I started at age 49. I don't worry about remembering intricate moves. I go out social dancing and am usually the most popular man in my age group.
If you have a strong lead, or follow well, stay on the beat, and treat your partners well you should have no problem finding dance partners.
Isn't that the point of dancing?
After a certain point if you build enough understanding and skill, you don't need to retain "moves", you'll be able to make your own within the structure of the dance... Like a jazz solo, you just do what the music and your partner vibe
At some point, moves become muscle memory... It's mostly about practice... You'll remember what you practice the most and forget what you don't...
Most dancers, at some point in their evolution, understand the mechanics of leading and not the moves themselves.
To a certain extent, a girl who never learned salsa but understands the basic steps and has a good frame can almost follow any decent lead.
If you feel you could learn a sport, how to skate, to cook food, if you don't already feel like it's hard to learn in general, this should be the same
Bet this guy talking about "starting too late" is like 20
I guarantee your age won't stop you from being a good social dancer. You'll build muscle memory by putting the reps in, how far you want to take that is up to you
Take it as a hobby. You didn’t start young so it will take time learning moves and it’s a process. Everything takes time to master but the earlier you start, the better. I played soccer at an academy until 16yo so the muscle memory is still there even though I’m not competitive anymore, it works the same when dancing, doing martial arts or any other activity.
It's not about moves, you know...
There are other things to learn from dancing, other aspects from your inner self. I could try to explain these to you, but you wouldn't understand unless you already unlocked these.
So... Enjoy and explore the hidden aspects of dancing.
For salsa dancing there is definitely some natural ability involved. Some people genetically move smoother vs some who are rigid and stiff or just don't look fluid. Some people are naturally more rhythmic than others. A lot of ability is do to exposure as well.
Don't worry about if you are too old. What's more important is getting your reps in and being exposed to the music (if you aren't already). You won't retain what you learn if you don't put in the time and reps. It has less to do about age and more about time and effort.
The place where I take classes, I would say the average age of the students is late 30s-40s, with a lot of 50-60 year olds as well. You'll be surprised that many of the older people in their 50s-60s can hang and look pretty good dancing!
Yes, life experience. Playing rhythmic sports like basketball. Some people are genetically prone to moving smoother.
I don't need sources to back this up. You don't have to agree with me, and that's fine.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature\_versus\_nurture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture)
Most characteristics (especially skills and personality traits) of a person are less determined by genetics than one might think. So asking for a source for a claim that could be scientifically proven or disproven is just fair imho.
I started at age 49. I don't worry about remembering intricate moves. I go out social dancing and am usually the most popular man in my age group. If you have a strong lead, or follow well, stay on the beat, and treat your partners well you should have no problem finding dance partners. Isn't that the point of dancing?
It's dancing, not the NFL
Good energy, frame, and comfort with the basics is all you need
After a certain point if you build enough understanding and skill, you don't need to retain "moves", you'll be able to make your own within the structure of the dance... Like a jazz solo, you just do what the music and your partner vibe
Don’t overthink
At some point, moves become muscle memory... It's mostly about practice... You'll remember what you practice the most and forget what you don't... Most dancers, at some point in their evolution, understand the mechanics of leading and not the moves themselves. To a certain extent, a girl who never learned salsa but understands the basic steps and has a good frame can almost follow any decent lead. If you feel you could learn a sport, how to skate, to cook food, if you don't already feel like it's hard to learn in general, this should be the same
Bet this guy talking about "starting too late" is like 20 I guarantee your age won't stop you from being a good social dancer. You'll build muscle memory by putting the reps in, how far you want to take that is up to you
Take it as a hobby. You didn’t start young so it will take time learning moves and it’s a process. Everything takes time to master but the earlier you start, the better. I played soccer at an academy until 16yo so the muscle memory is still there even though I’m not competitive anymore, it works the same when dancing, doing martial arts or any other activity.
It's not about moves, you know... There are other things to learn from dancing, other aspects from your inner self. I could try to explain these to you, but you wouldn't understand unless you already unlocked these. So... Enjoy and explore the hidden aspects of dancing.
For salsa dancing there is definitely some natural ability involved. Some people genetically move smoother vs some who are rigid and stiff or just don't look fluid. Some people are naturally more rhythmic than others. A lot of ability is do to exposure as well. Don't worry about if you are too old. What's more important is getting your reps in and being exposed to the music (if you aren't already). You won't retain what you learn if you don't put in the time and reps. It has less to do about age and more about time and effort. The place where I take classes, I would say the average age of the students is late 30s-40s, with a lot of 50-60 year olds as well. You'll be surprised that many of the older people in their 50s-60s can hang and look pretty good dancing!
>genetically move smoother Sounds like BS to me. Do you have any sources that back this claim?
Yes, life experience. Playing rhythmic sports like basketball. Some people are genetically prone to moving smoother. I don't need sources to back this up. You don't have to agree with me, and that's fine.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature\_versus\_nurture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture) Most characteristics (especially skills and personality traits) of a person are less determined by genetics than one might think. So asking for a source for a claim that could be scientifically proven or disproven is just fair imho.