Thank you for the music

By The Spectator

If you are someone like me and love dancing, you might enjoy reading what I write this week. It's been a while since I got a chance to go out dancing so when the opportunity came along, I just grabbed it. It was particularly tempting because it was the Flashback Show, which meant there would be the 70s and 80s music, which I find absolutely irresistible.

One of my siblings insisted that I should wear bell bottoms for the dance but really, trying to find them in a hurry is not easy and I am not crazy about bell bottoms either. Anyway I managed to find a pair of corduroy pants (they are still fashionable I am told) and match it with a top that was a cross between what is in fashion now and was considered fashionable about three decades ago, rings on my ears and a band on my head. But when I walked into the dance hall, I was a bit disappointed as almost everyone was in their usual party clothes with few bothering to dress up to suit the 70s or 80.

But that did not take away from all the good music and crowd present. The atmosphere made the whole experience a memorable one. I got pretty nostalgic listening to all the great music of the 70s and 80s, which makes you wants to jump up and start dancing.

That's the great thing about good music, the essential component of dance. No matter how old the songs are, it makes an impact on generation after generation, and can never be forgotten.

Actually I am not much of a shaker myself but then there is something in music that will make almost anyone want to swing and sway to it, even those of us who have two left feet, to put it metaphorically. Which is why I had wanted to take dance lessons for a long time and finally got down to doing it some time back. It’s one of the most fun classes that I have attended but frankly speaking, my dancing abilities haven't improved much. Watching my dance teacher, I was longing to jive and waltz and do the cha-cha and samba like her but again I have come to the conclusion that it is unlikely I will ever achieve the finesse and grace that she exudes.

Like she says, dance is an art and needs to be taken seriously. But then most of us took lessons for the fun of it so, even though we had a good time, we are far from mastering the different forms of dance.

And then again, when would I ever get a chance to do a slow waltz around a big hall in a flowing gown? Probably never. But next time around I watch Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler swinging around in Gone with the Wind, one of my favourite movies, at least I am aware of what steps they are following.

But you don't really need to know all the formal stuff about dancing to have a good time on the dance floor. All you've got to do is listen to the beat of the music and try and move your body around. That is something almost all of us can do. The Bellemy Brothers popularly described dancing in their song as, the vertical expression of horizontal desire, but even if that were not the case, there is something very therapeutic about it. The phrase dancing your cares away, is very true. It helps you forget all your problems and worries for a few hours at least. So next weekend, try and get out of the house and dance the night away.