Your Silent Poetry And Your Journey

Quotations by Moliere, French, Born January 15, 1622. “All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing. It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.”

He was a playwright who is considered one of the greatest masters of comedy in western literature. His real name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin.

This is an interesting quote from way back in 1622.

He also said “Dance is silent poetry. It is a hidden language of the soul of the body.” I use to always say that when we danced, I forgot any worries I had for the short time of dancing at a studio party for perhaps two hours. Mom was sick at that time and I was worried about her and being at a dance for two hours gave me peace for two hours, a special kind of peace. I was in a different world, a world where there were all ages of people there, some tall, some short, some old, some young, some just regular people; some were doctors and lawyers, school principals, nurses, pharmacists etc. We were all the same when we were there doing one common performance.  We were all happy for 120 minutes of being in a kind of dream world, the world of ballroom dancing.

We were all there to have fun. We were having enjoyment in a pleasant environment with a group of strangers who we usually saw each week and most of the time, we did not even know their first or last name. We smiled, we danced, we snacked, we socialized and then we went home to our everyday life.

When we went to our first social dance on a Saturday night, in November 1977 after having a few private lessons, we were kind of intimidated when we saw what talented dancers were dancing there that night and every week thereafter that we frequented the hall. It took a lot of nerve to get up and dance being so new at it. You felt as if all eyes were on you, which was silly. Everyone was doing their own thing and they were not concerned with you.

When you start, sometimes you are not sure what dance to dance to the music playing. Sometimes we would ask an experienced person at our table, was this Rumba or a Foxtrot. After a few weeks, we were sure of ourselves and we no longer had to inquire. That took a bit of the strain off and we could enjoy ourselves at a higher level.

Sometimes we would argue over a step being done incorrectly, each blaming the other. I use to say laughingly that if our marriage could stand dancing and taking lessons; then it was a good marriage for sure. Dancing teaches you to use your brain, to use your arms, legs, feet and especially your soul. You learn to be appreciative of what you can absorb, how to follow directions, how to smile constantly even when you do not feel like smiling, because you are so intent on creating the vision that you know what you are doing.

After a while, you relax, have fun, enjoy yourself and most of all to have confidence in yourself and in your partner in him translating his lead and you know what you are supposed to do. We do not dance wildly in real ballroom dancing, we do patterned steps, choreographed movements with our head, our hands, our shoulders and of course our feet. The expertise we assemble in our heart to go out there and to show off what we know, but most of all to please our self in what we have accomplished since we started this truly beautiful hobby.

Moliere summed it up well in the sixteen hundreds when he said  “dance is silent poetry. It is a hidden language of the soul and the body.” I have always thought of it as a special and unique language that we ballroom dancers have learned and when we dance, we “speak volumes.” It is like a book with a pretty cover on it and as you turn the pages, your excitement moves forward and you keep on going and when the book is finished; you still have it in your possession to reread and to enjoy again.

Hans Bos summed it up well. “While I dance, I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life, and I can only be joyful and whole. That is why I dance.”

This is why Elita dances and she has since 1977 with joy and feeling whole.

When I go back to dance in a few weeks, even if I am able to dance only  a few dances, I will certainly feel whole again since we have not danced since October 23rd 2011. If my old knees obey my mind, I will be ecstatic if only for a twenty minute time span and I will have won because I am once again able to call myself a ballroom dancer with great pride and accomplishment at this senior age.

If you feel that you would like to do something that you have not done for a long time like I did not with my dancing; then go towards trying it like I am going to do soon and then we both will be victorious, euphoric and in seventh heaven. You will have your silent poetry in effect, you will not be separated from life and you will be whole. This is our new and promised journey.