Poetry of Dance

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also be able to dance with the pen? ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Dance is poetry in motion. It's a form of expression that tells a story in and of itself. It is moving and can touch the heart just like a poem. Do you see the similarities?

I recently attended a dance competition weekend with my daughter. Mesmerized, I sat through ten classes, watched eight hours of competition. I listened to music so loud it made me deaf. At night when I finally closed my eyes, reels of waving arms and tapping feet flashed through my mind like life right before death. The only thing I can compare it to is floating around a lake all day long and then going to sleep and still feeling like you’re floating. Or getting off of roller skates and having to get readjusted. That’s what it was like- I was completely saturated in the music and dance, enthralled by the beauty of expression.

 



Welcome all you jammers out there. My name is Laurie and this week I'd like you to write a poem inspired by dance. Or you might select a particular dance to write about. Some classic examples are: rumba, Charleston, polka, jitterbug, square dancing, two-step, waltz. More modern hot-off-the-floor dances that get everybody up and moving include the Harlem Shake or the silly Gangnam Style (horse-riding) dance. Sometimes a flash mob inspires the crowd to boogie on down, even in the most unassuming places. For instance, one time I was in a grocery store (HEB) when everyone, including employees, stopped what they were doing and started moving to the Cha Cha Slide. So much fun!

If you can't think of anything, perhaps this video from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Evolution of Mom Dancing with Michelle Obama, will help you. It's hilarious!

After you have written your poem and posted your link, please visit others who have done the same.

You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart.

 ~Author Unknown