A shining button on the waistcoat of the world.

Years ago I used to to be very fond of ballroom dancing and went regularly to dances. One of the men I sometimes danced with was Malcolm. Malcolm liked to go to dances for the friendly company and a relaxing evening, but no one could accuse him of being a good dancer...(o: Once when we were dancing, I pointed out that we were not doing the right steps. - It's a waltz, I told him, not a slow foxtrot, but he explained that he always did the same steps, whatever the dance rhythm: they were the steps he was used to and had served him well, over many years...(o:

It seemed such a waste to me, to spend years of your life doing the same steps - doing the same wrong steps most of the time - when you could get informed about the right steps and start doing them instead, and enjoy your life so much more. With Ibsen's Peer Gynt in mind I teased him and said, "Malcolm, you were meant to be a shining button on the waistcoat of the world, and you are failing in that." (I can be pretty insufferable sometimes!)

I told him about a dancing school where he could go to learn the basic steps of the usual ballroom dances and urged him to take some lessons. He said he would. When I next saw him I enquired if he had been to the dancing school yet and he told me that yes, he had, and so I asked him how he had got on with the dance lessons. He said he hadn't actually taken any lessons. "I parked the car in the car park," he said, "and walked down the steps to the dance school, heard the music, opened the door and had a look inside. And then I thought I wouldn't bother; I'd just go home and carry on as usual!"

Poor Malcolm. A nice, kind person but not brave enough to try doing something he hadn't done before, and missing out on new and better experiences. I wonder if the Button Maker has ladled him into his amorphous pot yet, to be melted and re-moulded?

Ballroom dancing is very good for children's health and fitness.

The Telegraph reports that ballroom dancing is very good for children.

A dancing initiative backed by professionals from the TV programme Strictly Come Dancing had "more than 2,500 students aged five to 18 learn to cha-cha-cha, waltz and jive in 29 primary and secondary schools across England." It has been found to improve their behaviour and to boost low self-esteem and confidence, as well as improving their health and fitness and communication skills.

Physiotherapists say that many people are suffering painful injuries from taking up ballroom dancing too vigorously after years of inactivity.

BBC's Strictly Come Dancing 'inspires' injuries

Extract from the Sunday Telegraph:

"Physiotherapists say that suddenly taking to the dance floor after years of inactivity risks a range of agonising injuries, as the tricky routines of dances such as the tango or foxtrot expose amateurs' poor fitness levels.

Dance schools across Britain say the number of people taking ballroom classes has doubled since the show began three years ago, while the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) says its members are treating more and more amateurs for snapped tendons, twisted ankles and back pain."

"Most common dancing injuries

• Ankle sprain: from toppling over

• Knee injury: caused by sudden twisting movements on hard surfaces

• Lower back pain strain: on the back from very controlled movements and lifts

• Foot strain: especially among women dancing in high-heeled shoes

• Hamstring injury: quick changes of direction take their toll

• Quadriceps: the repeated lifts of the leg can cause strain

• Shoulders: twisting and turning as well as keeping hands above shoulder height can cause strain"

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