Post: #1

I've taken courses in some ten different types of dance, including dances some here might find effeminate or gay like ballet and belly dance (yes, you read that correctly) and more neutral ones like jazz and modern. Pair dancing is something that I really dislike as I don't like to be responsible for someone else's movement and salsa and other dances based on tiny steps and a bit of wiggling of the knees annoy me greatly as I'm much more of a flamboyant athletic type and like larger movements.

It's been quite a few months since I had my last class due to injuries, doing martial arts and other obligations but I still wonder if I should return and make an effort to stick to one or two forms of dance for a longer period of time to see more improvement (I was thinking something along the lines of hip hop and ballet). What I like about dancing is you don't have to deal with other people's egos and it can be used and expressed in many venues unlike almost all other physical hobbies. What I dislike about it is the high prices and relatively little instruction you get for your buck, which is why dancing is not suitable for long term fitness but it's more the skill I'm after.

At the moment I notice that I'm less akward on the floor in clubs than the average guy and though the courses I took were very challenging and very fast paced (which made stuff like kickboxing seem like a joke in comparison given how every little movement was drilled out carefully) I did manage to pick up some moves that can serve as tell-tale signs of experience to other people who have the eye for it. I can also tell if a girl has done a particular form of dance in the club and it has helped me open them.
I'm still far from impressive though and do wonder if the effort and money would be well spent relative to something cheaper and more simpler like martial arts. I'm just recently almost recovered from a serious injury and need to make some decisions fast.

I would like to hear from guys who have danced seriously for at least a year or more (no latin dances or other paired stuff).

Post: #2

I talked about it here. Plenty of information that you could find useful.

Post: #3

A man who can dance well is universally considered more attractive. Biologically it evidences good neuromuscular health. Takesomecrime probably gets laid like crazy. Kickboxing -- where are you going to demonstrate that? Carry on and get awesome at dancing.

Post: #4

Thanks for the replies so far. My biggest insecurity regarding dancing has to do with measuring progress; I'm perhaps not very quick to notice subtleties in a person's movement and when I go on YouTube and watch a dance video it's always filled with people commenting on how crap it was unless it shows some dance celebrity and I can hardly tell the difference. I believe this is the thing with talent shows too; they feature men and women who amaze the amateur judges with their flexibility and athletism and may not know a whole lot about dancing in itself; they just hop around for a moment and rely on gymnastics tricks to keep the interest going. It would be interesting to know if anyone has practiced a disciplined dance sport, been frustrated and simply come to a realization one day that they suddenly had the technique down? This is probably the easiest to measure in ballet or other dances where the rules are strict and far more difficult to do in the case of street dancing where freedom of expression is far more accepted. This can lead to confusion in club dancing obviously as you can have animated guys taking up space, throwing their feet around in a fervor and be lauded for it despite complete lack of real training or knowledge; I find these guys quite annoying. With dance being an art first and a sport second, this scenario is rendered possible and in pro-wrestling it would be kind of like comparing the Ultimate Warrior to Bret Hart or Curt Hennig; with the former representing a good looking animated guy with little skill and the latter a slightly less flashy performer with more technical knowledge and an air of earned calm.

My other beef with is that dance courses tend to be a once in a week commitment while you can go to a MMA/boxing club most days of the week with near identical costs and it is not very hard to tell when you're improving.

Post: #5

Dancing can simply help you to get slimmer, attractive, flexible and disease free body and it simply helps in maintaining good health without any hard exercise and side effects. You can also take help from different type of dances forms to maintain body metabolism and normal blood sugar and blood pressure levels.