Ok. This is from personal experience and I’m sure all you dancing freaks out there will be able to relate. If you know me, you know that I am a dancing fool. I don’t show off or anything (check out this post about dance show offs). I’m just enjoying myself. If the music is good, I’ll move to it. That’s about as simple as it gets.

Now, I may look better while I’m dancing than most people on the dance floor. I also know it may look intimidating. Plus I’m not dead in the middle doing my thing; I’m usually off to the side somewhere. People still come up to me, which is cool. First, I get a compliment like “you are such a good dancer” and then right after that sentence, I get one of the following:

1. “Can you teach me?“ My answer is simply No. We’re not in a studio. I’m not even a dance instructor. I don’t mind giving you a couple of pointers but that’s about as far as it goes. There’s loud music playing. I’m not going to say 5-6-7-8 just so you can learn how to move your feet. That’s why they’re your feet; you move them.
2. “I can’t do what you do/ I can’t keep up with you.“ To which I say, nobody asked you to do what I do. We can dance together without doing a full on routine. I’m not spinning on my head or anything either. We’re not battling either. You have your space. I have mine. Yet we can still dance together by just playing off each other. It makes it more fun that way. We don’t even have to touch and following the random movement of an ass with my pelvis is not that appealing to me either.
3. “I’m white. I can’t dance.“ This has to be the biggest and lamest excuse of all. I know that there’s this notion that the darker the skin is, the better the dance skills are. I’ve seen black people with no rhythm whatsoever. I’ve seen white folks break it down on the dance floor. I’m sure there’s some truth to it but don’t reinforce a stereotype and use it as an excuse. Don’t blame the fact that you don’t dance on your skin color. Just say you don’t feel like it or that you don’t like the song or that you’re not drunk enough but your skin color does not determine your dancing abilities. So enough with that bullshit already!
4. “Dude, why don’t you dance with that girl over there? She’s jamming!“ First of all, who the fuck are you? My agent? That guy is everywhere and he seems to always have my best interest at heart. Just because you don’t have the balls to go talk to her does not give you the right to come interrupt me while I’m dancing and help you compensate for your shortcomings. I do appreciate the compliment but I’m fine where I’m at. If I am ever desperately in need of someone to dance with, you will definitely give you a shout. Do you work for a talent agency? Do you have a card I can take? You seem to know a lot about partnering people you obviously don’t know yourself.
5. “Watch this!“ I’m not going to elaborate too long about this one. I’ve already expanded on this topic in a previous post. But briefly, this is not So You Think You Can Dance. Nigel is not going to come out from the other side of the bar and tell you how great of a dancer you are. There’s no competition happening here. If you want to challenge me at dancing to show that you got moves, that’s fine. But don’t be cocky about it. We can all have fun without the animosity. Actually, I don’t even like dance circles (kinda ironic, huh?) because it takes away other people’s fun. People who were dancing now have to stop to make way for you. People who wanted to get on the dance floor now see their motivation shattered. Now the atmosphere has changed. Actors are now spectators. The club stands still while 2 people get to move around. Why? Because you chose to make a scene. Because you had to prove something. Or simply because you like to be the center of attention. Sorry, dude. I don’t care.
6. “Show me some moves!“ So you want me to dance for your entertainment while you just stand there and watch? What am I? A monkey? Sorry, I don’t dance on command. Plus I’m not trying to impress you; I just do my thing. And if you’re not even going to move along with me, you should have just stopped at “you are such a good dancer“. Now you’re just annoying.

I believe that dancing is a form of personal expression. People move to music differently; you know why? Because people are different! Some people dance in the morning while brushing their teeth. You see people jam out in their car at the red light. Some people dance in the dressing room of a clothing store while trying on a new outfit.

However in a social environment like a bar, they are concerned about other people looking at them. They are self-conscious of what they look like when they dance. So they need that extra push whether it’s alcohol, a specific song or a group of friends. I guess the goal is to recreate that personal urge to dance in a social context. Just let the music take over your body and it will act on its own. You’ll be surprised what you can do. But most of all, forget the people around you; let them stand there and you go enjoy yourself. And if you need someone to dance with, I can refer you to someone who can definitely hook you up.

See ya on the dance floor! Well, at least, catch me in the corner![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]