As humans we are generally social animals, we like to share experiences and enjoy social company. Sadly, these days there are many people who find it difficult to build a strong social network. I think this is partly because we all seem to spend a lot of time travelling to get to and from work, we are often not close to our family and of course work itself has become a more stressful element for many, with either too much or too little of it. And don’t forget that mums at home or grandparents are under stress, just of a different nature.
We’ve maybe forgotten or lost the art of how to communicate face to face; because of the great innovations in technology and the internet of things, it’s quite possible to never have to see someone face to face, you can get most of what you need without ever speaking to another human, well a lot of time anyway. Youngsters spend hours on computers and iPads or iPhones speaking to their ‘virtual’ friends, playing games and ‘virtually’ hanging out; but ask them to speak to someone face to face and they run a mile. Older generations can feel isolated too, rarely seeing their loved ones or friends in the flesh; the resulting loneliness can be insidiously demoralising and depressing. Couples stressed with everydayliving struggle to find time to do something just for them, something they can share and enjoy together.
The answer, well of course dancing is a great social experience. Dancers are friendly people, the experience of learning something together is a great bond, everyone appreciates the difficulties and wants to help others ‘get it’, they want to share the pleasure. You can learn to dance solo or as a couple or as a group and all variations provide a great opportunity to make friends with a common interest. The people who come to our classes in High Wycombe are from all walks of life. We have doctors and lawyers, teachers and dog walkers, store assistants and builders; new mums and grandparents, young couples and those celebrating big number anniversaries. On the dance floor, your background doesn’t register, everyone learns and helps each other willingly – it’s part of the reason that people find dancing such a powerful, long lasting social network.
Learning to dance is like learning a new language, you start with some very basic steps – the ‘Hello’ and ‘Good morning….’ just like those first language classes in French, German or Spanish in school or on holiday.
You learn the basic steps that enable you to get moving, and then you learn how to communicate with a partner – the invitation and the response. It’s that invitation and response which takes the time, it’s subtle and through practice it becomes quite beautiful. For anyone who wants to build a strong social network dancing is definitely work the effort.
I sometimes describe dancing as a meditation because people are concentrating so hard on moving their bodies not only in time to music but with their partners too that there is rarely much talk until the music or the teaching stops. Dancing is something you feel together as a couple or as a group, and when you get it, it is such a pleasure you just have to smile. As my first ever dance teacher used to say, ‘Forget everything and just dance….’ – in a stressful world, that saying is worth its weight in gold.
