Dance schools are expecting to see an increase in men of a certain age signing up for lessons after the soul-stirring Strictly success of Bill Bailey.
The comedian, 55, was named winner of the show on Saturday, triumphing over contestants who were less than half his age.
On Monday, Bailey said he hoped his example would inspire men. “I think a lot of blokes of my vintage do feel self-conscious on the dancefloor,” he said in an interview on ITV’s Lorraine presented by his fellow contestant Ranvir Singh.
“We are always aware of that term ‘dad dancers’ and that makes people feel a bit nervous and, ‘Oh, I don’t want to be that guy shuffling around at the end of the night’. My hope is that me having this success will mean more men of my age might consider taking up a dance class, or maybe just getting fitter, or whatever.”
Dance schools said they had already seen an effect and expect that to accelerate when they are allowed to reopen properly.
Damiano Soldati, of the Dance Lab in south London, said he had noticed more people of Bailey’s age signing up for beginners’ lessons “and they all talk about Strictly”. His partner, Laura Fox, said it had been great to see Bailey not only win, but deserving to win.
“In a dance competition, we have age categories so you would never get an 18-year-old dancing against a 55-year-old. His quickstep … there is nobody in our classes that does it as well as he does. He really does have a talent and what’s good about Bill is that he shows you don’t have to be a specific type of person to do ballroom and Latin. You can like heavy metal but still like to waltz.”
Wiecke Eringa, the CEO and artistic director of Yorkshire Dance, said: “It is just fantastic, isn’t it, that someone who doesn’t look a dancer can win, to have an older man showing just the sheer joy of it. I do hope that means dad dancing will become a thing of the past.”
Ballroom dance was so much more than glitz and sequins, she said. “I hope this will inspire men to give it a go because it is so good for your health and your relationships and it is so much fun.”
She said Bailey confounded expectations about older people and “that is something we as an organisation are massively into. What is beautiful? What is sexy? It can be so much more than what the mainstream would have you believe.”
Tracie Gooch, of Tracie’s Latin Club in Southampton, said: “I think it will definitely inspire men and I think we’ll see it more in January.” Already there were older women buying online beginners’ dance lessons for their husbands for Christmas. “I am sure there are people out there that have bought and looked online for dance classes because of Bill Bailey.”
She said everyone she knew had been rooting for Bailey after his “phenomenal” quickstep in week two. The younger contestants, Hrvy and Maisie Smith, were stronger dancers – but Bailey captured “imaginations and hearts” she said.
All dance schools have had a rollercoaster year of being open with reduced numbers and then closed offering lessons on Zoom and prerecords. “Who knows what the new year will bring but we’re now ready for everything,” said Gooch.
