It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from in the world there is something built into us something primal and that is the beat of the drum and the sway of the body. Music speaks to a part of our souls that we have forgotton and when we hear the rythem it makes us want to move in a way that we just don’t in our modern lives.
Whether you are a side stepper who likes to clap your hands or a professional dancer using your entire body to convey a story there is something that builds up inside of you, something that is akin to joy and a feeling of being free.
Our modern lifestyles are freedom sappers we spend our whole lives ‘living in a box’ world. One comedian put it this way; we go to work in a box car, or box public transport, sit in front of our box computer in our box office then return home and sit in front of the box eating our box dinner. Unless you chose dance as a profession there is little time for it in your everyday life.
Our ancient ancestors danced for the harvest, they danced for the moon, they danced for good health, they danced for the rain and through their practices they connected with nature, the world around them and with each other. They understood the importance of freedom and joy and working with the world around them rather than trying to control it.
In some parts of the world there are still some tribal people who continue their dance practices working with mother nature but here in the west we struggle to fit any kind of dance into our everyday lives. Yet that nature is still built into us, you notice it on a friday night in late night music venues after one too many vodka’s the body begins to move inhibitions freed.
Imagine though if we reclaimed that nature, instead of sitting in front of the box we put the radio on and jigged in the kitchen or took the few precious hours in the evening to take a dance class sober. We wouldn’t have to wait until the once a month vodka fuelled knees up to lose our inhibitions we could make it a part of our every day lives.
We could re-understand our bodies, what they are built for, we could reconnect with ourselves on a spiritual level the part of ourselves we have lost because the world around us has told us we must obey certain rules, we could begin to feel the joy and freedom the body wants and we can spill over that joy and freedom to others.
We can create a better world.
Time to break out the box – dance………….
