A friend of mine here, when we were only just acquainted, referred to me as the “kid who dances all the time.” She was criticizing me for having danced more than talked at the party where we’d met. She may have had a valid point.
I have no regrets about the dancing, however. Perhaps I should have talked more, but, come on, I talk all the time. I can talk almost whenever I like—and I do—but it is less socially acceptable to dance whenever I like. Of course, I generally don’t let that stop me.
When music plays, when it is decorous to dance, do it. Music makes mankind move, or at the very least, it makes us want to move. You hear a song, you tap your foot, you sway, you put a little bounce into those hips, or you don’t, you restrain yourself, it is neither the time nor place. I understand.
Just because you shouldn’t dance all the time does not mean you shouldn’t dance at all. Everyone should dance for fun. We want to move when music plays because it is cathartic to let the artistry, the emotional power, of the music hijack our bodies for a time. Empathy makes us human, and we empathize with the emotions of music.
After not dancing at all, the other problem people have is only dancing in one way. William Byrd danced his dance, and you should dance yours. But don’t just dance your dance—dance all the dances.
Each kind of music you listen to, or is played at a party, has a fitting form of dance to go with it. You may not know that style, but you should make an effort to learn it, rather than just presuming that jumping up and down gesticulating and popping your hips matches the music. If you really must pop your hips, add cha-cha, or rumba, or any of the other Latin dances to your repertoire.
This is not only a call to add some formality to their mix for those who only hop about. Swing dancing to every song ever, even if the beat would better match another dance style, is just as bad. Some songs really should just be danced freestyle. They are not ballroom songs, or partner dance songs at all—or if they are, it is not the kind of partner dancing you would do at the President’s ball.
When listening to music, when it is appropriate, we ought to dance. Just like there should be variety to our diet (come on, just vegetables? Gross), there should be variety to our musical diet. And if there is a variety to our musical diet, there should be a variety to how we dance.
Expand your dance vocabulary. When big band and jazz plays, swing dance. When something stately comes from the speakers, whirl into a waltz. There are songs for independent self-expression in dance. There are songs that express order, and a relationship, that request a more formalized partner dance. Sometimes they are hot, and Latin. Sometimes they are restrained. Find the dance that fits the music.
Everyone loves the emotional rollercoaster we ride when listening to music. And sometimes a physical action is needed to express the plucking of the strings of the soul. So we dance. Don’t be a single-issue voter, and don’t be a single style dancer.
mmeadowcroft@hillsdale.edu