I should start this blog by telling you that I’m not much of a dancer. I mean, sure I’ve had more than five years of “professional” training, and from time to time I have fun going out with friends and shaking it (by ‘it’, I do mean my ass), but I’m no dancer.
As a child I endured five years of tap dancing lessons and about two years of pom-pon lessons; training that resulted in me absolutely despising any outfit that had lace, spandex, sequins and/or any combination of the three. I recall many a recital day that started with mild excitement and resulted in me crying my eyes out as my hair was curled and I was stuffed into a heinously bright costume that would make even Tara Lipinski cringe. At some point my mother must have seen the light and decided to save her money, allowing me to be free from dance. Perhaps she realized that even after years of lessons, I still had the coordination of a newborn giraffe attempting to stand for the first time, and simply gave up.
I provide this bit of background as a means of expressing my due resistance to the fine art of dance. But despite my muddled past experiences, there are times when I just want to dance…and I want to dance like they do in the movies.
No, not like Julia Stiles in
Save the Last Dance or even Francis “Baby” Houseman in
Dirty Dancing (although I wouldn‘t mind perfecting ‘the lift’ in the well toned arms of a young Patrick Swayze)…instead, I want to live out scenes when hard times and hurt feelings are put aside and characters are inspired to meet in a random room of their home and find happiness in the simplicity of a good song. I want to dance in the middle of my living room like Annie Savoy and Crash Davis in
Bull Durham, dance psychotically in my kitchen to Bonnie Tyler‘s “Holding Out for A Hero” like Cate Blanchett's character in
Bandits, and eventually sing backup into a hairbrush microphone while bouncing around and dancing with my kids a la
Stepmom.
It seems like every great movie has at least one such scene that almost undoubtedly turns into a highlight for me. I’m not sure how prevalent uninhibited moments of dance actually are in life - especially for those of us who are cursed with constant self awareness - but I secretly hope that they will happen quite often for me…if for no other reason than to momentarily supersede my otherwise very inhibited mindset.
After all, when’s that last time you saw me do more than the fingertip to fingertip arm wave while in a sober state? I rest my case.
Q to Readers: What’s your favorite cinematic dance scene?
