Wait... You Can Learn From a Dance?

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. ~Edwin Denby

(Left to Right, Me creeping, Micheal- JStaff and Katie, Clint and Belen, then demonstrating the "dead bird" would be two staffies, Jerry and Lena, and in the back is the brown crew. The best crew.)

If you know me, you know I'm not a big fan of dances. Sure I like dancing, but dances just are not really my scene. At least that's what I thought! Although it only lasted a little over an hour, this most recent dance is probably one of the best so far. Should we explore the possible reasons why?

Never trust spiritual leader who cannot dance. ~Mr. Miyagi, The Next Karate Kid, 1994

(Jessica and myself showing off our "Furniture Sale")

Maybe I've never noticed this in other dances, but this one was just therapeutic. There is something about getting down to a beat, getting lost in a crowd, having your ears blasted out, and cutting loose that brings out another side to people you don't normally see. You forget all your problems and expose this different side of yourself to people you barely know.

I danced with 16 year olds. Actually, it was more like they danced with me. I would be minding my own business, just dancing with some friends, then a ton of ambassadors (sophomores) will trap us and act as though we were equals. or at least until one of them says "I'm dancing with a 21 year old! So cool!" Dancing does not discriminate. The next day everything went back to normal, other than we all felt a little closer than we were before. I must agree with whoever said, "This is better than a rave!"

You must also take into account that whether you like it or not, dancing is a form of exercise even when you're just jumping up and down, trying to stay upright. Exercise, as we all know, releases endorphins which makes people happy. There were some serious happy vibes.

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

(Me, Jerry, and Jessica bouncing. P.S. I'm doing it in cowboy boots. Not an easy task.)

I have to add that I learned how to jerk, how to "bounce", how to beat box, and re-learned the Tragedy dance. I learned a lot that night, and it was only the first official night of the conference! Who knew I could still break it down?

I also feel the need to add that after I cleaned up after the dance, I had the brilliant idea to blow dry my hair upside down. The result was a mane. Add a hoodie, sore back, and an Oreo, you get a creepy hobo. Fun times! Anyways, when I woke up that morning, my hair was still puffy, that is why my hair looks that great in the above picture. I had many different kinds of learning experiences.

After going over all of these possible reasons as to why this dance was such a great experience, I have to admit that there is only one reason that ultimately contributed...

These guys.

(The Gang: Including Staff, J-Staff, Facilitators, and others)