I love to dance, but I think we are no longer a dancing nation. Although our roots run deep with the dances of peasants, slaves, royalty and others, we've become a nation of watchers.
Recently I went to an outdoor concert by the Kentucky Boogie Band (part of their symphony orchestra). They were great but the audience just sat there.
There was a little stage for the kids but no adults ventured down. Oh yes, a few mothers (or at least women with enough chutzpah to pretend they had kids down there dancing) but that was it. Finally during the last song, several in the group I was with got up and danced in place but it felt odd. We stopped before the song was over.
Now this says as much about my own being inhibited as it does the crowd. Surely dancing is a good thing, isn't it? What happened to joyful abandon? Following your bliss? Happy feet? Why are we watching Dancing with the Stars or So You Think You Can Dance when we should be out there stomping our own feet? If dancing is a metaphor for how we engage life, what does that say about us?
Well, while I ponder my own inhibitions, I'm going to give you something to watch. (Yes, I get the irony of it.). Here's a little dance piece sent to me by my friend Mary Adrian. It is great fun although yes, you are watching it. (Make sure you hit the keys in the middle to make it dance, I missed that little instruction the first time.) I'm holding this paradox and consoling myself with the fact that at least your fingers are moving. And who knows maybe you'll be inspired to move your feet.
First Painting: Dance at Bougival by Renoir, 1883, Museum of FIne Arts, Boston.
Second Painting: BY MERRYL JAYE (check out her website)
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