Napoleon Dynamite Syndrome (dance)

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Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

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Joined: 2 Dec 2005
Gender: Female
Posts: 30

18 Jan 2006, 1:15 am

I'm a good dancer. That's my savant super power. Anyone want to trade for some L33t math skillz or something?
It's a talent so useless to me as a lazy reclusive nerd that I forget I can even do it until one of those rare situations where I make it to a club or a party where there's dancing and booze.
And then whoever I'm with goes "WTF? When did you take dance lessons?"
The thing is, this is despite have having pretty bad sensory problems and clumsiness.
The only explanation I can think of is that maybe my proprioception is so out of whack that I have to be able to move like a ninja just to stay on my feet and keep from constantly hurting myself.
So does anyone out there share the weirdness, or am I all alone? :P


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Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Age: 59
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,405

06 Dec 2018, 8:42 am

OMG!! I'm like that on roller skates! I'm really heavy too - that's the weird part - no lessons ever - I just do it somehow to prevent myself from breaking my head on the sidewalk.

jimmy m

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Joined: 30 Jun 2018
Age: 71
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,564
Location: Indiana

06 Dec 2018, 10:19 am

I am the opposite. For the life of me, I cannot dance. I am always out of sync. When someone is moving in one direction, I am a few seconds behind moving in the exact opposite direction. I have a problem mirroring the postures, gestures, or movements of others.

So the skill that you have is really a very good skill. It can be used to shed stress energy from your arms and legs. Our body stores stress energy (in the form of hormones and other chemicals) in our limbs and we periodically need to purge and vent this energy or otherwise it can be a very destructive force to our bodies. Generally stress is an Aspie's middle name.

But to shed the stress effectively, the dance must be extreme. One which works up a sweat. Like Zumba dancing.


Joined: 25 Nov 2016
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,819
Location: Santa Maria, CA.

07 Dec 2018, 10:32 am

I was very surprised at how fast I picked up ballroom dancing because I thought of myself as something of a klutz. The same applies to tennis lessons. Maybe interest and dedication made up for my lack of natural skills.