I would certainly find backflips in a grass skirt to be interesting. I’m not aware of any culture whose dances include that, though.
Exactly. NEVER. I can appreciate the skill of ballet, and get absolutely no enjoyment watching it. I’m sure Hockey players are skilled to, but it’s not for me. On the other hand, I like things that others don’t (baseball, blackjack), so I try not to judge. So, for the record, I’ve never enjoyed watching or participating in any dance related activity.
I like watching and doing folk dancing, although I rarely have the chance to do either.
That said, Thomas Beecham once wrote, “You should try everything once except incest and folk dancing.”
What about completely unpretentious modern dance?
I like the music, but after seeing 10 seconds of the dancing that’s enough for me.
My friend’s 18-month-old is absolutely obsessed with Celtic Thunder. They carry a DVD of it with them because sometimes he gets cranky when visiting other people’s houses, but Celtic Thunder cheers him right up.
Maybe you’re too old, DMark 
I feel the same way about watching sports. i can’t imagine why anyone would want to sit and watch someone else play something.
I like to watch dancing of all kinds.
I have a sub-ten second attention span for sports and dance. They do very, very little for me. Yet I appreciate your enjoyment for them, because of my delight in honing in on, and optically devouring musicians’ hands (and arms and bodies, depending on the instrument) as they play. I cannot stand music performances that push the musicians into the background for orgies of choreography. But a large handful of top-tier musicians intensely focused on getting lost in the groove? To me, that’s something to see. Yet there’s the common theme of being amazed with and revelling in what a human can do with their body.
New Mastersounds: Carrot Juice
Medeski Martin & Wood: Bubblehouse
Grateful Dead: China/Rider
OTOH, I like watching people dance. I appreciate ballet, even though it isn’t my favorite. Loved Riverdance. Even pretentious modern dance is fun. Takes all kinds.
For some examples of fun swing dancing, just search YouTube for “Trafzer+Swing.” She’s one of my former debaters and has won all sorts of championships in the event.
Put your tongue in, put your tongue out…
There was a bizarre reference in a book about a famous British double agent during WWII - his Nazi handler (Walter Praetorius, “a dedicated Nazi with a Southampton University rowing tie”) thought Morris dancing was about the highest expression of culture in existence. :dubious:
Grownups can get into some really silly stuff.
Folks do it, don’t they?
I love folk dancing but watching it usually sends me to sleep. It’s meant to be something you DO, not watch.
After five painful years of ballet lessons driven by my mother’s frustrated desire to be a ballerina, I learned that dance of any sort was simply not my metier. However, it did leave me with an appreciation for dance as both an art form and a means of nonverbal communication.
Once or twice a year, I thoroughly enjoy a display of folk dancing as a part of an ethnic festival or parade. It isn’t something I deliberately seek out, but I do enjoy it when I happen upon it. I think that knowing the level of skill involved in a really good performance enhances the experience for me.
Folk dancing became all the rage in the 60s, when the folkie movement came along. I was in a folk dance group at my university and actually enjoyed it a lot. Some of the dances were quite energetic.
“Try everything in life except incest and folk dancing.” - S.J. Perelman
Or maybe that was Thomas Beecham, like Dedarii Dame said.
I believe River Dance is based on traditional Irish folk dances. It’s absolutely amazing but I get bored after a couple of minutes.
Not too big a fan of zombie folk dance, but Balinese seems nice enough. Granted, I mostly like the music.