I wish I could dance. I have other talents, I can do other things, but when it comes to dancing, I have two left feet. Dancing is international. It ignores borders, languages, even logic sometimes. It can make people laugh or cry (or both – if you are “that bad”). People of all ages can dance, can invite others into their world, their thoughts. I can do the “Chicken Dance”. One of the first dances I saw was my uncle doing this dance in a video of my parent’s weddings. Viewing dances became a pass-time of mine.

Shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” and “America’s Got Talent” were staple television shows throughout my life. Watching the dancers float across the stage was, and still is, mesmerizing. Sometimes there would be dances that tugged at my heartstrings, or made me laugh (maybe way harder than I should have), or were simply so vibrant and alive that I would find myself watching them over and over again. Some of my favorite songs coincide with my favorite performances, this cannot be a coincidence. Music was always a big part of my life. I can sing (sort of) and play instruments (piano and flute), and I have a song or playlist for almost every occasion. Some dances can be done in absolute silence. However, the ones which held the most weight to me were the ones that told a story through the fusion of dance and music.

This “ultimate expression” of how music can inspire, that transcendent art that occurs when you feel completely moved by a song eludes me. Yet my lack of dance talent seems to be more mental than physical. I am musically inclined, that is, I can keep a beat and understand the crescendos and decrescendos and the changes in time and key. I am not un-athletic, I played basketball and tennis in high school. Despite playing in piano recitals and band concerts, I hate performing on a stage. I would rather be the photographer than the subject, the director than the actor, author than the protagonist. Being able to go onstage without a stomach full of butterflies is something that I have not yet been able to do. I suppose some might call that “stage fright”. I should clarify then that I not only wish that I could dance, but also that I would be unafraid to dance.