death and dancing...really? 9-20-21
Remember spring 2020? We entered this strange chapter at the Equinox, realities of life as we knew temporarily ending at the same time that signs of life renewing itself were blooming all around us. Now it is Equinox again. Six seasons have come and gone. And the “temporary” feels utterly perpetual. Somehow the Sunday New York Times helps me mark the passage of week after week and the cover article of their flashy magazine grabbed my attention:
When We Could Be Together All We Wanted To Do Was Dance
The author recalled the hopeful doorway we moved through Equinox 2021. Remember? The vaccination thing was working. We cast off our masks and gingerly, or not so gingerly, began to be with each other. Faces revealed. Embraces relished. The joy of gathering in public spaces. Fear put to simmer on the back burner. What did the author, Carina Del Valle Schorske, do in that short window of time? In every conceivable NYC setting, including a 5Rhythms class given by a teacher I know, she danced. And danced. And danced some more. And then she wrote of her experience and quoted French historian Phillipe de Felice:
“Eras of greatest material and moral distress
seem to be those during which people dance most.”
Which is confirmed weekly by our dance closing circle comments and my own experience. The bigger question is why. One more quote from this article: “Historical accounts leave little doubt that the boom in public dancing had something to do with the proximity of death.” And that still leaves us wondering why. Why dance when death is looming on the transom? Could it be that we all have a boogie lurking inside us and the realization that this impulse may never find expression breaks us free? A now or never thing? The specter of our own mortality unearthing our god given body joy, the yum of beat responsiveness, our longing to feel and be with other breathing bodies, sense the common pulse of humanity in motion.
I just know what is true for me. I’ve had intervals of loss and moral distress sprinkled with regularity throughout my life. From the get-go. Maybe that’s why the dancing force is so strong in me. Lately it seems like god has renewed my subscription with grief. And I feel the impact of six seasons of beating the drum, improvising ways for us to vibrate together. No matter if I’m out moving with you or dancing behind the desk …it has proved to be an anchor for me. Blessed be my family, friends and my home. The sky, the trees, the ground. And there is no doubt that moving in the garden on Sunday and Clara on Wednesday also keeps me from floating off the face of planet earth. In this era of great distress dancing is a saving grace.
Not to make light of our time on the mat together. When I realized how far we journeyed in these six seasons I knew it was time for an introduction to the landscape. Something I used to do periodically in person. Live. Remember? But since on line is working for Friday morning Essentials, an introduction on line just makes sense. This two hour practice is all you need to know to be in class on Friday mornings and/or avail yourself of the slowly developing Video Library. The first class on feet just landed in the Hip, Knee, Foot section.
This video gives you a quick overview of what we will cover during two hours Saturday October 2 10:00-noon. Can’t make that time slot? Guess what? Enroll anyway and receive the recording.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCNKv05DwoU[/embed]
Alrighty then. All the way from death and dancing to the pleasure of rolling. All over the board today. May the balance of light and dark in this seasonal moment inspire the balance we need as we cruise together toward the winter solstice in these rocky times.
Love through it all....❤️Bella