I remember the first guy that I taught. He walked into the studio very shy and very nervous. I was also nervous thinking “did someone just pay me to teach them how to dance?” What the hell? Do not let on that this potentially a scam. There’s no way he’s paying me to teach him how to dance. Let’s roll with this.” So he told me his story:

“Obviously, I don’t know how to dance. But I’m gay and everyone expects me to know how to dance. They think I’m a fantastic dancer. That’s so far from the truth. I need so many shots of booze not get lost in my thoughts, and feel embarrassed because I know that I’m going to embarrass myself and people are going to wonder why can’t this gay man dance?

And for the first half hour of the lesson he was staring down at his feet…shoulders caved in, head down, arms crossed as if he was literally guarding himself from being attacked. He started learning a few basic moves, very simple moves. And it started to feel good. Once he got the moves he started dancing to the beat…. And then his shoulders relaxed, his arms relaxed, and I remember he looked up at the mirror in front of him and then he smirked. He smiled and I said “what’s up?” He said “I think I can dance. I think I’m beginning to learn how to dance.” And I said “Damn straight you can dance” – Ben Weston

Ben Weston, the Men’s Dance Coach, helps men learn how to dance with confidence and power. And he’s on a mission to get the world dancing, one man at a time.

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