02/05/2020
Category: news

Will distance dancing gain and keep its audience? That's a definite yes, no and maybe. Dancing's DNA lies in social non-distancing.

The arrival of lockdown with enforced social distancing has brought the advent of online dance sessions and classes. A number of them have appeared on Facebook feeds of dancing community members. This has been applauded as a wonderful initiative to keep existing dancers and learners in the swing of a beloved pastime.

The current understanding is that it will provide a stopgap until the Coronavirus threat is negated. We presume that social restrictions will then end and things will then quickly return to 'normal'. But that's just an interim view. No vaccine may be found and alternatives might still require a high degree of social distancing. The current hiatus might continue for a long while.

But even if Covid-19 suddenly dies out and and takes social distancing with it, will the extreme disruption to status quo have left us with a new normal? I suspect it will.

Rock 'n' Roll dancing evolved from earlier dance styles that themselves probably evolved from what birds and fish do prior to mating. Evolution is driven by changes in the environment. Those are very often sudden and rapid, as described in the biological theory of punctuated equilibrium. The question here is whether our equilibrium has been temporarily punctuated or if it's been permanently punctured.

My own suspicion is that we will see a variety of outcomes. Dancing has gained another dimension that has a chance to prove itself as a worthy permanent addition. However, it won't replace what has always been the magnet - close social interaction. Often, the interaction gets very close. Boy meets girl has always been both a magnet to dancing and an anticipated outcome.

Virtual dance classes could easily replace the physical version. Certainly for couples and also for singles who can find a like-minded friend. In today's connected world, the technology exists for us all to connect our televisions together and participate in a pretty good substitute for the type of classes that I ran. Teachers don't need to hire a hall and get stuck with the cost if no one turns up. Participants don't need to freeze in the middle of winter or swelter in summer. Nor do they need to drive half-an-hour for the opportunity of doing so. Or arrive only to discover there's no one suitable to dance with. There are many challenges to running a dance group. Virtual classes might have their own challenges, but they avoid traditional ones to a high degree.

The only thing missing is direct personal assistance for beginners. As teachers know, every student individual or couple is different. Their strengths and weaknesses are many and varied and each requires different assistance. Some learners were quite hopeless to begin with but subsequently became good dancers after a teacher like myself studied their movements, identified a particular problem and worked with them intensively to rectify it.

That type of hands-on help wouldn't happen with a virtual dance class. But the problem may be mitigated by arranging personal instruction in homes for specific couples or very small groups.

I suspect that initially teachers with an entrepreneurial spirit will see good money to be made from the online format. Their personal flair as well as their teaching skills could be worth a packet initially. But over time, the ease of connecting lounge room to lounge room will result in friends helping friends to learn, similar to what happens on the dance floor currently. It's likely to become a flooded market very quickly.

This currently is all just speculation. How the future of dancing will play out is yet to be seen. I don't believe virtual dance sessions will replace the in-person social events we are used to. If those stop happening, interest in dancing will probably wane. Or maybe it will attract new generations to whom virtual reality is increasingly their life experience.

Regardless, virtual dance classes having arrived, I doubt if they are leaving no matter what.