You can see the difference at the clubs. You are the center, and you're trying to impress, sort of like birds who dance around each other and puff out their chests in a mating dance. In partner dancing and in swing, the dynamic is totally different. You're not showing off. The best dancers don't show off, and don't like it when their partners do it.
Powers pauses thoughtfully.
Meaning they're not showoffs, they're not in it just for their own gratification. The best dancers are the ones who are the most attentive, the ones who exist for their partners. You simply can't do that in solo dancing, where your partner, if you can call it that, is four feet away. Think of American Bandstand or MTV's The Grind , television shows in which much of the dancing is exhibitionism aimed at attracting the camera's eye. If anything, current trends in popular music are only bringing society farther away from the pleasures of couple dancing.