I've often heard people say, "I don't dance". After last week, I don't believe them anymore.
Chad had a jazz gig at the zoo and I went, lured partly by the chance to see him solo it on his sax and partly by the proximity of animals. What I didn't count on was the entertainment provided by the vast amounts of kids there. And trust me, I'm not normally entertained by small human beings, so this was an unusual occasion.
Every time a song would start, the kids would rush up close to the band and start swaying and prancing to the beat. Some were more coordinated than others. Some were even executing some promising ballet moves. And then some others were just bobbing in their diapers, having not mastered the art of walking yet.
I was hard-pressed to find a single kid who wasn't physically responding to the music. And it told me something. People are born to dance. Whether it looks refined and elegant or like a body being defibrillated is beside the issue. Music wasn't meant to be only experienced through your ears. It was meant to be a physical experience as well.
Having said this, I am disappointed to say that I did not join the sea of bobbing juveniles. I wish I could have. But something wouldn't let me make a fool of myself. And because of that, I'm not entirely unsympathetic to those who say, "I don't dance". But I won't go so far as to say that I don't dance. Because I definitely do. I dance in the shower. I dance in my living room. While doing housework or cooking or even in the snatches of time when I'm in public but no one's watching, I dance.
One day, I hope to have the courage to dance in plain sight. But until then, I hope this drawing captures all my fascination with the beauty of someone who can fling themselves into a beat without a second thought.
Chad had a jazz gig at the zoo and I went, lured partly by the chance to see him solo it on his sax and partly by the proximity of animals. What I didn't count on was the entertainment provided by the vast amounts of kids there. And trust me, I'm not normally entertained by small human beings, so this was an unusual occasion.
Every time a song would start, the kids would rush up close to the band and start swaying and prancing to the beat. Some were more coordinated than others. Some were even executing some promising ballet moves. And then some others were just bobbing in their diapers, having not mastered the art of walking yet.
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Having said this, I am disappointed to say that I did not join the sea of bobbing juveniles. I wish I could have. But something wouldn't let me make a fool of myself. And because of that, I'm not entirely unsympathetic to those who say, "I don't dance". But I won't go so far as to say that I don't dance. Because I definitely do. I dance in the shower. I dance in my living room. While doing housework or cooking or even in the snatches of time when I'm in public but no one's watching, I dance.
One day, I hope to have the courage to dance in plain sight. But until then, I hope this drawing captures all my fascination with the beauty of someone who can fling themselves into a beat without a second thought.
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