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The Mystery of Dance

By Julie Johnston

What is it about dance, so akin to walking—after all, it's just moving your feet—that can make the heart soar, inspire self-confidence, reduce stress, and more? I may not be able to answer what it is about this mystery of dance, but I'd like to share my story.

As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to dance. It didn't even matter what kind of dance. But being a child of divorced parents, out of town every weekend, I was unable to participate in anything that involved weekend commitments or practice time. Divorce in itself can develop trust issues in a child, a lack of trust in those who should have your best interests in mind.

As a child, my most prized possession was a Dancerina ballerina doll. At twenty-four inches tall with a knob on the top of her head, in the middle of her pink crown, you could make her do pirouettes or walk on her toes. (They are now considered vintage if sold on eBay.)

For one year in my early teens, I participated in dance line for school. We performed at halftime for one basketball game; the rest of our time was practice after school. A strict budget meant we had to sew our own costumes. My sewing skills produced the required patriotic red skirt and blue vest that went over our white turtlenecks—all made out of unbreathable pleather. Fortunately no photographic evidence exists of this era.

As I grew into an adult, I tried a variety of dance through community education classes. My dance opportunities consisted of sessions of tap, ballet, and some swing classes, but I was never partnered consistently with someone who was a strong lead. I signed up at community classes touted as no partner required and spent most of the time dancing with the instructor, and a great deal of time standing around.

Following that, I did three years of Jewish/Israeli dance. Practicing a folk dance style meant I could dance with no partner. However, being introverted and lacking in a social sphere, I didn't find many occasions to dance "Hava Nagila (Let Us Rejoice)" on a regular basis. My further adventures included soul line dance. The class consisted of fewer than a dozen white people standing out amongst much more rhythmically inclined black attendees. Next to their moves, I imagined myself looking like Elaine from Seinfeld, whose dance was described as a "full-body dry heave set to music."

For several years, I contented myself with an occasional dance event and my extensive collection of dance movies (some of them old enough to be in VHS format)—until February 2015, when this mysterious desire for dance led me to a Dance Lite class, introducing me to the joy of partner dancing. I've never been a quick learner, and some physical challenges keep me from being naturally graceful. However, I'm persistent, and within a short time, I received a glimpse of what a waltz could feel like if paired with a strong lead. In that dance, I experienced a short interval of what felt like an effortless glide across the floor, the feeling of letting go and putting my trust in someone else to lead. Unlike many contributing writers in Sheer Dance who start ballroom in their college years or earlier, I begin this endeavor of partner dancing at over fifty years old.

While learning ballroom dance, I have come across many documented benefits of partner dancing for those with impairments or who are more mature in age. One example is Dance for PD, a joint project between the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Brooklyn Parkinson Group, aids people with Parkinson's disease. Patients learn from movement experts how they can use their senses and brains to control movement.

Additionally, an Albert Einstein College of Medicine Study, indicated those over age seventy-five have a seventy-five percent reduction in dementia due to dancing frequently (even better than those who do crossword puzzles). In short, benefits of dance include:

For myself, I've discovered the following benefits:

My dancing has increased from once a week to an average of two classes and one variety dance each week. I enthusiastically administer two meet-up groups where I encourage others to join the fun.

But within the mystery of dance can be greater lessons you may not expect to learn. You may think you're learning cha cha, waltz, rumba, etc., but you may be learning much more. For myself, I feel like in addition, God is teaching me spiritual lessons. With me, he tends to use life as an example when he needs to get through to me.

This unconsidered area regarding spiritual advantages came through a Facebook post from KV Ministries: "Life is a dance that demands rhythm and balance. We can get so self-aware that we lose our sense of being God-centered, which ultimately leads us to become self-centered."

Cindy Taillefer shared her experience of learning ballroom dance in response: "It involves an intentional putting of your trust in someone else to lead you—and that person's purpose is to create beauty through your movements."

In light of that, I hope to grow in learning the greater life lessons God wants in my relationship with him regarding surrender and trust:

Dance is a large part of many cultures and celebrations in life. Armenian folk dance is considered an expression of love and yearning for the homeland as a central theme of their dances. Hebrews 13:14 states: "For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." If I, too, am just passing through, like the Armenians, I choose to enjoy the pleasure of dance as I long for my homeland in heaven.

So remember next time you're dancing with someone of a more mature age: they may step on your toes or put an elbow in your ribs as they learn, but remember you're young and you'll heal. For me, I could be increasing my neural pathways, longing for home, learning to trust, or learning even more of the many advantages to this mystery we call dance.

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