In the March-April issue, AMERICAN DANCER stated that the re-emergence of this turning-point documentary about the legendary icon Gene Kelly might be trigger for some interesting discussions for an upcoming issue. And, we were right. So we selected two USA Dance members responses for our follow-up. We asked: Is Ballroom Dancing a man’s game? What motivates men to dance, both socially and/ or competitively? Do men in this century really fear being associated with words like grace, beauty, artistry? Is DanceSport the modern-day lure for men, rather than Art?
“Many men make the mistake of confusing beauty of movement with the feminacy of movement. I believe that’s the prime reason for making the American man afraid of the words grace and beauty, and that’s nonsense.” —Gene Kelly 28
DANCING: IS IT REALLY A MAN’S GAME? PERSPECTIVE
FRANK MANLEY
HEARTLAND IN CHAPTER 2022
I
s Ballroom Dancing a man's game? I would like to say that YES it is definitely a man's game. I am new to the ballroom dancing sport with less than a year under my belt, but I have come into this world from artistic dance roller skating and have observed ballroom dancing from a distance for many years. While competing in artistic dance roller skating, I was privileged and honored to skate in three national final events. It was a wonderful experience. As with anything, ballroom dancing and dancers must provide a complete package in order to be successful. If one observes a dance team even for a split second, they will always be attracted to the aesthetics that are so pleasing to the eye, but the athletic component seems to always be overlooked. In ballroom dancing, if the lady represents the beautiful picture (and they do!), the man must represent a strong well developed frame. You will not see a Picasso in a cheap dime store frame nor will a Ferrari be the high performance machine it is without the solid well developed frame. This means that the men that are involved with ballroom dance must do everything they can to complete the total package. I think that Dr. Kellner said it well on page 27 of the March-April issue when he declared that “Also knowing my own body's internal structure allowed me to take maximum advantage of my strength, and aided in finding and achieving the most pleasing presentation of lines.” Men participate in a variety of workouts that include, but are not limited to dead weight lifting, boxing and kick boxing, yoga, running and jogging. All of these exercises have elements that resemble dance in one way or another. Sometime during my lifetime I recall seeing a yearly montage of the outstanding plays that
American Dancer | www.americandancer.org
occurred during in the world of sports. It was shown with background music that had superstars looking like ballerinas with grace and lines that are typical of dance. If a man is truly ok in his skin, words like grace, beauty, and artistry do not hinder their choices or performance one
From Artistic Dance Roller Skating. . .
Frank & Rita Manley