What Does Dance Mean to You?

I have always struggled with this question, because I have never been able to give an accurate answer. I mean I dance for fun and I enjoy it, but what does it actually mean to me? People say things like, "dance saved my life, dance allowed me to express my true feelings, dance allowed me to be me..."and quite frankly, in as much as I've experienced these things within dance, I still struggle to get the right definition for me. Welcome to post number 14.

You grow up knowing that dance is a fun after school activity, you get older and it turns into a hobby, and eventually you decide to pursue it professionally...and now you have to give it some profound meaning. I mean you don't have to, but it's expected. It's a bit hard to define when all you've known it to be is a fun "thing". I even tried to "steal" people's definitions, but deep down I knew they didn't resonate. I had been on this dance journey for years without really having an idea of what it actually meant to me. This changed when I began going social dancing...

I started going social dancing a couple of months ago and I realised that I really really enjoy it. I enjoy the excitement of the uncertainty of the lead's next move, I love that you can be so in sync with someone you barely know, I like the dance chemistry that is formed on the dance floor, and I like that there's freedom of movement that's still structured within the technique of latin dance. I like the partnership. I like that I don't have to think, I just have to trust and follow the lead...Social dancing opened my eyes to the fact that dance is not just about going to dance classes and learning new routines and being good at them. Neither is it just about performing and teaching...it's more than that for me.

So what does dance mean to me? I am discovering that dance to me is an escape from life, the anticipation of it and all that comes with it. An escape into a world of 8 counts, of rhythms and grooves, of movement and creativity, of following and leading, of side stepping till the end of time. In this escape I find freedom, I find joy, and I am content.

What does dance really mean to you?

Keep creating & sharing!

~your dancer friend