Talking shit, blowing smokerings and opening beer with anything but an opener ... skills of the night which are bloody good fun and skills men take pride in. But what about the those long forgotten skills from generations past which Kiwi males have let gather dust?

This month Spades investigates dancing, and whether it will ever be cool again.

Dancing is well ... it's not as cool as 80s Tarantino made it out to be, well at least not any more. More and more it seems to resemble unskilled unapealling and heavily under-the-influence grinding in clubs. More of a means to an end rather than a mean time.

I suppose you could argue that dance was never meant to be serious and it's not for everybody. You could. But what about those of us who don't have loved-up girlfriends who think our lack of rhythm is cute.

Even worse are those of us who do have girlfriends who have swarms of guys rushing to dance with them, while you watch in anger. Perhaps dancing was never cool or manly. Maybe Kevin Bacon, John Travolta and the Swayzee were just setting blokes up for failure.

Spades thinks it's time men regain their confidence to grab a girl with confidence and show her a thing or two.

So get down with your bad self, don't stop till you get enough just promise not to pop it like it's hot.

Vanita Prasad | 2 September 2009