Hear this blog post read aloud:
What can dance communicate? What memories does it bring back, and how does it connect us? These questions and more brought us together for two Stories of Our Lives sessions exploring dance, rhythm and movement.
On 19th September, Jean Byrne introduced dance as a means of expression beyond words. She shared her experience of joining a creative writing and dance course during lockdown, and how it opened her eyes to new possibilities. The short films and notes she shared prompted us to think about emotion, cultural heritage, freedom and our own experiences of dancing. There was so much curiosity and interest that we decided to continue the theme at our next meeting!
On 3rd October, we returned to those ideas with our Dance and Movement cards, more conversation and an introduction to salsa from Ann. Everyone could take part in their own way, through dancing, seated movement, watching or sharing their thoughts.
Our conversation on this topic has had a lot of range! From dancing in our heads, kitchen and chair bopping to dance as exercise or simply as an act of revolution, we covered all sorts. We wondered about what “kids these days” do when they go clubbing, and heard an intriguing story about babies responding to the Coronation Street theme after hearing it repeatedly in utero.
The reflections after dancing together were especially lovely. One person described how the support of the group encouraged them to give it a go, another spoke about the magic of a shared dance, and someone else noticed the challenge of getting their upper and lower body to cooperate, laughing and enjoying the puzzlement of it!
We closed with a beautiful image from Jean: an image of us as dancers tuning into one another, like a murmuration of starlings. It captured how we connected through our individual yet joined-up experience of moving together and finding a shared rhythm.
Thank you to Jean and Ann for inspiring us, sharing their interests and encouraging us to try something together.
We’ve also gathered some of the music from our session into a playlist, so you can enjoy listening and moving in your own way at home. You’ll find it below.
Read on to learn more about what emerged for all of us in the sessions.
Continue reading “Dance, Dance, Dance!”
