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Why, I Say, White People Can't Dance (And, Yes, It has to Do with Race/Culture/Rhythm, Appreciation, & Respect)

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Shayna or Sheness Israel's picture

Introduction

For me, saying white people can't dance has nothing to do with the typical answer that they don't have rhythm. I think the reason for it includes some parts of that, but also something more systemic or structural - race relations and learning cultural contexts.

Dancing is a language (in the way we think of, respond to and through language). Its movements are its words and its grammar is its rhythm. Don't get it twisted; rhythm and grammar are really one in the same. The dictionary defines rhythm as the procedural aspect of a beat or flow.[1] Procedural means the rules and regulations. There are rules and regulations for grammar (i.e. sentences have to have a subject and a verb: She cried.) Again dance is a language—means of expression. It probably is the most articulate form of body language. The analogy I am making here is that the body language we use when talking is also language, but it is what would be comparable to everyday speech. A dance move is comparable to a well-formed speech or lecture. Lastly, a dance performance is comparable to a paper, essay, poem, novel, book, etc.

By all of this, I mean to say that when I say white people can't dance or at least can't dance with black people, I mean that they have not only not picked up a certain set of rules and regulations associated with the body and the overall beat of (black) dance, but also—in many cases— have not picked up the overall flow—philosophy of (black) dance. (To go further understand what I mean by the flow—think of it like overall meaning or point or culture of dance. Refer to the diamond footnote on page 3 for more info.)

I think this phenomenon is linked, in part, to the Puritanical tradition and white culture's fundamental devaluing and mistrust of the knowledge gathered from and experienced through the body. This tradition comes into direct conflict with the African tradition and the traditions of the African Diaspora, where the knowledge from the body is not only valued just as much as the knowledge from the mind, but continually used, acknowledged, and sought after.

This fundamental difference of perspectives regarding the body has led to different philosophies and rules of engagement regarding dance and movement—in other words, black and white people talk differently and that leads to miscommunication, misunderstanding, and even disrespect.

I am aware that this essay grossly—indiscriminately—lumps all white people and all black people together without addressing the variations due to cultural perspectives, attitudes, or expressions. I understand that what I say about black and white people does not apply to all people or groups contained under that distinction. I know there are some white people, who may be black, culturally & phenotypically, as well as there are some blacks that may be white, culturally & phenotypically, as well as know there are innumerable categories that complicate and problematize what I say here. Because of the urgency of this essay and my limitations, I cannot do justice to all those stories. The hope is that everyone will step up to the plate and do justice to her story—for everyone's sake—because the world needs to know you are out there.

Dance in this essay is primarily referring to black American dance—black American culture and procedures (rules of engagement). While I talk about dance generally and my specific experience with dancing at a club, I mean to connect that conversation to American black and white race relations, generally, and my individual experiences (as a black American woman of Belizean and Southern American heritage) with white people, specifically.

This article gears towards showing a connection between the specific and the structural, the private and the political, the everyday and the yesterdays, the present and the History, stories and the metanarratives. It also gears towards giving everyone language in which to talk about dancing and race relations in America. It also gears towards airing out my frustration caused at the club that day—It is my healing (I had the hunch that it would be other people's healing as well). Once again, I apologize if this speaks too loudly for any one group or dance style.

This article is written for all people, but especially white people. By white, I am talking about white Americans and by black, I am referring black Americans. This essay intends not to forget about the white people who respect and value black culture and what it means as well as black people and what they mean.¨

It also does not intend to forget about the white people who not only respect and value all the things said in the paragraph above, but have learned to dance with, (not at), black people through acculturation (i.e. growing up with, not next to, black people), through learning about the history behind our vibration, and/or through somehow intrinsically picking up the rhythm. Thank you. You all, in the words of Jessie Jackson, keep hope alive. KEEP DOING THAT!

Now I want to let you all know why I am even writing this in the first place….

My friend Adaobi (black American woman of Nigerian heritage) texted me, last Thursday (5/10/07) saying that she is tired of doing physics and wanted to go dancing.

 

[Let's pause right here: the reason or shall I say need for dancing was for a release. So already it has another meaning than just simply dancing's sake or because she was bored (nothing is wrong with that by the way. I'm just making a distinction here). Adaobi wanted to dance for peace of mind. Okay, let's continue]

 

So, we go to Sister's, which is located in Philadelphia. Although Sister's is generally frequented by white people, Thursday nights were admission plus 8 drink tickets for $10. This coincidentally was the night that the most black people showed up.

We get up stairs to the dance floor area pumped and ready to move—release, heal, let go. Then I began to notice two groups that predominated this party: black people and white people. The dance floor's energy was not a united energy. It was choppy, disconcerted, and actually sort of hostile. Because of this, I watched and analyzed as I danced as well as got angry at the series of things that went on that night—most of that anger was felt towards and because of the white people at this party.

Now, knowing all of these interesting details, I hope I got you hooked on finishing this article. Below is a more detailed description of what happened last Thursday night. It is followed by a possible solution to this persistent problem of black and white people (not) dancing together.

Ethnography of Last Thursday Night at the Club

 

Description and Background

Walking up stairs to Sister's dance floor, I, cheesing and laughing, hear the booming music. The room was surrounded by mirrors on each wall, a bar was on the right and the DJ booth was diagonally from me. There were disco lights and mainly 70's disco, hip hop, and R&B playing. The sidelines were carpeted with a few stools against the mirrors. I noticed that black and white people predominated the party and actually, there were slightly more black people than white people. Black people were on the perimeter, on the carpet and near the mirror, and white people were in the middle of the dance floor.

Here, I see the weirdest thing I have ever seen at a club: The black people were dancing in the mirror. Now, I don't mean one of two, but about 15 black people in total were dancing in the mirror with themselves—completely disengaged from the dance floor and actually having a ball and cheering looking at themselves move. Behind their back was a dance floor filled with white people. It would be a stretch to say that the white people were dancing. I saw white people making out, falling on the floor, standing talking, and, I think, moving.

Now, like Adaobi and I said that night, I don't mind people having sex or falling on the dance floor, so long as they are doing it to the beat. Let me pause here and make another analogy to dance and language: Dancing to the beat means staying on topic in conversation. When people dance to a song, they are agreeing to engage with its beat—its topic. It is like going to a lecture about Spiderman. You expect everyone to be willing to talk about Spiderman if they entered the lecture hall. So that is what (black) people entering a dance hall expect. It gets annoying to talk to someone if you are focused on a topic and they are off-topic and tangential. It is even more annoying when the person doesn't refuse to stop talking. Replace talking with dancing, topic with beat, and off-topic with off-beat and read the previous sentence again.

 

 

The Abaobi and Me connection

Adaobi and I were doing exactly what we came to do. We were vibing. I had more of a hip hop expression while we were dancing (talking) and she had more of an African dance expression, but there would be many times when what we did looked eerily similar and even, we would begin doing the same movements together spontaneously.

We were smiling, jumping, stomping, waving our arms and heads, dipping, wining, and turning (on beat of course). We looked like we were celebrating something (or just really excited about what we were talking about or maybe just really excited to talk to one another). At times when I noticed that I did not look at her enough, (look engaged in conversation with her), I started to look at her and give her encouraging responses when she danced such as "Uh, oh” or "okay now.” (Think of shaking your head in affirmation when talking with someone). I did that to make sure she saw that I saw her and appreciated dancing with her. Sometimes, we would teach each other something. I would start doing a movement and she would do it with a question or hesitation in her step and then look at me for correction or confirmation, then I would do it again, then we would do it together. It took seconds for each of us to learn what each other was teaching because we had such a strong basis of communication before hand.

 

How Black People Responded to Us

Black people were responding to us as if they were wondering how did we find the energy to dance that way, in a space like this? Because our style was not typical even if it was also based in tradition, black people did not know how to enter our conversation. So instead, they looked at us and smiled. Some tried to do it too, I caught them in my periphery, but when I turned around, they automatically stopped, like they did not want me to see them attempting to learn our styles (language).

We could see black people smiling at us and pointing to other black people to come watch. Because our style was so different, they let us have our space to enjoy our language together, our culture together. They did not come and impose on the space, even though they liked what we did (how we sounded), because we were so into it. They wanted us to enjoy our time together. This was giving credence to the importance of giving people the space to enjoy their individuality.

Other black people created their own space regardless of what we were doing some where else while still giving us our space. We did the same to them. The powerful thing is that we all were moving and expressing ourselves to the same rhythm, the same beat—overall philosophy.

 

How White People Responded to Us

Adaobi and I did not want to dance in the mirror or the sidelines. We felt the dance floor was as much of our space as it was anyone else's. So we danced on the dance floor amidst the white people. The energy between us was clear. It was clear that we were in deep conversation with one another.

The white people completely seemed to disregard this. At the beginning, a couple of them came in our space range of dancing (our conversation). Bothered, Adaobi and I moved. I assumed, innocently, that they must have not noticed that we were deep in conversation. I also felt bothered because they were unaware that their presence limited us and forced us to find new space. However, I swear that white people kept doing this about 20 times that night. I thought the white people would see the pattern of my annoyance. But that was a hope in shallow well. That is when I noticed this behavior could not be a random act by the white people at this party. It must have been the result of their language, their culture, their misunderstanding and even their disregard of our language and culture. That is when I connected the event to the structural, the behavior to the culture, the symptom to the syndrome.

My awareness heightened and I began to pay attention to what was happening and what was being communicated at the club. Below is the list of all the things white people did that night that let me know that (1) white people and black people speak two different languages (when dancing) and (2) how white people and black people danced together (or next to each other) was representatives of how black people and white people interacted with (or to) one another.

 

The List of Things of Disrespectful Things White People Did to Adaobi and Me

Because the list is so long, feel free to skip around. Us refers to Adaobi and me. Enjoy, because I certainly did:

 

 

 

A) Say Excuse Me Cuz I Exist!

White people kept dancing or walking through us while we were dancing, without saying excuse me or acknowledging our presence. (The black people walked around us and even if they walked through us, they apologized for doing so and looked us in the eye).

 

B) I Will Not Tap Dance for You!

I stopped dancing because I got upset at what happened in A. I moved to the mirrors and the side lines staring blankly at the dance floor, the white dance floor. A white girl sitting at the bar tapped Adaobi and me and said that we are really great dancers and have amazing energy together.

 

I got excited because I felt that finally a white person gets it and acknowledges it. Then she followed up by saying, "Can you do it again. Go do it again. Go, go back on the dance floor.” She said this while simultaneously pushing us on our lower backs and still saying come on dance again. When we didn't move and looked at her like she was crazy, she went back down to sit with her black partner. I said to myself that I am not your puppet, I am not dancing for you. Then I realized once more, white people don't get it. She didn't even get that we left the dance floor because we were so offended by white people.

 

C) Just Cuz You Know the Words Does Not Mean You Know What I'm Saying or

If Ya Don't Know Wat's Cookin', Ge' Outta Da Kitchen!

We go back on the dance floor because we got so much energy from dancing with each other, we wanted to release one mo' ‘gain. That is when things heated up for me. The white people began to try to mimic our steps—our words. Then with excitement for learning this new word the white people tried to use it with one another. Fine, whatever, so long as they stay away from me with it because once the white people took it, it was no longer mine and I no longer wanted it. This is an example of what I mean:

 

Seeing this white girl take the step that I was doing, messing it up, and showing it to her friend like she invented it, is like a person taking an artifact because it was "cute” or "cool” that was originally used for blessing a child and putting it on a mantel to show all their friends. It no longer serves it original purpose, it no longer means the same thing in that new context. When a person, who views the artifact as sacred, sees its new use, they may feel gravely offended and even disown that artifact because it was now defiled.

 

D) I Don't Belong in a Museum or You Can't Box Me In!

A group of three white people started coming close to us, again, without being invited in the space—which happens through eye contact and acknowledgement. They start doing the only black dance movements (words) that they know—yes they knew the words but not the appropriate usage.

 

They literally started closing Adaobi into a box, which was interesting because it looked like Adaobi was dancing her black dance encased by white people and their stares. I already left that circle when they welcomed themselves in without waiting for our reply.

 

Adaobi finally broke out of that and found me on the sidelines, again, watching the dance floor. She taps me and says, "I know you were heated. I am really sorry.” We stared at the dance floor again, in disbelief.

 

 

 

E) Doing the Electric Slide: Black People Uniting to Takeover the Dance Floor

(But the White People Almost Foil Us Once More)

This was my favorite part of the night, well at least for a while.

 

Some of the black girls that were primarily dancing with themselves in the mirror started doing the electric slide—which is a really popular line dancing form for black people (we do it at every family reunion). Adaobi and I see that and we begin to join in, not from where we wanted to begin but from where the girls were currently. Very quickly, all the black people that were on the sidelines or in the mirror began to join. We quickly took over the entire dance floor.

 

Before this, you wouldn't have known that there were that many black people in the club. So, finally I am happy. Happy that black people stood up, as a unit and demanded that people, who couldn't get with the rhythm, back the fuck up (or people, who couldn't get with the lingo, shut up). Literally, if you didn't know it, you were likely to get pushed or stomped on by someone accidentally and even purposefully.

 

We finally got a chance to be as black and as loud as we wanted to be. It was very clear that we were saying something. We looked like a disco-army, sharing in one unified understanding or flow. Yes, we were all in one grammar but each of our sentences looked very different from one another. I was spinning my arms as I moved. Some one else was moving their shoulders a lot. Someone else would dip low and long. Some smoother cats would glide. Adaobi had a little African style to her electric slide.

 

Surprising almost all of the white people did not reenter the dance floor. Well at not least for a while. Then this white girl, who I remember was one of the white people trying to mimic me and Adaobi, tried to come in. Okay, fine, I could understand if she practiced before she came in or at least knew something about the step. Nope. She jumped right in stepping on people and getting in people's way. This is when the problem began.

 

There were three rows of the electric slide. This black girl was trying to form a fourth row, when the white girl jumped in. Because that white girl kept stepping and falling on her, she quit trying to make the fourth row and went back to standing on the side lines near the mirror. Finally, when the white girl realized that we were moving regardless of her and without the intention of trying to include her (no black person tried to show her what to do), she left the dance floor.

 

I asked my friend Kathy Huynh what would she have said to that girl. I said that the girl looked like she was appreciating what we were doing. Should I say that white people should not try join in with black people's conversations? How would anyone learn? Then Kathy brilliantly replied, "I would tell her, ‘Thank you for appreciating and wanting to genuinely learn what these black people are doing, but also give them the time and space to appreciate their own culture, for themselves.'” I will leave it at that, because I couldn't have phrased it better.

 

 

F) Grrrr!: Overt and Blatant Disrespect

As Adaobi and I are dancing, this white guy does not only bump into me, but stays there pressing the crevice of his back into my shoulder and arm. I was like, "He must not notice I am here.” So I pushed him off of me and said "Hey, watch it.” He looked at me surprised. I thought that meant that he was really didn't know that he was doing that and wanted to apologize, so I stood there waiting for a reply. He says nothing, humps my thigh three times, and pinches my butt. I screamed and said, "Get the fuck off me.” Then amongst me screaming and walking away from him, he runs up and humps Adaobi's butt three times and then runs back to his crowd of white people.

 

Farewell to Hell

When we left the club and got to the bus stop, I just started kicking and punching this poster on the bus stop of a large white man's face while also screaming. I turned to Adaobi, apologizing for my screaming, thinking she must think I am crazy. She replied with a saddened face, "No, Shayna, don't worry, I understand. Trust me, I understand.”

 

I kicked and punched to poster, because I felt helpless. I thought that there was nothing I could do to stop what happened at the club—what happens almost every time black and white people dance together—interact. The only thing I could come up with, is writing this article, hoping it would change some (white) person's perspective, hoping that white and black people could interact in a space without being offended by each other, and hoping it would help me heal from my hurt that night. Hoping—it seems like that is the only thing I ever do next to speaking up about my feelings. It hasn't changed much thus far. And to tell you the truth, I'm getting tired of hoping and discussing. I am tired of putting my self out there—(on the dance floor)

 

Maybe that is the same reason why all those other black people were on the sidelines and in the mirror. They were tired of trying to interact with white people who did not even have the slightest interest in knowing where they were coming from, what they are saying, or respecting and appreciating what they value. It speaks so much for our society today, yesterday, and, sadly and most likely, tomorrow.

(End of Ethnography)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creating a Solution: Eliminating Racism

Through Learning to Dance

Here is my theory: White people should learn or at least try to learn how to dance black while simultaneously either valuing it as much as they value their dance or at least respecting it as much as they respect their dance. Remember now, I am using dance as a synonym for language and as a synonym for culture. Keep this in mind and it may be easier to replace dance with culture and vice versa in this passage.

The reason that it is critical for white people to learn the dance of black culture is so that white people can be not only aware of black people's perspective, be sensitive to it, and value it as good and valid, but so they can work to eliminate the privilege given to whiteness—meaning those characteristics and people in America that is termed as white. (Having privilege here means having special value. So white in America has special value at the expense of black)

That means dismantling the privilege given to knowledge that is predominantly mind-originated and working for a valuing of knowledge that is holistic meaning knowledge that incorporates the body as well as the mind. That means dismantling the privilege given to aspects of American society that have been structured and conditioned primarily and predominantly by white people—i.e. our school system (colleges and universities too), the standard in which we evaluate performance and intelligence, etc.

This work aids the process of eliminating racism which is having prejudice (ex. white is always better) and the power to enact it (ex. A white person stopping a black person from getting X job because that black person is not white, culturally or phenotypically). Racism is also believing in the inherent superiority of a particular race. The implication of believing in the inherent superiority of a particular race is that all those that do not fall into that category become less than or somehow deficient or down right bad.

Now, what that means is that white (culture or features) have become sacred in American society—hence the statement, "White is always right.” So, for some people, it may seem horrific or like a tragedy to speak of dismantling what they have held so very sacred. Let me specify here. I do not mean that white gets devalued when I say white privilege should be dismantled. No, on the contrary, white people should value their whiteness (whatever that means for people), just not at the expense of another. Shoot, I value my blackness (I know what that means for me. Email me about it if you want to know). I can't stand when white people say, "I hate being white” or "I hate white people” or "I only like black people." NOOOOOO! Don't eliminate privilege by self-hatred, white people. Eliminate privilege through either working to give everyone privilege (value) or conversely, giving no one privilege (value) over another.

One may ask why blacks don't just learn to dance with white people instead of white people learning to dance with blacks. Well, to whoever you are thinking this, what I have to say is that black people have been shucking and jiving with white people for years. It's time for whites to give up some privilege, for peace's sake.

For our survival, black people had to know the white person's rhythm (culture). Look at English Ebonics[2] and "standard" English. To write my papers in college, I had to use and learn the grammar of "standard" English when I usually speak in the English form of Ebonics. I would always tell my professors, why can't I just talk to you or debate with you rather than write a paper? Or why can't I write a poem or do a dance instead of writing an essay? This is not saying that writing is not important, for it is, but why can't I couple it with another form of expression or even another dialect of English? (I believe this has to do with valuing and devaluing. Or "following tradition""”meaning following "white is right." People don't like to admit this to themselves.)

This is also represents a battle inside myself to stay sane because I have come to value certain aspects of white culture, but also know that those aspects are rooted in a disregard, disrespect, and a devaluing of black culture, something that I have internalized and made sacred inside myself. So often, this battle, at times, makes me want to throw away or destroy anything that is white inside myself or any symbols of whiteness around me or conversely, throw away or destroy anything that is black inside (outside) myself. Dubois talks about this in his reference to the "double consciousness" of black folks. He says

His [the Negro's] double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,"”an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.[3]

Since I can't escape white culture in this society, the only way to reconcile this terror inside of me is to help alter white culture to value black culture"”to value me. That is what this article intends to do.

So now I am saying white people have to learn to dance with us, if they want to unlearn racism and reconcile its effects. I realize that I have gone as far as I can go with trying to dismantle racism. White people, it is your turn. It can only be finished if you let it be finished.

Furthermore, it is important for white people to know and value the dance of black people's culture (or of any person of color's culture) because white people in this country have been bred to be mono-cultural and bred to devalue other ways of being that are not like theirs. This has the consequence of further obscuring reality"”or realities that are strongly felt and lived by others. So, in a sense my particular double consciousness is both a blessing and a curse. However, it does not have to be a curse. It is only a curse because one of the consciousnesses that I have come to value degrades and tries to eliminate the other consciousness that I have strongly internalized as my basic self. It is a blessing to have more than one way of looking at the world. For example, I learned in a neurobiology class that the nervous system has at least six ways to receive the same information: hearing, touch, taste, smell, sight, and proprioceptors. As my professor said, "It helps us get things less wrong as well as adds more depth to what we perceive."

In other words, our body purposely has multiple perspectives that come into conflict with one another in order to get the sharpest notion of what actually is going on. This is reason enough to unlearn racism. Racism prevents people from a depth and sharpness in their perception. Conflicting realties are not inherently bad. People make different ways of seeing bad. Our nervous system seeks different perspectives, knowing that difference can not only be helpful, but also good.

 

To relate this again to dancing: That is not telling every white person to go find a black person and ask them to teach you their culture. That is ridiculous. What I am saying to white people is, be aware that (black) dancing has a grammar"”rules of engagement. Try to find out what they are in a respectful manner that has in mind that not every black person, all or any of the time, is interested in teaching white people their grammar. Keep in mind that there are some things that cannot be spoon-fed and require the arduous task of experience and learning by oneself. Also keep in mind, like my friend Kathy said, give black people the time, space, and respect to appreciate, enjoy, marvel in, get relieved by their own culture, by themselves.

Also, more importantly, keep in mind that black people learn your grammar by spending time with white people and in white and white-originated institutions. That is not saying that white people should flood black communities and black institutions (that has all sort of problems like gentrification, and violating the importance of respecting organizations and spaces for affinity groups).

What it is saying is that something will be lost if you just learned black culture through books, movies, television, music videos on BET and MTV, jazz C.D.'s, other forms of recorded black music, artifacts, and whatnot. Basing one's view of a people solely on any one of these can be problematic on so many levels, especially since the media grossly misrepresents or complete stereotypes of what they choose to portray of black culture.

What I am saying is to also GO TO THE PRIMARY SOURCE"”black people. That first means putting a face to all that you love of black culture and loving that face as well"”loving meaning valuing. This does not make everything accurate or peaceful, but like I once said, you would be skeptical of someone's ability to speak Spanish if they told you they never met a native-Spanish speaker, never been to a Spanish-speaking country, and solely learned Spanish and what they know about Spanish culture from reading a book.

 

All and All

If white people begin to work to actively dismantle the privilege given to whiteness and give value to blackness, if this occurs, one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers gettin' down wit their bad selves. If this occurs, I believe white people and black people can finally dance together, well at least figuratively.

 

That's my story and I am sticking to it. Peaceeeeeee. No, seriously, peace.


[1] http://www.infoplease.com/ipd/A0627018.html

¨ I admit some people, even some black people, don't know or haven't thought of what black culture and black people mean in America literally. That is fine because I am willing to bet that those acculturated into black culture know what it means intuitively"”in other words, they know it through its feeling or feeling in general. Recognizing what black people mean includes valuing them as human-beings"”living, rational, irrational, and moral beings. But what I truly mean is valuing their contributions as a people to not only American society, but also American identity and culture.

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonics

[3] W.E.B. Du Bois (1868"“1963). 1903. The Souls of Black Folk: "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co.; [Cambridge]: University Press John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A.,

Comments

Jason's picture

White People can dance

Did I miss something. White people, Europeans, have created the most elegant and complicated dances in the history of the world. The Viennese Waltz comes to mind.

Serendip Visitor's picture

I know this is many years later, but this is RACIST. Sorry.

I am a white man who has been said by numerous Black Americans I do not even know apart from them coming to me on a dance floor, to tell me that I have the best rhythm and timing of anyone they have seen. This has happened about 4 times, conservatively. In addition, the reason why, in my opinion is because I love Black American music, and also EXTREME TECHNICAL METAL which uses ridiculous rhythms and timing that go far beyond basically any type of music out there, including the most advanced "classical" stuff. So I have been moving to both hip-hop and insane off-beat, tech metal for years and years. I can easily move in any time or beat and go in and out with no issue at all. Funny thing is, I AM NOT EVEN A DANCER. So please, at the very lease, if you still exist, apologize to me lol. I'm not trying to stir up some old article, we know how it goes. Just look at all the old stuff people get in trouble for. Just saying, in 2022, this is certainly racist, and back when I was first told this in 2007, I'd think the same. Period. Anyway, I believe you overlooked a lot in this article, and yes, I did go to all the pages, all 7.

Serendip Visitor's picture

And black people can't think or reason or do math or physics ...

Right ... according to your own stereotypes

visitor's picture

Your Black Supremacist Tripe

Its as though you've never watched traditional African dance. What traditional African dance has complex choreography especially between men and women? Most people can dance like an African. Try researching European and Russian dance and its complex choreography before spouting out your ignorant Black supremacist tripe.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Absolutely not

How dare you think you have the right to tell anyone how to dance? How dare you tell anyone what is good or bad dancing? Trying to take enjoyment away from people all to scrape back a few measly imaginary points in the race war. Next time I’m in a club I’m going to bite my lower lip and flail my arms with such abandon you won’t know what hit you.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Ah, the ancient African art form of

The ancient African art of electronic recorded dance music in buildings with disco lights.

Cryptic's picture

White people

Might not be able to dance, but that's cause they spent their culture winning wars.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Idk about this

I think “white people can’t dance” is really an outdated socioeconomic cultural statement. What it meant was that suburban WASPy white people can’t dance because it’s not part of their culture (unless they’re women doing ballet or other highly structured/stage performance dances). Whereas casual/improvised/street style dances are a part of black and Hispanic culture all over the world, but especially in the US. Nearly all new music genres and new dance styles associated with them are born out of oppression and/or poverty. Or they’re at least derivatives of older genres that were created that way. Because music and dance are two things that no one can take away from you no matter what. Dancing especially is always FREE (and freeing). I’ve met tons of white people that can dance, but most of them aren’t from the suburbs and they grew up in cultures where dancing was valued and practiced openly all the time for fun. I am myself mostly white (25% Arab, my mom is from North Africa). I’ve been dancing since before I started school and my mom was into all genres of music, so I grew up on classic rock, soul, R&B, hip hop, punk rock, southern rock, bluegrass, blues, etc. I love almost all genres of music and dance. I’m a dancing mf lol. Both just general grooving at a club or whatever and specific forms of street dance like tutting, animation, popping, skank/x-out, shuffling/2step, and some other stuff. I think it’s kinda racist to say something like “white people can’t dance/lack rhythm”. Plus obviously tons of professional musicians and dancers are white so it’s not even a true statement. Like I said, dancing has more of w cultural basis in black culture, but that doesn’t mean white people never dance. I’ve seen tons of primarily black or Hispanic or Asian dance crews that have a white person or two on the team lol. Stereotypes are lame and put people in a box and make assumptions about them and try to limit them. It’s wrong to do it to people of color, but it’s also wrong to do it to white people. Let’s just all try to love each other a little more and celebrate our shared love of these beautiful gifts such as dance and music and art. I’m not offended or anything because I can dance lol but I just think stuff like this just discourages people from exploring dance.

Kobi's picture

Learning & Appreciating

I am white, trying to be a dance teaching artist for schoolchildren in NYC and wondering about what types of dance are appropriate for me to teach, or even to do by myself. Looking for answers to those questions is how I found this article. I understand what you are saying and I think your suggestions are astute and respectfully articulated. Thank you, thank you, THANK you for putting so much work into writing this.

To the people who have left disrespectful comments on this article. Because I grew up (and still live) in white culture, I too can feel the impulse to be defensive. Think about the history of black people in this country, and white people, and consider the possibility that your assumptions that you are being wrongly victimized by this article are incorrect. It will not hurt you to consider this possibility -- do a thought experiment, let yourself be open to it. Black people in the USA feel that they are constantly fighting for space, and this is because of the ingrained culture here. This is not an illusion, so if you think it is, consider the possibility that you are not listening enough.

Us white people have so much power in spaces, and that means that we can do so much good by giving some of it up, to those who don't have it handed to them. Obviously I'm talking in general terms, but these are truthful generalizations.

Anyway, to the author -- thank you. It is good to know that you think there is a place for me to dance WITH black/latinx people, (even potentially in a dance teacher role where my classes will contain students of color?), as long as I openly acknowledge whose dances these are, agree to dance to the beat, and give space where it seems like I should. Even -- ESPECIALLY, in fact -- if it is challenging for me, since I have been raised to feel entitled to living a life without challenges. If it's not challenging, I'm probably not doing it right.

Visitor's picture

Just to preface I'm white and

Just to preface I'm white and can't really dance. I feel like I can in private, but I'm just not an open enough person to do that in public(mostly due to some childhood trauma). So in public I don't know how to dance. But to be honest, I feel like your article went from something about dance to something about all the reasons why white people are bad. You also kind of contradicted yourself. You said you understand that not all white people are like this and then you admit that you punched a poster of a random white guy. That shows inherent racism against white people. So you just ruined the validity of your entire essay/article. I can understand some frustration after people mistreating you when you're trying to have fun, but generalizing a group of people(and a random guy on a poster) after having a bad experience with some isn't right. That's like me assuming that all black people are thieves after being robbed by one. First of all, it's completely unethical to make such an assumption. Second of all, it's just inherently an invalid argument that can be supported. In all honesty, I don't think anything that the white people did to you there was racially motivated. They were just people at a bar/club that were either assholes or too drunk to tell the difference between right and wrong.

Rafiki's picture

Dance with me

I was doing some research and stumbled on this. It saddens me. I agree that dance is a language and would argue for it being a universal one, a wondrous bridge between cultures. With very few (regrettable) exceptions, on the dance floor, in the streets of New Orleans, or at gatherings in Africa I've experienced a visceral connection to everyone in the room, and since I don't go to church I can say that these are the moments that keep my faith in humanity alive. Readers need/want to know, so I'll identify myself: a white woman nearly 70, who dances at every opportunity, including alone. I learned African dance from African friends and teachers and it was with awe and respect that I moved my hips along with theirs until it clicked, and I'm unstoppable. Visiting friends in Zimbabwe, we danced at different clubs every night for weeks. At concerts in Africa (no I am neither a missionary nor an NGO worker) I've been beckoned to the stage by female performers and mirrored their movements with unbound joy. Perhaps they ridiculed me later on but I truly doubt it. I will never apologize for being the color I was born but it's always been important for me to populate my life with people whose hues and stories are different than mine; the better to feel like just one heartbeat in the human parade. Am I a cliche of some kind even though I've got the moves? Are my Black friends exasperated with me? Of course not. There are no pretensions here; just pure joy all around. And really, when the music is good and everyone's in the zone there's no judgment; no place for self-consciousness in recreational dancing, no baggage in tow. We can talk white privilege, colonial legacy -- bottomless and urgent subjects -- but please let the dance floor be common ground, for real.

Krinkle's picture

I don't understand why this

I don't understand why this is formatted like a research article but contains only self-refe
rentials. It really bothers me tbh.

tomas's picture

Body and Mind

I think you don't understand it because you are using your Mind to comprehend it instead of your Body/Intuition.
Putting this knowledge into writing is black adjusting to white way of comprehending the world (language and mind).
That is also a problem of documenting various aboriginal cultures around the world by western society. They are not essays or an academic discourse (mind). They are learned through the Body.
You might missed the main point.

Greek's picture

There is a right place and

There is a right place and time to learn.
Problem is, whites feel entitled that whatever the context is they have the right to get what they want, when they want.
With the white girl example this is exactly what happened.

For example:
I am Greek, if there was a scenario where there is a Greek song playing to the club, i most definelty don't have time to show you the steps. I'd rather grab this opportunity to celebrate with my peers.
Go to youtube, take up classes, go to Greece, will be much appreciated. But I don't have time for you.

I agree, white people can't dance (communicate). Whites are so self-entitled they only listen to themselves. Either it is spoken, dance, written form. Doesn't matter. Especially white men. They can't take a NO, they don't care about cues, they just force their wants and opinions as it is the only thing that matters.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Do not agree

As a white person we do not think we are entitled ..it’s all about culture and even as a 58 year old and would go to clubs in my earlier days I never knew that when you was dancing there was a connection between you both, so today I learnt something new . You are better dancers then us whites and for over 40 years tried to dance with the fantastic smooth dancing you are able to do .
As a very good dancer myself I could never master it . It’s in your soul and also your culture from when you are born . It’s not in ours .

When white people try to dance with you and join in it’s not disrespectful thats in our culture and how we are brought up ..and if we try to copy your moves then take it as a complement or we would never try them in the first place ,but we would never perfect them like you do , believe me .
Our culture ,when your on the dance floor is that we all dance as one no invisible cords or fences . We all join in together friendly and enjoying ourselves .

You get upset by whites trying to join in . Well we also get upset when you snub us it’s a big insult in our culture . it works both ways . All you have to do is shake you head saying no and point to your friend then you will be left alone .

So now you know our culture next time whites try to join in you won’t hate us so much because we are definitely not entitled we are all equal ..we all come into this world the same and we will all leave the world the same

Serendip Visitor's picture

undignified

I find traditional African dance to be absent dignity. There is no grace to it, little fluidity. The movements are “expressive”, no doubt. But in a jerky, sharp manner. Highly angular movements and movements that are goofy-looking, clownish, and lacking self-respect. Silly-looking movements like the dances that mimic those of a chicken. Or the dance with bug-eyes and exaggerated facial expressions that make the performer look psychotic.

Nothing in African dance is remotely like a waltz. Is there even slow-rhythm traditional African music? The music and accompanying dance is near always manic in style, if not crazed. It is exhausting just to watch. The movements are most always rudimentary, albeit high-paced. The music and manic, aggressive dance befit a violent society. When I see traditional African dance performed I think the performers look foolish and lacking self-respect. And same with modern black dance such as vulgar “twerking” and whatever that crude dance from Haiti that is essentially just mimicking aggressive sexual intercourse. Animalistic. Debased, like most of black culture.

African dance is unsophisticated, like African musical instruments. The drum was pretty much it, for all practical purpose. A cacophony of manic drumming with dancers doing jerky, silly-looking movements that are rudimentary and suggesting low IQ. You get a headache after about 3 minutes of the incessant drumming and want to shout back to the “musicians” - ‘Shut the F up, for Christ’s sake. And to the dancers - “stop making fools of yourselves and have some self-respect. You look like clowns.”

Serendip Visitor's picture

This is actully racist...

you know white people invented ballet right?

LJB's picture

Interesting post. I think

Interesting post. I think this is a great analysis to be honest. My skin is as white as the driven snow and I pretty much agreed with everything in this post. I feel that whites in general lack the interpersonal subtlety for dance. I think that a huge part of it is cultural - the reasons why are a big question. Ireland has a much more well-preserved tradition of communal dancing and rhythm and it's not a coincidence that most of the white people who can dance are Irish. It's pretty standard that eye-contact introduces you to a conversation in dance but it's true that most people don't know this.

I'm involved in a lot of dance scenes - salsa, bachata, kizomba, afrobeat, semba, reggaetón - all very communal and interactive. I find I can know a person more after one song than an hour of conversation. It's a very pure form of conversation.

Katie's picture

thank you!!

really amazing essay!

I understand it is not the job of Black people to fix the mess of white supremacy culture and racism in the US (or anywhere), and so whenever a Black person offers insight like this, as a white person, I really take it as a gift- THANK YOU. This was very helpful for me in considering the meaning in a white person learning Black dance - I'm a beginner who has been hesitant to delve in because I feel like I have no business, and if it is a language that comes from the Black experience, it can't ever have the same meaning if I do it, but I at least wanted to learn and understand it better...yet I've still hesitated because I've been unsure of what is the most respectful approach. Your perspective really helped.

Sharing this also for other white people reading comments: I've been thinking about how white supremacy culture harms us all (including white people) - and as my awareness grows, I am realizing more and more examples in my own life/upbringing...like, I have a lot of wear and tear injuries from not knowing the best way to move my body for certain actions/tasks, and if learning more about the body was emphasized in school (dance, yoga, etc), perhaps I would have understood muscle/joint structures and their movements better and prevented injuries. Things from other cultures have definitely helped heal them. Maybe it's different now or better in other areas, but where I grew up, PE classes in the 90s were a joke! The body is universal, and all humans benefit from learning about it, how to take care of it, etc, and it seems like this is better understood in Black culture.

You mentioning valuing essays over dance and poetry made me think of this, too- another example of how I as a white person have been harmed by white supremacy culture - I am a professional musician who plays music indebted to Black American Music, and yet growing up I didn't hear any music by Black artists for far too long in my development, and it hurt me and delayed my musical development. Ie, I would have been better sooner had I heard Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis as a young child rather than a decade later. Defunding of art and music programs in schools is an obvious aspect of this problem, too.

We are so steeped in white supremacy culture and I grew up in such a bubble that I didn't realize this stuff until my *30's*. That's crazy. Anyway...thank you Shayna.

Emma Warren's picture

Fabulous article and way ahead of it's time

I love this essay. Does anyone know how to get hold of Shayna? I've looked but can't find her online. I'm wanting to ask her permission to reprint some of this or to chat with her direct.

Serendip Visitor's picture

As usual, the comments are

As usual, the comments are filled with white people eager to call the author “racist”, in the pontifically self-righteous way only they have perfected. As a fellow black person, let me tell you that I fully felt and understood what you said, to the point where I had a vivid picture for every awkward scenario you depicted on that dance floor. I have myself asked why white people can’t dance (which, as you pointed out, is not the same as moving), and I’ve realized just like you that they either don’t understand the language or are grossly not interested in understanding or *respecting it. I follow multiple dance pages on Instagram and what I’ve noticed is that dancing for black people is an act of bonding; but dancing for white people (from what I’ve noticed) always seems like an opportunity to show off. Unfortunately words don’t do this phenomenon true justice and you just have to witness it to “get” it. And ironically enough, this fundamental “flaw” in black dance interpretation is why you can *always tell which black-dance white dancer interacts with black people on the daily and has actually taken time to live through the culture. You can *always tell!

Serendip Visitor's picture

How

How can you say something like dancing is an act of bonding for black people and “always seems like an opportunity to show off” for white people. First of all, he fact that you think they’re capable of showing off implies that these white people *can* dance. Second, battling/showing off is an inherent part of most styles of street dance. It started with bboying which, being on of the four elements of hip hop, is inherently competitive as hip hop itself is. The entire point was to outdo each other and other crews in order to push the artform as a whole to new levels. Same with DJ and rap battles and graffiti culture, the other three elements of hip hop. I guess my point is that showing off is a part of those styles of dance which were undeniably invented by mostly black and Hispanic kids (and some white kids) in NYC and then spread across the US and now the entire world. The main point is that it’s all love at the end of the day though. Or at least that’s how I think it should be. Even if we’re going head to head and trying to one up each other, it should be nothing but respect in the end. Now if you feel like some people are missing this key aspect of it, then I can understand where you’re coming from. But just saying white dancers “always seem” like they’re trying to show off sounds like a pretty lame judgment to make. Idk about Instagram, but the dance cyphers I go to have all different street styles: bboys/bgirls, krumpers, tutters, pop/lockers, wavers, animation, footwork/juke/shuffling/skanking/x-out/other electronic styles, contemporary hip hop, etc etc and we have all different races/ethnicities: black, hispanic, white, Asian, arab, anything you can think of and no one is ever disrespectful or racist and it’s all about bonding and love and sharing skills and ideas and HAVING FUN doing what we love to do. Idk your comment just kinda rubbed me the wrong way because it just seems to unnecessary to take something that has been such a beautiful and positive part of my life and always brought people together and make it into something negative. Don’t we got enough of those problems in life that we can’t just have one thing that we all share a mutual love of whether it be dance or art or music or whatever? I’m not saying problems don’t exist in these subcultures too, but we could talk about in constructively instead of feeding into the negative idk

Serendip Visitor's picture

false

you havent met my friend madi.

Serendy108's picture

spot on

Your analogy of dance to grammar and conversation gave me such clarity on dance.
Your article made me ashamed to be white, not for the first time.
Thanks for taking the time to write such an insightful article.

european white girl's picture

this was eye-opening

To start off, I skimmed through the comments and though I'm not surprised, I'm sad to see so many ignorant people there. It's clear they'd much rather stubbornly argue than try to understand your point of view.
I don't go to clubs much and I've only danced with a few black people, but as a passionate dancer myself I can totally see what you're saying about most white people not being in tune with the music, and definitely not in tune with black people. It's rare that I find other people who are on the dance floor simply to dance, and not to grind on each other (that's fine to do, I just prefer to be left out of it), but the people I've met who were there to dance have often been people of color.
I really enjoyed your essay, and though I might need to re-read some parts to fully understand them (you articulated everything beautifully, but English isn't my first language) I will definitely try to keep it in mind and, when I feel I fully understand it, try to communicate it and it's importance (and link this article) to other white people.

Thank you so much for writing this.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Who cares?

The most sophisticated forms of dance are Indian classical dance and European classical dance (ballet). Though quite different, there is something otherworldly about both those grand traditions (apart from their incredible complexity).

Quite frankly, who cares about modern dance which appeals to the subjacent nature? This is truly an era of widespread hedonism.

Peace.

Em's picture

Thoughts from a multicultural background

I'm a half white half asian person who grew up in a black church. I can not dance unless it's a bon odori dance or the very basics of a couple of Latin dances, or the electric slide. Coming from my own experiences and background, I agree with most of this. I do believe it's a language. And I do think that a lot of misunderstandings happen cuz of the culture barriers.

I disagree with some of the people here saying you're somehow being hypocritical with wanting others to respect your space and understand it, while not wanting them to cut in on it. From what you wrote it didn't seem like you wanted to exclude white people specifically but rather you didn't want to cut into your time with your friend to teach or perform for others. Which is understandable cuz sometimes you just wanna have fun with your friend and not have to teach a bunch of strangers. I think if the one girl knew how to do the electric slide and joined (I actually didn't even realize it was a primarily black thing cuz I learned it young tho it makes sense), or if she waited for you all to finish and then asked someone to teach her for next time, that could've been a lot better for everyone. From what you wrote, it doesn't seem to me that you were mad she was trying to learn, but that she tried to copy you and then pretended like it was her idea, and then later when she tried to join, she was bumping into people and getting in the way of others enjoyment and not being receptive to social cues that she was being rude.

It'd be like some random person going into an obon dance and not knowing anything, and expecting others to teach you on the spot. But it's a ritual thing. It's rude to interrupt or make someone stop to teach you right there. If you want to learn, you can ask later, but let the ritual end, and you can respectfully join next time.

I do think it's... I don't know how to say this in the way i mean... I don't think it's intentionally rude(?) when white people walk through you? They do it all the time to each other. And they often don't enter spaces where they need to know that language and those manners. So in a sense I can understand why they wouldn't know. And since many people don't even realize these differences exist, I can understand why they wouldn't necessarily be on high alert for social cues that what they normally do is rude. The only solution I can see is more interaction and more integration. I don't think white people should just get up and raid black clubs. But like be more open to having friends from other cultures and sharing spaces with them. Going to their places and events with them when invited. Since I wasn't there obviously, I can't say whether or not it would have been easy for others to notice that you were moving around a lot cuz of other people being rude. If I was there in another area, I probly wouldn't have noticed tbh. (But that could just be cuz I'm short and tend to drown in crowds)

Overall, I hope many people read this and are open to taking it in, instead of just going on the defensive immediately

shane Calder's picture

Thank you for writing this

Hi,

i just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this article. i thought it was very insightful, and provided me with ideas i wouldn't otherwise have found. thank you.

and, though it can't really apologize for all the crappy comments on this thread by other white folks....Im sorry. It sucks that so many white folks (im a white fella from canada and i TOTALLY can't dance) just took this as an opportunity to tell you you were wrong. its a shame and a missed opportunity.

PICK IT UP, WHITE FOLK! Stop being so damn defensive. Read a book, for pete sakes!

Serendip Visitor's picture

Segregate

Maybe we should segregate the communities. That would be fine with me.

Miranda's picture

Do you get bullied because you are short

Yes, I got bullied for being short but let me tell you the whole story. Ok, kids started bullying me when I was 9 years old. They would try to push me in a locker and called me names. Then, when I was 11 years old things got really instance, they would try to pull all my clothes off of me and say "you look stupid and ugly in this outfit." So what I did I punched the girl and pulled her hair and stuff like that defending myself and I am the one that gets in trouble, they didn't get no punishment I was the one who got punished. I was so pissed, so my parents pulled me out of Public school and homechooled me and ever since then I have been free to be me.

Thanks for listening to me hope some of you have the same problem

Yours truly
-Miranda

Serendip Visitor's picture

No rules

There is no right way to dance. Everyone who loves music gets into it in their own way. Those who worry about how good they look are more interested in the way they're being perceived and so aren't truly immersed in the music but those who just move in a way that brings them pleasure regardless of judgement are more part of the music. If you want to go purely on aesthetics, then I've seen attractive and unattractive dancers of every race. Those white people that are seen as unable to dance are likely dancing with more abandon in their rooms where there isn't an audience to shallowly judge them against their own personal idea of what constitutes "good dancing". There are as many ways of personal expression through dance as there are people. And not everyone gets into posing on the dance floor, some just don't give an eff and prefer to just move how they move. You can entirely lose yourself to music just by moving your hands. Dance equals free expression. And for those that maintain that white people can't dance most definitely haven't been to the parties that I have. Connecting with music on a deep level is a spiritual experience whether you're stomping the earth or reaching for the sky. Let's put this myth to rest and accept that everyone can dance and aesthetics are subjective.

PAUL's picture

Whites Intelligences Is that of a Newer Less Technologically De

I believe that whites worthwhile intelligence has totally expired. just a misguided group who have been conditioned to believe that intelligence is defined and sanctioned by old white males that have redacted and rewritten their own philosophical interpretation so of white education and intelligence actually supposed to be..

THERE are actually no real educationed white people in the UNITED STATES..there are only many of them of whom are just filled with white regurgitated made- up junk so as to hopefully show them as relevant human kind...They had 500 years to convinced all of them of its arthenticity....They now have practice wrong information so many centuries until down through the year's most of them have learn it all verbatim as the truth .

.They now call it a criteria for being considered EDUCATIONED ..All lyes, chosen ommisions, and masses false prints...This is what the USA has evolved as.of today ..

Serendip Visitor's picture

Oh. Dear. I take it you

Oh. Dear.

I take it you can't dance.

Shayna or Shene - thank you for the article, really resonated with some of my experiences.

R

MarxistHypocrisy101's picture

Oh Dear. I take it you think

Oh Dear.

I take it you think dancing begins and ends with “twerking”.

Serendip Visitor's picture

I take it you didn't perceive the problem I did with the article

I agreed with the author up to a point, and then I found something that was a real turn-off. Allow me to explain what I found and how it relates to your comment.

Dancing is a language comprised of words. Dance moves are words, and a dance is a conversation. I absolutely loved this analogy! Could not be more right!

White people on the dance floor did not respect the author's dance space. This is a sad fact, but the author also makes it very clear that instead of communicating with the whites in a language they DO understand, she just removed herself from the situation and played the victim. This is where the author started to come apart for me. If dancing is a language, then there are many dialects. The author readily admits that the people on the dance floor are not fluent in her dialect yet she chooses to dance there anyway. An analogy for this could be perceiving someone to be rude just because they are a close talker (up in your face). They're not rude; they're just from New York or other close-talking culture! YOU are the one with the problem with their culture!

The author felt offended when whites attempted (failed) to adopt her dance moves. I am unclear upon reading whether the author was offended that they *tried* or offended that they *failed* or both. In any case, to take the author's analogy, this is like taking offense that someone who does not speak your language has attempted to say something in your language after hearing you say it. It also does not sound like the whites were making fun of her; they authentically thought she had some hype moves! So the author chose to be offended rather than flattered. If someone did this with words in a language, they would be perceived as racist. "You can't use my words because you aren't from my culture."

In conclusion, the author expected the whites to be fluent enough in her dance language to know what space on the floor is hers but when they show appreciation of her culture by mimicking it, she is offended. I just hope the author doesn't treat any children she has someday this way. After all, they won't come out of the womb fluent in any sort of cultural language. They will learn only what they have had a chance to mimic. The author is offended when someone who isn't already fluent in her culture attempts to adopt some small part of it, so unless she's racist, she will be offended by her own children.

I'm just taking the author's statements and drawing logical conclusions rather than what the author has done which is to present the facts and her feelings all interspersed without ever once considering that maybe her feelings are unjustified or that maybe she is the one who is racist. She ain't woke. She's the reason the schism between whites and blacks still exist: Because of blacks who erect a new kind of wall after the ones they're familiar with are torn down.

PAUL's picture

Whites invented rhythm

YEPPPPPP they did..But rythm to What?

PAUL's picture

WHITE CHEERLEADERS STILL DANCE AS IF THEIR BODIES ARE MADE OF H

You are so correct...Dancing Truly is a langyage....But a Sign language..A language where from one individual to a 1000 or more..Speak by and with body signal to perfectly align themselves to with a musics many required beat that are untilmately created to keep the dancer (s) group , lyrics , melody , and possible artist in sincint.

In my estimate if either is ot since ..The entire Sanrio is of beat or out of step...Just like the sun or moon out of it's orbit. .

iNTERESTING's picture

So anyone who is not French

So anyone who is not French should not do ballet, and just give them 'time and space to appreciate their own culture, for themselves'

This is just a crazy idea, but I understand you are writing for equality but I think you came with the wrong approach.

White male's picture

Culture

I read your whole article and you write eloquently and from the heart.Unfortunately the problem is complex as what you blame whites for doing to blacks they also do to each other. I am from a white culture where the greatest and prettiest things, like flowers for instance, are cut from the bunch; killed to be put on display. For some reason white culture is actually an absence of anything by comparison to what black culture is, an emptiness or almost so. your culture is in tune with something that I feel I can almost feel ,but need to cultivate. A physical epiphany to undo centuries of ignorance! You have taught me a lot or at least put things in to words things that everyone should feel/know, whatever their colour. I feel personally ashamed for white history which mite as well be called murder or genocide but people now can't apologise for what they haven't done or the traits that are bred in to them. All that can be done is as you say, learn through dance. The change would be so painful for some the person may barley exist after, but if that happens think how much better their children will do on the brighter not-racist side. Please don't lose hope for the possibility of Whites, blacks and everybody else getting along, I mean if white people eventually manage it I'm sure everyone else will be just fine. I just wanted to say a few words that may soften the crude injustices my fellow whites do not know they are committing.

Karinka's picture

What?

What the hell even is your culture, just putting flowers on display? Clearly you are ignorant to the many rich cultures white people have for instance in Europe. And genocide and murder have been committed by literally every race, not just white, and its only a few white countries that did that, so linking everything bad in history to whites.

Serendip Visitor's picture

White blues dancer

I am white, from the UK and I blues dance and Lindy Hop , which are a mixture of both African dance and European influences but probably ultimately invented by African-Americans. I know this, I know my blues/swing history, I know which songs have meanings which mean that they are probably not appropriate to dance too, I never try to imitate black people and I do take on board the philosophy of the blues and swing, it is about rhythm, not set patterns, I do what I feel in the music, I am anti-racist in all respects. I am worried about the fact that their aren't many black people on our scene, they just don't seem to do the blues or Lindy anymore. I love these dances, I cannot give them up and go ballroom dance instead or something, they are my life and all of my social circle. I mean particularly Lindy was more of a black/white co-creation, these were the first dances where black people and white people danced together. I don't know, am I being racist?

Serendip Visitor's picture

sounds like you didn't speak

sounds like you didn't speak the white people's language. Maybe they didn't say excuse me or give you space because you were offending them.

Serendip Visitor's picture

I came across this article

I came across this article because I'm a white girl who is getting very frustrated with myself about my inability to dance. I'm having a bit of an extreme experience in that I DID grow up in a culture where dance was forbidden (my mom cried when I went to my first high school dance because she thought she was being a bad mom by letting me go). But now I've move abroad and am living in a Latin culture.

I LOVE dancing! It's energetic and fun when I'm with the right person. But I'm always aware that I'm just not doing it "right." I used to go try to dance Bachatta with my friends and had a regular partner... until one day he got drunk and started lecturing me about how stiff I am that it makes him uncomfortable and how I need to loosen up... After that I was even MORE self-conscious and eventually gave up going because I felt like he was judging me and I was getting worse, not better.

So my question is: what's the best way to learn this language? People say to feel the music, but I DO feel the music and it just doesn't come out right. I have fun doing it, but I feel bad subjecting anyone else to my dancing. The article was interesting and confirms what I've been thinking for a while. But what are the practical ways to move forward?

Chica de Baile's picture

How to move to the music

It is much easier for people who are immersed in latin or black culture because music and dance are everywhere and their are no constraints on how to move....Nevertheless, good dancers don't just become that magically. They DO feel the music and express the rhythm in their music. However, that doesn't happen magically. They learn how to hear the beat and even the notes, high or low etc etc by listening to the music they dance to all the time. I noticed guys who are great dancers/leads know the music by heart and can sing along. Also, very good dancers invest time and energy to improve their skills. They go to dance classes, they practice with other dancers, they look for constructive criticism and use it to improve, they don't stop dancing because they made a mistake. You will not do latin dance well if you are inhibited. You have to be fluid and playful to move to the music and be guidable. That level of confidence comes from 1)acknowledging and accepting you will make mistakes and people may even laugh and 2) practice, practice, practice...An incredible salsa dancer told me that she learned watching youtube tutorials, practicing in front of the mirror all the time, dancing with her bro and taking videos of her dancing to find out where she could improve. Do some dancing at home when no one is around that way you can let loose and see different ways to move your body. Eventually you will gain confidence to dance in public without worrying about how you look. And always ask for advice: it may sting at first but in a matter of min, days, or weeks it will make you a much better dancer.

An Appropriated Jew's picture

Contradictions Galore

"White people should learn to "dance black" but when some white girl tried to learn your steps, you got your pissy little cunt all uptight about her taking your black dance so that it wouldn't be yours any more. White people should invest years in learning black culture...but should also leave black people alone to enjoy their culture. Any other mutually contradictory double blinds you'd like to put them in, while you're at it? Before you get up on your high and mighty horse telling white folk what to do, maybe you ought to get a CONSISTENT fucking idea of what it is you even want from them in the first place, sweety.

And then, before you say another word about "appropriation" you can get your hypocritical little mitts off of MY fucking culture. If you aren't a Jew, then STOP using Jewish words that YOU don't understand the meaning and grammar of. You want to spend years studying to convert, fine, otherwise leave us the fuck alone to enjoy our culture.

Serendip Visitor's picture

???

What culture? Everything you claim as your own has been "borrowed" from those around you. I can guarantee you would NOT be speaking this way in person. Also, sounds like your parents failed you, with that potty mouth

Casey's picture

Really??

I've always just let myself be invited to the dance floor, and I can pick up on hints when I girl wants some space. But is this really a skin color issue? I've seen a healthy mix of colors being assholes at the club, haven't noticed a pattern yet. Am I missing the point of this article?

Green Man's picture

Wasting time

Whoever wasted their time to formulate these mindless "concepts" basically has tickets on themself and/or their race. Haven't you got better things to do, like dancing, or maybe even helping people. It seems like you feel that you have to actually SAY that people of your race or colour are better dancers, and others of another race behave oddly. That makes you racist, no? Better that you try and enjoy your time here on Earth and try to promote some kind of goodwill. Maybe people of different races are better at different things. Big deal. Enjoy the differences.

Bruce Brooker's picture

White People (European) and lack of syncopated rhythm

For many cultures, dance (music) is a vehicle of everyday expression, it is sacred, it applies to all human conditions. Yes, it is akin to conversation. (Quilt this blanket, work the soil, throw out your fishing nets...all human activity possesses rhythm)
For some cultures, dance is a means of control. (march to the sea and conquer all in your path)

Dance (music) does not need a specific purpose, it is just part of everyday life...when a human walks, they dance. There is a cadence and rhythm to their steps.

In Africa there is dance...it is just dance. It has no name other than dance. There is no Twist or Hully Gully.

Untal Utbun's picture

Yup, you know nothing about

Yup, you know nothing about Africa.