Why We Dance

Before I was born, my mother claimed there was nothing that got me to settle down.  I was raring to go and get out of her womb as soon as possible.  From those small (and I mean small) beginnings, my feet have always wanted to move.  Even as I type this, my feet are tapping to the music in my headphones and I'm thinking about the dancing I did last night and the dancing I will do tonight and the night after that and the night after that.  I'm a dancer, it's in my blood and nothing can take that out of me.  But what is it about the movement of dancing that makes it so much more powerful than our everyday walking?  Why do we dance?

Shakespeare once wrote "When you do dance, I wish you/A wave o' th' sea, that you might ever do/Nothing but that."

If I could live by those words I would. Because I dance.

When I say, "I dance," I am not talking about just dancing. I breathe dancing, it's what keeps a smile on my face, it's where I release negative energy and share positive energy. It's the place I run to when I'm sad, happy, confused, or meditative. I can get lost in dancing and can be found when I dance.

I dance because sometimes words just aren't enough! - Linda P. Fitzgerald

There's something about sharing a dance with someone that lets you learn things about them that a conversation never would. It speaks to their creativity, the way your bodies connect, how well they listen to the music... The connection that dancers share on the floor is impossible to achieve by greeting someone with a handshake. With no words, that dance is an equivalent of a handshake.

Words can not express why I dance. So, I dance- to express the words I can not speak. - Adara K.

When watching someone dance, you can see the emotion inside. You can begin to feel things that you never knew could be said and even in a first meeting, you've really met them. Dance is a way of communication.

I dance because it makes my entire body smile. - Halli Chamberlain

There have been times where I have left the dance floor close to tears due to something someone has said off to the side because the dance floor is never a place to cry. Instead, it's a place of joy and to forget the sadness. To some, dance is where they go when they need to be cheered up, is their happy place.

When I dance I become part of the music and the music becomes part of me. - Unknown

There has always been something magical about music that connects all of us.  We sing in the shower, we tap our feet to the rhythm, we belt it out in the car on road trips, and we find the songs that remind us of loved ones past and present.  But there is always something about music that moves each and everyone of us, whether it is physically or emotionally.  Mankind has always been with music, be it the beats of drums or sound through pipes.  It is in our veins and for some, it is expressed through the movement.

When I hear music (sometimes in my head) my feet and body start moving ... it's like magic. - Bernadette Njoku

If I hear a song, my first response is "Can I dance to it?"  I love music that moves me and love to become part of the story that the different melodies tell.

There are times where dancing is merely a collaboration, or exercise.  But what's good for the body is good for the soul.

Whether it's ballet or ballroom, clogging or jazz, dance is great for helping people of all ages and physical abilities get and stay in shape. There's even chair dancing for people with physical limitations. - AARP.org

So if you don't dance yet, what's stopping you?