This is an excerpt from the novel that I am currently writing:
“A person had to dance. Sometimes they just had to. And the more broken, the more torn they were, the need was even stronger. And a person could dance in more ways than one. They found rhythm in all that was inadequate and defective. If they couldn’t move their body, they could move sections of their body. Forefingers and thumbs could roll Champion Ruby tobacco or Northern Light bud into a spliff; fingertips could flick a Bic lighter to melt a teaspoon of brown. Oh and nostrils, they could snort powder, or the harsher crystals. Yes, these were inadequate ways of moving, but they were moving, nonetheless. A person needed to move because when they moved, they remembered they were flesh and sinew and viscera. A person needed to dance to remind themselves that some part, some minutia of their being was free.
-Sometimes a person has to dance, Moses stated quietly, winking at Amina. He slipped in an old cassette mix. Nina Simone’s Sinnerman, remixed. And he began to move, clumsily, shoulders hunched, his body jerking in the falling sleet.
– That’s not dancing, she said. We have real dancing, back home. African dancing. The men will dance all night to show us they are worthy.
-Well then, Miss Amina, that might just be what we’ll do, I reckon.
From The Sin Eaters, Myfanwy Williams
I once met a West African drummer who said that dance was the best remedy for depression. After earning a Masters in Psychology, I believe that this humble musician might just be right. Perhaps I have an obsession with buoyancy, with being able to defy the physical laws of this orbiting rock enslaved to gravity. Dancing and running (which is essentially unimaginative dancing) are the closest to flying that I can imagine.
Why this wing-envy? I don’t know. It’s hard being human. We are odd creatures, humans. Big brained mammals with machinery in the skull that we are unable to properly master. The same brains that we use to compose music, write code and sequence a genome are the same brains that can destroy us with rumination, resentment and fear.
What is the solution? My solution is to power down this machinery and dance. I have tried Latin, Bollywood, Hip Hop and African. A shout out to Kukuwa Fitness- an awesome mother daughter duo who run African dance fitness classes online (361) KUKUWA® AFRICAN DANCE LIVE – MOOD BOOST 15 MINS – YouTube. Thank you amazing women for helping me fly a little each day. Quite possibly, I look absolutely ridiculous. But really, the ice caps are melting and pestilence is quite the celebrity these days. Looking ridiculous is the least of my worries.
Recently I came across a viral video from China. A rural couple turned to dancing after the husband fell into depression. I invite you to watch the video because what the world needs right now is a little more joy. (361) Chinese village couple’s ‘rural-style shuffle dance’ goes viral online – YouTube
Word upon Word 