Why do people dance? What's the point?

Question

I never understood dancing. I have no idea how to do it, and even a choreographer has failed at teaching me how. It is a bit pointless to me really, to stand in a crowd and move around. You may think this is odd, since I was a guitar player in a band. I just never understood why people have this silly urge to move around when they hear music... Can someone explain? I'd love to see different answers on this, not just one.

Answer 1

can't understand why a guitar player, who is a musician, can't understand dancing, you play the beat and people move their feet. It's the rythm of life man"play that funky music"

Answer 2

dancing  is an art .

a good dancer makes those who watch it happy.

dancing improves our body.

i can't say more

Answer 3

There are a lot of different kinds of dance.  Dancing as performance is not at all the same as funky-in-your-kitchen dancing or social dancing.  Each of these are done for different reasons.  

You're right.  It's just moving around.  Motion is one of the many ways human beings relate to their world.  We don't all relate in the same way and many of us experience the world differently.  

Some of us dance for the same reason we smile.  We are just filled with an emotional response to music and want to express the feeling in a physical way.  Some dance because they want to be liked.  Some dance because it makes them feel closer to the people they dance with.  Often it is several reasons at once.

Answer 4

I dance because I love it, ballet has always been there for me I am pretty good at it ,I want to dance professionally ,it feels good to dance and it's not silly dancing is a sport and takes lots of hard work,effort,time and money it is also an art a beautiful ballerina is art I want to be art that is one of the many reasons I live to dance and dance to live

Answer 5

Mostly people are dancing to express their physique or flirting to attract the opposite s*x just like animal mating ritual as GY says, I called it social dancing to pickup or be picked up and some social dancers dance just to be accepted in that social group.

The other type of dancers would think dancing is an art form and they can get really into it like meditating it brings joys and happiness even they are dancing alone and some dances for physical exercise purpose.

Others dance only when they are happy. You DO dance but unaware of it, I called it celebration dance.

Answer 6

what do u mean y do people dance? y do people do half the things they do? because they like 2. i dance simply because i love to do it. i love the feeling i get when i finally get a step perfect that i've been working on for a long time. i love preforming in front of lotz of people knowing that i can do something better than most of them can. it's just something to do. don't u get the same feeling when you're playing guitar? don't u feel like u can do something that not everybody can do as good as u? it's the same basic concept. dance is more than just moving around too. that's like saying playing guitar is just moving your hand up and down. there's more to it than that. and dancing doesn't really have a point, but that's what's so fun about it. it's not like telling a story where u have to have an ending that sums everything up, it's just...well...dancing! i'm srry that u can't feel the same way, but that's the way i look at it.

Answer 7

dance takes skill, so that's probably y u cant do it bcuz dancers work really hard at what they do. and if u think dance is pointless, then music should b to cuz it's just a sound

Answer 8

That's a great question.  When I was a kid, teachers used to tell us it was bad- like that it would lead to s*x.  But when you think about it a lot of animals do mating rituals that look like dancing. So maybe we dance as a way to intrigue or entice the opposite s*x.  Also I learned in Art history that dancing was the way the first humans would tell stories to entertain each other - dancing around the fire at night.

Answer 9

we dance because we feel the music in us and it moves us to dance..music was made so ppl could dance to it!the choreographer prbly failed in ur eyes when really you were just resisting dancing... anyone can dance you should try again

Answer 10

Dancing is another way of expressing emotion.  It is a reflection of feeling and can also be used as a calming tool.  It is free-spirited and can be done in various ways/styles and tells a story about the music people like you make. :)

Answer 11

Dancing is a way to express yourself. It's most probably what you feel when you listen to music. Generally you listen to what suits your mood, desires, hopes, dreams. Well, other people feel they are able to express themselves more through movement. It's an art form just like music. And even if you suck at it, if you enjoy it than it's a wonderful thing.

I personally can't get into the whole dancing thing because my friends have established that it embarasses them.

Answer 12

Dance is many things.

Some reasons people dance:

- A good work out

- Meditation

- Balance

- Compete

- Religion / Rite of passage

The urge to get your groove on is sometimes instinct. You have this feeling that just stems out and it you want to release it into something you can express: Dance!

For some animals, dance is even a form of courtship. If you're able to learn and able to move, you are able to dance. How long it takes depends on the person but keep trying!