Did you always want to learn to dance but you thought that “it’s too late now”? It’s not! ballet and break dancing may demand flexible body, but there are lots of styles of dancing that may be mastered successfully when you’re older. In reality, I’ve met some women who have started dancnig in their forties and had the opportunity to perform on stage!
The obvious option is partner dancing, and there’s so many to choose from: ballroom, Latin, Street Latin, salsa, rock’n'roll, Ceroc (modern jive), tango and so on. All of them are very suitable for adult beginners, because you can start “performing” them on the dance floor almost immediately.
The big obstacle is the fact that, needless to say, you can’t perform these dance styles on your own. You don’t need a partner to go to class – most dance academies tailor their classes for single males and females – but if you wish to showcase your skills on the dance floor, you’ll need someone to go dancing with.
The initial difficulty is finding a partner who’s going to be as good (or as bad!) a dancer as you are. Social dancing needs close cooperation between both performers, which means you should be on each other’s wavelength: for this reason, choosing the best dance partner can sometimes be as hard as choosing the best marriage partner! (Of course, social dancing is one way of doing just that!). In fact, because of the closeness of the dance relationship, a married woman or man may find that their non-dancing husband or wife doesn’t approve.
Some women may not find social dancing fits the requirements, anyway. In all types of partner dancing, the man is the leader: he decides the choreography (which steps come next). The woman is required to follow. If you are a women who wants to express her creativity, you might feel this doesn’t give enough room for self-expression.
If this sounds like you, you can also find dance forms you could consider.
Bellydancing i a good choice for older women, as the steps are so natural. Flamenco doesn’t need flexibility although the beat can be difficult to pick up. Folk dancing is also worth considering and is very sociable, as is courtly dancing.
Finally, should you be having problems finding dance classes of any kind, don’t overlook exercise classes like Zumba or Jazzercise, or aerobic dancing classes. These are not “real dancing”, but they feature choreographed routines and this can be very enjoyable.
The bottom line is if you want to dance, it is possible!