Shall We Dance?

I remember watching the 2004 version of "Shall We Dance?" on a whim, and while I didn't watch to watch it in the beginning, I ended up thoroughly enjoying the movie. Both movies were very similar, but there were some differences. Personally, I liked the American version more, which I think is due to the fact that I cannot relate to the Japanese culture, and I think it's interesting that the main reason why dancing is so frowned upon in Japan is because of their culture and dancing is considered a suspcious and shameful thing, especially when dancing with a woman who is not one's wife. Also, the Japanese culture is very different from American culture because the wife in the 1996 version was a softspoken, stay-at-home wife, while the 2004 version was a working mom. I still do not understand why in the 2004 version, John did not want to tell his wife because he didn't want to hurt her - I feel that he was doing more harm by keeping secrets from his wife, especially over dancing. However, just now I realized that he didn't want to let her know that he was missing something in his life and felt like dancing (and not her) could fill that void. I kind of did not like Mai's reason for not dancing anymore, which was because her partner did not protect her when they had fallen, but it made sense for her to come to the conclusion that she felt that she had always danced alone. The part that especially made me mad was when the daughter would yell out to her father during the dance competition, distracting him and virtually ruining the whole dance routine for him - I could not stand that scene, whether it's in the 1996 version or the 2004 version. I think it's great that the dad character continued to dance, even after Mai/Paulina's character coldly told him that she hopes he was dancing for reasons other than just to get a date with her, because it shows his dedication and love for something new. This meant a lot to me because, even though I do not know how to dance professionally, I really enjoy dancing at events and I do not know what I would do if I had not discovered dancing or if I weren't able to dance. Before dancing, I attended punk/rock shows which all one would do is mosh, tap their foot, or bob their head. Now, I attend electronic dance music (EDM) events, as well as Dubstep, Reggae, and occasionally a Hip-Hop event. I really enjoyed watching both versions of "Shall We Dance?"