On flirting

It would seem that some women do not know how to dance without flirting.

One of my female friends refuses to dance with other women for this particular reason. Indeed, she says, when she dances she cannot help but flirt and thus it would be weird dancing with a woman given that she's not interested in flirting with members of the same sex.

I find this strange. Why? Not because I particularly like dancing with other women, but because I consider myself to be monogamous. Therefore, surely flirting with more than 20 men in one evening is pushing speed dating to a whole new level?

Another friend of mine once explained to me that she felt awkward that her father was standing watching her from the side of the dance floor. When asked why, she replied that she felt strange knowing that her dad could watch her flirt with many a man. This time, somewhat prepared by my previous conversation on the subject I asked her whether she realistically endeavoured to flirt with all the men she danced with. She said yes. I asked again - does she really flirt with all the old, fat men who can't dance and swing her precariously close to what might be permanent paralysis? Seemingly, the answer to this question was still yes!

So is it impossible to dance without flirting? I maintain that it is. I think the key to dancing is to develop a connection with the other person, to build something together during the course of the dance. Flirting is but one way of doing this. Perhaps in the case of my two friends, they do not yet differentiate between the different types of connections? Or perhaps they simply decided that flirting can make three minutes a whole lot more fun!