Toronto Dance Article:
White Men Don't Dance

White men think dancing is funny. Girly. Embarrassing. Ask the average white male in Toronto to join your ballroom class and you’ll get a snicker and a refusal in none too subtle terms. The most commonly cited excuse is: Dancing is for girls and gay boys. But the crux of it is that Canadian men are supposed to play hockey, watch football and drink beer. White men don’t dance.

So who are all the girls dancing with at the dance classes and Toronto nightclubs? Well, some women have caught on to the disparity and have opted to learn the leader’s steps during lessons so that they can dance with other women at salsa clubs and ballroom parties. As for the rest of them, they’re dancing with the Asian men, the Afro-Caribbeans, the Eastern Europeans, and the odd Francophone Canadian. Did I mention Latinos? As far as I know, Latino men are not generally considered to be sissies. But maybe I’m wrong – next time you meet one, why don’t you ask him ... And correct me if I’m out of the loop, but Patrick Swayze isn’t exactly femme, despite his flamboyant performance in Dirty Dancing.

The point I am trying to make is that there is something else that really frightens Canadian men. If pressed, most men will eventually admit that the reason they won’t take dance class is because they might make a fool of themselves. They are so terrified of not being able to impress the girls with their salsa moves, they’re so scared to mess up and be rejected. They think that going to dance class is like going to those trendy gyms where you have to look smokin’ in hot pink spandex before you can set foot on their treadmill. What they forget is that everybody is a beginner at some point, and by joining a beginner class, everybody is in the same boat. Besides, beginners are so busy worrying about their own steps that they really don’t have time to criticize your cha-cha style or your swing timing. Surprising, I know, but true nevertheless.

And by the way, women like dancers. Firstly they like having someone to dance with, secondly they think men are sexy when they dance, and thirdly, they respect a man who can shed the peer pressure and just do what he enjoys. So, unless they realize that dance classes are for everyone and start cashing in on the dearth of male dancers, white men are doomed to stay on the margin of the dance floor, slouching on a bar stool drinking a beer. Mmmmm, sexy.

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Toronto Dance Article:White Men Don't Dance

Toronto Dance Article:
White Men Don't Dance