Is Dance Getting Cooler?
Published on Monday 28th June, 2.52pm, Written by Amy Whiting
Dance is everywhere and its popularity seems to be growing at a rapid speed. But why is dance now appealing to a wider and notably younger crowd?
Dance has been around since time begun. It’s been in people’s lives as a way of bringing communities together for entertainment and celebration purposes for hundreds of years. Dance is still used for all of these reasons but of late there has been a noticeable growth in interest around professional dance. From reality TV programmes, West End shows or dance classes, the hype seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Once seen as something for the middle classes full of pliés and grand jetés, dance seems to have gotten a whole lot cooler.
Ballet dancing: just for the middle classes? Picture: dalbera@flickr
The Reality World
The increase in reality shows has been a massive phenomenon in popular culture during the last decade, and dance hasn’t managed to escape the trend. Reality dance shows are by no means a new concept. American audiences enjoyed a string of dance shows from the 1950s through to the 1980s, but these tended to be targeted at specific social groups.
The popularity of the dance shows of today is across the board, with no obvious attempts to target either white or black teenagers. Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew are all extremely successful in America and have brought a variety of different genres to a whole new audience.
The same has happened on this side of the Atlantic. The BBC has run a bunch of high profile dance shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and the hugely popular Strictly Come Dancing. The wonderful mixture of Latin, ballroom, glitter and celebs seems to be the vital ingredients needed for a successful reality show these days. Dancing With The Stars and Strictly have made a younger audience appreciate Latin and ballroom styles of dancing. Seeing their favourite pop star, actress or presenter learning how to Rumba makes the young girls watching want to learn it too.
Britain’s Got Talent has showcased street dancing in a way that hasn’t been done before
Another style of dance, which has exploded over the last decade, is street dance. Britain’s Got Talent has really showcased this style in a way that hasn’t really been done before. Incredible acts like Diversity, Flawless and George Sampson have managed to make this style of dance more accessible and popular to a huge amount of people. Thanks to its relaxed style, anybody can do it. A surge in street dance classes up and down the country are allowing people who have no dance background to get moving.
In Theatreland
It’s not just on the television that dance has made it’s mark. It’s hugely successful on the West End stage too. The rise in dance shows has increased of late with the likes of Burn The Floor, the Strictly Come Dancing tours, Tap Dogs and the increased profile of Sadler’s Wells. A larger public appetite for dance, combined with the presence of celebs, is having an impact and the Arts Council reported a massive 103% increase in audiences for dance shows between 2008-2009.
Musicals are always popular, not only for their familiar plots, but the dancing too. Dirty Dancing is a great example of this. Since opening in the West End in 2006 at the Aldwych Theatre, the show was reported as being the fastest selling musical in West End history. Before the show had even opened it had already sold out for the next six moths. Nobody can deny the outstanding dance routines and famous moves that are synonymous with the film also helped with the show’s popularity.
The growth of dance shows in Theatreland will continue to grow, as long as the demand for it is there. And right now, the audiences certainly want to see more.
Dance, dance, dance
Dance classes haven’t always been fashionable. Ballet, tap and ballroom are generally considered to be more traditional forms of dance lessons that many young girls will have learnt but stopped when they reached their teenage years. Either because it’s no longer cool or as you progress further, a certain amount of skill is needed, so they give up. But now there is so much more choice out there with more genres of dance being offered.
Maybe it’s because street and hip hop dance is more relaxed than traditional genres that it makes it more accessible and appealing. Yes, you still need basic rhythm and the ability to remember the moves, but the fact that it’s danced to popular music, is another reason more people enjoy it, which is what dance is all about.
