dance

In the film "The Bounty", the 1984 adaptation of the story "Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian" by Richard Hough, we see Lt. Bligh as a sympathetic and competent leader. In previous stories of the famous mutiny of Her Majesty's ship, The Bounty, Bligh was portrayed as a slave-driving egocentric. In this story, he's a cool customer, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins well...English, but with a heart.

To ward off depression and fatigue, Bligh arranged for festive jigs to be played on deck, and encouraged the men to dance. The whole thing sounded strange to me, but after checking it out, I found it was true. YES, Bligh let his men dance, and YES dancing cures depression.

Okay, I'm oversimplifying this.

Let's just say that dancing encourages fun, partnership, movement and art all together. Patterns that take our minds off of what we're into for the moment, except for the dance.

I love dancing. Mario and I can tango...the most romantic dance. We've taught our dog, Zuzu to dance. We love it. For the moments we dance we have joy in each other and in ourselves.

Some people say they can't dance, or they have no rythm. This doesn't matter, especially to your friends or your significant other. One of my favorite scenes in "Sneakers" a Robert Redford film is when Mary McDonnell dances with all of the men at the small party, their dancing showing their personalities, their hearts. It's a great clip... and shows that anyone can dance.

My friend, Terry sent me today a youtube link of something called "The Gratitude Dance" which defies description. One man's desire to go everywhere and dance everywhere. I laughed and cried, then ran to Mario and asked him to watch it. He did, and his face was fifteen years old again.

Today we are off to a wedding.

I hope we dance.

Watch it!! The Gratitude Dance on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeLbrGspigg