Dancing not only for the stars
by Rodney Magazinovic
The final episode of Dancing with the Stars enthralled 2.34 million
Australian TV viewers as Ian Roberts and Tom Williams battled it out for
victory. Two men being the focus of a dance floor is a far cry from the
usual weekend pub night with blokes on the sidelines checking out the
ladies.
Yet according to Dr Susan Luckman and Jeff Meiners, UniSA lecturers and members of the University’s Cultures of the Body research group, the reasons for this about-face have as much to do with body image and cultural changes as a TV-led dance fad.
The popularity of television shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Strictly Dancing reflect Australian society’s recent embrace of partner dance culture. On any given weekend people are going out to learn how to dance, and not just the traditional foxtrot or two-step either – Latino and Rock‘n’Roll dance classes are all proving extremely popular. However, many dance teachers are finding that it is still a problem getting men along to classes, with women wanting to join often instructed to ‘bring your own fella’ to ensure that everyone has a partner.
Part of the problem with dance for the majority of men is the way that they perceive it. The traditional male attitude that ‘dancing is a girl thing’ still pervades the odd sporting team locker room.
Meiners believes that experiences at a young age with traditional partner dancing in the schooling curriculum also may have turned off many men, particularly if they have been taught badly.
According to Meiners many men don’t consider dancing a form of exercise. But he has hopes that with Federal Government concerns about health and obesity, dancing will gain more recognition among males as a healthy alternative to a dob of the footy in the park with the boys.
Dr Luckman agrees that one of the potentially attractive aspects of dancing is its value as a social way to maintain fitness.
“Most men have an overall desire to keep fit,” she says. “You can’t keep playing football all your life – so when men get into their thirties a lot of them will have to start thinking about alternative exercise regimes. Dance could be a serious option for health and fitness in the same way that yoga, pilates and other forms of exercise are becoming more acceptable fitness options.”
Currently researching the area of the contemporary role and prevalence of social dance in working age Australians, Dr Luckman believes that positive role models such as Ian Roberts (a former rugby player) and Tom Williams (a carpenter) will help men become more accepting of dance culture.
“To have a role model out there such as Tom Williams, who is an attractive male, will possibly be embraced by the new ‘metrosexual’ culture where men are placing more emphasis on their outward presentation and how they look,” she says.
“Men are now being looked at in the same way that women were traditionally looked at. One of the potentially good things to come out of this is that men may be more prepared to give new things, like dancing, a go.”
Meiners also believes that dance offers some unique forms of social interaction that make it attractive to men.
“People may be getting bored with the standard courtship rituals,” Meiners says.
“Partner dancing allows you to touch people and engage with the body and it’s really quite confronting – it’s a way of engaging strangers in public in a way that’s not acceptable in so many other contexts.”
Dancing with the Stars has demonstrated that anyone, no matter what their level of fitness, age or girth, can be trained to a competent level (as Derryn Hinch and John Wood demonstrated) and this may give hope to even the shyest Aussie bloke with two left feet. And what of the future popularity of dance culture? Meiners believes that while the success of Dancing with the Stars may wane in the coming years, its impact on male culture will continue in the longer term.
“The popularity of dancing with men will continue to grow as men’s role in society continues to change. The kind of images we are seeing on television today will definitely lead to more men dancing in the future,” he says.
Tango anyone?