Why Is Dancing So Stupid?

That Shuffle dance style as well as the Footloose and Uptown Funk videos @Imogene posted all use the same basic bilateral creature body elastic rebounding movements we also use in skiing when making short turns, right to left, back and forth, side to side, over and over. Dancers were using such movements long ago, especially jazz, tap, Charleston dancers from the 1920s era and using substances that enhanced their ability to viscerally feel their body better to do so that is the opposite of what alcohol does. People danced so, not for some gender mating purpose or to show off like entertainers, but rather because dancing so was internally, viscerally exhilarating fun.

I lived a year in downtown San Francisco 1970 and 1971 when Bill Graham's Fillmore West was at its peak with world class touring rock bands playing 4 to 5 nights a week into the wee hours and just $7 to get into that Carousel Ballroom at Market and Van Ness. A lot of us were free style dancing with variations of those dynamic bilateral styles at stage right in the venue. That all changed about 1975 with the rise of Disco and punk and a change to alcohol and harder substance usage with those old freestyle dance styles only surviving with followers of the Grateful Dead.

Years later, Hip Hop and Break dancers picked up the bilateral style that is also dynamic rebounding freestyle. The recent shuffle dance style has been somewhat influenced by the rise in Europe and Asia of numbers of video arcade dance machines like Dance Dance Revolution. Today that shuffle dance style is being picked up by some DJ House rave music enthusiasts though most of those people don't understand it. They sometimes mob around me trying to figure out what I am doing.

The key thing with any body movements, is the more one repeats correct body movements, the more neural connections form in one's motor brain via neural plasticity, leading to being able to do whatever smoothly, naturally, without thinking. That is why I can ski recreational mogul fields so easily that few others of any age can. I've been doing so every winter for decades, thus have massive motor brain connections for doing that. Just like a fast finger typist that has been typing or a musician playing guitar for years. As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect".

So you non-dancers, get up on your feet and look at some of those how to shuffle dance videos then alone at home, start repeating those basic slower movements while simulataneous listening to one's favorite music, over and over, and over time such will become smooth and natural. Without making the movements, one will never train one's motor system controlled by one's cognitive brain executive pilot by simply thinking about or knowing how to make movements as one's muscles must also be repetitively engaged learning to sync to music beats, over and over and over to make new neural connections for doing so.
 
Last edited:
As a single man, I enjoy dancing with the ladies. It’s not something I want to do all night, but it’s good exercise, it can be fun, especially some of the line dances. I have met a lot of single women dancing, which turned into several dates later.

It’s a good way to meet others of the opposite sex, especially if you are from out of the area.
 
To make a public YoutTube video, I could easily dance in front of all those gals dancing to Thriller adding something of value. When Jackson began dancing in his style, my first reaction was that he was one of us, though with his own new unique style, that had been bilaterial freestyle dancing just like all those before carrying a lot of dynamic mass momentum to help rebounding elastic rapid lower body movements.

Something this person is not used to, is copying someone's choreographered dance movements, Like in the Thriller video, as I tend to get carried away into my own 3-dimensional movements without paying enough consistent attention to group movements.
 
Imogene said:
@OneEyedDiva that is great video, especially knowing what represents ❤️❤️

For not being professional dancers they were really great at staying in sync🤸🏾‍♀️🤸🏾‍♀️
Click to expand...
I'm glad you enjoyed it Imogene. I agree. Whoever thought of it deserves kudos. I wonder how they coordinate rehearsal time. They must do it, at least a couple of times. I've noticed from their videos that it's not always the same exact group.
 
I can see the shuffle dance resemblance to the Mashed Potatoes, but it's much more complex. It may (or may not) have had it's origins from some former Mash Potato enthusiast, but it's not the same.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top