“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful…
This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking”
Agnes De Mille
Deep within me has always been the desire to dance. Not any particular style — just a body moving— filled with power, with love.
When I watch ballet, jazz, lyrical, or hip-hop, the movement of the dancers mesmerizes me. I have tried, but the awkwardness of my body refuses to grasp the fluidity and grace that I see in others.
The last child chosen for the playground baseball games, I grew up keenly aware of my lack of coordination. But oh, how I imagined myself twirling across the stage or floating alongside Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly.
At five, I watched with envy and longing. All of my life, I held the dream inside. I took a few ballet classes for exercise. As long as I stayed at the barre, I wasn’t too bad. But the leaps across the room did not come close to anything graceful.
Do you have a desire that alludes reality? A hope deferred and not meant for this lifetime?
Dance with Love
My daughter and granddaughter filled the gap in my heart. They both dance. Watching them always, always brings tears to my eyes.
Not because I can’t do what they can. No, they dance with hearts full of love and they throw it across the room for me to catch and cherish.
That is enough.
Do I still wish I could dance? Yes, but instead, I sing, play the piano, teach, and write. All with the same love.
But in the meantime…I will dance in the rain, skip lightly across a vacant room, and never care who’s watching. I will remember this from Twyla Tharp.
“Each day expect one miracle—one instance of elegance or beauty from the world—it’s your right.”
To all dancers, but especially the two I love most . . .
Dancing
Music, flowing arms,
Bodies push beyond the sound
Circling the air.
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