about dance psychology?

Question

Why do people like to ask "am i too old to start dancing" so much? from 13-30 years old there' people who wanna take up dance but feels that there to old to start. Is that an excuse for self consolation (never mind if i screw up cos i missed the peak period) or something else?

Answer 1

My observation is that this question is most commonly asked by ages 13-16, actually. It is only a guess, but I think this is the age when people start discovering their interests that their parents didn't discover for them. But they know that people usually start dancing at age 4-7. So they think they won't be accepted, will never catch up, or afraid to be embarrassed to look less skillful than little children. Note that usually this questions are coming from very goal-oriented people wanting to dance as a career. Adults, say, from 25 and up already know that they can learn just about anything if they want to, to a pretty good amateur level, and it is not embarrassing to start learning at any age. At 25 or older, people usually already have a career plan, and they don't try to become dance professionals, and they know better that that to ask whether or not they can dance for fun.

Answer 2

That's a really interesting question! I think it depends on the goals one has in mind. If a person wants to reach a certain level of dancing--semi-professional or professional--there's an idea that you have to start training as soon as you can walk.

Unfortunately, dance isn't well-integrated in American culture. It's pretty isolated to performing, youth culture (clubbing, raves), or drum circles (my fave). So, often people see it as a competitive/performance art, rather than as the fun, social, spiritually and physically enriching experience it can be. Hence, the need to start early to be "good".

Answer 3

I think this question is a result of lack of exposure to dance in general, both in terms of near non-existent training opportunities in schools and little coverage of dance performance (and what goes into it) in the media. What tiny amount of dance most people get to see on TV, most of it is without any commentary and is made to look very easy. It's only very recently, with two popular dance shows - "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing with the Stars" - that audiences get to hear some commentary, critique, and see dancers struggle. Contrast this with sports where young people are exposed to both local student athletes and seeing how hard they work plus sports on TV where it is presented with tons of commentary and factual information.

The question, then, reflects this vacuum of information. Young people are ignorant about what is involved with high-level dance training because our society does a lousy job of exposing people to this art form and what goes into it.

Answer 4

They just don't want to be humiliated when learning. It makes them feel un-valuble when they see a younger being better at doing something than them.

p.s.
I watch deathnote too.
:D