The Joy of Dance

Then young women will dance and be glad,
    young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
    I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:13

Dancing is one of the great pleasures of life.  There is delight in letting go and moving with the music.  Whether it is swaying slowly or jumping wildly as a child, there is joy in the freedom and the exuberance of feeling the music. The human body responses instinctually with fingers snapping, feet tapping, and hip gyrations. We all know the pleasure of moving were the music leads us and watching others dance. Do you smile while watching a small child wiggle in front of a cd-player? Do you gasp for air when a ballerina leaps across the stage? Or do you simply feel a warmed heart when an elderly couple two-steps across the dance floor. 

What is this gift of dance?  What is this joyous emotion with hip gyrations or shuffling feet while smiling and floating arms in the air? Is dance a response to joy or is joy a consequence of dance?  Can we even separate joy and dance?  Have you experienced tremendous joy and never twirled around, or stepped through a quick grapevine?

Of course there is always the anxiety of a first dance.  That stressful feeling one gets when not knowing how to dance while others watch. The conformist need to do it right and not be foolish. But these are performance and perfection requirements of social settings, with greater expectations than joy.  To release the need to perform and simply feel the music as it floats across the room, is a completely different experience. It is an experience worth cultivating.

It does not matter if you shuffle around the kitchen or step onto the dance floor with a band playing. The experience of dancing is a gift from God. It is a pleasurable and joyous way of celebrating the gifts of music and life in God’s world.

Dear Lord, Never let me forget the pleasures that exist in this world.  Never let me pass a day without experiencing Your presence whether it be through dance, music, or worship. Let me always remember the simply joys of this life.