I just got back from a wonderful day at St.Boniface School as a guest presenter at the Arts Alive Conference. This amazing one day event invited elementary school students from Catholic Schools across Edmonton to participate in a day full of Fine Arts activities they might not be able to experience on a regular basis. What a fabulous way to engage young, creative minds and expose them to the gifts and joy that the Fine Arts offer.
While I was fortunate to get to share our new Salsa Kids program with over 100 children today, I must admit I was overjoyed to have many boys in my sessions today. In fact many of these boys were some of my most energetic and enthusiastic participants. This delighted me as boys are generally in the minority when it comes to my dance programs and dance in general.
This is a very unfortunate situation. We seem to be in a time in our western culture where dance has become a feminized activity. Boys are not encouraged to express themselves through movement, unless they are participating in sports. For some reason over the past 100 years dance has become an acceptable pass time only for girls and women. Boys and men who are interested in dance have often been strongly discouraged by friends and family members. The many benefits of dance seem to be ignored for boys.
Historically dance has been a form of expression meant to pass along culture, music, celebration and history. Not only did men and women dance together but men danced alone and in groups, passing along these traditions and expressions to their sons. In many parts of the world this approach remains a large part of culture and life, where families and communities dance together. Dance is a social activity where people learn to collaborate, work as a team, and respect each other, in many ways very similar to sports.
Also, let's not forget the physical benefits of dance. In the last 30 years Canadians' fitness levels have continued to decline at a rapid rate as a new study from Health Canada has revealed. Our children's generation will be the first whose life expectancy is less than that of their parents due to obesity related illness and disease. Dance encompasses endurance, strength, and flexibility, all critical to overall health and wellness. For boys who do not enjoy sports, want to express themselves through movement, and enjoy music, dance would seem an excellent way to promote fun physical activity. But parents hesitate putting their sons in dance for fear of the social stigma, which has left us with a generation of young women who love to dance and no male partners in sight.
My hope is that as dance becomes more popular in mainstream culture thanks to shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing with the Stars" we will start to see more and more boys and men getting involved with dance. When I attended this year's concert tour of SYTYCD Canada I had to chuckle every time a male tour member would come on stage as the predominately female audience went crazy! Women love a man who can dance. Male dancers are amazing athletes! They are strong and powerful! Even my husband has said to his teenaged, younger brother, he wished he'd spent more time in dance class in his young adult years as it is a skill so many men lack, yet so many women find desirable. Not that getting a date should be the only reason why boys participate in dance (although it might be the ticket to getting more men involved initially).
As Anne Green Gilbert discusses in her article Boys Need Dance: A Balance of Strength and Grace when dance is taught using a concept based approach it can help boys develop their emotional intelligence, increase self esteem, and even give them the skills to become better athletes overall.
The way dance is presented seems especially important in continuing to foster a love of dance in boys if we are to change the current cultural views of males and dance. For example, I was a guest instructor in a Analysis of Movement course this fall at the university. I was teaching the practical section on aesthetic movement. Previously this section of the course had always been focused on the students creating Creative Movement pieces. But the professor contracted me to try a new approach by using Hip Hop dance to complete the same project for one the classes. Upon evaluating the projects and grades for both the class that did the assignment using Creative Movement and my class that used Hip Hop, the professor noted that the students outcomes where very similar, but the male students' level of enjoyment and overall participation was much higher in my class. By offering the male students the experience of participating in a culturally current, male inclusive style, they had the opportunity to enjoy dance without social acceptance anxieties.
By using a concept driven teaching approach and focusing on styles that appeal to boys in my classes I hope to open the doors for more boys (and maybe their Dads!) to get involved in dance. Because the real truth is that boys and girls equally experience happiness and joy when participating in dance, and that is what's important.
