Dancing in your seventies, etc. what's your take

M

maxicat123

New Member
My hubby and I disagree, even though he doesn't dance now either. And I know many, many people will not agree with me here. However, I think anyone who looks elderly looks ridiculous dancing to - for example, a Madonna song (or pick any pop song from around that time. ) Now if I see people my age waltzing, I think they look so elegant. But many times, hubby and I go to community happenings in the city and a rock band is playing and elderly people start dancing to the tune....to me it looks pathetic. Hubby says oh, they're just having fun. What do you all think?
 

Between general awkwardness and shyness I just never learned to dance properly and honestly I didn't try. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it in others, and to be honest I was probably always a bit jealous.

If it makes people happy I'm all for it.
 

Have been a dancer all my adult life. You are of course right about how many adults, not only seniors, negatively look aesthetically when they dance. Heck even so if one only counts the minority of those with healthy BMIs.

Most of that reflects a lack of time and experience dancing that of course rates low on the activity list of most adults especially men, that are more likely to be content going to the gym plus maybe playing some sport or outdoor activity or video games. Also, unless a man in most cultures already dances well, many if not indoctrinated growing up, would prefer to stay clear of moving into that mature social world. Where that especially differs today is ethnically in the Hip Hop and Breakdancing worlds where higher percentages in that young adult culture dance.

The less one performs whatever, the less smooth and natural one will be. It is all about neural plasticity creating and refreshing motor neural connections. Same thing with skiing. But with both skiing and dancing, if the person doing so but maybe not looking too impressive while just having smiling fun, maybe with a few drinks somewhere where there is a lively happy vibe, then more a thumbs up to them. And more likely where live music is playing.

Of course people realize this, so there are many men today that rarely if ever dance and are fine with that. If they do, no big deal to look less than smooth. The rest of us ought not expect them to get out of their comfort zone socially in public. But if they do, that is fine too and at any level can be fun. This person can freestyle dance anywhere to a wide range of music. People banging sticks against logs at a beach. Fine, no problemo, bare feet in the sand. Whatever. In fact, I've danced so much especially after retiring given no 8-5 m-f weekly mentally draining workdays, that it flows out like second nature smoothly.

I can also dance without any music at all playing though at a slower beat, and do so casually urban street walking aerobic dance exercising. Also do so to head phone music others cannot hear, so they hardly pay any attention to me. Same thing with walking cross country through natural terrain or skiing. I've made so many thousands of steps, taken so many ski turns, that following ones moment to moment crank out much like mindless daydreaming while relaxingly driving a car on a rural road.

This dance thread gives me yet another excuse to post the below link to this impressive group tap dance versus Irish Step dance performance. My input herein is when dancers are dancing like that, in the Zone, it can be to them, one of the most exhilaratingly, amazing whole human body visceral motor experiences one might imagine. And as @hollydolly related "...I take exception in being told I look ridiculous dancing to music from the 80", those of we seniors that have kept dancing through our adult lives and are still reasonably fit and athletic, can still dance near high levels smoothly, those of any age would envy.

For the last century from those in the 1920s, some people both in gender pairs and freestyle, have danced to faster beat music, not for show to others, but rather because it feels so excitingly fun. Why do so many people dance at Hip Hop concerts or House raves, or Grateful Dead rock shows? Why do some rock stars like Mick Jagger, love to dance? Why do people love huge music concerts with thousands of happy people going nuts on their feet? It is about fun folks and for that public approval matters little.

 
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I think dancing is wonderful, any age, any style, in senior people itā€™s a sign of being young at heart, still having a sense of fun, and nobody elseā€™s business

Keep dancing !
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I danced into my 70s, and even was complimented, but I
only danced ballroom style, holding on to my partner, my
effort was the quickstep, until the joints got rusty and the
muscles got weary after a short time.

Never did the Jive, or Rock and Roll, I did try a few times,
but I was a bit rubbish at them, so I stuck to what I could
do and not make a fool of myself.

Mike.
 
My parents made me take ballroom dancing classes in my early teens, convinced that it was a social grace useful to me in life. I can still remember sweating in a jacket and tie in that stifling auditorium back in the days before air conditioning was everywhere. Decades later, Iā€™m still waiting to demonstrate my mastery of the waltz, cha-cha, and fox trot, the last of which came naturally to me, anywaysā€¦

Iā€™m with Phil Collins nowā€¦

 
maxicat123 said:
My hubby and I disagree, even though he doesn't dance now either. And I know many, many people will not agree with me here. However, I think anyone who looks elderly looks ridiculous dancing to - for example, a Madonna song (or pick any pop song from around that time. ) Now if I see people my age waltzing, I think they look so elegant. But many times, hubby and I go to community happenings in the city and a rock band is playing and elderly people start dancing to the tune....to me it looks pathetic. Hubby says oh, they're just having fun. What do you all think?
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I agree with the two opinions.
1. People who are elderly can appear to look ridiculous dancing. Case in point, the Golden Bachelor dance scenes.

2. It's great if people continue to enjoy dancing into their later years. They're doing it for themselves not as a display of their attractiveness. Attractiveness when dancing is accidental throughout people's lives. If you got it, it shows. If you've lost it due to age, it's no fault of your own.
 
Dancing can't be about how others view you, but how You feel when you do it. I don't have the balance to be on an actual dancefloor, might fall flat on my face, but at home, where I have a table to hold on to if I need it, I dance with abandon & let it rip!

When I was real young, it was how I looked to others. That ruined dancing for me for a long time. You can't enjoy dancing if you are self-conscious.
 
I've seen 20 yr olds who may look ridiculous to some, and I've seen 75 olds who may be viewed that way by some, and granted some are indeed better than others, but if they're having a good time, I say the purpose isn't to impress others, it's to enjoy and let your body respond to music. Go for it.
 
Gemma said:
Mark Twain said, ā€œDance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth.ā€
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I have a hard time believing that Mark Twain wrote or said that. That's a modern saying that's been around for quite awhile..

The internet is full of quotes they attribute to Mark Twain that ain't necessarily true.

Just like the meme that attributes the quote, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet ", to Abraham Lincoln.
 
It is surprising how few know any of the basic steps like the box step (waltzes) or polka, given how easy it would be to get free lessons on the internet. Then another easy dance for Country-type slower 3-beat songs is the Two-step. And the basic swing dance is very similar to the two step and is great for big band music.

And I donā€™t think elderly people doing these dances look ridiculous. In fact, I think most young folks look on with just a bit of envy! I donā€™t know if there is anything as nice to look at as an 80+ yr old couple dancing together.
 
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maxicat123 said:
My hubby and I disagree, even though he doesn't dance now either. And I know many, many people will not agree with me here. However, I think anyone who looks elderly looks ridiculous dancing to - for example, a Madonna song (or pick any pop song from around that time. ) Now if I see people my age waltzing, I think they look so elegant. But many times, hubby and I go to community happenings in the city and a rock band is playing and elderly people start dancing to the tune....to me it looks pathetic. Hubby says oh, they're just having fun. What do you all think?
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I agree with your husband looking good at it shouldnā€™t be a requirement of having fun dancing.
 
OldFeller said:
I have a hard time believing that Mark Twain wrote or said that. That's a modern saying that's been around for quite awhile..

The internet is full of quotes they attribute to Mark Twain that ain't necessarily true.

Just like the meme that attributes the quote, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet ", to Abraham Lincoln.
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That may be a possibility @OldFeller. However, I like the saying whomever said it. If one isn't moving, you might as well be dead.
 
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