Beyond the prospect of meeting women and improving confidence, dancing has less goal-oriented benefits. Some men find learning to dance to be, well, fun.
"It's a high, in a way," says Michael Bacarella, 30, a software engineer who was on a break in between lessons. "Especially swing, it's like riding a roller coaster." Bacarella had taken classes with an ex-girlfriend a few years ago, and is now several months deep into his second tour of duty on the studio hardwood. He couldn't name a motivation in taking lessons other than it just being something he always wanted to do. "It helps me to stay fit. I do go to the gym, but I don't have to do any cardio." McCalla estimates that an hour of dancing can burn up to 200 calories, and says that he makes sure to work his clients that hard if desired.
This reporter couldn't resist trying the workout. So the next day, I decided to dive deeper into the mental aspect of dancing by attending instructor Samantha von Sperling's studio in a Financial District apartment. I listened as she explained the benefits of dance lessons for her male clients, most of who, she says, are between 25 and 40 years old, and the type of man with an eye for self improvement.
"Dance does two things," she advised, with the authority of someone who has frequently seen it do those two things. "One: it hones a man's body language skills. Two: it develops his presence and his sense of command, command of his body, command of his space, command over somebody else."
"What can I tell you?" she laughed. "Ballroom dancing is a sexist sport. There are rules. That's the way it is, and if a man can't lead, he will fail."
Advocating dance as a complement to building a man's image; von Sperling also runs a social image consulting business, as she defines it, "a one-stop self-improvement boutique." Many of her clients are younger corporate types who have reached the rung in the career ladder where they are expected to attend fundraisers and other events - where they are assured to find that dance floor taunting them to show their moves. She also does a fair amount of business with engaged couples preparing for their dreaded (more often by the men) first dance.
Previous Page Next Page
