Get Your Boogie On

Dancing Feet

“Prayer does not use up artificial energy, doesn't burn up any fossil fuels, doesn't pollute. Neither does song, neither does love, neither does the dance.”

Margaret Mead

Martha Graham called dance “the hidden language of the soul.” Ever wonder why human beings all over the world, in every culture, from time immemorial, have danced? And why some people are better at it than others? The research indicates that dance is an evolution-advancing skill and was once connected to the ability of humans to survive, especially in hard times. All cultures dance. When I was a young person, I went to see Unto These Hills, the Cherokee outdoor drama. I was mesmerized by the rhythmic and coordinated movements of the dancers. Later in life, I attended several powwows and watched the traditional dances of the tribes. Always, there were several very specialized dancers, who were able to tell a story with their movements and surrounding them, the regular members of the tribe kept a steady beat with their feet, with staffs, and always with drums.

The traditional dances of all original cultures are very similar—simple movements, rhythmically danced. I love to watch videos of Maasai performing their jump-dance. Those movements look easy, but they aren't. They take years to perfect, and as with the specialized dancers in other tribes, some folks are better at it than others. Of all the little children who take ballet, only a few will become professional dancers. According to the research that has to do with body symmetry. Martha Graham pointed out that the very best dancers are accomplished because of their passion, which speaks to the evidence that the ability to dance well and the ability to communicate well go together—as though dance opens up a particular channel in the brain that allows the body to speak a language of its own.

Babies are born to dance; they can carry a beat from about five months old. My cousin, Carrie, has a little girl who's two years old, and who becomes very upset if another band covers a Beatles song—she already insists on the original version, sung by the original fab-four. And that girl can dance! What I find to be true about dance and music in general is that it is a natural expression of spirit—when we hear music, the spirit within us moves. Music and dance are gifts of grace from a creator with passion. I hope you get your boogie on today. You'll feel enlivened—even inspired—by it.

                                                        In the Spirit,

                                                            Jane