E is for Escape

E is for Escape
I suppose there are many reasons I dance…this first being that I can’t fly!  If I could fly then I would no doubt fly to escape what ever reality is annoying me at the time.  But since I can’t fly, I dance to escape my annoying realities.  When I dance, I find it nearly impossible to continue to focus on anything other than my connection with my partner, the music and movement of the dance…and really why should I try to concentrate on anything else?  When I’m on the dance floor, I think dance.  The wood floor is my sanctuary, the dance my escape.  And after an evening of dance, body tired, and mind much calmer, my annoying realities seem to retreat until the next day.

Dance of the Day:  East Coast Swing

A type of swing dance with a 6-count basic pattern typically called out as quick-quick, triple step, triple step or rock step, triple step, triple step.  East coast swing is rotational in nature, with one partner usually rotating around the other.  It dates back to the 1940s and is danced to the slower (not the slowest) swing music….energetic but still slow enough that the triple steps can be comfortably executed.

Why Do I Dance?

Why Do I Dance?.......Because I Can’t Fly!

Seriously!  My arms just can’t quite reach the sky, but my legs have always been sufficiently long for my feet to reach the floor!  So, instead of repeatedly throwing myself at the ground with the hope of accidentally missing it, thereby attaining flight¹, I have 1) accepted the evidence that I will always fail to miss the ground (ouch), 2) made friends with gravity because it will consistently cause me to fail to miss ground without any assistance from me, and 3) learned to control the speed and direction from which I fail to miss the ground….and thus, I dance!  Who knows, perhaps dancing is as close as those of us who are earthbound will ever get to flight without mechanical assistance.  I think it is very, very close!

So, why do YOU dance?

For fun?   And what is your definition of fun?

For exercise?
For mental well-being?
For social interaction?
For a competitive outlet or hobby (because I will always suck at golf!...but my one and only golf story will wait for another time!)

Why do You dance? 

Please leave me a comment and share your reason(s) – your input will change the content of blogs to come!  Besides, I will be grateful to know that someone is actually out there taking a break from failing to miss the ground and…well…reading “2 Left Feet”!

2 Left “Foot Notes”:

¹ “How to Fly”, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Also, please acknowledge my very special THANK YOU to my friend and fellow dancer and bad humor connoisseur RK for reminding me how to fly!