I would like to propose that dancing should made compulsory, that there is a dance suitable for everyone to enjoy, whatever their age and fitness level.
That was the theme of my latest Toastmasters speech at Cambridge Speakers’ Club last night.
I mentioned how Strictly Come Dancing was one of my favourite programmes, that dancing would help improve our health and well being, boost our social life and interaction, and encourage us to lose weight – especially the obese. It is also very uplifting.
You can read it hear, and learn who I would love to dance with Paso Doble with.
I still feel nervous when making speeches, but am becoming more confident and feel I have improved considerably since my ice breaking speech. This is a great club to join and learn with. My personal challenge is to ad lib more rather than writing a speech and learning it off by heart.
I was particularly impressed when one of my fellow Toastmasters told me she agreed with every word – and then headed off to her tango class. If only I had taken my dancing shoes with me ….
Ellee I agree with you on this one… and wish i could dance,I always feel clumsy and heavy while i want to be quick light and nimble. when i was young i did go to ballroom dancing lessons trouble was it was all girls and being tall i was always made to dance the boys steps…
One day i will go for lessons but for now i have Geoff to teach which i rather enjoy 🙂
that should read i have Geoff to teach me…
What a great theme! And I agree with you too Ellee.
This has got me thinking about social interaction and a while ago people used to dance, close together and in beautiful rythm, and date – more than one at a time until a special person was decided upon and they were ‘going steady’. Nowadays, far from being closer together we seem to be further apart. What I mean is that any dating seems to be assumed ‘serious’ (or that serious no longer exists) and we dance apart until the slow dances (do they still have those?) which in my day they used to call ‘the grinders’ for obvious reasons. Then just being accompanied home seems to hold an expectation of sex. Sex which should be the most intimate sharing of souls is reduced to a modern social dance.
Elle – I’m obviously just very old-fashioned. Or am I? I can’t think of anything more sexy and exciting than dancing the tango (actually I like the Rumba) with a Man who knows what he’s doing. I hate having to lead.
The club sounds fab too – wish I lived in Cambridge!
Today we must dance for tomorrow we may die
I agree. Dancing shouuld be taught in schools. Even with the popularity of shows like Strictly Come Dancing very few young people know how to dance – and look at the sexy opportunities they’re missing!
Philipa – a pity you don’t live near Cambridge, you could join in the tango classes, I’m sure the men there would know how to lead.
Liz, there was a time country dancing was taught in schools, I don’t suppose that is the case any more. Certainly modern dancing could be taught as an after-school class, even if a professional dancer is paid to come in and take the class.
I want to add that when we had a French school exchange visit for 11 -year-olds, we held a disco and the French boys knew how to dance with the French girls, how to hold them close, they did not feel at all shy, while their English counterparts felt very shy and uncomfortable and just laughed at the young French people who had so much confidence – and knew how to dance.
I agree , Ellee. When I was at school, dancing was taught and it was awful! The boys raised to the girls when given the word by a teacher and we had to do all these atrocious dances like the “Gay Gordons”. [Those were the days – imagine the rection you’d get if used the term in a classroom now!] All the girls were taller than the boys at that stage of our lives and you lived in terror of not being chosen. Hopefully it would be handled more sensitively these days and we’d learn more fun dances. I took up line dancing when I was 53 and it was great.
I agree; I have always wanted to dance, but never been able to.
Compulsory??? That sounds a bit too Stalinist/Johnreidist for my liking…
Cheezy, it’s meant to be tongue in cheek! But thought provoking too.
Yeah, I kinda thought you were… although having said that, I seem to recall at my own school, none of the physical education ‘options’ were, um, optional! (and that included dancing for a few weeks – I think I was ‘sick’ quite often that summer!).