Drum Beats in My DNA! Finding My Way Back to Dance

As I look over my life, all I can say is I must have been born with drum beats in my DNA.  It absolutely didn't come from my family or my environment. As I have shared many times, I grew up in the 50's and early 60's in a small town in the Midwest, the daughter of a minister.  Back then we weren't allow to dance, wear two piece bathing suits, drink alcohol, dance or go the the theatre - not even cartoon matinees.  I never saw dance of any kind.

When I was 11, we moved to Sacramento, California, and things opened up a little. My parents still believed those things, but the church people around us were less strict about their faith.  That took the pressure off of me.  By junior high school, I think they even let me go to a school dance.  Never having been to one before before, I tried just copying what people were doing around me. 

It was after college when the drum beats hiding deep within began to peek out.  It took time, it took being around music, it took closing my eyes so I could just feel the rhythms emerge. That didn't make me the best dance partner at the clubs, but that didn't matter. I stood by the dance floor alone, moving to the beat, until someone asked me to dance. They always did as they could tell I would say yes. 

In my mid-20's, I was lured into a West Coast Swing dance class and was enthralled. This dance also offered lots of freedom of movement to express your own style, but added the element of being connected by one hand to a partner. There is a very magical types of ecstasy that happens when two people experience a physical connection while dancing. It takes time to develop, as well as lots of practice dancing together. But when that magic moment occurs, the world disappears. 

After marrying, moving to Canada and having three kids, dance was no longer a part of my world. The drum beats faded until I could no longer hear them. For three decades I've only managed to offer that thirst a few sips of relief. I took a few adult dance classes but they lacked freedom.  I tried belly dance and that worked better, but there was still an ache. There was the truly random night out where the music was good and a dance floor available, b andut that was rare. The best was a local dance entrepreneur that came to events where we sat long periods. She was hired to run a dance break that had us all moving with wild abandon. It was nirvana. 

There was one adult dance school that ran serious drop in classes for adults of all ages and abilities. That might have worked, but it was too far away to travel to more than just occasionally.  I wouldn't get enough dance time to fill me up, and it probably wasn't that safe to attend only a few times a month. Dance really needs to be embraced like all exercise - wisely and regularly

Somewhere along the way I learned that dancing to live drums - especially Tahitian or African - called me the most. There is something very primal about moving to drum beats, but like everything else, those opportunities were few and far between. In the meantime I lived my dance dreams through watching my daughter dance. She loved it as much as I did. 

A few weeks ago, an ad for a dance app called Body Groove started appearing in my Facebook feed. It didn't have routines, it had movements that you embraced in anyway you wanted. The simple pattern they offered allowed your body to take over and guide your dance. They encouraged you by telling you to listen to how your body wanted to move and to make this dance your own. The instructor offered lots of ideas. and there were ten or more amateur dancers of all abilities dancing in their own unique style as well.  I as intrigued.

On a whim I finally decided to give it a try.  It's a very small monthly fee - $5 - with a reasonable amount of free videos to available to try. A great way to start.  However, you don't get access to all the content. That comes at a price that is high enough to limit how many you want to purchase.  The app goes on your phone or tablet.  The phone was too small to view, the tablet would work in a pinch, but I wanted to view the videos on our big screen TV.

We have a Chromecast and I have a Samsung cell phone, so it was easy. You turn on the TV and the Chromecast, then open the video on your phone and there is a little square you click to cast it. VOILA. On the big screen it was easy to see all the movements and the way the others were moving. It felt almost like I was in a dance class. I chose to start with a video that seemed to have music and movements that could be earthy if I wanted to go that direction. 

At first the music was more dance aerobics, but I did love the freedom of movement they encouraged. The third and fourth songs chosen were ones the were more my style. I closed my eyes and began to sink into the rhythms. The world disappeared. It was reduced to just the feel of my body moving. Steps and arm movements from swing, jazz, ballet and Afro began to emerge from my muscle memory. I also found myself picking up ideas from the other dancers - bonus dance eye-candy. There was no routine to learn. There was just the music, some simple movements given as a foundation and encouragement to follow your body's desires.

For the first time in forever, I was able to abandon myself to the movement. I felt that primal beat of drums rising from deep within. The music, the beat it was built on and the movements of my body became one.  I sweated and I played.  I came down from the top floor where our TV is and couldn't sit still.  I was just too full of energy. My spirits were high. The rain had stopped, so my husband and I headed out on a long 5K walk. 

Over the years I knew what exercise made me the happiest, but struggled finding the right outlet. I've only done this one day, so who knows. Was it simply the excitement of something new that is filling me with hope, or will this video series will prove the key to keeping dance incorporated in my daily life. For me it will be an exploration of finding the right videos with the kind of music that I love to move to. But in this moment, I just know how good I felt dancing wildly, letting my body respond to the rhythms.   

I know people who feel this way when they work out at the gym. Lifting weights feeds their soul, energizes their body, and when they can't go, they miss it. Then there are those who get runners high. I tried for over a year to jog and runner's high never once found me. There are others I know who swim, bike ride, climb hills, backpack, or play organized sports. Each are drawn to a participate type of movement and feel great after. 

I believe we can enjoy many physcial activities, but there will be one offering a special magic that nourishes our body the best. There are two things that have to happen, though. First we must discover what that is activity is, and second, we have to find a way to immerse ourselves in it even when the road blocks are many.  

Start by listening to your body. It's speaking to you.