My Happiness Day Project Day 6: Dance

Hip swaying, bootie shaking, salsa, cha-cha. Pop and lock, jump up jump down jump around, shake your money maker. Shake what your mama gave you, for that matter. (Do you want fries with that shake?) Ballroom, jazz, tap, ballet. Jitterbug, waltz, vogue.

I love dance. I love to do it and I love to watch it. (No... I can't do most of those dances, but I do pretend REALLY well.) I even love watching "bad" dancers - as long as they're having fun, it's all good. Dance, to me is like singing - natural. In fact both things are natural to everyone. Don't tell me you can't sing or dance. You may be not be able to do either as well as you'd like, but who cares? I say just do it. And by the way I am terribly uncoordinated, but I have a hard time resisting a line dance. Go figure.

And so I give you the ultimate "all's well that ends well" fun dance scene of my generation, as well as an updated version that I'd never seen...



Day Six Dance Bonus: one of my favorite poems:

by Jewel Mathieson

We have come to be danced
not the pretty dance
not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
but the claw our way back into the belly
of the sacred, sensual animal dance
the unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
the holding the precious moment in the palms
of our hands and feet dance

We have come to be danced
not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
but the wring the sadness from our skin dance
the blow the chip off our shoulder dance
the slap the apology from our posture dance

We have come to be danced
not the monkey see, monkey do dance
one, two dance like you
one two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
tearing scabs & scars open dance
the rub the rhythm raw against our souls dance

We have come to be danced
not the nice invisible, self conscious shuffle
but the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
the strip us from our casings, return our wings
sharpen our claws & tongues dance
the shed dead cells and slip into
the luminous skin of love dance

We have come to be danced
not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
but the meeting of the trinity: the body, breath & beat dance
the shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
the mother may I?
yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
the Olly Olly Oxen Free Free Free dance
the everyone can come to our heaven dance

We have come to be danced
where the kingdom’s collide
in the cathedral of flesh
to burn back into the light
to unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
to root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced

WE HAVE COME