Slumdog Millionaire (a fantastic 'must see' movie) ends with a traditional Bollywood dance. The catchy song and beautiful choreography brings across the happiness of the movie's ending- most importantly, the grace of expression through dance.
It was all very fine and well watching the film and appreciating the art from a distance but when the suggestion came out that myself and my other class mates should try the dancing, I quite literally sank in my seat.
From past experiences I've found dance routines difficult to remember, embarrassing and most of all- impossible to actually do! Bad memories from PE came flooding back. I wanted to die there and then.
When I arrived on the dance floor I was grouped with a few girls who felt exactly the same as me. We watched the other groups as they got organised, planned, laughed, practised... and looked simply fabulous. My group however was very reluctant to even start.
When assistance came over, suggestions were passed on and we all gave some dancing a go. I felt my body move the way I wanted it to. I felt secure about what I was doing. I felt quite positive about how it turned out actually.
But the feeling of embarrassment remained and I wasn't enjoying myself.
I didn't understand why I felt like this. However, when I was on teacher training I had a shot of joining in a dance lesson with my class of 6 year olds. From the expression on their faces it looked like a lot of fun and the music was incredibly catchy and up beat. I felt myself wanting to join in.
Giving a real attempt at the dancing was fun and the other children struggled just as much as me to get the hang of the dance. I didn't feel insecure about how I looked, felt or what other people thought of my dancing. In fact I felt wonderful. The music seemed to move my body rather than my brain ordering it to move in new and bizarre ways. I felt like my body was expressing it's appreciation of the music.
With every movement that I made, I felt like I was shaking off bad emotions or feelings which made me realise why dancing can be so important. Not only are you listening to music but you get to expressive your body in anyway that you want alongside the music.
The pressure of being mixed with girls on my course who already go to dance classes or have 'the gift' of dancing might have been too intimidating for me. Or perhaps the Bollywood dancing wasn't suited for my body to boogie to.
What I've learnt overall is that I can enjoy dancing. Even if it does mean I have to go to the effort of doing it with a group of 6 year olds. Also, expression through dancing is what my body feels is right. Just as long as I get on a good tune and feel my body wanting to move, I can appreciate the art of dance.
Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRC4QrUwo9o (Jai Ho Music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7AuQKFlhXI&feature=related (The effect this dance scene has had on the people)
http://www.isabellechrun.com/isasuperstar/got-to-learn-that-slumdog-millionaire-jai-ho-dance/ (Somebody's own blog about Jai Ho Music Video)
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