THE FREEDOM TO DANCE - a short story
"Dance is as spiritual as it is physical. Both visible and invisible are gathered into dance.
Dance is the incarnation of the mystic power of the here and the now.
Dance is shining through space and time.
Dance is moving the universes towards eternity.
- I believe I am a dancer of the infinite mind."
ALV .
.........................
and theres more..
"In the freedom of the dance is both the physical and spiritual as well as the emotional, sensual and the sexual…the present and the infinite…
All in One. "
"You become ...even more into the esoteric ...and paint the landscape with your fingertips and your colours... "
"-you allow the LIVING energy within you to flow through you and you experience within you the creation and "UN -creation" of the entire OMNI -verse...
All in One"
"-it is prophetic- spiritual - primal and catalystic in its nature... dance is ALL...
and as a group dynamic -it is multiplied into a collective presence that expresses true originality , IDENTITY and freedom in its ebb and flow.
Just Dance.
Dance, Dance , Dance !" ALV
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I recall once upon a time being in Goa during the dance season which happens in the early months of the year.
Now some people think you need drugs to keep you dancing… but in 1989 it was in our little group not like that.
We went to the full moon parties … and in fact organised some of them.
We were a small group of around 20 people who met in a hostel in Japan called Yoshida House...
It was here that things happened and girls met boys and we discovered a night club called:
“ Another World”…
from Japan we travelled as a loose group on to Ko Panghan where nightly acid parties on the beach inspired us to stay awake all night long and just dance to this new thrilling electronic music which later became known as rave… and techno..and trance… and acid house… and trip house…
But it was mostly on the premise that you could not stay awake for one night or 3 days … without any form of drug… but that was already being experimented on in Pune at the Osho ashram where they did what was called..."dynamic meditation"…
Changing the subject briefly… In Africa everyone dances. From young to old.
The same in Brazil… you may not have even food to eat… or shoes on your feet… but you could dance..you could move… in Brazil they go even further… “No dancar..No fudar…” in other words… you wont meet anyone unless you get on the dance floor and shake your stuff..
Anyone that watches old movies might have seen ZORBA – the Greek … when he said…
“ My friend… if you forget to dance… you forget to live… !'
and that’s the punch line of the whole movie…
When Grease and Saturday Night Fever came out people queued around the block just to watch JohnTravolta and Olivier Newton John …dance…
Pulp Fiction..
And of course there is the famous movie where the guy catches the woman in the air…( Dirty Dancing )
- who hasnt tried this move ?
then theres "FOOTLOOSE" and Rob Lowe .. the iconic movie "FAME"…
" I wanna live forever.. I wanna learn how to fly ! " epic.
-all dance movies and dancers that moved an entire generation…
from Ginger Rogers and Fred Astair to Michael Jackson and Elvis.
-and the FREEDOM of DANCE…
we went through this process of learning ... from watching saddhus in Harambol to Mick Jagger at the Berlin Wall concert in 1990.
It said something universal to everyone beyond music... it was a statement ...
a liberation of fear .. .a coming down of the wall that divided a nation.... a people..
and even more.. an inner child imprisoned by the outer wild.
and a desire to BE.
-we didn’t need stimulants to stay awake.
In the dance we could find the space to meditate and be freed…
-in the movement of interpreting the sounds of the music..it was not the words that were important anymore…
it was the expression of the body to the rhythms of the music… that was… a journey.
A trip into unknown galaxies…and worlds…of the imagination… and as we sweated under the full moon in front of the endless ocean and the breezes that wafted over the palm trees…
-we began to understand this incredible transformative power … this healing power… of movement…rather than focussing on the dance...but in the freedom to just dance we evolved ...accelerated our consciousness.. travelled.
" I leave you my dream !" - Osho.
- one way was to produce depressive and undanceable music to lower the tone levels even when the excitement of the endorphins kicked in...just to get you to buy alcohol or smoke dope..
very manipulative and psychological.
But that was the only way the club owners could stay open.
Get them drunk and high..
and the other way liberated the soul and the spirit and brought you to a place of ecstasy... freedom.
-and this is where the DJ came in… he became the prophet of the dance…and like Pete Tong he was able to control this collective subconscious mind with the beats of the sound…
and its emotions…
and range of far out frequencies.
the full spectrum ...
..and even in folklore.. in the Himilayas ...
In Ancient Tibet there is a story once told to me by a Lama ( his name was Dorje)- a teacher-
-of a monk and a nun who came out from their caves after years of meditation.. and they fought for domination ...
as ying and yang.. positive and negative..male and female... trying to find balance...
Equilibrium.
Then they transformed into TWO BIRDS. and like swallows they danced in the air diving.. and avoiding.. like the Brazilian Kung Fu dance( Capoeweira)
... never hitting each other.. but dancing ... until at last ... they met... in one big crash.. and they both died.. printing their stories onto a rockface.. reaching tantric climax and enlighenment..
-all at once.
And even today.. high up in the mountains of the roof of the world.. these two birds are etched forever in stone.. and revered by pilgrims...
in what is known as a " stupa " ...
Dorje told me this is what happens when two souls who vibrate too much come together...
its an explosion....
and that is the magic of the dance between night and day...
This Life and Eternity.
When we returned to London some of the girls invited us to Heaven – a night club which in those days was OPEN to all… and as a group we danced in the same way we had been dancing in Goa and Thailand and Japan for the last year…
and people were simply amazed…!
“ What drugs are you on?” Can I have some ? “-
"We're not on anything just high on life !"…( just the joy of dancing… moving…being alive…expressing ourselves !)
in his Ephod- half naked...
(an under garment )which to his current wife looked disgraceful…
-but try dancing in heavy armour - its hard
and as a result of this conservativism..she was made barren… couldnt get pregnant!
The power of dance is so incredible. So liberating.. whatever your station. whatever your situation...
Dance is so powerful..I recall in the old apartheid South Africa protests were held not by marching as such...but by DANCING... and in this dance...
the entirety of the mob for want of a better word... or herd... or group...all become ONE...
MOVED AS One...
-danced as one like that scene in Zion underground cave in the Matrix movie.
its tribal. its primal. its human. its universal.
and in their songs of freedom they expressed their desires for freedom in their dance.
Seeing it on video is one thing...but seeing it in real life ... thats something else.
How does an enemy look at people dancing? - amused or confused - offended ?
No. Intimidated... YES perhaps.
But the people by dancing expressed their outrage and their pain... in the joy of the dance...
- because it is always the aim of an oppressor to make you feel isolated and alone... individualised and separated.
That was the fruit of a global pandemic... separation.Division.
But in Unity ..in the dance... their voice becomes ONE VOICE... one cry..one statement.
ONE RESONANCE.
It became tribal going to the Dawn of Humanity itself.
Very profound indeed.
Even Nelson Mandela ..in all of his age and his spirituality… and dignity… danced.
"...it is an act of victory and of freedom...and rebellion to dance.
- and every freedom fighter the world over should not hesitate to get down...and dance !"
He wasn’t afraid at 90 ..to dance.
In Abhazia there was a woman who at the tender age of 137 … I have seen the video… she was at least 120…
was given a birthday party..that was filmed by the Russian media…
First she had to smoke a cigarette… second she had to drink an entire glass of wine in one gulp … and third… she had to dance…
In all cultures..whether it’s a cultural dance or not…
-dance has specific meanings and abilities …and endless possibilities.
In Sufism they spin -dance the Arabic writing of the Names of God..
Then there is the Rainbow Family of Living Light who dance in the Cathedral of Nature around a fire just as the first nations did ...
-thousands and thousands of years ago..purging out their dis- eases as a tribe...
-bringing out that poison ...
-in the dance...
like jungle tribes purging bad spirits from the collective mind...
in the dance trance of the blind.
And as we grew out of the 80s and 70s and 2000s…
-the dance then evolved into ecstatic dance which again is all about expression…
it has come back full circle from that early time… your emotions… your feelings..your angst…
a generation in srarch of meaning...authenticity....
FREEDOM.
-it all comes out in bodily expression…and as we channel this powerful life force energy that is within us…
we realise when we are in control of our mind.
Our body…and lose control of it in the name of energy… we become fully man or fully woman… or FULLY BEING.
Dance and Dansation is like ART.
I recall once pioneering a clothing design on lycra in the early 90s. I was the first person to figure out how to print on lycra in south Africa without burning it….
And I patented a label called:
“Danspans”- we subsequently had a GREAT fashion show in Harare at some 5 star hotel where we invited all the ministers wives and business people…
They loved it…and we sold out. but I must remind myself… we didn’t make any profit on this venture of love. WHY?
They were too fat!
"JERUSALEMA" -! ( a song and a dance which captured the worlds imagination all at once -
" this is not my home " - a sentiment that touched hearts all over the planet )
-from South Africa and Angola... this single song and dance... lifted the SPIRITS of the world stuck for two years in their homes..unable to work... having to be separated from each other to such a degree...
-they couldnt even go to church or the temple or mosque to pray... yes... all of this frustration came out in the solidarity of the song and the freedom to dance that song...
that is the power of the human spirit to overcome ...
- made manifest in the expression of movement ..dance.
- something we could all do again.. ..together.
- something that gave us all hope again...the WILL to LIVE.
just dance.
THE FREEDOM TO DANCE.
( A poem for the dancers )
Nevertheless, you always win if you just dance.
Cause there is no shame in it.
There’s no blame in it.
You are the instrument of your own pleasure…
You are your own treasure…
Express yourself to the world.
Express yourself ,
- LOVE yourself –
and by doing so…
you will OVERCOME-
you will LOVE… !
you will be in the moment ..
Here and NOW… TOTALLY ...!!
THAT’S DANCE.
Dance, dance , dance !
Dance is Life,
and LIFE is to be LIVED...
Dance is LOVE,
and love is to be LOVED.
When you are sad.... DANCE!
When you are mad...DANCE!
When you are happy ...DANCE...
When you are down ...Dance...
dance- dance - dance !
- That the freedom in dance.
If you forget to dance -
you forget everything...!
- if you are too cynical...
stressed--depressed -suppressed or even OPPRESSED...- DANCE.
dance,dance ,dance !
- if you are lost, stuck or imprisoned... in yourself... MOVE...
BECAUSE the movement of the body reminds you today...
you are alive!
Thats the freedom in dance
for the sake of JOY... DANCE!
Dance,dance , dance !
-in romance or out... Dance...
when youre poor-
- without a penny... dance...
dance- dance - dance !
-in richness... in health..
in sickness...in wealth
..
in all things...
- dance to the creator of ALL !
dance, dance ,dance !
the beautiful... the wonderful... the magical... the mystical... the ecstatical...the sexual...
ALL.
-Because the life inside you needs to be released,
- when others bind you with
-their curses... their anger ...
-their slander...their HATE..
their poison and.. their lies... their bitter pills and their diseases.
know this...
-you have one LAST thing that becomes a GIANT prayer in ACTION..
-where all the energy that is dormant WITHIN you...
Is externalised - expressed and empowered...
Thats the freedom in dance...
dance, dance, dance...
when the fire is burning inside
- when the pain is screaming like an ocean tide...
when the sorrow is hurting without mercy...
when all seems lost and theres no clemency...
JUST NECESSITY!
-theres one last act of VICTORY
even in tragedy.. you can do...
- theres one last action that is your TRUE you.
- there is no right way- or wrong my friend...
- there is no old- or young in the end...
-because you always always win -
fat or thin...
if you just dance.
DANCE, DANCE , DANCE !
You are always PERFECT in who you are !
Because in your perfection you become a shining star... !
SUBLIME.
thats the POWER...
and the GLORY ....!
and the Philosophy...
OF LOVE. OF GOD!
- thats the Freedom in the Dance !
-thats the Freedom in the Moment
-thats the freedom to dance !
in the here and the now ...
so..
- LET GO... TOTALLY!
And just dance....
Dance,Dance , Dance ! ....................................................
The Power of Dance
Anthony Quinn in Zorba the Greek. a classic movie that tells us all to dance again.
"Dance is as spiritual as it is physical. Both visible and invisible are gathered into dance.
Dance is the incarnation of the mystic power of the here and the now.
Dance is shining through space and time.
Dance is moving the universes towards eternity.
I believe I am a dancer of the infinite mind."
ALV .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utfDkG5yHgs
137 Year old woman dances...
" Ecstatic dance is a form of dance in which the dancers, sometimes without the need to follow specific steps, abandon themselves to the rhythm and move freely as the music takes them, leading to trance and a feeling of ecstasy. "
Just like ecstasy did ...but naturally.
The effects of ecstatic dance begin with ecstasy itself, which may be experienced in differing degrees.
this is the freedom in dance...which is ages old and being rediscovered each year...
every year anew.
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