Rereading Garaudy's "Danser sa vie" and thinking about Dance

It is very difficult, nearly impossible for me to put into words what dance means to me.

If we could do that about Dance, than it would be literature. Not Dance anymore. Dance is a form of expression since the the start of civilization. A form on its own. Our ancestors danced even before they could speak. Later they danced to the Gods in religious celebrations and in life-and-death rituals, to express something that transcends the power of words. So that is why I question if we should put into words what dance means for us or if we, instead, should dance the meaning of the words.

I admire the dancers' almost superhuman physical skills, the precision, the bravery, the technique, but it is the artistry of combining these with music and storytelling, that transports me to a place where I feel emotions more strongly and see beauty more clearly. For me, watching ballet is like getting a shot of pure happiness.' - Kate Eberlen

To dance is to experience and express, with the utmost intensity, the relationship of man with nature, with society, with the future and with the Gods. To dance is, first of all, to establish an active relationship between man and nature, it is to participate in the cosmic movement and dominion over it.’ - From „Danser sa vie“ (To dance your Life) by Roger Garaudy.

Garaudy means that dancing is something spiritual, a way of connecting us with nature or a higher power and celebrating our existence. It is innate to who we are as human beings, a way of mixing relationships with each other and with the world around us.

“I dance to express myself’, many people say but aren't they just repeating what other dancers have already said? (It is nearly boring hearing this all the time). Some can describe it as being “in their element”. Or is it something that just makes them happy? Is it perhaps a sort of a spiritual calling, partly a sense of exaggeratedly vanity of being „chosen“ to deliver a message?

Some people are driven by its athletic side but as a form of expression it is more than that. Don’t forget: It is ART! And if you don’t have your heart in it, it gets harder and harder to sustain any credibility around YOUR Dancing..

Dance is much more than just a profession, it is a lifestyle that requires commitment, dedication, and discipline, we all know that, but most of all it requires LOVE.

There are people who dance as a hobby, for the fun of it. A kind of fun that is neither attached to age nor to time in our lives. For the hobby Dancers, besides being a form of exercise, it inspires creativity and develops a certain attitude about life.

'What is dance? It is the physical expression of relationships, feelings and ideas through movement and rhythm. Math is not taught just to create mathematicians, writing not just to create the next generation of novelists. The same goes for the Arts. It is taught to create well-prepared citizens who can apply the skills, knowledge and experience of being involved in the arts in their careers and lives.’ Cecilia Kerche (Brazil’s greatest Prima-Ballerina)

But one thing is for sure: Dance brings people together.

'Dance only finds its greatest success when it is the expression, or the hope, of a collective life.' - Garaudy

If Dance means connecting with others and other dimensions of thought – think of tribal dance rituals, Rituals are contagious – than it is more than obvious that an electrifying, powerful exchange of energy should take place. Not only between Dancers but also between Dancers and the Audience. A deep inspirational connection.

'Every dance implies participation: even when it is a performance, it is not only with the eyes that we' follow 'it, but with the outlined movements of our own body. Dance somehow mobilizes a certain sense, by which we are aware of the position and tension of our muscles. This sixth sense establishes, thanks to a phenomenon of muscular resonance, the contact between the dancer and the participant.' - Garaudy

And, going back to the beginning of this essay, this makes me remember the connection of the heart beats and the drums. First our ancestors danced to their heart beats. Than the drums came along and replaced the internal sound and made it „public“ for others to hear – and share.