Changing Lives through Dancing by David Woodbury
Arthur Murray Dance Studio Santa Monica
“Go out for a walk. It doesn’t have to be a romantic walk in the park, spring at its most spectacular moment, flowers and smells and outstanding poetical imagery smoothly transferring you into another world. It doesn’t have to be a walk during which you’ll have multiple life epiphanies and discover meanings no other brain ever managed to encounter. Do not be afraid of spending quality time by yourself. Find meaning or don’t find meaning but “steal” some time and give it freely and exclusively to your own self. Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe. And you need to be.”
-Albert Camus
What an amazing quote from Camus. It made me think about ballroom dancing and especially dancing in front of an audience, competiting or performing a show.
There are few places I am truly calm and relaxed. Taking a lovely walk overlooking the Pacific. The quiet moments at mass. For me, speaking in front of a large group on an exciting topic. And especially when I am dancing in front of an audience.
I can’t wait to be on the floor with my partner while performing a dance. I enter a calm and a safe place for those few minutes of dancing. No one can bother my partner or me while we are dancing. It is a time of joy, movement and pleasing our audience. I feel those times on the dance floor are times of freedom and happiness.
I love seeing the face of my partner as we perform our dance. Then, I love to see the faces of the audience and their smiles (hopefully) as they watch us dance. This is what I have done with my nerves, I don’t let them take away those precious moments of being one with my partner, the music, and the dance. I just love it and I can’t get enough of it even after 49 years of dancing with Arthur Murray Dance Studios.
So, stealing time just might not be a quiet, secluded time alone on a mountain, on a beach, or a quiet time in my reading chair. Sometimes, my stolen time is when I’m surrounded by people, music, and activity. A moment of peace can be anything we want it to be.
If you are super busy in your life, and you are wanting some “time to yourself”, take an accounting of your day.
Stealing time might be a wonderful chat with a friend, holding a sweet kitty or dog. Hearing your favorite song. Or just sitting in your reading chair taking a moment of silence.
Personalize your time and make each minute count. Jacques and Roz DeBeve taught me a great habit that I practice even today. They always said, find the “Golden Moments” of life and then say them out loud. “This is a “Golden Moment” and mark the time and the occasion. Then remember that experience and file it with all your other lifetime Golden Moments.
Try it, you’ll be glad you did and your will fill your heart and mind with many precious memories.
Writing this for you dear reader is a true “Golden Moment” for me, truly, it is!
Thank you for reading and Keep on Dancing!
“Dance & Thrive in ‘25”
David Woodbury