[smart (OP)]

I'm a terrible dancer....
I have no synchronicity and cannot follow the music.

When I was a teenager, my dancing skills were slightly better.
Still, I like to dance when I'm alone and listening to music.

I'm curious about the physiological effects of dancing... Why do we dance?

Can our dancing skills improve/decrease as we age?
Is there any genetic factors to dancing?

Peace! 

tkadm30

[evan_au]

I have heard that in some cultures, the concepts of music and dance are indistinguishable.
We seem to have separated them in western culture - your typical orchestral or opera theater has no room for the audience to dance. But the "mosh pit" brought back the idea...

There are two types of beings in the universe: those who dance, and those who do not.

See: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2079569433  (start at 40 seconds)

[Karen W.]

Yes ..Your Dancing skills can get better with age if you continually listen to music and try to dance.. picking the most prominent points for your dancing to pick up on.. Dance to the rhythm your body feels when you close your eyes.. allow your body to pick its own rhythm to dance to. I think we dance because it feels so good weather slow or fast. Its fun even if we really cannot dance! Its more then that though there is a certain energy in Dancing that I do not feel any other time.. I love dancing and miss it,,,

[smart (OP)]

Yes ..Your Dancing skills can get better with age if you continually listen to music and try to dance.. picking the most prominent points for your dancing to pick up on.. Dance to the rhythm your body feels when you close your eyes.. allow your body to pick its own rhythm to dance to. I think we dance because it feels so good weather slow or fast. Its fun even if we really cannot dance! Its more then that though there is a certain energy in Dancing that I do not feel any other time.. I love dancing and miss it,,,

Thanks for sharing, Karen!

[chris]

You have my sympathy; I too think that I'm a terrible dancer. But having watched a few episodes of "You've been framed" I'm thinking that I'm no worse than average, I just think I am. It's still sufficient to put me off though. I'm not a natural at picking up a rhythm though.

[smart (OP)]

Is dancing an art or a science?? 

[Karen W.]

I think its definitely an art for sure and is really an individual design. Each person puts their own stamp so to speak into their dance and their own choreography and if you have ever watched professional dance in many forms it is very artistic and individual in form and expression. You see each dancers own spirit and feeling involved in how their own dances evolve. I also think the mechanics of dance is definitely a science as is the movement of any living organism as termed in the word "biomechanics"! 

[smart (OP)]

I think its definitely an art for sure and is really an individual design. Each person puts their own stamp so to speak into their dance and their own choreography and if you have ever watched professional dance in many forms it is very artistic and individual in form and expression. You see each dancers own spirit and feeling involved in how their own dances evolve. I also think the mechanics of dance is definitely a science as is the movement of any living organism as termed in the word "biomechanics"! 

Thanks for sharing, Karen!

The term "biomechanics of dancing" make me think about the synchronicity of music resonance, which seem to produce a very strong effect on me. I suspect dancing is deeply implicated in the synchronicity of life. Do plants dance to the vibrations of music? Do we have genetic materials for dancing and synchronicity? How do genes and DNA respond to musical vibrations?
 

[Karen W.]

  You are welcome!

  Those are all interesting questions. The questions about plants, and music, remind me that I think there was a study I read sometime ago done about just those kind of questions. I will see if I can find the ones I had read...