Sunday, January 03, 2010

Nature or Nurture? Get Funky.

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Two of my girlfriends (former UCLA dance teammates) came over the other night. We had a discussion about rhythm and hip hoppin' skills. Is it something you are born with or something you learn?

Personally, I was thinking there is a definite genetic component. Certainly, your rhythm and groove can be cultivated by practice and exposure or it can be stifled by lack of it. But some people no matter how hard they try . . .
And others just can't help being funky.

My girlfriends who shall remain nameless (unless you want to call them Kim or Kheron), think it is not genetic. They think it is due to early exposure and practice. They brought up "So You Think You Can Dance?" to illustrate their point. Every trained dancer can now do hip-hop. I emailed Kim to clarify her position. She said 20% nature, 80% nurture.

It actually does not really matter if it is genetic or taught. Unless of course, you want your kids to have rhythm and be able to bust out the moves on the dance floor. Then you might panic and think something like this:
"Darn it. I have not exposed my kids to enough dancing. (other than the kind they do at VBS, church, school, and silly music classes - which doesn't really count because . . . well, can you really call that "dancing?" I think it would be better classified as "jumping and flailing."). I need to bust out some funky music and get them going because it is really important for them to be able to get a groove on."

Here is part one (perhaps a series) in my attempt to work with my children on their hip-hop skills. We have some work to do . . .

Nature or Nurture when it comes to the funk? What do yo think?
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10 comments:

One Crazy Mom said...

For some reason I can't watch the video, but I'll still weigh in. Coming from a person with NO rhythm, I think it's 100% nature. No amount of nurturing could make this bod do hip hop.

KQ said...

Very cute. I see definite dancers in the making. They obviously have it in their blood.

CynthiaK said...

What the funk? Those kids are darned cute!

Definitely getting their groove on.

Shiloh's Dad said...

It appears that Elijah is able to move his body to the beat of the music. Would be interesting to see what he does when no one is watching or filming and he's just reacting to the music.

dorothy said...

OMG (oh my goodness!!!), Elijah has got some moves!!!! now for Lydia, you may wnat to keep her away from any of the strip joints. has she been watching demi moore movies again? love the blog! keep it coming. Chi-Chi will even occasionally peek.

Becky said...

Nice moves Elijah! Do they have any dance shows for kids? Maybe Lydia should stick to ballet???

TDM Wendy said...

We will continue to work on the funk and post progress . . . hopefully. Dorothy, she has only see three Demi movies and we have had a talk with her about strip clubs. Hi to Chi-Chi and the gang! Missed you at Thanksgiving.

Working Mommy said...

That is the cutest video!!!! Looks like you're doing just fine...at least you're fostering their creativity :)

~WM

Terpstra East said...

Love it.

I couldn't help but feel like I was watching Napoleon Dynamite. Which depending on what you think about that movie could either be good or bad. In this case, take it as a compliment. Elijah and Jon Heder share some mad skilz... haha!

Awesome moves, E!

mel @ the larson lingo said...

nature, for SURE.
and, E is AWESOME. He was getting his groove on! Lydia......let's just say she might need some more "nuture". Thanks for the entertainment!