American Dancer and award-winning choreographer Agnes DeMille said “to dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.”
It makes perfect sense. In the stress of today, we spend a lot of time all balled up. Shoulders to ears, fists clenched, jaw set, holding our breath, ready for the next blow. A little lightness is what we need, a little freedom to stretch and a spin or two to unwind.
I came out of my garage this week and almost bumped into a young man on my street who was equally startled by me. You see, I’d caught him jamming to his own tune. He was in his own world, having a party in his head; snapping his fingers and humming.
After his brief start, he smiled a huge sheepish grin and said, “Caught me,” as he shook his head.
I said, “No sir. You caught me. I need to find a jam as good as yours.”
He giggled, “well, when things are hard like now-a-days, it’s what you’ve got; the beat, the melody and the sunshine. You’ve gotta slowly ramp it up just like the day herself.”
Then he twirled, in that soulful way only a cool young dude can do first thing in the morning.
“You have an excellent day.” And off he went, drumming his hand on his thigh.
“I will now, neighbor.” My hand went involuntarily into its own snappy beat and out came a little skip-step toward my front door.
Give it a chance.
Take notice of your body in this very moment. Are you slumped over a screen reading this? I am even as I type. No judgement. Instead, just notice. Notice what happens if you lift your head and chest up. Up high! Exhale and throw your arms out or up or around you. Freely express yourself through your whole body and watch how your energy changes. Ms. De Mille also said, “Bodies never lie.” They are the truest expression of you.
Take time to express your jam, outside your stressed confines. And for heaven’s sake don’t judge, just enjoy…
“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.”
— Martha Graham (1894 — 1991, American Dancer, Choreographer)
If you need scientific evidence, Google will oblige you with ample support but note that a 2017 University of Maryland review of literature states: “Dance can provide positive emotion, engagement, meaning, accomplishment, and positive relationships. Dance is a form of exercise plus the communication of thoughts and feelings, yielding more dividends than other forms of exercise. Because dance is physical, cognitive, and emotional, it is a vehicle for a person to cope with stress and become motivated and invigorated to achieve goals for wellbeing.”
Plainly put, “There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.”
— Vicki Baum (1888 — 1960, Austrian Author)
Dance helps you jam, connect, pump your blood and get your yaya’s out all in a relatively small space and with limited resources.
Finally, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that dancing is, by far, the number one activity to help prevent dementia. There you have it.
For those of us who feel silly about it and too often uptight, let’s get over ourselves and channel my neighbor. In his beautiful words, “Soulful is as soulful does.”
“On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined.”
— Lord Byron (1788 — 1824, English Poet)
See you on The PATH Ahead,
Gillian, Shevonne, Amy, Ashley and the VEHI PATH Team.
PS. Cool side note about author Vicki Baum: She was a Jewish, Austrian-born journalist, author and harpist who also became a boxer in Berlin in the 1920’s. That’s right, a boxer. She even trained with Marlene Dietrich. She spent hours at the punching bag “developing a pretty mean straight left, a quick one-two; a woman never knew when she might have to defend herself, right?” (her words from her memoir). What a ground breaker she was. Seems like a movie needs to be made here.