Male Dancers

You know who they are. You've seen them from a distance. They glide around the dance floor behind an Astaire-like facade of polished tuxes or faux finery with unmistakable Travolta flavor. The circle forms and they're always at the center. They are the party.

Yet just as quickly as male dancers magically materialize to wow the crowd with subtle moves and killer charm, they just as rapidly dissolve in Cinderella style at the end of the ball, concealed by a crowd of hungry faces.

'Tis the season for house formal date-hunting, and landing a Harvard guy with a sense of rhythm is like winning your first Master's at age 21, (we can't all have the eye of the Tiger).

Who are these masked men (phone numbers please!!) and what makes them such fearless dancers?

"It's a willingness to make a mistake and build off that," says Eyal Y. Kimchi '00, who began dancing this year with the Ballroom Dance Club (BDC). "Confidence matters more than anything. Do something wrong? Just pretend you did it right."

But what if you're the shy type, hesitant to make a blunder with the spotlight fixed firmly on your well-tailored back?

"It's all about getting over the shyness," says Alexander M. Fung '98, captain of BDC. Fung started ballroom dancing with his older sister, Jennifer M. Fung '97, when he was 10 Now both Fung and his sister dance on the Harvard team, an activity marked more by skill than talent he says.

"No one's really a bad dancer," says Fung. "You just need to talk [to your partner] more, or maybe take a few lessons."

At this point, I am sure Joe Harvard has broken out in that skeptical grin he reserves for late night poker games and Grille drinking contests. So these guys took a few lessons. So what? Maybe the average Harvard guy can't sweep a woman off her feet unless he's running her down with his iron-plated Cannondale. But are formals that much easier for the dancing pros?

"Actually, I just went to my first formal dances this year," says BDC member Jay H. Chyung '98. Chyung explains that although he attended the Quad formal and Tri-House formal with his ballroom partner earlier this year, ballroom competitions and formal dances are worlds apart.

"Normally [at competitions] we're dancing for technique," says Chyung. "But when we're out on the dance floor at formals, we're just having fun," he says.

Modesty seems to be a common trait among male dancers--a tendency to spin from spotlight to shadow in seconds.

"I don't like drawing attention to myself," Chyung admits. "When dancing, I always wait for someone else to start."

"At first when I started dancing, I didn't tell anyone what I could do," says Fung. "It was partly because I wasn't very good at it, but also because it seemed sort of [a] sissy thing to do."

Could male dancers' modesty be the result of childhood taunting, the kind of petty criticism that has plagued male dancers from Nijinsky to Baryshnikov?

"[Being a dancer] is different because you're used to moving your body and being less restricted than guys normally are," says Josh S. Shirkey '98, who danced for several years before coming to Harvard and currently participates in a Radcliffe dance program.

Shirkey emphasizes the subtle difference between ballroom dancing and ballet, a difference which he says effectively separates the social connotations of couples dancing and solo performance for male dancers.

"There's a lot of pressure, from parents and peers, especially when you're young, that says dancing isn't the right thing for a boy to do," Shirkey says.

"[With ballroom] most people don't start until they're adults, and you don't really make fun of each other when you get to be grown up."

Male dancers may be taunted for preferring dancing shoes to football cleats, but a traditional macho image can also plague male dancers. Like the protagonist in "Strictly Ballroom," Shirkey says male dancers often find themselves stuck playing the stereotypical dance floor ornament.

"A lot of times people just expect the guy to walk on stage and throw the girl around," says Shirkey.

So what's the challenge? Why stick with dance if it's such a hassle?

"It's all about trying to get my body to do what I want it to do, within its own limits," Shirkey says.

Kimchi agrees that dancing is a constant physical challenge. As with any good sport activity, the more you learn, the more you want to continue playing.

"It's very easy to develop a basic proficiency," he says. "A little bit of knowledge makes such a difference."

But for many male ballroom dancers, the magic lies in an understood communication they share with their partner.

"It really is an unspoken conversation," Kimchi says.

Fung agrees that one of the best aspects of dance is the relationship between partners.

"I know if I do one move she'll respond in a certain way," Fung says.. "I don't have to say a word--we just become two bodies, moving in synchrony."

Face the facts men: dancing IS every Harvard man's dream. So grab a partner and get down to it: the only thing you've got to lose is the beat

"There's a lot of pressure, from parents and peers, especially when you're young, that says dancing isn't the right thing for a boy to do," Shirkey says.

"[With ballroom] most people don't start until they're adults, and you don't really make fun of each other when you get to be grown up."

Male dancers may be taunted for preferring dancing shoes to football cleats, but a traditional macho image can also plague male dancers. Like the protagonist in "Strictly Ballroom," Shirkey says male dancers often find themselves stuck playing the stereotypical dance floor ornament.

"A lot of times people just expect the guy to walk on stage and throw the girl around," says Shirkey.

So what's the challenge? Why stick with dance if it's such a hassle?

"It's all about trying to get my body to do what I want it to do, within its own limits," Shirkey says.

Kimchi agrees that dancing is a constant physical challenge. As with any good sport activity, the more you learn, the more you want to continue playing.

"It's very easy to develop a basic proficiency," he says. "A little bit of knowledge makes such a difference."

But for many male ballroom dancers, the magic lies in an understood communication they share with their partner.

"It really is an unspoken conversation," Kimchi says.

Fung agrees that one of the best aspects of dance is the relationship between partners.

"I know if I do one move she'll respond in a certain way," Fung says.. "I don't have to say a word--we just become two bodies, moving in synchrony."

Face the facts men: dancing IS every Harvard man's dream. So grab a partner and get down to it: the only thing you've got to lose is the beat