It's Thursday; Dance My Minions, Dance!

To dance is as natural to humans as it is to laugh and sing. Like singing, we deny ourselves that joy believing we aren't good enough. By categorising dance as a performance, we can excuse ourselves from participation and avoid the fear of criticism that comes with public performance. It's unfortunate, culturally and esthetically, that we put the burden of excellence on singing and dancing. This isn't something we do with other sports or activities, and a good thing too. There is a joy to be felt from moving well, even if in your own mind. While sports and exercise can provide that joy, the unbounded range of motion offered by dance is hard to match.

 I've always enjoyed and admired the easy athleticism of Gene Kelly. Does anyone doubt that he could have been a pro athlete in whatever he turned his hand (or feet) to? Here's his "newspaper dance" from "Summer Stock". It's goofy, it's fun, and Gene almost floats over the floor in the way that only the elite of any endeavour can hope to do. I get as much joy from watching this as from watching Dr. J. float through the air.  I'm just as envious too.

We all want to be Gene Kelly, and should dance with him in our minds. Sadly, the vast majority of us (not you Denise) dance like this guy. I'm not mocking his interpretive dance, I'm celebrating it. He's trying to use his body to express something, and I want to enjoy it without cynicism. I also want to applaud someone who would do this for a camera. I sure as hell never would.