Get On That Dance Floor!

My brother got married this weekend and I have a lot of things to say about what a special weekend it was and spending time with my family and all that ... but I wanted to write about this one thing I've noticed about wedding receptions. Why isn't everybody dancing?

It was the wise Lee Ann Womack who sang "and if you get a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance." I and my family can certainly attest to the dance part. Give us some music and a dance floor and we are there.

But as I was boogying my booty off this weekend, I noticed a large group of able-bodied wedding guests (presumably close family and friends) sitting at their tables, chatting or looking around awkwardly. And I noticed it at previous weddings, as well.

OK, some people have fragile bones and are older. Excused. And others have social anxiety, so I'll give them a pass, as well. And maybe some people don't like music, or dancing, but that's no excuse. It's FUN to be out on the dance floor and it's FUN to dance to music and be silly, especially if you're with someone special -- or better yet, your siblings celebrating a huge life moment.

Actually, dancing has been on my mind a lot this year. We saw a powerful flamenco show in Barcelona and traditional South Pacific hula dancing in Hawaii and it reminded me that all over the world, in every culture and every tradition, we all danced to celebrate.

I'll quote another sage of our times ... it was Kevin Bacon's character Ren McCormack in Footloose who said:
"From the oldest of times, people danced for a number of reasons. They danced in prayer or so that their crops would be plentiful or so their hunt would be good. And they danced to stay physically fit and show their community spirit. And they danced to celebrate. And that, that is the dancing that we’re talking about." (Watch the clip.) 
And Kevin Bacon knows what he's talking about!

Dancing at wedding receptions is just another way we haven't changed much in the thousand years we've been humans in communities. We dance to celebrate and show our joy.

The opportunities to really shake it with our family and friends doesn't happen often enough, so when we do get the chance ... we dance.



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