Dancing; my first love.
I have been told countless times that I am I have very little dancing talent; I move to the beats, but I never seem to get the steps just right. My response each time I am told this is ‘baby, define dance’. Dance is the movement of my body to music. It is how my body responds to whatever song is playing and how my legs, my hands and my body moves to the rhythm. I may not get the steps totally right but if I am moving to the beats, I am dancing.
I invited someone over to my house a while ago. We hung out, we smoked, we made love and we ate. I remember trying to get myself to ask her if she wanted to just dance but I didn’t know how to because I didn’t want her to think I was weird, I mean no one just randomly starts dancing. So, I put on something on Spotify in my house and started walking around dancing on my own. She was a black girl and before I knew it, we were both jumping, laughing and dancing together. I am very goofy when I dance so we were just there making up moves and dancing. It was 2019 and we were dancing to single ladies, umbrella, you know the good old 2000’s R&B songs and in that moment, I felt seen, loved and alive.
One incredible way black people connect is through music and dance. Whether you are a black American, a black Canadian, an African, a Caribbean, wherever you are from you have a culture that recognizes dance. Our ancestors danced to the gods, they danced even when the slave masters tried to kill their joy. Dance is a form of expression and the beauty is you don’t have to get all the moves, just the smile, the energy that you channel when you dance, the feeling like you are home when you dance. It is beautiful.
In Beyoncé’s film, Homecoming she says that her intent during Beychella was for the world to see how beautiful the movement of the black body is. No matter our shape and size we can use music to express ourselves with our bodies through dance and with our instruments. She talks about the parades and marches in HBCU’s and how they inspired her performance (as we saw during Coachella Beychella); from the outfits to the music selections to the flawless dance routines it is really a testament to the black culture.
It goes to show that dance and music is so meaningful to us.
As a black woman, a queer black woman I am inspired by dance. Dance is my work out. It is my meditation. It elevates my mood and reduces my anxiety.
Dance is my love language.
