Live.Love.Dance

dance

/dans/

verb

1. 1.

   move rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps.

   
   

   "their cheeks were pressed together as they danced"

   
   

   synonyms:

   sway, trip, twirl, whirl, pirouette, gyrate; More

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2. 2.

   (of a person) move in a quick and lively way.

   
   

   "Sheila danced in gaily"

   
   

   synonyms:

   caper, cavort, frisk, frolic, skip, prance, gambol, jig; More

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noun

1. 1.

   a series of movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music.

I grew up dancing.  There is something about telling a story through movement and music that is cathartic and beautiful.  The story is told from the dancer's finger tips to the end of their toes.  Dancing requires core strength, bursts of power and balance.  Like all great athletes, good dancers make it look very easy.

Old dancers don't truly quit dancing; they will find some way to move their bodies.  Were you a dancer & have you ever danced in your kitchen or den?  My body doesn't move like it used too, which is very frustrating, but I still enjoy doing what I can.  I keep thinking some of it will magically reappear, but the crucial flexibility and power for high jumps and any kind of extension is just gone.  My dancing is limited to different aerobic classes, so I enjoy watching others do the really hard stuff.
 
I'm a sucker for a dance video, and could watch them for hours.  I appreciate all forms of dance from ballet to hiphop.  I was looking for a friend's email address on FB (because the site I usually use was down) when someone posted a video of a beautiful dance.  It's a story of a relationship burdened with addiction.  It's by Art Buzz & it's called Medicine.  There's another one that's a few years old that features Sergei Polunin to Hozier's Take Me to Church.  He's called the bad boy of ballet.  He's bad alright...and totally amazing.  Yesterday I watched GRV* for the first time & can I tell you they have amazing body control.  (*WARNING, this video contains songs that are explicit.)  One more & I promise it's the last one...well sort of.  It's any of the videos from a great choreographer:  Kyle Hanagami.  Here's something he did to Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur, but feel free to watch any of his stuff; it's great. (check out videos from Millennium Dance Complex too.)

The most important thing about dance at our age is for each of us to do our individual best & not worry about everyone else.  One of my Dance Jam instructors said in class last night "what if I didn't even try".  The fact we made it to class &  are moving is a victory in and of itself.   The body may be slowing down, but I'll keep dancing until I just can't any more, and I'm going to love every second of it.  Now, I'm going to ice my knees.

Celebrating the dance,
~ashley