Pushing my grievances into the shadow of ignorance,
Filling my heart with unperturbed romance,
With nostalgic memories exuding their sweet fragrance,
To the tunes of uncorrupted happiness I dance.
Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing energy, or simply taking delight in the movement itself. It is the very thing that piloted celebrities such as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Michael Jackson or our home-grown brunch of actors such as Prabhu Deva, Govinda and Hrithik Roshan to the very pinnacle of stardom. It is said to be an inherent form of celebration and expression of joy. Be it Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Ballet or any other form, Dance till date remains one of the talents that is present in all human beings in the crudest form possible and that can be further refined. There is a difference between dance and the art of dance. Dance is a powerful impulse, but the art of dance is that impulse channeled by skillful performers into something that becomes intensely expressive and that may delight the onlooker. So shaking a leg or two at the disco is dance where as being able to carve a story out of gyrations is the art of dance. Well all the people who know me would unanimously agree that I am not the right person to get in touch with if you are interested in dancing even though I can differentiate the Waltz from the Tango. Then what is this piece of undecipherable inventory doing in my blog? I first thought about writing on this topic when I came across a community in Orkut (the web based version of yesteryear's pen pal movement) titled "Dance As if no one is watching". But then I finally wrote this piece because of two reasons. The first one I am not going to say here whereas the second one is that I was deeply influenced by a ballet that I was watching on the Travel and Living channel, which was depicting a sweet legend about a young couple who died protecting their love for each other and the honour of their families.
Dance is one of the most unadulterated form of displaying happiness and exuberance. It is one such act where you loosen your grip over your body and move farther away from the ominous reality chasing you and let an aura of rhythmic chaos take over you. Soulful dancing introduces one to a world of calmness and symmetry that we all dream about but rarely venture into. I love to see people dance. May be thats because I make a terrible dancer or may be because I am just too shy to dance in front of others (though the latter one is now fading away). But I just love to watch others dance. They do it with such a sense of gracefulness and satisfaction that fills my heart. Each step seems to be so meticulously placed. And their smiling faces speak volume of how much they enjoy their dance whether they are dancing well or not. In fact, at the end of the day, what matters is the pleasure derived. Dance is an extremely powerful tool of expression. I have seen good dancers emote through dance. Speaking tonnes through a rhythmic synchronization between the hands, legs, facial expressions, stance and gait and the body as a whole isn't just an art but a skill that can be learnt by many but mastered by few. This is what makes the casual dance different from the practised art form. Dance for the common mass is a way of enjoyment while for the elite its an art of expression. Both of them are equally appealing and heart rendering.
My years of research through abstract philosophy and "People-Watching" (if Bird-Watching can be a passtime, why can't this be?) have lead me to believe that an individual's attitude toward dancing can be an indicative of his nature. Its obviously not the dancing skills but the presence on the dance floor that falls under the perspective of this analysis. A simple glance at the face of the dancer can tell you about his nature from the level of satisfaction he is deriving from his dance. Basically there are two types of people - the ones who dance and the ones who just dance. The ONES WHO DANCE are those who dance freely without any resentments or reservations. They dance as if the world is their dance floor and they are the only ones dancing. They dance without any inhibitions and as a result exude an aura of satisfaction. I have often found these sort of people to be pretty expressive, easy going, broadminded and open hearted. The ONES WHO JUST DANCE are those who dance because they have to. These sort of people are always caught dancing in public glare when what they actually want to move out of the dance floor and just spectate. Such people are normally shy, introverted, self restrictive and less outgoing. Its not that these people cant dance their hearts out but somehow fail to do so in front of an audience. In solitude, these people easily migrate into the first category. However this is not a foolproof way of indentification because there are people who can mask their emotions and expressions and it becomes difficult to conclude what they actually are. But the truth is that dance, easily, is a form of living life. In fact an old Persian proverb correctly highlights that "He who danceth not, knoweth not the ways of life".
So now you know what is the perfect recipe for a 5 minute bliss. Get your friends with you or if you are too shy just lock yourself up in your room. Get the music on, close your eyes and follow your heart. Feel the music flow through your nerves, enter into a state of perfect trance and let your body do the rest of the talking. Dance as if no ones watching you or if you prefer it, dance as if the whole world's dancing with you. So friends, SHOULD WE DANCE???
P.S. : This post has been named after the 1998 movie with the same name starring Vanessa Williams and Chayanne. This post is one of the "long in the making" kinds taking me about a month to complete. Well blogs are normally meant for short and quick posts but somehow I cant manage with FASTFOOD it seems :) Anyways this post is my tribute to the never say die free-spirit of us humans which makes us achieve small doses of happiness every now and them although we always yearn for perfect bliss chasing it throughout our lives.
