Everybody Dance!

I am a shy white boy from the country, remote Canadian farmland country, kind of nerdy like I keep saying in an awkward way not the super brain kind of way. That is why it shocks people when I am out at a party or wedding and they see how much I like to dance, even better they are shocked that I'm not a bad dancer. Not bad compared to most white Canadian guys from the country. I always thought it had something to do with being gay, since a lot of male dancers are gay, where I came from no straight guy would ever say "Mom & Dad I think I want to become a dancer! My thinking changed by something a friend said to me that made sense, he is a black guy and one day was teasing me about my "cool moves", I had remarked to him that I wondered why so many white guys suck at dancing. He then asked me if my Dad liked to dance, I said actually yes he does and he is pretty good. He said that was probably one of the reasons I don't mind dancing then. I feel comfortable doing it because my Dad has already set the example. He explained in his family all the men liked to dance so he grew up in a family where it was more normal for a guy to get up and dance than to stay sitting down, he said it is what you are raised with, he also remarked he sees the same thing with other black families but also noticed dancing for men is not common amongst white families. He asked why is that, I said it was just easier to pound each other with hockey sticks. When I moved to the city, a lot of my male friends liked to dance, when I complained about the music to appear cool, they said "at home you listen to rock, but at a dance this is better, you can't really dance to Black Sabbath!" I remember thinking, 'yes' finally cool friends.

We often hear it in funny songs or commentaries, how we should all dance. Even when we are alone, in our living room or bed room, just to let out stress, enjoy ourselves, laugh at ourselves. Come on admit it, how many of us got in front of the mirror, turned on the tunes, felt the beat and checked out the hot moves we have kept hidden from the world, a lot of us would like to do it in public but are too shy. I am so disappointed in the number of gay men that tell me they don't or won't dance, what did you lose that gene? You know a lot of girls have this saying "good on the dance floor, good in bed" the thinking behind this is if he feels free to express himself in public and can move, then imagine what he will do behind closed door. Some of my female friends swear by this (I mentioned I'm a good dancer right) and will watch how a new boyfriend moves on the floor. I think you could apply that to gay men as well, I am not sure since I have only been with one guy, he was however a good dancer and come to think of it he was really good in... um anyway he was a good dancer.

I stopped dancing for a long time or listening to any kind of dance music. I was afraid that people would think I'm gay. I do listen to all types of music so if I want to sit down and listen to something it will be more like U2, Keane, Led Zeppelin, early Simple Minds or something less cool that I don't want to mention here so I won't look like a geek (think Enya). Surprise, however I am gay so I just realized I can listen to what I want. In fact the neighbors were bugging me with their noise next door and since they are more jazz and blues type people, I knew I could torture them with DJ Steve's club beats! Yeah the tunes were pumping that day, I just need some of those cool lights. Back in the day, I can remember jumping to the beats of good dance tunes like, Into the Grove, You Spin Me Round, Venus and so so many more. Of course we would also go wild for anything by the B52s, Human League etc. Pete over at Falling Off A Log often lists tunes on his site that he prefers and it opened a window to other tracks I like on YouTube. So I'm listening to dance tunes again, getting in touch with my inner gay club dancer self and now I want to go out dancing! One tune is stuck in my head Reach For Me, I need to listen to it over and over, so if you don't mind dance tracks give it a try, no video with it and I found after listening to it the second time is when I got hooked. Now what I want out of you guys and girls is sometime this weekend, dance! Even if alone in your bedroom in front of the mirror, even just for one song, if you have a partner be sure to get him up. I would prefer if you went out, so if it has been a while why not, go out make the time for yourself to enjoy life. If you need some moves, watch this guy, (shake it white boy) another blogger that is real easy on the eyes, he will be familiar to some and you can see he has fun with it, so why can't we all. Okay that is your mission for this weekend, now everybody lets dance!