Michael Gove's dancing is a reminder that moving to music is not an elite sport – Scotsman comment

As Michael Gove demonstrated in a late-night club – rather unusually for the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – dancing is a form of human expression that some people are good at and others are not.

Anyone who is not particularly good at dancing, like Michael Gove, shouldn't let it stop them enjoying themselves (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood was among those less than impressed by his performance at the Bohemia in Aberdeen, giving Gove just three out of 10.

So what should the Aberdeen-born MP for Surrey Heath do now? Should he never be seen on a dancefloor again, refusing requests at wedding receptions and other such events?

We say most certainly not. To do so would be tacit acceptance that dancing is somehow an elite activity that only a select band of coordinated and graceful people may enjoy and that those possessed of a pedantic sense of rhythm, sequins and fixed smiles have the final say on who is good enough to ‘throw some shapes’ and who is not.

This is an outrageous idea and an affront to democratic sentiment to boot.

The inelegant have as much right as anyone else to enjoy moving their bodies to music. Gove is old enough to have experienced the punk era of the 1970s and it may be that his defiance of modern-day dance snobs stems from these formative years.

He now has the chance to become the new ‘Minister for Bad Dancing’, a champion for those cowed into submission by efforts to turn dancing into a competition.

Dancing is not a professional sport, it is an amateur pursuit that should be enjoyed by any and all who wish to do so. So thanks, Michael, for reminding us.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.