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> People who take up dancing together, for instance, often express greater closeness and cohesion afterward. Moving in tandem seems to generate intangible, inti

> People who take up dancing together, for instance, often express greater closeness and cohesion afterward. Moving in tandem seems to generate intangible, intimate bonds. As a dancer in my youth, it's a bit funny reading someone writing this as research. Dancing is physically close, intimate, other-person-way-closer-than-your-regular-comfort-zone by nature. Add to that that eye contact, again inherently intimate, is crucial for coordinating any nuanced moves and you'd be hard pressed to find anything other than the above result. There is no way to put in the hours of rote practice, sweat, awkward mishaps and more without becoming intimate with your dance partner. I'm not saying it's bad there's research into this, I'm more so surprised this is something that was only strictly established by research in 2015.

germinalphrase 6y ago
I feel similarly about wrestling. The culture can be extremely macho (often to its detriment) - but the physical contact and trust involved similarly builds bonds.
- TrispusAttucks 6y ago
  Wrestled from an early age. Totally agree. Takes a lot of trust to let someone shoot in trip and slam you. Knowing that it's your turn next. You truly know someone's strength and skill and all the social tough guy posturing means nothing when it's just two people on the mat.
  - leetcrew 6y ago
    > You truly know someone's strength and skill and all the social tough guy posturing means nothing when it's just two people on the mat. I ultimately decided wrestling wasn't for me, but I did appreciate this part of it. there were quite a few matches in highschool where some scrawny kid got matched against one of the "athletic" types. often turned out to be quite the upset if the scrawny guy had actually been paying attention to the coaches.
notsureaboutpg 6y ago
>Dancing is physically close, intimate, other-person-way-closer-than-your-regular-comfort-zone by nature. Add to that that eye contact, again inherently intimate, is crucial for coordinating any nuanced moves and you'd be hard pressed to find anything other than the above result. Also puts in new perspective the early 20th century attitudes towards Jazz, Rock N Roll, dancing, flappers, etc. There is anecdote that Sayyid Qutb really turned away from modernity and towards Islamism when he witnessed a Church in Colorado (he was at UC Boulder) that held a mixed dance in one of the Church buildings.
dylan604 6y ago
this is the reason you're supposed to "leave room for jesus" when dancing. the evils of dancing have been propogated by religious beliefs directly because of its known proclivity towards initimate behavior.
- toiletfuneral 6y ago
  my conservative christian school told us that holding hands is as bad as pre-marital sex because it was the first step towards fornication. that place was terrible
  - proc0 6y ago
    They were wrong in teaching it to children, but I don't think many people would want to see their significant other holding hands with someone else. There is a lot of wisdom in ancient religions but it's often wielded by less-than-capable people.
    - toby 6y ago
      This is pretty cultural and contextual -- in many social groups, at least on the west coast, holding hands and cuddling between friends is common. In some Asian countries you often see two boys walking down the street holding hands. I don't really agree that there's wisdom in teaching people jealousy over perfectly innocent behavior.
      - worik 6y ago
        As a Pākehā boy in Aotearoa in the 1960s I used to hold hands with my friends quite often. Especially if we were in conversation. Never even though twice about it. Eight years old
      - proc0 6y ago
        I said there's wisdom in ancient religions that have observed something about human nature that is otherwise hard to observe from a single individual's vantage point (not to mention trying to explain it in a concise/precise way). Saying it's equivalent to "teaching people jealousy" is illustrating my point, that teachings are often reduced and bastardized and then taught to children. Regardless, point taken and I agree there is cultural context, but even in hand-holding cultures, there will be an equivalent of an exterior but subtle show of attraction and the point Christians make (IMHO) is that you can be dishonest with yourself and then fall into the "trap", so it's almost a reductionist approach to morality, since if you intend never to "cheat" then why would you even be interested in the "first step", whatever that is for the culture.
shuntress 6y ago
Maybe it took until 2015 because people thought it was too obvious to bother recording.
chrisweekly 6y ago
"becoming intimate" -- do you mean literally (ie, becoming emotionally close with feings of trust and connectedness), or as a euphemism for sex?
- noodlenotes 6y ago
  The entire reply is about how contrived physical closeness leads to emotional closeness so it seems out of left field to think this was a euphemism for sex.
- aksss 6y ago
  In this context it means becoming close and connected, not a euphemism for sex.
mudita 6y ago
From the way you're writing about dance, I assume that you mean couple dances like tango or waltz? This study is not about a couple dance, where one has physical contact with one dance partner, but about synchronised movement to music in a group.
- Izkata 6y ago
  I was actually imagining ballet when reading their description. Competitive cheerleading as well isn't just physically close, there are moves where you're literally putting your life in your teammates hands.

germinalphrase 6y ago

I feel similarly about wrestling. The culture can be extremely macho (often to its detriment) - but the physical contact and trust involved similarly builds bonds.

TrispusAttucks 6y ago
Wrestled from an early age. Totally agree. Takes a lot of trust to let someone shoot in trip and slam you. Knowing that it's your turn next. You truly know someone's strength and skill and all the social tough guy posturing means nothing when it's just two people on the mat.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  > You truly know someone's strength and skill and all the social tough guy posturing means nothing when it's just two people on the mat. I ultimately decided wrestling wasn't for me, but I did appreciate this part of it. there were quite a few matches in highschool where some scrawny kid got matched against one of the "athletic" types. often turned out to be quite the upset if the scrawny guy had actually been paying attention to the coaches.

notsureaboutpg 6y ago

>Dancing is physically close, intimate, other-person-way-closer-than-your-regular-comfort-zone by nature. Add to that that eye contact, again inherently intimate, is crucial for coordinating any nuanced moves and you'd be hard pressed to find anything other than the above result. Also puts in new perspective the early 20th century attitudes towards Jazz, Rock N Roll, dancing, flappers, etc. There is anecdote that Sayyid Qutb really turned away from modernity and towards Islamism when he witnessed a Church in Colorado (he was at UC Boulder) that held a mixed dance in one of the Church buildings.

dylan604 6y ago

this is the reason you're supposed to "leave room for jesus" when dancing. the evils of dancing have been propogated by religious beliefs directly because of its known proclivity towards initimate behavior.

toiletfuneral 6y ago
my conservative christian school told us that holding hands is as bad as pre-marital sex because it was the first step towards fornication. that place was terrible
- proc0 6y ago
  They were wrong in teaching it to children, but I don't think many people would want to see their significant other holding hands with someone else. There is a lot of wisdom in ancient religions but it's often wielded by less-than-capable people.
  - toby 6y ago
    This is pretty cultural and contextual -- in many social groups, at least on the west coast, holding hands and cuddling between friends is common. In some Asian countries you often see two boys walking down the street holding hands. I don't really agree that there's wisdom in teaching people jealousy over perfectly innocent behavior.
    - worik 6y ago
      As a Pākehā boy in Aotearoa in the 1960s I used to hold hands with my friends quite often. Especially if we were in conversation. Never even though twice about it. Eight years old
    - proc0 6y ago
      I said there's wisdom in ancient religions that have observed something about human nature that is otherwise hard to observe from a single individual's vantage point (not to mention trying to explain it in a concise/precise way). Saying it's equivalent to "teaching people jealousy" is illustrating my point, that teachings are often reduced and bastardized and then taught to children. Regardless, point taken and I agree there is cultural context, but even in hand-holding cultures, there will be an equivalent of an exterior but subtle show of attraction and the point Christians make (IMHO) is that you can be dishonest with yourself and then fall into the "trap", so it's almost a reductionist approach to morality, since if you intend never to "cheat" then why would you even be interested in the "first step", whatever that is for the culture.

shuntress 6y ago

Maybe it took until 2015 because people thought it was too obvious to bother recording.

chrisweekly 6y ago

"becoming intimate" -- do you mean literally (ie, becoming emotionally close with feings of trust and connectedness), or as a euphemism for sex?

noodlenotes 6y ago
The entire reply is about how contrived physical closeness leads to emotional closeness so it seems out of left field to think this was a euphemism for sex.
aksss 6y ago
In this context it means becoming close and connected, not a euphemism for sex.

mudita 6y ago

From the way you're writing about dance, I assume that you mean couple dances like tango or waltz? This study is not about a couple dance, where one has physical contact with one dance partner, but about synchronised movement to music in a group.

Izkata 6y ago
I was actually imagining ballet when reading their description. Competitive cheerleading as well isn't just physically close, there are moves where you're literally putting your life in your teammates hands.