Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): A mi amigo se le da mal bailar en público.

A mi amigo se le da mal bailar en público ≈ My friend is bad at dancing in public / Dancing in public isn’t his thing.
Mi amigo baila mal en público = My friend dances badly in public.

Nuance:

Se le da mal focuses on ability / talent / aptitude: it’s not a skill he has.
Baila mal focuses on how he dances (the result), more like a direct criticism of his dancing.

So se le da mal is slightly softer and more about natural skill than about performance in that moment.

Why do we need both se and le? Could we say A mi amigo le da mal bailar en público?

No, you can’t drop the se here. In this construction:

se is a kind of “dummy” pronoun used to form this idiomatic pattern.
le is the indirect object pronoun referring to mi amigo.

The pattern is:

A X se le da bien/mal + [infinitive / noun]

For example:

A mí se me da bien cocinar.
A Juan se le da mal hablar en público.

If you say A mi amigo le da mal bailar, it sounds wrong to native speakers; the se is part of the fixed expression se le da bien/mal.

Is se le da mal a reflexive verb?

Not in the usual sense. It’s better to think of it as a set idiomatic construction, not as a normal reflexive verb.

In a reflexive verb like se lava (he washes himself), se refers back to the subject and the subject does the action to themself.
In se le da mal, nobody is literally “giving” anything to anyone. The verb dar is used in a figurative way to talk about how something turns out for someone, and se helps form that pattern.

So grammatically you’ll see dar + pronouns, but functionally you should memorize:

A alguien se le da bien/mal algo = someone is good/bad at something

What does dar mean in this sentence? Who is giving what to whom?

Literally, dar means “to give”, but here it’s used in a figurative/idiomatic way.

In A mi amigo se le da mal bailar en público:

There is no real “giver” or “gift.”
The idea is that “this activity turns out badly for him / doesn’t suit him.”

You can think of it abstractly as:

Se le da bien = It turns out well for him → he’s good at it.
Se le da mal = It turns out badly for him → he’s bad at it.

Trying to force a literal “giving” meaning here will just confuse you; treat it as one of Spanish’s idiomatic uses of dar.

Why is it mal and not malo?

Because mal here is an adverb, not an adjective.

malo/mala = adjective (describes a noun)
- Un bailarín malo = a bad dancer.
mal = adverb (describes how something is done / how something turns out)
- Baila mal = he dances badly.
- Se le da mal bailar = dancing goes badly for him / he is bad at dancing.

In se le da mal bailar, we’re describing how the activity of dancing “goes” for him, so we use the adverb mal.

Why do we start with A mi amigo? Is that necessary if we already have le?

You need the indirect object pronoun (le) for the sentence to be grammatically complete, but A mi amigo is used to clarify who le refers to.

Se le da mal bailar en público.
Grammatically fine, but who is le?
A mi amigo se le da mal bailar en público.
Now we know le = mi amigo.

So:

le = obligatory pronoun in this construction.
A mi amigo = optional clarifier/emphasis, but very common and natural, especially when the referent is not obvious from context.

This “doubling” (prepositional phrase + pronoun) is very normal in Spanish.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Bailar en público se le da mal a mi amigo?

Yes, Spanish allows some flexibility, and that sentence is grammatically correct:

Bailar en público se le da mal a mi amigo.

However, the most natural and common patterns in everyday speech are:

A mi amigo se le da mal bailar en público.
A mi amigo bailar en público se le da mal. (also possible, but a bit less common)

Your version sounds more formal or stylistic, but it is acceptable. For speaking and general writing, stick to:

A [person] se le da mal/bien [activity].

Can I use this structure with other activities, or just with dancing?

You can use se le da bien/mal with all kinds of activities and skills. Examples:

A mi hermana se le da bien cocinar.
My sister is good at cooking.
A mi padre se le da mal usar el ordenador.
My father is bad at using the computer.
A nosotros se nos da bien el deporte.
We’re good at sports.
A vosotros se os da mal aprender idiomas. (Spain)
You guys are bad at learning languages.
A ellos se les da bien negociar.
They’re good at negotiating.

You can use:

infinitives: cocinar, dibujar, conducir
nouns: las matemáticas, el fútbol, los idiomas
e.g. A María se le dan mal las matemáticas.

How do I say the opposite, that my friend is good at dancing in public?

You just replace mal with bien:

A mi amigo se le da bien bailar en público.
My friend is good at dancing in public.

Same structure:

A [persona] se le da bien [infinitivo / sustantivo].

Examples:

A mi amigo se le da bien cantar.
A mi amigo se le da bien el inglés.

Is there a difference between A mi amigo se le da mal bailar and A mi amigo no se le da bien bailar?

They are very close in meaning and both natural.

A mi amigo se le da mal bailar.
Directly: he’s bad at dancing.
A mi amigo no se le da bien bailar.
Literally: it doesn’t go well for him; he’s not good at dancing.

Nuance:

se le da mal can sound a bit stronger: clearly bad at it.
no se le da bien is slightly softer: “He’s not good at it” (which could mean anywhere from mediocre to bad).

In everyday conversation, people may use both almost interchangeably.

What’s the difference between A mi amigo se le da mal bailar, Mi amigo baila mal, and Mi amigo es malo bailando?

All can describe a poor dancer, but with different focus:

A mi amigo se le da mal bailar.
- Focus: aptitude / ability.
- Implication: dancing isn’t his strong point; it doesn’t come naturally.
Mi amigo baila mal.
- Focus: how he dances (the action).
- More direct, can sound more critical, especially without softening context.
Mi amigo es malo bailando.
- Uses ser malo
  - gerund.
- Focus: being bad as a dancer (a characteristic/quality).
- Also sounds direct and quite evaluative.

In Spain, se le da mal is very common and often sounds the least harsh of the three.

Why is it en público and not en el público?

Because en público is a fixed phrase meaning “in public / in front of people.”

bailar en público = to dance in public, in front of others.
en el público would literally be “in the audience”, which doesn’t fit the intended meaning (he isn’t inside the audience; he’s performing where people can see him).

So en público = general, no article, like English “in public.”

Why is it mi amigo without an accent, but sometimes I see a mí with an accent?

Because mi and mí are different words:

mi (no accent) = “my”, a possessive adjective.
- mi amigo = my friend
- mi casa = my house
mí (with accent) = stressed “me” after a preposition.
- a mí, para mí, de mí, etc.

In your sentence:

A mi amigo… → mi is possessive (“my friend”), so no accent.
If you were talking about yourself, you would say:
- A mí se me da mal bailar en público.
  Here mí is the pronoun “me” after the preposition a, so it takes an accent.