Eureka! I have solved the riddle of a thousand years. I now have in my possession the answers to the questions on millions of minds worldwide. The racial group with the reputation for rhythm, style, athleticism, grace, flexibility and plain old groove control have a secret. You are about to discover it today and you would be astounded by the sheer genius and simplicity of the discovery you are about to make. Here it goes- Black folks dance well because they practice their moves.
This leads us to Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours rule first proposed in his 2008 book Outliers. Here he puts forward the idea that mastery in any field can be achieved by putting in the hours. Any time someone tells you they cannot dance ask them how many hours they practice. They would probably tell you that there is no need to practice a skill that they can never acquire competence in. Now that leads us to my next point. Since practice is an act of faith, a presumption that repeated effort would lead to the actualisation of a hope, why do some people practice till they get it and others don’t? The answer again is simple. They are only living out what they have been told and have over time come to believe. As a child, I remember those birthday parties we used to call ‘four to six’. Two hours of merriment that culminated in the cutting of the birthday cake and the distribution of goody bags. When the music played you were instructed to dance. If you were a child given to shyness you got shoved to the dance floor. ‘Dance! Can’t you see the other children dancing?’ you got told by an aggressive aunty. No one asked you if you could dance. They just told you what was expected of you. They informed you of your reputation and you lived up to that image. Monetary gifts to really good dancers also helped to give kids an appreciation of the importance and rewards that go with dancing well. That means you practiced.
Some say rocking babies while singing to them by their mothers teaches the babies rhythm. I have seen mothers from all races rock their babies and it is always in rhythm. Once music plays some of these same mums who moved like ballet dancers when carrying their babies suddenly become ataxic. Many white people exhibit style and grace in ballet, gymnastics, skating, football, well the list is endless. These same people might freeze at the first few bars of a hip hop track. Well, Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake being exceptions. The other Non-Justin Caucasians have bought into a myth that White people cannot dance. This reminds me about what happened in the run up to the first time a mile was run under 4 minutes by Roger Bannister in 6-5-1954 at the Oxford University (3:59.4). Prior to that date John Landy, an Australian runner who had run the mile in 4 minute 2 seconds on seven occasions had gone on record as saying he did not believe he could run a sub four minute mile. Shortly after Bannister’s historic record, on the 21-6-1954 Landy ran a sub four minute mile (3:58). This just goes to show it is who you listen to. Bannister had a coach who told him he could do it and Landy told himself he couldn’t do it. By breaking the record Bannister showed Landy it was possible and Landy subsequently went on to shave a full second off Bannister’s world record. Incidentally in 1954 most of the middle distance runners were white. In today’s world they all come from East Africa (at least the winners do). He who is convinced about the possibility of success will practice hard for it. He who is told or he who tells himself he cannot do it will not bother to practice for the length of time required to achieve supreme mastery.
Carol Dweck in her book Mind-set: The new psychology of success introduces the concept of fixed and Growth mind-sets.
Those with a fixed mind-set believe intelligence is fixed and you are born with what you have. However those with a growth mind set believe intelligence can improve with learning. This grouping of mind-sets can actually be applied to most activities of human endeavour. Let us take money for instance. A fixed mind-set person would view wealth as privilege and linked to birth. The phrase ‘Born with a silver spoon in the hand’ will be used to explain away great fortunes as would be being well connected in society, being born in the right country and perhaps ‘destiny’. A growth mind-set person however will study the rich and extract habits they can apply to his own life. The believe that handling money is a skill to be learnt and that one can actually get better with time and practice will spur one on to study more.
The same applies to dance. Those who say White people cannot dance have a fixed mind set. It however looks like the world is full of fixed mind-set folks. People not inclined to change because ‘all my relatives have two left feet’. They feel that strenuous effort is fruitless and would give up. After two minutes of secretly trying out a dance move they saw someone do ‘effortlessly’ because it was ‘too complicated for me’. These people tend to only see what their eyes are conditioned to see, Black people dancing well.
The funny thing is all babies tend to move alike. They all dance to their inaudible music with the same leg and feet wiggling movements. When they learn to walk, it is always that same gait in no matter their ethnicity. I have never seen black babies crawl with swag or walk with a ‘cool limp’. Most of the changes you notice are environmental. If your dad keeps on playing that Joseph Haydn’s trumpet concerto in E flat while he reads his paper, you grow up playing with your toys and thinking. After years of missing out on impromptu ‘Azonto opportunities’ i.e dance practice sessions, that child might begin to think he cannot dance unless Ballet lessons are on the cards. A black child who is brought up on Azonto or hip hop beats has more opportunity for practice. Black churches with their soulful choirs create an impression that all Black people dance well. A young child looking at the choir just believes that what he sees will one day be his story. The same happens when children are taken to University graduation ceremonies. They just learn without a lecture that ‘in this family we get an education’. In Nigerian weddings where close family members wear the same fabric, a call might be made for those wearing the ‘party uniform’, (aso ebi) to come out and dance. Even if this is taken as an unavoidable chore, you get forced to the dance floor and you do your thing. Many people take pride in their moves the way some take pride in their gardens. Now, Alan Titchmarsh will bear me out when I say that there never was a beautiful garden that did not take a lot of time and years of accrued experience to keep in pristine condition. Any wonder why the electrifying James Brown was called the hardest working man in show business. He always sweated gallons on stage and talent is not sweat inducing; only hard work makes you sweat.
So like we say in Nigeria, no condition is permanent. If White people develop a desire to learn, get inspiration from good dance teachers, and accept that Black people dance badly indoors till they get it right and then come out looking all effortless, then all men will begin to appear created equal on the dance floor. The same applies to Black people and Ballet. (The slim Black people o!!!). Gone are the days when the fittest people in the world were Black. This was a fitness not acquired in the gym but from labouring as slaves on plantations. Today the black man is as unfit as any other race. There is indeed an equal opportunity vibe for all on the dance floor. Yes we can, if only we practice.
Babawilly
Dr Wilson Orhiunu
21-5-2014
References
Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success © 2006 by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. NY: Random House
ISBN 1400062756
Outliers. 2008 by Malcolm Gladwell. Little Brown and Company
ISBN 978-0-316-01792-3
Professor Tim Noakes at TEDxCapeTownED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYWLfPmnJSI&hd=1.
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