FUN dance

“Fun is an inside job.”

_Maria Forleo

Time to reclaim the word FUN and put it back into our dances.

This little word has for too long been associated with frivolity. It is a deep-rooted belief in our society that we need to be serious about life, we need to buckle up and work away, we need to be responsible. As if any of these are mutually exclusive. We can have it all and then lead a really enriched life.

Unfortunately, we also seem to think that fun and pleasure need to be earned. We need to work hard Monday to Friday and then we can let our hair down on Saturday night. Mixed up in this convoluted thinking lies the idea that dance is not something serious. It’s what we do on those Saturday nights or when we party. The idea that dance could form an integral part of our personal development seems alien to many people.

Somewhere in this also lies the idea that if we take life seriously, we cannot possibly be including the frivolities of fun and pleasure. How often do we assume the unsmiling face to be more intelligent, more serious, and more focused? Yet, it is possible to be having fun in whatever we are doing. It doesn’t take away from our intention, focus, and consideration.

So, if nothing else, dance can reconnect us with the innocence of life, to be at play, to enjoy, to have fun. To come together and dance opens up the channels of beautiful relationships which can add to the quality of our lives. To come together and dance opens up the channels to our inner child, releasing spontaneity and play. To come together and dance opens up the channels of our hearts so that everything we encounter in life, can be fun.

_Christos Daskalakos