Dancers Among Us

I was trying to think of a group of people that normally doesn't get talked about too much...so I chose dancers because I think they are often overlooked or disregarded.  People go to dance parties and people watch cheerleaders dance at sporting events, but not much thought or attention is focused on dancers as a social group.  After researching it a bit and finding some different artifacts I did find that there are stereotypes and assumptions that are made about dancers and here are some pictures to help illustrate some of those...

A constant disagreement among this social group is whether dancers are athletes or artists...?

Some say that dancers are athletes because of they condition like other athletes and it is a highly physical sport requiring physical fitness and coordination.  Others say that dance is more of an art form and is meant for freedom of expression and creativity.  

I say why not both?  I think dance can be considered an athletic sport because of the physical strength and fitness it requires, but it is also an art form that can move audiences in a different way through their movement and emotion.

Another view on dancers is that if they are male and they dance, they are gay.  There seems to be no question.  That's the assumption that society has made about male dancers.  It is commonly viewed as a female activity so if a male chooses to participate he must be somewhat feminine.  But what about Hip Hop dancers?  They aren't thought to be feminine?  So why does the style of dance have to determine our judgement of someone?  Being a dancer myself I know many gay dancers, yes.  But I know many who are not.  So this stereotype is not necessarily true and judgements should not be so quickly made about male dancers.

There are many different stories that can be told about dancers as a social group.  Some view dancers as weird, creative, artistic people that have a deep intellectual view on the world and do interpretive movement.  Others may think of dancers as people who dance in front of crowds wearing revealing outfits and do promiscuous dances to entertain.  A lot of people assume all male dancers are gay unless they are black and do Hip Hop style dances.  Some think that dancers can be considered athletes, others consider them artists only.  The pictures in this post illustrate the ideas that were found in several different artifacts and that were just mentioned.  All of those social implications have some truth to them, but cannot be attributed to the majority.  It limits their view of reality if so.  There are many dancers that don't condition and dance for self-enjoyment, but it's still exercising.  Dance is a sport and an art.  Some male dancers are gay, not all of them are.  A lot of gay men do Hip Hop as well, and a lot of straight men do ballet.  Style does not determine a dancer's gender attraction.  And finally, the last two pictures are interesting photos because I think they perfectly show dancers in society.  

Dancers are all around us and they are no different from anyone else.  They may have coordination, flexibility, and a unique perspective on life.  But just like everyone else, they participate in something that makes them happy and that hobby becomes a part of them and a part of their life but it does not define them completely.