dances look like as they are more of a show dance format on DWTS. Nevertheless, DWTS and recent ballroom focused movies resulted in peaking my interest and getting me to the studio, for which I am etenally grateful!

 

[Sagitta]

Actually I think not only has the DWTS allure worn off, but I have started to see a bit of negative impact recently. The campiness of the show is starting to grind on people, and comparing it to The Gong Show can't be a compliment.

That's my feeling. I never really watched much of these shows. What inspires me are those friendly social ballroom dancers.

 

[fascination]

right...I used to have people reference the elegance of ballroom and refer to the pbs showings of ohio...now it is always about dwts and never in a way that conveys that aspect of ballroom

 

[BreAna]

I think ballroom would be more popular if more people knew about it. For most people on my campus, the concept of ballroom dancing brings about images of stuffy and prudish dancing to a lame and cartoony imitation of 18th century music, dancing with the stars, or our grandparents. I've started a ballroom club on my campus this year and while I've been advertising, I was telling an acquaintance about it (he seemed ever so interested - don't they all when they want something?) and when I said he should come try it out, his response was "I - I'm not gay..." as if he literally thought ballroom dancing = gay. That's probably a stereotype more popular in my age group though. I've noticed that any guys who are into salsa/bachata/merengue don't think ballroom is "gay" and view partner dancing as a way to meet women.

Most people just don't know what it's really about. DWTS gives a bit of a clue, but it's becoming a parody of itself at this point. One of my professors today asked me if I owned a victorian style outfit (he was under the impression that ballroom dancing is like social dances from a few hundred yrs ago) and I tried to explain what ballroom is really like, relating to DWTS at some points, and he was like "oh! so you mean it's actually athletic and competitive?"

The only way that modern ballroom is going to be understood by the masses is if they're exposed to it, and in order for that to happen, it needs to either be forced upon them (ex: taught in school) or communicated through the media (like DWTS).

 

[vit]

No quite sure about that. For example, there are 3 salsa schools in my town and lots of young people are attending salsa classes. All three salsa schools also have social ballroom classes - but almost nobody of those people dancing salsa is interested in it (only some of their parents came to those ballroom classes)

 

[sudoplatov]

From reading the "academic literature" on dancing (check Amazon or Google for some excepts), the academic world (outside of the music and phys ed departments) seems to think that "ballroom" is a "white" activity. Also there are some explicit comments on rhythm and latin dancing implying that the "white participants" want to feel like they are acting "latin" or "black" or whatever. In my days as a professor, I criticized such attitudes as being ignorant of what actually happens in the "real" (non academic) world. I stand by my comments of those days.

Most of the places that I dance are filled with older people (even older than me and I've been retired for years.)

 

[opendoor]

From reading the "academic literature" on dancing (check Amazon or Google for some excepts), the academic world (outside of the music and phys ed departments) seems to think that "ballroom" is a "white" activity...

Hi sudoplatov, and do you think what sticks in these heads only reflects the historic development ( BR indeed stems from european higher society or middle-class activities) or actually resembles what BR is like today?

Also there are some explicit comments on rhythm and latin dancing implying that the "white participants" want to feel like they are acting "latin" or "black" or whatever. ...I criticized such attitudes as being ignorant of what actually happens.

Sorry I´m no native speaker, so ..
did you criticize the assumption mentioned in those comments or did you criticize all dancers adopting and incorporating stylistic elements directly?

 

[debmc]

I am certainly not a dance historian, but I think many of the ballroom dances.. if you include rhythm/latin, originated from Cuba ( chacha, rumba), Brazil ( samba), Argentina ( tango) and I think jive/swing originated in the US.

 

[debmc]

Didn't chacha evolve from mambo?

 

[debmc]

Oh, I see. It is described as a dance of cuban origin, but perhaps that is because it was based on mambo, which is a dance of cuban origin?

 

[debmc]

I can't figure out how to use quote feature on the new DF... but I was just trying to point out to opendoor that ballroom has had a variety of influences and origins, as he stated in his post that ballroom stems from european and middle class societies. I wonder if the history of these dances were better known, perhaps they would have broader appeal.