Why Guys Don't Dance Latin Ballroom

I recently did a report for a friend who wanted to know why most guys lack an interest in dance (for her Latin Dance Club). It's not exactly the best piece I've done (since I only spent a couple of hours on it and my writing skills have deteriorated greatly since entering NS), but I'm in the mood for a dance post, and I don't really want to lament my terrible dancing abilities.

Introduction

I will examine the reasons for a lack of interest in dance among males, and will attempt to provide possible solutions.

Male Psyche

While there are many different reasons for why most males are unwilling to dance, three reasons are most prevalent. They are fear of failure, fear of being perceived as effeminate and apathy.

Fear of Failure

Some are unwilling to dance because they think they are uncoordinated. Most guys are insecure and do not want to risk embarrassing themselves, especially in front of girls. This can be further explained by most guys lacking the rhythm and coordination of girls, and hence progressing at a slower rate.

In addition, some have been led to believe they are lousy at dancing because of a terrible mass dance experience. This is normally caused by them being forced to practise a certain routine in an inadequate period of time.

Fear of Being Perceived as Effeminate

Others are worried that if they take up Latin Ballroom, they would be associated with being effeminate or gay. This is the same logic which explains why so few guys knit or cry in public.

Apathy

Another segment of the male population has neither objection nor interest in dance, and thus sees no need to try it. However, this also means that it is possible to incentivise them to attempt dance.

Reasons Guys Dance

The three main reasons why males start dancing, in descending order of importance, are to impress girls, to appear hip and pure interest in dance.

To Impress Females

Many guys start dancing because their girlfriends force them to, because they are trying to woo a girl who dances or because they want to improve their desirability via the ability to dance. I personally believe that for Latin Ballroom, this is the strongest pulling factor, and should be acted upon.

Popular Culture

Others do so because they want to be perceived as being cool, a factor that can be used to explain the popularity of Hip-Hop (as well as Break dancing) and Salsa, in spite of them being dances as well. However, this may not apply to Latin Ballroom since it’s relatively unknown in Singapore.

Love for Dancing

There exists a small population who start dancing because they think it will be fun. However, this constitutes a small percentage of males (relative to their female counterparts).

Do note that guys who persist in dancing usually do so because they have grown to love the sport, but this normally occurs after they have started dancing. The impetus to start normally comes from the above two reasons.

Suggestions

I am of the opinion that a movement to improve the male dancing population should consist of a targeted marketing campaign as well as a focus on creating a social environment which sustains their interest afterwards.

Targeted Marketing Campaign

Both genders are more likely to take up dancing if they are accompanied by their friends, but it is significantly harder to gather a group of males who are willing to dance (clubbing seems to be the exception). This could be facilitated by offering special rates to groups of guys, i.e. 50% of the original price per person if a group of four or more guys join together.

This will not hurt your bottom-line as, firstly, your club is paying your instructor by hours taught rather than by number of students, and, secondly, the number of guys attending each class is rather low.

Another similar strategy would be to offer preferential rates to girls who bring a partner (friend/boyfriend). This has the additional benefit of providing both with a partner, with whom they can practise as well as dance socially. Such a campaign would vary according to the dance and crowd you wish to draw: for example, if you had wanted to start a Rumba class and wanted to draw couples, your advertising campaign to girls could emphasis its being romantic nature and it being a love dance, while a campaign targeted at males could focus on its sensuality and it being an activity that would please their significant other.

Sustainable Dance Environment

A long-term strategy in getting guys to join would be the creation of a dance community, or a sizable population of people who can dance, as well as ample opportunities to utilise this skill. Unlike other dances like Salsa, Latin Ballroom lacks social dancing settings, meaning that students do not have a chance to use what they learnt outside their class. The absence of this community would inevitably mean difficulty in recruiting new students and heightened student attrition rate. I believe that this can be partially stemmed by having regular practice and social sessions.

This would also enable weaker students to learn from the better dancers, reducing the number of students who leave due to inability to catch up. The nature of dance classes means that missing or not understanding a lesson would greatly affect a routine, and this may drive away otherwise enthused students.

Ultimately, I believe that your club should focus on repeat sales, as students who have signed up for a class have shown that they are at least open to dancing. Thus, if possible, the club should find out why students drop-out, and act to minimise it.