In the past year, I've come to a realization: there IS an "inner dancer" in every human being. As a therapist, I've know for a long while that the three most immediate pathways to joy are singing, laughing and dancing. There are other somewhat immediate sources of joy, but these (like food, alcohol and sex, etc.) can be abused and become a problem!
As I've written elsewhere in this blog, my goal is to elicit the dancer at a person's core BEFORE parents signed him/her up for dance lessons. This is a very important distinction to make.
Many of us are watching "Dancing for the Stars" - right? I couldn't be more impressed with the week by week progress of these celebrities BUT they have access to the top professional teachers, not to mention countless hours and days of practice.
I doubt that many of us have this luxury. I have a concern that folks watching this show conclude rather quickly that "I could NEVER dance like that!", and they're probably right. I worry that shows like this one discourage the average person from even trying, especially given the amount of money it can take to do professional instruction.
My belief that we each have an inner dancer at our core means that there is NO RIGHT WAY TO DANCE!
Furthermore, how we move to music is innate, God-given, and can only be unique to each of us. One thing I've certainly noticed is that most men won't even try dancing until they've had several drinks.
How sad. Remember the fat guy on KQRS commercials who unabashedly danced back & forth across the screen? Everybody loved this commercial. The new Blue Cross/Blue shield commercial with the dumpy-looking man breaking out in full dance in the doctor's waiting room is yet another example of
how much we love a more spontaneous, natural form of dancing.
The point I'm wanting to make is that dance studios do NOT "teach" anyone how to simply move from their souls. They teach specific techniques which require hours (if not months) of practice, not to mention the necessity of having a dance partner! I know of no one who's out there "eliciting" the dancer who's already residing in one's "core" self.
More natural avenues certainly do exist for moving our bodies. For instance, rock concerts and African American church services bring out the "natural dancer" for sure! There are also a few "interpretive
dance classes" around and something called "movement therapy", but, to my knowledge, there isn't anyone out there who's actually offering to "model" such unconventional and spirited dancing.
I'm learning that it is in the "modeling" of uninhibited dancing that others finally give themselves permission to discover their inner dancer. I feel funny even considering getting paid to do this though because - like everyone else- I've been taught that making a living is NOT supposed to be pure, unadulterated FUN.
Too bad because that's exactly where my new career path is headed!
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