Dancin'

I once heard it said that dance was a vertical expression of a horizontal idea. Now, I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do know that dance, in and of itself, is a great idea. It doesn’t need to express anything else, because it expresses its own idea; that of moving and working together in a beautiful way.

My wife and I met dancing; not in a night club or anything like that, but doing international folk dancing. We were part of a recreational group that got together every Saturday night to dance the old dances from much of Europe and around the world. It was good clean, wholesome fun that people of all ages could do, and it was a great way to get to know each other in a non-threatening environment.

Dancing together as a couple is a great lesson in working together. For two people to move as one, one needs to lead and the other follow. In dance, the man is supposed to lead, while the woman follows. However, it’s amazing how many couples have that mixed up. The woman leads, while the man follows. Whenever I see that, I have to wonder what that says about the rest of their marriage. If she can’t follow him on the dance floor, how can she follow him through the perils of life? If he can’t lead her on the dance floor, how can he lead her through a crisis?

Dance is also great social intercourse. It’s a way of joining together in an activity that is intimate and invigorating, physical while building trust in one another. A couple who can dance well together can move through many other things in life together as well.

One great thing about dance is that it can be done anywhere. You don’t have to go out to dance; you can do it in the living room, your bedroom, even the back yard. Just put on some music, grab your wife and dance. Why not?

It’s interesting to note that dance has been a major part of social intercourse throughout history. While there are many different styles of dance, it has always been a part of how people related to each other, especially between the sexes. In fact, in times past, when dating didn’t exist, one of the few socially acceptable ways of meeting available members of the opposite sex was through dance.

There’s probably a fairly good chance that you and your wife danced when you were dating. Now, I’ll have to say that what passes itself off as dancing today doesn’t have the grace and style of times past. Nor is much of it very intimate. Nevertheless, what we refer to today as slow dancing provides much of the same time together that older styles of dance did.

Many communities offer dance lessons of one sort or another, so don’t try and use your lack of ability as an excuse. Sign up to take some lessons together, get out and learn how to dance with your wife.

Even more important than the lessons though is taking the opportunity to just do it. Put on some music and dance with her. Don’t worry about your two left feet or the kids making fun of you, enjoy yourselves together.