I first danced "Cotton-Eyed Joe" (a choreographed "folk" dance of the same complexity as "Gay Gordons" (for the Brits,) when I was about 4. I've been dancing ever since, and I'm now 66. When I was 11 or 12, I helped my mother teach social dancing (then called ballroom) to 5th-8th grade students (ages 9-about 14). We taught "foxtrot" (a basic box step) and a smooth waltz (as opposed to "the athletic two-step.") I currently limit myself to contradancing (what in the UK is known as barn or ceilidh dancing.) I've danced professionally and just for fun. If the kid *wants* to learn, let him! If, however, he decides to drop this interest somewhere down the line, don't insist he continue on the grounds of the money you've paid for lessons. Youngsters sometimes retain their interests into later life, but are more likely to bounce from one to another.

While certain athletes have clearly done well in their dancing because their sport has prepared them for dancing (Ohno and Yamaguchi), most of the athletes on DWTS stay on the show purely due to the popularity accompanying them from their playing days.

Jerry Rice finished second and can't dance at all. Of course, the guy who won that season can't really dance either.

While I'll agree that Emmitt Smith and Warren Sapp displayed some actual skill, their continued stays owed more to the support of NFL fans than to anything else.

There are differing types of athleticism. The weight lifter, the sprinter, the basketball player, and the dancer are all athletes but they're not all the same.



jj