Life Skills in Ballroom Dancing

markc

markc

Member
Does Ballroom Dancing teach "Life Skills" ? The obvious answer for most of us would be yes, of course. But the followup answer is not so easy... WHAT life skills are taught?

I'd like to write an article on this, so if you can give me your feedback it would be great.
 
Educators were big on dancing as a way to teach social skills. Without mining the numerous classic books I have, I offer this.

Ballroom dancing is also big on manners. Do you think there’s an etiquette crisis among today’s youth?

Dulaine: There’s a lack of civility in life. We are so insulated from each other. So many kids have cell phones, BlackBerrys; we are no longer hugging each other in life. The hold in ballroom dancing is called the embrace hold, and if we learn through ballroom dancing how to treat each other with respect, I think this is an incredible message.
http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/16562/

(and even this is dated! "Blackberrys" ? Last week I actually walked past two people hiking in the Columbia River Gorge with their cell phones in front of their faces)
 
fascination said:
perseverance
Click to expand...

Fasc got to it before I could, but I agree with this one. In my head, I've quit so many times and I keep going back. Just when I think I've made peace with the process, I find my nasty inner voice whispering to quit. I never listen. Mostly it's just ticked off that I can't "get it" immediately, but that's my own personal baggage at being a perfectionist.

So dance has helped me work to deal with those issues, too. (didn't say solve... lolololololol)
 
fascination said:
perseverance, humility, courage, cooperation, sensitivity
Click to expand...

IME, dancing calls for these skills/traits, but it doesn't teach them. It does provide many opportunities to practice them if you've learned them elsewhere.

On the other hand, I found that improv classes taught me a number of life skills that are especially useful in dancing, such as (in the jargon of the style of improv that I learned) "yes, and ...", not planning, making your partner look good, and playing high status.
 
fascination said:
perseverance, humility, courage, cooperation, sensitivity
Click to expand...

I agree with all of these. Having slogged through multiple knee injuries, and still managed to stay on the dance floor, I'd say Ballroom has taught me a lot. (Slow down when necessary, be open minded, keep the mental focus, and take advantage of the good times.) I've also noted a change in how I communicate and interact with people. There is less of an edge to me than before I started.
 
For me I have learned how to speak up if I hve a problem and not to just let it eat me up. I learnt to have confidence and take risks. I am shy so ballroom has helped and I am learning to be more confident in Latin and take risks not just play it safe.
 
fascination said:
perseverance, humility, courage, cooperation, sensitivity
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, single-word representation of ideas rarely convey substantial meaning, as
each person has a different interpretation of the words (based on one's life experiences).
It's like conveying the concepts of "dance" by just using words like "balance, timing, feeling,
technique, etc..

I'd suspect most dancers learn modesty rather than humility, partially because of the
nature of the activity...

http://completewellbeing.com/article/humility-vs-modesty/
 
Taught me about if I want something, go and get it! Whether it's talking to someone new, messaging, phoning or pushing forward for another practice round - it's no good just dreaming when there are so many options to move yourself forward.
 
All of the above, and I add musicality and rhythmic awareness, and learning not to take myself so seriously.
 
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