Dance, Dedication, and "Athletes"

This is my first attempt to blog something that I am only half-way knowledgeable about, which is to say, dance. Specifically, ballroom dance. I may decide to slightly brush over modern, hip-hop or ballet dancing at some point in the future, but for now, I will strict to "my genre" which is that of the Internation Standard and Latin ballroom dances.

To begin, let me get one thing out into the public domain which is the Internet: where is all the dedication going? I can't seem to keep a focused, dedicated partner during competition prep., save one were to count the likes of my sister (love ya, K-girl, but I don't know if you and I should be constantly dancing with each other). I have now been re-pursuing and re-dedicating myself to the fabulous world of DanceSport for a full year and I have yet to be paired with a girl who even comes close to matching my dedication level. Different excuses abound, but in the end, it's all the same... The female college student is too busy to "dance with me."

I have a theory; I hope not to offend any of my guy friends who also pursue dance, but the theory revolves around them, too. Most guys are not dedicated to the world of Ballroom Dancing. Plain and simple, most men SUCK when it comes to "artsy" things like Dance. We (myself included) would often rather watch March Madness or down a keg of beer while viewing the Super Bowl, then spend a few extra hours perfecting ourselves for an upcoming Dance competition. I know this; I understand this. Unfortunately, it seems that women also know this, but do not understand this.

The female, upon seeing the "un-dedicated" behavior of her male-counterpart, believes all men to be "uneducated and brutish" with "little desire for improvement." Thus, she becomes extremely discouraged. She even begins to lose motivation herself. In the end, she becomes as less-likely to take the DanceSport world seriously as the man that she so vehemently complains about.

And thus begins the downward spiral....

Enter a man such as myself. Upon seeing the "unmotivated" state of my fellow gender, I attempt to find the most dedicated woman who is willing to "take a chance" on me (difficult, as I current come in at a mere 5'5" and weigh slightly over 150 pounds). Most of the time, I am forced and content to pair off and compete with the slightly more than motivated woman; but it's fine, as that is always workable.

Now comes the kicker: these females (as I have had at least 4 partners since begin my sojourn) picture me to be on-par with my male cohorts, simply because I am a sports fan, occasionally crack slightly sensitive jokes, and enjoy "typical" male activities. Thus, they automatically begin their downward spiral, alone! When I begin to attempt to pull them out of it, it's too late; an addiction to school, work, pleasure, or (*gasp*) some other guy-friend has taken shotgun and forced our desires to compete to take a backseat.

While dancers may not be considered "athletes" by some people, I have news: this thing is a work out! We call it "DanceSport" for a reason!!! As a high school student, I played three sport: track, cross-country, and wrestling. During those four years, I rarely lost more than 5 pounds during a track/cross-country season, and would usually only lose 10-15 pounds during wrestling season (so little, since I didn't weigh more than 130 pounds until my senior year). However, as I finish my first year as a Ballroom Dancer, I have now managed to lose over 10 pounds! That's equal to most of my weight loss regime during difficult wrestling seasons!!! Does that mean anything to anybody?

In the end, the qualities that make a good, renowned athlete (strength, agility, endurance and dedication) also make for a winning Ballroom Dancer. I can't speak for any other genres of dance, but I can say that Ballroom needs to be considered a favorable athletic competition in the sporting world.