The dance of modern society

the long version

Unlike many other nineteenth-century antidance writers who base their arguments on Scripture, Wilkinson asks that his readers formulate their opinions on reason, conscience, and common sense. In fact, Wilkinson argues that he is not an enemy of dance and declares it to be perfectly innocent. His argument is against the "modern manner of dancing" that requires expensive clothing and the "massing together of a jostling crowd of mute or merely gibbering animals." Thus, he summarizes, dancing does nothing to "enhance the intellectual improvement of society."