Assignment #5 - Dance

People dance for many reasons... Exercise, social connections, self expression, etc. Dancing is one thing in life that no one is bad at. But at the same time, we can't all assume we can claim the trophy on the next season of So You Think You Can Dance. A good thing about the act of dancing is that it is one instance in life where you can have no reservations, and feel free with you body and in tune with you emotions. Dancing makes people happy, even if they are not the ones dancing but watching someone else dance. Just imagine - your sitting in the most BORING class ever, with the same ole PowerPoint presentation-of-a-lullaby and your professor breaks out to some MC Hammer. THAT would make you happy, and put you back into your brain stimulation state. Personally, I am a dancing machine! Whether it be in my car alone, out on the town with my friends or even a quick, sporadic movement at the faint sound of music, I will proceed to dance!

When I see great dancers on stage, such as the great "Sun King" Louis XIV or my favorite Mikhail Baryshnikov (ok- I like him in Sex and the City as well...), I see it as an art. Many of these professional dancers practice from their youth. Because their body is their instrument, dancing can become detrimental after years of practice and performance. I think what I appreciate most about the ballet, or jazz dancing, or the waltz, or even the interesting Japanese Butoh is the time, energy, passion and emotion portrayed and invested in each dance. Many people judge professional dance or stereotype with a specific gender, but if you look for the deeper initiate, we can all appreciate it.

In addition, when I see really good dancers on the dance floor, I believe it is innate characteristic. We all can dance, but we all don't have accurate rhythm of elasticity! Really good dancers have a connection with the music and express this passion through movement of dance. But whose to say the people that cannot express this as easy through movement do not experience the same kind of musical/emotional connection?

But most importantly, what makes dance good is the feeling it give the dancer. Again, these simple movements tell a bigger story. These movements represent ideas, thoughts and feelings that we may not be able to verbalize. Not only is dance good pysiologically (movement increases oxygen to the brain thus stimulating activity), for the people around, but most importantly dance is good for you.