Express Yourself

What do you think of when you hear the word dance? Do you conjure up videos of people doing the latest dance move? Maybe even the dance moves Fortnite has to offer for victories? Some may even think of the stroll of here on UCA campus where each sorority gets to showcase their stroll? Strangely enough, the one thought that comes to my mind when I think of dance is my mother.

Now I bet you’re thinking I’m about to get mushy here, right? Quite the opposite really. Before I get into the good stuff I’ll go through pieces of my dance background. I have been trained to dance since I was as young as three years old. I studied so many different styles and techniques throughout my 18 years of dancing throughout Arkansas and many other states including; Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, ext. I have basically been taught the “right” and “wrong” ways to dance until my mother discovered Grey’s Anatomy. Yes, Grey’s Anatomy.

For those who have seen Grey’s Anatomy, you probably remember the most iconic scene where Meredith and Yang randomly get up to freestyle dance in the locker room of the hospital simply because they just had a bad day. My mother instantly picked up on this and every time she had a “bad day” or felt any bit of stress she would go into our living room and begin to freestyle. She did slow dances, funny dances, you name it depending on how bad the stress was. Eventually,  this became a normal thing at our household and made for comical videos (will be provided when I can upgrade to the “Premium” version in this place, for now enjoy this classic picture of Napoleon Dynamite). My family LIVES for the “silly dancing” to make a bad day, into a good one.

You may think this is absolutely ridiculous. I guess you could say that, but I will tell you my family has had more good days than bad ones just from doing this. It takes minimal effort and doesn’t have to be long. “Silly dancing” is one of the best stress relievers and some may actually enjoy it for expressing themselves. No matter how you do it or why you are dancing there is no wrong way to do it. EVERYONE can dance. Next time you’ve had a bad day, or simply feel like you are not good enough try “silly dancing.” Even if it is for a minute and in the privacy of your locked bedroom. There’s no rule book. Dancing is for everyone.