Why I Dance

There are times when I’ve doubted my motives. Am I dancing solely to meet people? Am I writing for other’s attention? Is all of this just to prove myself? The answers to all these questions are yes and no. But hear me out.

The first reason why I started to dancing was because I didn’t have any showcase/physical skills. Yeah, I can act and I have no problem speaking, but those aren’t things you get to do everyday. I didn’t play an instrument; running isn’t exactly a sport that people love to watch; and there was no where to display my writing. I wanted to do something physical and I wanted to somehow prove to myself that I could do it.

It certainly helped that I kept meeting people. If I couldn’t dance and I was meeting girls, just imagine how cool this could be once I _could_ actually dance. But all in all, this motive faded the more into dance I got.

You see, it became more of an issue of connection and dance than a purely social thing. And I was having so much fun. As a matter of fact, right now it’s gotten to the point that I sometimes look around and imagine what sort of leader or follower people would make based on their personalities. No, it’s not necessarily the most accurate or testable theory, but it does affect the way I think and it also tells me that I really do care about dance.

Many times I’ve gotten the question: what if you meet someone and she doesn’t dance? And I don’t know. It’s not that I spend so much time out dancing, it’s more that it’s such a great form of communication. It can be such an important expression of personality. Part of me says that anyone can be taught to dance and I’ve seen countless people become good dancers through their significant others. But what if she doesn’t _want_ to dance? Or what if she _is not_ a good dancer when all’s said and done? And, after all, dance isn’t the most important part of the relationship. Aren’t I going to have so much fun dancing or not dancing with her, regardless? I don’t know.

All I do know is that my motives for dance are personal. Lately I’ve been looking for people to practice with, not for dates. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to find someone; I am ready. It’s that movement has become an incredibly tangible form of expression and I don’t want to abandon that, especially while it’s still developing. I want to live and right now dance seems to be an integral part of my life.