It seems that Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were the exception and that in discos and dance halls across the USA Americans are embarrassing themselves when they hit the dance floor. Compare this to Bulgarian and Macedonian adults who process complex musical rhythms much better than North American adults.

Americans it seems don't have rhythm. Not that they start out that way. All children have an inherent rhythm and it takes some serious indoctrination to knock it out of them. This is achieved, according to Erin E. Hannon of Cornell University, and Sandra Trehub of University of Toronto, by the homogenous nature of the music that is presented to children in the USA during there development. The rhythms that they are presented with all have a simple music structure and over time this dulls the perception of more complex musical structures.

If you live in New York, or one of the other large American cities, I am sure you will be able to locate an "Eastern European" quarter. That is where you will the American citizens with the the best rhythmic appreciation of music.

(Read more at American Pychological Society website)