Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => That CAN'T be true! => Topic started by: chris on 22/04/2017 10:17:53
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Alan in Mexico asks:
Why are black people better dancers?
Do you agree?
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There are structural differences as well as pigmentary differences between different groups of people, and I understand that the domination of track athletics by Africans and African Americans is due to having an elongated calcaneum and enforced Darwinian selection. But the question is overlaid by the cultural implications of "better". At the highest level the ballet tradition is most deeply ingrained in northern Europe, very few westerners of any color can match the average Russian male soldier's solo performance, and Balinese, Indian, Chinese and Japanese traditional female dancers need to be both petite and trained from early walking age.
At the amateur level, recent immigrants to the UK have imprinted their parents' cultural acceptance of public dancing, particularly in the case of West Indian and African families, on the younger generation, whilst "native" whites seem to retain a Victorian diffidence towards public displays of enjoyment. Our traditions are quite different: Morris dancing, like cricket, is just an excuse for drinking beer, and Scottish dancing is more a political statement than a pleasure. No prejudice here - I do them all, rather badly.
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Alan in Mexico asks:
Why are black people better dancers?
Do you agree?
No. That's a general statement and such a general statement about a race of people is wrong. There are plenty of which people who are great dancers such as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Its both a matter of talent as well as culture. I.e. black culture might just promote black people to enjoy dancing more than other races. I know from experience that most white people, at least in my experience, choose not to dance for fear of looking foolish.