As a woman who was told I could never ballroom dance because of my size and orientation this idea offers great promise that I can someday pursue something I have wanted to try all my life!
Why are there so many negative comments here? Some people really seem to take the whole thing way too serious. I'm taking standard-dance classes for quite a while now and it has always bothered me that I have never learned any male dance moves (I'm female) in my dance class. So at dance partys or even at dance classes I have never been able to dance with my female friends together (there are always more female people than male people in dance classes), since they haven't learned them either. And no, I'm just talking about "dancing for fun" here. Sometimes you just want to dance with somebody, no matter what gender this person has! I think that liquid lead dancing is a great concept of being able to dance with everybody, because if dance schools would actually teach this, they would show you the male and female moves, no matter what gender you are. So stop being so serious about it, it's not only about gender roles, maybe it's just about the love for dancing!
What's stopping you learning the men's steps? I've never been to a class where a teacher will stop students learning the opposite role's steps. In fact, as a teacher I'd encourage it. Also, in high level competative dancing the lady dancer is incredibly active.
@@mavsworld1733 She said it. The teachers fucking stopped her. The *teachers*. How is she supposed to learn when the people who are supposed to teach her AREN'T TEACHING HER!!
So here we have a TED video with a picture of 2 men clearly dancing together and a title that says- "Ballroom dance that breaks gender rolls" making it absolutely clear as to what they are about to watch, yet some people still feel the need to watch and comment as to what a waste of time the video was.-lol It cracks me up.
That's due to the inevitable backlash against the current wave of authoritarian feminist who keep trying to push their agenda and ideology on everybody else, to the point of controlling what others say. This is only the beginning. Go listen to Professor Peterson from U of T (well, up until now anyway, he's about to lose his job for refusing to mouth the PC words the administration and the law is trying to force him to.)
I actually really loved the analogy to Shakespeare, and I think that this is super relevant - although ballroom dancing might have television presence, people in the US don't ballroom dance all the time, but people in other countries are big fans of partner dancing. The idea of the "liquid lead" and the interchangeability of roles is so awesome. They spoke powerfully, poetically and precisely. Some TED talks tend to meander, but this was satisfyingly purposeful. Love.
One of the best Ted talks I've ever seen. Before a back injury left me permanently disabled, I performed and taught dance for several years. The liquid lead idea is sheer genius! And I absolutely applaud the fact that they put it out there plain as day how many people are rendered invisible by the hide-bound traditions of couple dancing.
For all of the people endlessly complaining about TED content surrounding artistic/social/justice/women's/poverty/climate/education/religious/ethnic topics: *PLEASE LEAVE ALREADY!* ... on second thought, exposure to the modern world can only do you some good..
Seeing such a tall and masculine man as Mr. Fox letting himself be led, so graceful and unselfconscious, was so beautiful! He even did the flourishes, arms, hips and leg movements and looked so majestic 😍💜 The fact that he didn't hesitate or slowed down even when spinning, while they had to get the hands over his head! When me and my friends danced we also switched roles as partners because most of us were women so we tried to make it fair too, and it was usually too awkward when the shorter one tried to lead! We had a laugh about it, but I never dreamt it could look so elegant! I'm amazed also by Mr. Copp and the other dancer, they were so... In control, solid, powerful when it was their turn to lead! I can't get over how the transitions were so smooth and marvellous, truly like a conversation. I'm so awed.
Whit H I admittedly skipped through the video in little jumps because I didn't hear anything other than dance so I guess ill have to watch the whole thing now and see if my impression was accurate.
Everybody feels so threatened facing change, specially if it relates to their identify. Change is not easy and it will take years to take effect. Thank you to you folks and TED to pave the path!
People like him prove we don't need any more of it. How exactly does this sort of dancing help the lgbtq community? It doesn't help anyone. It is useless.
Thomas Cameron It's in the way we think. Traditions often dictates our thoughts and hence, our actions. However, by breaking the stereotypical gender roles away bit by bit through revolutionizing matters in our daily lives, like dance, family structures or laws, it would be changing the way we think by constantly reminding us the fact that no matter you are men or women, gay or straight, (I'm going to regret saying this) Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, we all have equal opportunities to lead a dance, marry the person we love or run for president as long as people involved are in consent. I think this is how the world has overcome inequality and progressed to equality.
Yan Tse So why are we still hearing about it then? I actually agree but yet these propaganda videos are still being produced. Same goes with media and everywhere else. Besides, tradition isn't fundamentally bad. Tradition did create the society we live in. Is that something we really want to screw with to much? Is it possible that by breaking our traditions we can accidentally break our society?
No, we can't break our society by breaking traditions. You are right in that tradition gave us the society we have. A stale society that resists improvement. Luckily, we are changing that.
Interesting. Me and my wife are dancing since years. We're not professional, but enjoying it a lot. I have always liked leading the dance, but watching this video made me think it would be great to follow as well. Our life as a couple is a constant conversation; we switch roles often and we enjoy both making a decision ourself and letting the partner decide - because it's tiresome to always lead and it's tiresome to always follow. So why should our dance be different? Liquid lead dancing sound like a lot of fun. Whenever leading gets boring I can initiate the switch and start following. What a nice idea!
Your dancing should already be a conversation. If the man is dictatorial his backline will break and he will become army. ballroom is led through the lower body, and the lady has the choice of how to continue. This talk makes the premise that ballroom hasn't changed in hundreds of years. I'd like to see him tell Karen Hilton that lady dancers can't be strong and powerful. At the end of the day it can be summed up when he says "this looks beautiful", and puts himself into an ugly twisted posture. His level seems too low to really know what he is talking about.
@@Catthepunk Yes, because lead and follow in ballroom isn't about physically imposing your wishes on your partner, that's domestic violence dancing. The lead chooses directions and exerts more influence on figure choices, but ballroom is a continual conversation from initiating action, if a lady doesn't do what is expected you have to go with what she is doing. As an example, if I go to lead a reverse turn in foxtrot, but the lady predicts a Telemark telespin then that's what I'm going to end up doing, because there's no way I'm going to counter the force a good lady would be able to put into that while looking good and not making her very angry with me.
@@Catthepunk Your question is attempting to simplify a complex question. I don't know your level of dancing, but I am a professional dancer. The answer I think you want me to give is that the lead chooses figures, but real lead and follow doesn't work at that level, because high level dancing is much more about playing with the music and shapes, which is far more collaborative. Heck, low level social dancing should also be much more about shape and musicality. You could even go so far as to argue that a lot of people social dancing have no lead or follow, because both the lead and follow are going through routines and steps that they have learned before the dance. If they want to deviate from this then you will require both members to contribute. As mentioned, I am a professional ballroom dancer and I take part in social dancing with dancers who are much lower level than I am. I am taking on the role of leader, but often due to the lady predicting, she will be leading a significant portion of the dance (nearly everything after the initiating step). This is not good lead follow, but an example of how even with the lead strictly leading they will actually be following a percentage of the time.
Perhaps in recent ballroom and latin dance culture, but it's a very old concept for some other dance styles. It's frustrating for me to see these men taking credit for such an old idea, repeating the idea over and over again instead of exploring it in depth, then wasting time showing off their dancing skills. How much of this was just to stroke their egos? This talk was needlessly drawn out for how little information it provided. I don't see how it got accepted by the event organizers in this format. Good idea. Terrible format :(
This is amazing! It summarizes so accurately and tactfully all strong feelings and outrageous emotions I have about ballroom dancing as a girl, who is not supposed to lead, but sometimes does. I genuinely agree with the idea that ballroom dances should represent today's diversity in relationships between people
i like leading the dance because i love to use my imagination to dance, but at the same time i feel bad when i see that my partner is always following my step without being able to express herself. I love the idea of switching roles during the dance i love it. It's more fair so everyone can express themselves, and we can both enjoy the leader role and the follower role.
Why is everyone saying they don't like this video because 'TED usually uploads science/tech videos' when if you look at their videos that's clearly not true?
I started taking dance as a child, eventually became a performer, then a dance instructor. The idea of dance being a conversation has blown my mind and made me wish I could go back to age 9 and do it all again with this fresh perspective. Thank you!
As a straight woman salsa dancer, i always make it a point to switch to being the lead for other girls, and guys on the social dance floor. It's normal there but for TV, and usual gigs, you'd never see that
if this started migrating itself into a normal everyday thing to see, oh man...that'd be cool. They managed to figure this out and make it flow so well, I'm very impressed!
beautiful dancing, learning to dance like this with my partner is going to allow us the amazing process of learning to dance together all over again, thank you :)
Fantastic!!! What a refreshing and powerful new look on ballroom dancing!!! The TED talk/presentation is extremely well put together and brings out the beauty of the message in a way that everyone who watches this must be enchanted!! Congretulations on this ground breaking beautiful initiative! May the whole world get to know and enjoy this!!!
so now thanks to their revolutionary technique everyone has the freedom to dance however they want, as they have always have had the freedom to dance however they want because no one was stopping them. its revolutionary i tell ya. no woman has ever lead while dancing ever. its never happened until now.
I used to take ballroom dancing. I quit after the 3rd time a partner told me to 'stop leading' when we were practicing a choreographed piece we had just learnt. They would rather miss a beat and stop than have the girl lead the dance back on track.
I'm just going to second the other woman and say that I have also been, er, chastised for leading dances (usually 'by accident' because it just seemed to be what the flow of the dance called for). The whole point of salsa is male-female traditional power dynamics, so shaking it up a bit is actually new and, yes, fun.
I agree. And btw there is nothing wrong going with biological natural roles. People dont understand human nature these days. One cannot change how humans are.
Потрясающе. Ещё раз убеждаюсь, что сейчас удивительные времена, подобные Новому времени. Только сейчас старое не отбрасывается, но и не тупо воспроизводится, как в прошлом веке. Сейчас мы переосмысливаем наши обряды, привычки и другие практики в контексте актуальных ценностей. Давно пора уже в танце рассказывать современные истории дружбы, партнерства, соперничества и, конечно же, любви независимо от гендера. А какова находка: "текучее ведение". Эти ребята делают чудесную работу, спасибо им!
I think people are missing the point here Regardless on wether u see there bein two genders or not, it's not about gender.Let's say that this is in a two gender format The point they're trying to make is that the rials need to change. Old gender station types need to be broken. Old ball room dancing wher the male always leads and the female always follows is the equivalent of a man doing work and the wife staying in the kitchen and being a servant to her husband. That is not what today's helthy marital relationship should look like. A couple share the burdens and take care of eachother.
Have you ever considered that maybe different genders play different and COMPLIMENTARY roles in a relationship and everything else? I'm not saying that women should only be restricted to housework or that men should be the breadmakers. There should be a healthy compromise between any male-female cooperation, and that will look differently based on experience, culture, and personality. One gender cannot thrive without the help of the other. Genders will never be equal, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Human life is equal. Human dignity should be preserved. However, men and women are physiologically and neurologically wired differently (almost opposites). This isn't to say that one gender is superior or inferior to the other, which is what a lot of feminists and SJWs would say; in fact, it actually says that both genders are IRREPLACEABLE.
@ Paul- Sorry- Nice little black and white view of human nature, but if that were true, every male and female would gladly be equal contributors in a perfect world of equal give and take. It is precisely because people do not allow the vast continuum of human traits to be expressed on an individual basis that you have so much confusion in relationships. We are (taught) from birth what it is to be male and female. the truth is, its a mixed bag of masculine and feminine traits for both sexes based on how your particular brain is wired.
Whit H Yes, I mentioned that contact between genders would look different based on experience, culture, and PERSONALITY. Of course, personality traits exist (you even dare go to categorize them as male/female traits, apparently). There are less "masculine" males; there are also "dominant" females. There are plenty of couples whose personality falls more into the opposite genders court yet are able to make their relationships work. I agree on that point, but if you aren't willing to admit the fact that males and females are biologically and neurologically wired differently from each other, I'm afraid I can offer no case.
+Paul Kim My point was that you made sure not to offend anyone's freedom of choice, but declaring that men and women were wired differently, almost as opposites, if I remember correctly. Considering how clearly the roles for male and female are defined in society from birth, why wouldnt males and females act accordingly?
Whit H I'm not what you're getting at. I believe men and women are fundamentally different (with some variance due to other genetic and external factors). I'm merely explaining that this difference doesn't negate one gender's importance over another, but that the differences should be appreciated for their complimentary nature. But to answer your question, not acting according to gender roles can be contributed to a lot of different factors. I think in today's society, a lot of it comes down to not realizing that genders are complimentary and thus trying to compete with one another: to prove that one gender is somehow superior to the other.
Congratulations to (almost) all the ladies in the comments for being calm and seeing the expression for what it is...(almost) all the "men" commenting are the ones who are enraged and there lies your answer for why TED let this talk come to the surface...no one is saying you need to dance like this...they are just opening it up to people who have felt left out of the dance scene. I don't care what gender or race you are it is wrong to discriminate and intentionally leave people out.
I just discovered this video, and I’m absolutely blown away by the dance sequence at the end with the two gentlemen, the piece of music is amazing. Can’t stop watching it and Well told presentation as well. I know this is a old video but congrats guys
Because it's on TED, which is supposed to be a platform about technology, not dancing or gender ideology. Had this video been uploaded to a dance channel, most people would have had no issue with it. As it is, it is viewed as yet another attempt at social engineering by the current crop of gender-sensitive social justice engineers.
parkertin You do have a point there, broadly speaking. But the perception is generally that the "Entertainment" portion is linked to the "Technology and Design" parts of "TED". Fresh, ground breaking technical innovations to dazzle us in our lives and on the screen. This particular video isn't quite in that category. Besides, I already explained the "why" of the reaction it's getting. Debating me while refusing to accept my explanation is pointless. I told you what MY reason was. I dont care if you accept it or not. Just ask anyone else here why they are voting this video down.
Bob Lake Lets be real, most of the downvotes are because of the title and the two men, not because of the speech and the topic of dancing. With just the speech alone and another title, no one would bat an eye at it being the wrong category or it not fitting TED that well, but title and the dance seem to be triggering downvotes for a group of people.
Saskia H. Yeah, its because of the title and the two men dancing, but not on a first level, like you think. Look at my other answers. I downvoted, and its not because I,m homophope or transphobe, etc. Its because every social platform is pushing this stuff down everyone,s throats all the time and we are sick of it.
We felt the same. It's been happening of course since couples started dancing - but somehow isn't often organized beyond something at the edges of the dance floor. Glad it spoke to you.
+Schmonsy no its because this is a pointless video and most TED subscribers come here for science and tech videos and not "dance is racist because patriarchy"
I loved how they phrased it their meaning .Lets have a conversation instead of excrutiating disposed positions of movements,Lets dance for that simple joy
I can now say that two guys dancing has made me cry. more realistically; its the idea that gender and characterization of a "role" have no power over a persons truths and values and the beauty of the art those same people are capable of creating. Thank you 😊
Oh my good! this was sooo beautiful, i... It made me cry. I just I can't really put it into words. But the whole dance, idea, everything. GENIUS AND ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
Wow I came here because I love Dancing With The Stars and Strictly Come Dancing, but never expected to explore the subtle meanings ballroom would have.
I've seen women leading in Tango. That is beautiful. But aside from that... now that I think about it... two women dancing as a couple doesn't feel that strange compared to two men dancing as a couple, why, it's blowing my mind.
I know they're making a point with the different perspectives, but honestly I thought every form of the dance was gorgeous, regardless of whether the girl was the one leading or if it was two guys. It doesn't have to be conventional in order to be beautiful.
This is great, but not new. Argentine tango has a long history of two men together. I remember in the NYC gay Latin dance clubs from the late seventies where “liquid lead” just happened (as did trios (two followers and one leader)). Amazing, skillful and fascinating.
I don't usually watch people dancing much cause it bores me easily, but their legwork was amazing, I still can't comprehend how they didn't end up tripping over each other...
I’m a female who has a more masculine build and I am not light and elegant to be lifted. I am someone who lifts other people which many dance instructors don’t choose to do. I love to be the lead in a partner dance and my female best friend who does have a feminine build enables me to be the “Male role”
I’m 5 years late but whatever, as somebody who was forced to take a ballroom dancing class when I was a teenager, and was pretty depressed the whole time because of that, I welcome this! Most of my partners usually did not have a sense for rhytm (I don’t blame them tho, as most boys were likely forced as I was) so basically I still had to lead them, but because I was in the traditional “female position” of a follower, it was much more difficult, I often wished I could just grab them below the shoulder so I could lead them.
When I was a child, my ballroom dancing parents took us to local dances. There were always older women couples whose husbands has passed away dancing with each other. There were always more women than men. It was no big deal. They just loved dancing. I’m not sure if one partner took the man’s part exclusively or if they took turns.
No gender argument here, go elsewhere if you want it. That said, I think the point of dancing in general is to give a canvas to express your inner thoughts, much like painting, but with movement. By that principle I think the lead and the partner for a dancing duo should be well... just that, a leadder and a passive actor, a person with more active personality and someone to recieve it, a man and a woman (psychologicly speaking). That being said, I'd be the partner. I'd be much better as the reciever than the leadder, and I'm a guy! Heterossexual too and extrovert, can't imagine liking guys that much and, yet, I don't really express myself as masculine, I'm passive, I'm the woman in the dancing duo. Closing thought: gender and psychology are too things that don't relate to each other as much as people think. As I said I'm extrovert and heterossexual, but I'd much rather be on the recieving end of a duo than leadding it.
@@gerardorivera4127 Depends on the dance. Close and intimate like in valsa is basically just an excuse to date your pair with some leg movement to qualify as a dance. Anything else with a male is very much a big whatever.
im gay and i come back to this video alot, partially cause what they say is really powerful and meaningful, but also cause im captivated everytime they dance, as i reiterate, im very gay
Interestingly most people here seem to be upset about the "gender part" of the video. No matter how you feel about that, there's still something luquid lead dancing can offer to you: It can make the dance become a conversation! How cool is that?
I agree with how leading and following can quickly become political after having following guys and leading guys on the dance floor and getting weird looks about it. Some guys flat out deny to dance with you in class. But overall in my experience, girls like to be held by guys who lead them around. I ask almost all the ladies I dance with if they could lead me, and about 95% rather follow. Leading can actually make dancing miserable for them, because leading requires you to think more about your surroundings, where following requires you to react more. My experience and those of my dance partners is that reacting is more fun and allows you to enjoy the moment a little more. However I prefer leading because I get to make these ladies smile and enjoy themselves. It's a great feeling!
It does not matter if a man or a woman assumes a role. The role does not change. Two men can go on dancing tango. But I doubt they will be winning any great competition soon. Because in the end it is about dancing and not about gender.
Love this. Dance is for ALL regardless of gender, size and sexual orientation. I had the pleasure of studying ballroom many years ago and even competed in same gender Latin. Great fun. Sadly after Covid .... many ballrooms in my area closed and don't have the same opportunities to dance. Where is a a devastatingly handsome European blonde boy when you need one LOL>
As a woman who was told I could never ballroom dance because of my size and orientation this idea offers great promise that I can someday pursue something I have wanted to try all my life!
Zing!
Ignore the idiots. You're awesome
***** And I said exactly so, nothing is stopping her.
Awww, is a woman on the internet hurting your honey boo boo masculinity?
as a man i was told all kind of crap too, so what
Why are there so many negative comments here? Some people really seem to take the whole thing way too serious.
I'm taking standard-dance classes for quite a while now and it has always bothered me that I have never learned any male dance moves (I'm female) in my dance class. So at dance partys or even at dance classes I have never been able to dance with my female friends together (there are always more female people than male people in dance classes), since they haven't learned them either. And no, I'm just talking about "dancing for fun" here. Sometimes you just want to dance with somebody, no matter what gender this person has!
I think that liquid lead dancing is a great concept of being able to dance with everybody, because if dance schools would actually teach this, they would show you the male and female moves, no matter what gender you are. So stop being so serious about it, it's not only about gender roles, maybe it's just about the love for dancing!
What's stopping you learning the men's steps? I've never been to a class where a teacher will stop students learning the opposite role's steps. In fact, as a teacher I'd encourage it.
Also, in high level competative dancing the lady dancer is incredibly active.
Then ask, you'll get taught, I've been taught both upon request.
I feel like the problem does begins with saying "man's step" instead of "lead's step".
Yeah. The only people I've ever duo danced with are my sisters or female friends.
@@mavsworld1733 She said it. The teachers fucking stopped her. The *teachers*. How is she supposed to learn when the people who are supposed to teach her AREN'T TEACHING HER!!
So here we have a TED video with a picture of 2 men clearly dancing together and a title that says- "Ballroom dance that breaks gender rolls" making it absolutely clear as to what they are about to watch, yet some people still feel the need to watch and comment as to what a waste of time the video was.-lol It cracks me up.
Message of video "Be yourself. Dancing is for everyone"
Comments section "It says "breaking gender roles" so I hate it without even watching."
That's due to the inevitable backlash against the current wave of authoritarian feminist who keep trying to push their agenda and ideology on everybody else, to the point of controlling what others say.
This is only the beginning. Go listen to Professor Peterson from U of T (well, up until now anyway, he's about to lose his job for refusing to mouth the PC words the administration and the law is trying to force him to.)
Let them be. Glad you got the message.
I loved how the woman went from being invisible when she was following to so powerful in the lead
I actually really loved the analogy to Shakespeare, and I think that this is super relevant - although ballroom dancing might have television presence, people in the US don't ballroom dance all the time, but people in other countries are big fans of partner dancing. The idea of the "liquid lead" and the interchangeability of roles is so awesome. They spoke powerfully, poetically and precisely. Some TED talks tend to meander, but this was satisfyingly purposeful. Love.
One of the best Ted talks I've ever seen. Before a back injury left me permanently disabled, I performed and taught dance for several years. The liquid lead idea is sheer genius! And I absolutely applaud the fact that they put it out there plain as day how many people are rendered invisible by the hide-bound traditions of couple dancing.
Absolutely beautiful ending! Two men being strong and tender together. Made me cry.
You'd have to "get it" to get it here. Anyone leaving a negative comment doesnt get it.
Whit H +
Don't understand everyone disliking. It really shouldn't be so controversial.
For all of the people endlessly complaining about TED content surrounding artistic/social/justice/women's/poverty/climate/education/religious/ethnic topics: *PLEASE LEAVE ALREADY!*
... on second thought, exposure to the modern world can only do you some good..
yes keep feeding the trolls
No.
see, we wish they gave us artistic and educational content still
Sean Lumly meh it's just the social justice, the rest is also meh
Murderless Crow yes yes yes
Seeing such a tall and masculine man as Mr. Fox letting himself be led, so graceful and unselfconscious, was so beautiful! He even did the flourishes, arms, hips and leg movements and looked so majestic 😍💜
The fact that he didn't hesitate or slowed down even when spinning, while they had to get the hands over his head!
When me and my friends danced we also switched roles as partners because most of us were women so we tried to make it fair too, and it was usually too awkward when the shorter one tried to lead! We had a laugh about it, but I never dreamt it could look so elegant!
I'm amazed also by Mr. Copp and the other dancer, they were so... In control, solid, powerful when it was their turn to lead!
I can't get over how the transitions were so smooth and marvellous, truly like a conversation.
I'm so awed.
I had no idea so many TED subscribers would be so narrow minded.
Sadly- true.
theslimeylimey It's not about dance routines. It's about broadening or understanding of the restrictive nature of gender roles, through dance.
theslimeylimey You didn't even watch the video. They address the points of rules in dance styles.
+
Whit H I admittedly skipped through the video in little jumps because I didn't hear anything other than dance so I guess ill have to watch the whole thing now and see if my impression was accurate.
Everybody feels so threatened facing change, specially if it relates to their identify. Change is not easy and it will take years to take effect. Thank you to you folks and TED to pave the path!
Can you imagine being so sensitive that seeing two people of the same gender dancing with each other makes you angry?
+Maximus
People like you prove that we still need it.
People like him prove we don't need any more of it. How exactly does this sort of dancing help the lgbtq community? It doesn't help anyone. It is useless.
Thomas Cameron
It's in the way we think. Traditions often dictates our thoughts and hence, our actions. However, by breaking the stereotypical gender roles away bit by bit through revolutionizing matters in our daily lives, like dance, family structures or laws, it would be changing the way we think by constantly reminding us the fact that no matter you are men or women, gay or straight, (I'm going to regret saying this) Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, we all have equal opportunities to lead a dance, marry the person we love or run for president as long as people involved are in consent.
I think this is how the world has overcome inequality and progressed to equality.
Yan Tse So why are we still hearing about it then? I actually agree but yet these propaganda videos are still being produced. Same goes with media and everywhere else.
Besides, tradition isn't fundamentally bad. Tradition did create the society we live in. Is that something we really want to screw with to much? Is it possible that by breaking our traditions we can accidentally break our society?
No, we can't break our society by breaking traditions. You are right in that tradition gave us the society we have. A stale society that resists improvement. Luckily, we are changing that.
Interesting. Me and my wife are dancing since years. We're not professional, but enjoying it a lot. I have always liked leading the dance, but watching this video made me think it would be great to follow as well. Our life as a couple is a constant conversation; we switch roles often and we enjoy both making a decision ourself and letting the partner decide - because it's tiresome to always lead and it's tiresome to always follow. So why should our dance be different? Liquid lead dancing sound like a lot of fun. Whenever leading gets boring I can initiate the switch and start following. What a nice idea!
Your dancing should already be a conversation. If the man is dictatorial his backline will break and he will become army. ballroom is led through the lower body, and the lady has the choice of how to continue. This talk makes the premise that ballroom hasn't changed in hundreds of years. I'd like to see him tell Karen Hilton that lady dancers can't be strong and powerful. At the end of the day it can be summed up when he says "this looks beautiful", and puts himself into an ugly twisted posture. His level seems too low to really know what he is talking about.
@@mavsworld1733so you're saying ball room doesn't make the masculine lead for the whole dance?
@@Catthepunk Yes, because lead and follow in ballroom isn't about physically imposing your wishes on your partner, that's domestic violence dancing. The lead chooses directions and exerts more influence on figure choices, but ballroom is a continual conversation from initiating action, if a lady doesn't do what is expected you have to go with what she is doing. As an example, if I go to lead a reverse turn in foxtrot, but the lady predicts a Telemark telespin then that's what I'm going to end up doing, because there's no way I'm going to counter the force a good lady would be able to put into that while looking good and not making her very angry with me.
@@mavsworld1733 you skirted my question. Nvm
@@Catthepunk Your question is attempting to simplify a complex question. I don't know your level of dancing, but I am a professional dancer. The answer I think you want me to give is that the lead chooses figures, but real lead and follow doesn't work at that level, because high level dancing is much more about playing with the music and shapes, which is far more collaborative. Heck, low level social dancing should also be much more about shape and musicality. You could even go so far as to argue that a lot of people social dancing have no lead or follow, because both the lead and follow are going through routines and steps that they have learned before the dance. If they want to deviate from this then you will require both members to contribute. As mentioned, I am a professional ballroom dancer and I take part in social dancing with dancers who are much lower level than I am. I am taking on the role of leader, but often due to the lady predicting, she will be leading a significant portion of the dance (nearly everything after the initiating step). This is not good lead follow, but an example of how even with the lead strictly leading they will actually be following a percentage of the time.
He is my teacher and was my dance partner for 2 months my freshman year of college. Love you Trevor!
Love you too Jordan!
I love the liquid lead, it is very revolutionary.
Perhaps in recent ballroom and latin dance culture, but it's a very old concept for some other dance styles. It's frustrating for me to see these men taking credit for such an old idea, repeating the idea over and over again instead of exploring it in depth, then wasting time showing off their dancing skills. How much of this was just to stroke their egos?
This talk was needlessly drawn out for how little information it provided. I don't see how it got accepted by the event organizers in this format. Good idea. Terrible format :(
the way I see it, there were 3 human beings wanting to dance, their way, and tell me that wasn't the sexiest tango you have ever seen
If I ever learnt dancing properly, this would be what I wanted to learn. Thank you!
This is amazing! It summarizes so accurately and tactfully all strong feelings and outrageous emotions I have about ballroom dancing as a girl, who is not supposed to lead, but sometimes does. I genuinely agree with the idea that ballroom dances should represent today's diversity in relationships between people
i like leading the dance because i love to use my imagination to dance, but at the same time i feel bad when i see that my partner is always following my step without being able to express herself. I love the idea of switching roles during the dance i love it. It's more fair so everyone can express themselves, and we can both enjoy the leader role and the follower role.
Why is everyone saying they don't like this video because 'TED usually uploads science/tech videos' when if you look at their videos that's clearly not true?
"You werent learning to lead, you were learning to man!" this statement says it all.
You know, their dance, it was beautiful.
Thanks Yuuki.
+Trevor Copp You're very welcome! So nice to see you here. :)
This comment section is going to be so tasty.
It's very high-energy in here.
I can almost taste the palpable sexual tension in the air.
Quick, get some popcorn! Sit back and enjoy the show
Nikitoz9595 I'm just here to spread the love, man
Nikitoz9595 OH YES LOL LETS GET THINGS STARTED.. MARRIAGE IS A SACRED THING BETWEEN 1 MAN AND 1 WOMAN VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP GOD BLESS AMERICA
I started taking dance as a child, eventually became a performer, then a dance instructor. The idea of dance being a conversation has blown my mind and made me wish I could go back to age 9 and do it all again with this fresh perspective. Thank you!
this is great!! I've been waiting to see something like this all my life, good job!
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Beatriz Mioliu One thing we can agree with: This looks a lot more difficult than it looks XD +
+Skian Sukeru yes haha
Thank you Beatriz; I'm so glad.
As a straight woman salsa dancer, i always make it a point to switch to being the lead for other girls, and guys on the social dance floor. It's normal there but for TV, and usual gigs, you'd never see that
My parents' tango teachers (a couple) would switch who was leading when they danced, It was great
So beautiful to watch. As a lesbian and a ballroom dancer this was so amazing to see
if this started migrating itself into a normal everyday thing to see, oh man...that'd be cool. They managed to figure this out and make it flow so well, I'm very impressed!
So glad you're impressed Bella :) It took awhile to get here. The dialogue between life on stage and off is indeed the whole point.
Beautiful. It's just that simple.
+
Thank you. We wanted simple.
beautiful dancing, learning to dance like this with my partner is going to allow us the amazing process of learning to dance together all over again, thank you :)
Fantastic!!! What a refreshing and powerful new look on ballroom dancing!!! The TED talk/presentation is extremely well put together and brings out the beauty of the message in a way that everyone who watches this must be enchanted!!
Congretulations on this ground breaking beautiful initiative! May the whole world get to know and enjoy this!!!
that last waltz!!! my jaw dropped. the whole philosophy is fascinating, but seeing it in action was such a treat. 💜
so now thanks to their revolutionary technique everyone has the freedom to dance however they want, as they have always have had the freedom to dance however they want because no one was stopping them. its revolutionary i tell ya. no woman has ever lead while dancing ever. its never happened until now.
Graeme Evans good satire with truth. This whole video is stupid.
I used to take ballroom dancing. I quit after the 3rd time a partner told me to 'stop leading' when we were practicing a choreographed piece we had just learnt. They would rather miss a beat and stop than have the girl lead the dance back on track.
Thats because you are dancing a dance someone has already danced. I would have to do the same playing guitar.
I'm just going to second the other woman and say that I have also been, er, chastised for leading dances (usually 'by accident' because it just seemed to be what the flow of the dance called for). The whole point of salsa is male-female traditional power dynamics, so shaking it up a bit is actually new and, yes, fun.
I agree. And btw there is nothing wrong going with biological natural roles. People dont understand human nature these days. One cannot change how humans are.
I just came here to upvote, because I knew from the title it would have so many downvotes.
Propaganda often has many downvotes.
Go Milo! :D
Потрясающе. Ещё раз убеждаюсь, что сейчас удивительные времена, подобные Новому времени. Только сейчас старое не отбрасывается, но и не тупо воспроизводится, как в прошлом веке. Сейчас мы переосмысливаем наши обряды, привычки и другие практики в контексте актуальных ценностей. Давно пора уже в танце рассказывать современные истории дружбы, партнерства, соперничества и, конечно же, любви независимо от гендера. А какова находка: "текучее ведение". Эти ребята делают чудесную работу, спасибо им!
I think people are missing the point here Regardless on wether u see there bein two genders or not, it's not about gender.Let's say that this is in a two gender format The point they're trying to make is that the rials need to change. Old gender station types need to be broken. Old ball room dancing wher the male always leads and the female always follows is the equivalent of a man doing work and the wife staying in the kitchen and being a servant to her husband. That is not what today's helthy marital relationship should look like. A couple share the burdens and take care of eachother.
Have you ever considered that maybe different genders play different and COMPLIMENTARY roles in a relationship and everything else? I'm not saying that women should only be restricted to housework or that men should be the breadmakers. There should be a healthy compromise between any male-female cooperation, and that will look differently based on experience, culture, and personality. One gender cannot thrive without the help of the other. Genders will never be equal, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Human life is equal. Human dignity should be preserved. However, men and women are physiologically and neurologically wired differently (almost opposites). This isn't to say that one gender is superior or inferior to the other, which is what a lot of feminists and SJWs would say; in fact, it actually says that both genders are IRREPLACEABLE.
@ Paul- Sorry- Nice little black and white view of human nature, but if that were true, every male and female would gladly be equal contributors in a perfect world of equal give and take. It is precisely because people do not allow the vast continuum of human traits to be expressed on an individual basis that you have so much confusion in relationships. We are (taught) from birth what it is to be male and female. the truth is, its a mixed bag of masculine and feminine traits for both sexes based on how your particular brain is wired.
Whit H Yes, I mentioned that contact between genders would look different based on experience, culture, and PERSONALITY. Of course, personality traits exist (you even dare go to categorize them as male/female traits, apparently). There are less "masculine" males; there are also "dominant" females. There are plenty of couples whose personality falls more into the opposite genders court yet are able to make their relationships work. I agree on that point, but if you aren't willing to admit the fact that males and females are biologically and neurologically wired differently from each other, I'm afraid I can offer no case.
+Paul Kim My point was that you made sure not to offend anyone's freedom of choice, but declaring that men and women were wired differently, almost as opposites, if I remember correctly. Considering how clearly the roles for male and female are defined in society from birth, why wouldnt males and females act accordingly?
Whit H I'm not what you're getting at. I believe men and women are fundamentally different (with some variance due to other genetic and external factors). I'm merely explaining that this difference doesn't negate one gender's importance over another, but that the differences should be appreciated for their complimentary nature.
But to answer your question, not acting according to gender roles can be contributed to a lot of different factors. I think in today's society, a lot of it comes down to not realizing that genders are complimentary and thus trying to compete with one another: to prove that one gender is somehow superior to the other.
Congratulations to (almost) all the ladies in the comments for being calm and seeing the expression for what it is...(almost) all the "men" commenting are the ones who are enraged and there lies your answer for why TED let this talk come to the surface...no one is saying you need to dance like this...they are just opening it up to people who have felt left out of the dance scene. I don't care what gender or race you are it is wrong to discriminate and intentionally leave people out.
(almost) all the "men" commenting are the ones who are enraged .
"Men have to act a certain way"
"We have to break gender roles"
Pick one.
not just ladies,also men , congratulations
I just discovered this video, and I’m absolutely blown away by the dance sequence at the end with the two gentlemen, the piece of music is amazing. Can’t stop watching it and Well told presentation as well. I know this is a old video but congrats guys
THIS MADE ME NOT HATE BALLROOM DANCING! SO COOL!
Same lmao
So many dislikes? Because of two men dancing with each other? What the f*
Because it's on TED, which is supposed to be a platform about technology, not dancing or gender ideology. Had this video been uploaded to a dance channel, most people would have had no issue with it. As it is, it is viewed as yet another attempt at social engineering by the current crop of gender-sensitive social justice engineers.
Bob Lake "Technology, Entertainment, Design". Does dancing not fall under Entertainment?
parkertin You do have a point there, broadly speaking. But the perception is generally that the "Entertainment" portion is linked to the "Technology and Design" parts of "TED". Fresh, ground breaking technical innovations to dazzle us in our lives and on the screen. This particular video isn't quite in that category.
Besides, I already explained the "why" of the reaction it's getting. Debating me while refusing to accept my explanation is pointless. I told you what MY reason was. I dont care if you accept it or not.
Just ask anyone else here why they are voting this video down.
Bob Lake Lets be real, most of the downvotes are because of the title and the two men, not because of the speech and the topic of dancing. With just the speech alone and another title, no one would bat an eye at it being the wrong category or it not fitting TED that well, but title and the dance seem to be triggering downvotes for a group of people.
Saskia H. Yeah, its because of the title and the two men dancing, but not on a first level, like you think. Look at my other answers.
I downvoted, and its not because I,m homophope or transphobe, etc. Its because every social platform is pushing this stuff down everyone,s throats all the time and we are sick of it.
This talk was initiated and punctuated with beautiful dancing. I can't believe I was dancing so long and I didn't think to look this up until now.
We felt the same. It's been happening of course since couples started dancing - but somehow isn't often organized beyond something at the edges of the dance floor. Glad it spoke to you.
I adore the aesthetic of two men dancing together.
Very well presented , captivating and educational .
Despite oddness of the idea, i actually really like it. You do you guys!
I love this!! My friend and I have husbands who won't dance. We need to forget them and dance together. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it connected for you.
This is something I never thought of before
Beautifully put!
That was eye~opening, educational and beautiful: Thank you x
You're welcome Spirit :)
This is graceful. I would love to see any couple with this dynamic. 😌
why are there so many dislikes?
lots of rightwing conservatists exist in the world.
+Schmonsy no its because this is a pointless video and most TED subscribers come here for science and tech videos and not "dance is racist because patriarchy"
It's so beautiful. Especially the last dance. It touched me so much that tears came up
Thanks Larissa. It has meant the world to us to do this.
i want to see this liquid lead in dance more. i've been searching for it for the longest time
I loved how they phrased it their meaning .Lets have a conversation instead of excrutiating disposed positions of movements,Lets dance for that simple joy
I love how this translates - yes, let's do just that.
I can now say that two guys dancing has made me cry.
more realistically; its the idea that gender and characterization of a "role" have no power over a persons truths and values and the beauty of the art those same people are capable of creating.
Thank you 😊
the dance at the end was so beautiful ;n;
Oh my good! this was sooo beautiful, i... It made me cry. I just I can't really put it into words.
But the whole dance, idea, everything. GENIUS AND ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
I've been doing this for years, never knew it was so uncommon haha
Wow I came here because I love Dancing With The Stars and Strictly Come Dancing, but never expected to explore the subtle meanings ballroom would have.
I've seen women leading in Tango. That is beautiful. But aside from that... now that I think about it... two women dancing as a couple doesn't feel that strange compared to two men dancing as a couple, why, it's blowing my mind.
I really enjoyed watching these two dance. I did spot the lead changes and was initially quite surprised.
I know they're making a point with the different perspectives, but honestly I thought every form of the dance was gorgeous, regardless of whether the girl was the one leading or if it was two guys. It doesn't have to be conventional in order to be beautiful.
This is great, but not new. Argentine tango has a long history of two men together. I remember in the NYC gay Latin dance clubs from the late seventies where “liquid lead” just happened (as did trios (two followers and one leader)). Amazing, skillful and fascinating.
We are applauding our own absence is a powerful statement.
I don't usually watch people dancing much cause it bores me easily, but their legwork was amazing, I still can't comprehend how they didn't end up tripping over each other...
I’m a female who has a more masculine build and I am not light and elegant to be lifted. I am someone who lifts other people which many dance instructors don’t choose to do. I love to be the lead in a partner dance and my female best friend who does have a feminine build enables me to be the “Male role”
the last dance was so beautiful
I’m 5 years late but whatever, as somebody who was forced to take a ballroom dancing class when I was a teenager, and was pretty depressed the whole time because of that, I welcome this! Most of my partners usually did not have a sense for rhytm (I don’t blame them tho, as most boys were likely forced as I was) so basically I still had to lead them, but because I was in the traditional “female position” of a follower, it was much more difficult, I often wished I could just grab them below the shoulder so I could lead them.
Beautiful. I fantasized myself a liquid leader before I saw this video, and knew the term.
Thank you for bringing my dream into reality
MEN WALTZING TOGETHER IS SO INCREDIBLY ROMANTIC! PEOPLE NEED TO WRITE THESE TYPES OF SCENES IN BL STORIES!!
LOL, of course youtube audience can't feel related to this video, they don't know what is it dancing.
Live live love love love this! Was thinking about this the other day and I'm really happy to see how wonderful this is :) my heart is smiling.
I don't understand the like to dislike ratio?
Comments section:
2% Nice comments
1% Bad comments
97% *complaining about bad comments*
When I was a child, my ballroom dancing parents took us to local dances. There were always older women couples whose husbands has passed away dancing with each other. There were always more women than men. It was no big deal. They just loved dancing. I’m not sure if one partner took the man’s part exclusively or if they took turns.
About half the comments section:
"MAN TALK! WOMAN LISTEN! HOW SHOULD BE!!!!"
You prefer it the other way around, of course
what a fantastic talk!! hats off to these guys
Their performance at the end was surprisingly interesting.
No gender argument here, go elsewhere if you want it.
That said, I think the point of dancing in general is to give a canvas to express your inner thoughts, much like painting, but with movement. By that principle I think the lead and the partner for a dancing duo should be well... just that, a leadder and a passive actor, a person with more active personality and someone to recieve it, a man and a woman (psychologicly speaking).
That being said, I'd be the partner. I'd be much better as the reciever than the leadder, and I'm a guy! Heterossexual too and extrovert, can't imagine liking guys that much and, yet, I don't really express myself as masculine, I'm passive, I'm the woman in the dancing duo.
Closing thought: gender and psychology are too things that don't relate to each other as much as people think. As I said I'm extrovert and heterossexual, but I'd much rather be on the recieving end of a duo than leadding it.
Finally a comment WORTH READING! THANK YOU!
Sorry I just noticed this comment 😢. Would you dance with a man?
@@gerardorivera4127 Depends on the dance.
Close and intimate like in valsa is basically just an excuse to date your pair with some leg movement to qualify as a dance.
Anything else with a male is very much a big whatever.
This is so cool!!
im gay and i come back to this video alot, partially cause what they say is really powerful and meaningful, but also cause im captivated everytime they dance, as i reiterate, im very gay
Thanks Dox, that means a lot :)
WAIT I THOUGHT IT WAS KEITH AND NED IN THE THUMBNAIL FROM BUZZFEED
Wow. I'm getting started as a dance teacher and i so wish this is something i could express to the people I'm teaching. Wow.
I never thought of this valid and secure " point!
Interestingly most people here seem to be upset about the "gender part" of the video. No matter how you feel about that, there's still something luquid lead dancing can offer to you: It can make the dance become a conversation! How cool is that?
Not gonna lie. Really confused me for a minute when the woman was leading the man. That's one reason why this video is relevant.
I agree with how leading and following can quickly become political after having following guys and leading guys on the dance floor and getting weird looks about it. Some guys flat out deny to dance with you in class.
But overall in my experience, girls like to be held by guys who lead them around. I ask almost all the ladies I dance with if they could lead me, and about 95% rather follow. Leading can actually make dancing miserable for them, because leading requires you to think more about your surroundings, where following requires you to react more. My experience and those of my dance partners is that reacting is more fun and allows you to enjoy the moment a little more. However I prefer leading because I get to make these ladies smile and enjoy themselves. It's a great feeling!
Really gorgeous, moving dancing. Thank you
Guys, you're not being forced to think like this. They are sharing ideas and trying to start a trail of thought, chill
Wow that's awesome! I loved seeing two guys dance. So beautiful!
Thanks Terra.
For those who dont understand the point or reasons for this video I have one thing to say..GoodBye.
It does not matter if a man or a woman assumes a role. The role does not change. Two men can go on dancing tango. But I doubt they will be winning any great competition soon. Because in the end it is about dancing and not about gender.
Just terrific. Bravo.
POWERFUL and such a beautiful Ted Talk. THANK YOU
Pretty sure everyone in the comments is looking for a fight?
Sweetie Senpai
SJWs are looking to propagandize
the rest of us are sick of it
wow the ending dance was so emotional
to reverse role like that is hard, but Jeff execute it gracefully
Love this. Dance is for ALL regardless of gender, size and sexual orientation. I had the pleasure of studying ballroom many years ago and even competed in same gender Latin. Great fun. Sadly after Covid .... many ballrooms in my area closed and don't have the same opportunities to dance. Where is a a devastatingly handsome European blonde boy when you need one LOL>
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS. WAY TO GO JEFF FOX!!!