As I watched him rock back onto his heels, a bright smile on his face as he clung to his partner’s hands and kept the beat, dancing was never so beautiful to watch.
When a normally quiet engineer (or journalist or software designer) suddenly glows under the influence of music and friends, I believe dance is pulling us into its magic glow.
The other day I attended a Christmas party with dancing. As many of you know, dancing was a huge part of my social college life. I loved making a wordless connection of teamwork with another person. Dance is improvised creativity that makes you listen to someone else, and the best kind of dance isn’t a performance.
During one song, a friend of mine was dancing by herself. I joined her, imitating a flourish of her hands, letting her copy something I did, back and forth. This dance brought me closer to her in ways that words could not, and at the time, it was exactly what we needed.
I’ve found healing, friendship, and insight in dance that you would not believe.
When I see someone dance, their heart slips out of hiding and begins to shine. I read the unspoken language between the leader and the follower.
So the next time someone offers to teach us a new step or two or invites us to create something together for the duration of one song, I hope we dance.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may you find ways to dance this next year in whatever form that takes for you!
